How Come Amazon Is More Popular Than Kobo?

[Deskisamess]

Inferiority, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Better marketing of an inferior product.

Considering the blotchy screen discoloration on the 'premium' Kobo Aura One, the lackluster Aura Edition 2 and the seemingly universal light bleed issue on the Clara HD that could have been easily remedied, I'd be careful about referring to Kindles as inferior.

I prefer Kobo myself, but lets be realistic here.

[johnnyb]

Don't feed the Wolf!

With that being said: Amazon also makes better covers for their readers. That should factor into many people‘s preference for their devices.

I just switched today, giving my 2nd gen Paperwhite to my 85 yr old Dad (who lives with us) when my Clara HD arrived. I LOVE IT! For several years now, ebooks have been my first choice, as the effects of my CP become more noticeable. I only read dead tree books when there is no ebook version, and I crave small and light. So while the trend in ereaders seems to be 7+ and (imo) insanely expensive, Forma, Oasis, etc, a light 6 inch is my dream reader. And after day 1, the Clara beats the Paperwhite for me. With both in their official sleep covers, the Clara is 69 grams lighter, a difference that I was surprised to discover is HUGE. I don't fiddle with the front light settings, so have not noticed the light bleed issue, and with my local libraries only available on Overdrive for Kobo not Kindle, it's a clear win. Less IS more, for me 😁

[snoeki]

Unbelievable how much wrong information is posted about Kobo. I am a long time member of the kobo store and the kindle store and both are equally good.

I have both kindles and kobo's here (about 4 of every brand) and I always have the most recent versions. Kobo had a few problems with bugs in earlier firmware, but they are solved and Kobo's firmware is at the moment the best one.

Kobo's ereaders are better than the Kindle's at the moment.

This is just the truth, you people shouldn't comment here if you don't know both systems, it's just stupid how many nonsense I read here. Why am I a mobile read member? This was the place for high quality information, for people who knew what they are doing. Now it just looks like kindergarten.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by snoeki

Unbelievable how much wrong information is posted about Kobo. I am a long time member of the kobo store and the kindle store and both are equally good.

I have both kindles and kobo's here (about 4 of every brand) and I always have the most recent versions. Kobo had a few problems with bugs in earlier firmware, but they are solved and Kobo's firmware is at the moment the best one.

Kobo's ereaders are better than the Kindle's at the moment.

This is just the truth, you people shouldn't comment here if you don't know both systems, it's just stupid how many nonsense I read here. Why am I a mobile read member? This was the place for high quality information, for people who knew what they are doing. Now it just looks like kindergarten.

your entitled to your opinion no more or less than anyone else. Kobo ereaders better than Kindle's is most definitely subjective. although software wise i would tend to agree.

leaving aside the Kobo Forma jury not even assembled yet so can't be still out. the recent Kobo offerings have certainly had their fair share of problems obviously i'm referring to the KA1 and Clara HD, the Aura Edition 2 and H2O Edition 2 seem ok. i suppose 2 out of 4 ain't bad.

best wishes koboy

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by snoeki

Kobo's ereaders are better than the Kindle's at the moment.

This is just the truth, you people shouldn't comment here if you don't know both systems, it's just stupid how many nonsense I read here. Why am I a mobile read member? This was the place for high quality information, for people who knew what they are doing. Now it just looks like kindergarten.

I own both Kindles and Kobos — older, non-lit models. It's not as cut and dry as you make it. Dictionary — advantage Kindle. Touch screen sensitivity and accuracy — advantage Kindle. Flexibility (Customizability) — advantage Kobo (though Kindle now allowing custom fonts, closes the gap). Lending library — advantage Kindle. Borrowing from Overdrive in the U.S. — on my Kobos / Kindles advantage Kindle (using the newer Kobos — advantage Kobo). ePub vs. Mobi — draw (with Calibre anyhow). Amazon Store vs. Kobo — advantage Kindle (though Kobo's closing the gap), just easier to find stuff on Amazon. Reliability, build quality (older Readers) — advantage Kindle (what makes Kobos more customizable (the internal SD Cards) also makes them less reliable, but also easier (possible) to fix — so maybe a draw. (Can't speak for the newer Kindles (battery life on the Oasis, some screen issues, or the bleed on the Clara and other lighting issues on the Kobos). Not buying books from the near-monopolist eBook seller, Amazon — advantage Kobo.

My main issues with Kobos (the older ones I use) are the "double-tap" touch screens, the dictionary and the white space at the bottom of the screen. The white space issue can be fixed with patches (actually mostly fixed with just one change in a configuration file). The touch screen issues and the dictionary aren't so easily "repaired."

Again, I like them both. Neither is perfect but both are pretty good for reading books.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by snoeki

Kobo had a few problems with bugs in earlier firmware...

The question is how come Amazon is more popular than Kobo? Sure, their firmware is much better now. But when it mattered, when e-ink readers were gaining in popularity, Kobos were seen as buggy, Kindles were not.

As Head and Shoulders Shampoo has taught me, "You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression."

And be honest: They improved their firmware, then rolled out the expensive Aura One that had blotchy lighting issues. They replaced the Glo HD with the subpar Aura Edition 2 and then they rectified that with the Clara HD which has light bleed issues.

[Kiwisaurus]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

The question is how come Amazon is more popular than Kobo?

Yes it is.

It's literally the title.

[johnnyb]

Originally Posted by Kiwisaurus

Yes it is.

It's literally the title.

He also gave an answer to the question

[Kiwisaurus]

Originally Posted by johnnyb

He also gave an answer to the question

And that's good.

I didn't said anything bad.

I just stated the obvious fact which he pointed out which was the question.

Nevermind.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Kiwisaurus

Yes it is.

It's literally the title.

Thank you for contributing so much to the conversation...

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

The question is how come Amazon is more popular than Kobo? Sure, their firmware is much better now. But when it mattered, when e-ink readers were gaining in popularity, Kobos were seen as buggy, Kindles were not.

As Head and Shoulders Shampoo has taught me, "You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression."

And be honest: They improved their firmware, then rolled out the expensive Aura One that had blotchy lighting issues. They replaced the Glo HD with the subpar Aura Edition 2 and then they rectified that with the Clara HD which has light bleed issues.

I don't think the perceived quality of individual products matters nearly as much as name recognition, and Amazon is a household name (at least in the US), whereas if you tell someone that your ereader brand of choice is Kobo, they'll look bemused and ask, "Is that like a Kindle?"

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

I don't think the perceived quality of individual products matters nearly as much as name recognition, and Amazon is a household name (at least in the US), whereas if you tell someone that your ereader brand of choice is Kobo, they'll look bemused and ask, "Is that like a Kindle?"

Sure. As I mentioned early on in this thread, I think Kobo is less well known than Kindle because Kobo ceded the US market to Amazon.

My post about Kobo's perceived quality was more in response to post #110.

[ottdmk]

Name recognition goes a long way. I would argue that, in the US, it goes much further than "perceived quality". I believe it can be safely stated that the general public in the US isn't even aware of Kobo, let alone the reputation it has evolved in the e-reader community. If the average US citizen is aware of e-readers at all, it's likely that they're only aware of Kindle. It's almost become a generic term, similar to how most people call facial tissues Kleenex.

In Canada, it's a bit of a different story. Kobo was created here, and is still based here. There are Kobo displays in brick and mortar stores (mainly Chapters and Best Buys). Kobo has name recognition in Canada. Now, I don't know if Kobo's reputation has filtered out to the general populace, but at least some of them know what Kobo is.