several questions...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by barryem

I think it's a very different thing to say you prefer the features of KF8 to those of mobi than to say mobi should no longer exist. I use mobi simply because I've never had any reason not to. It gives me a better reading experience on my Kindle than epub does on my Kobo, not because mobi is better but because the Kindle is better.

Having used both a Kindle Touch, Kindle PW3, and Kobo Aura H2O, I have to say I disagree. I think the H2O is better then either Kindle. The reading experience available from ePub is better.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Having used both a Kindle Touch, Kindle PW3, and Kobo Aura H2O, I have to say I disagree. I think the H2O is better then either Kindle. The reading experience available from ePub is better.

I think it depends what you value. Kobo has better control over fonts/margins/line spacing than Amazon. It's not even really an ePub/AZW3 thing, just Kobo's software. I find my PW3 is a little more responsive than my Kobo Aura One, the software is a little more polished, dictionary support is way better and flipping through the book is a little easier. Plus the whole email to Kindle thing.

On Japanese books the gap is even further, Kobo's software doesn't highlight entire words, the dictionary doesn't handle verb conguations and page numbers are not supported. All that stuff just works on the PW3.

For me, reading English books at a smallish font with basically no margins, Kobo's software is pretty good. But if I was happy with Amazon's font and layout choices and didn't read so many damn comics that necessitate a larger screen I'd say Amazon's software experience is hands down better, but because of those things I can't really say I find one better than the other. They both have their strengths. I wish one was hands down better than the other, it'd make choosing so much easier.

[JSWolf]

The email to Kindle thing is obsolete because it sends you Mobi unless you email a dual-format eBook.

As for the dictionary on Kobo, yes the Kindle gives you more choices. But, I use the English dictionary and I find it works for me. I don't have a problem with most of the words I look up. Only the obscure words sometimes don't appear.

The Kobo is responsive enough that with a page turn, I get the page turned by the time I am ready to start reading the next page. Also, with ePub, I get kerning, ligatures, and hyphenation and I don't need a different format to support that. it's done with ePub as it is. With a PW3, you need KFX to get these features. KF8 doesn't do this things as is.

And, one thing you forgot to mention. I've read plenty of people saying font size X is too small and the next up size is too large. This is with a Kindle. With a Kobo, you get many many more font size choices. And you can adjust the weight of the included fonts. So if you have issues with your eyes, a Kobo with a larger screen, adjustable weight, and more font size choices is going to be a winner hands down.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The email to Kindle thing is obsolete because it sends you Mobi unless you email a dual-format eBook.

As for the dictionary on Kobo, yes the Kindle gives you more choices. But, I use the English dictionary and I find it works for me. I don't have a problem with most of the words I look up. Only the obscure words sometimes don't appear.

The Kobo is responsive enough that with a page turn, I get the page turned by the time I am ready to start reading the next page. Also, with ePub, I get kerning, ligatures, and hyphenation and I don't need a different format to support that. it's done with ePub as it is. With a PW3, you need KFX to get these features. KF8 doesn't do this things as is.

And, one thing you forgot to mention. I've read plenty of people saying font size X is too small and the next up size is too large. This is with a Kindle. With a Kobo, you get many many more font size choices. And you can adjust the weight of the included fonts. So if you have issues with your eyes, a Kobo with a larger screen, adjustable weight, and more font size choices is going to be a winner hands down.

Mobi is still better than nothing. PDF is still fine. Ideally all your AZW3 would come from Amazon and thus just sync. It's not always the case, but still it's better than nothing or having to mess around with a half broken web browser.

It's all about use cases and needs. I don't notice the better kerning or hyphenation in KFX or ePub books. I don't use the English dictionary at all on either. But I do notice the lack of a built-in Japanese-English dictionary, verb conjugation, and shitty word highlighting in Japanese because that's when I use it. Either one could add the complete Oxford English Dictionary and I wouldn't care.

Yes, the Kobo is responsive enough. But it's not AS responsive. More taps are missed, word lookup is slower, and it just feels a little more sluggish. It's not unbearable like my Original Kobo where loading the first four Game of Thrones book collection would take a literal minute but it's just not as responsive as the PW3. Some people might be more bothered by that.

Yes, I like Kobo's font features. I mentioned that in my previous post. That and file format support is really the only two things I think Kobo outdoes Amazon on the software side. The hardware is much more in Kobo's favour IMO though.