Kindle versus Kobo?

[bookyboy]

@shalym

Right there with ya' - The "impossibly thin bezel" situation on tech devices looks good in product shots and gets the "oohs and ahhs"... but it's largely an ergonomic disaster for handheld devices.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

The buttons on the sides of my various Nooks are actually useful. I especially liked the buttons on the ST where you could hold the reader by the bezel and squeezing harder would trigger the button under the rubbery covering. You could hold the device and turn the page with one hand very easily.

The buttons on the Glowlight 3 are also pretty good, but I preferred the design of the ST overall.

I found the design of the ST's buttons to be too stiff to comfortably press.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

One other plus for Nooks, the orange light on my Glowlight 3 is way better than the orange light on my Clara. Here is a comparison of both with the lights set to maximum orange.



The photo makes the Clara look like it has no orange light at all. In reality, the Clara turns sort of a peach color and the Glowlight is the deep orange/amber of a sodium street lamp.

Love the light cones at the top of the nook.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I found the design of the ST's buttons to be too stiff to comfortably press.

Yeah, you aren't the only one. But it did work for me, as I was able to hold the Nook without accidentally turning the page.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Love the light cones at the top of the nook.

That's more noticeable in the picture than it is in reality. At least you can tell that the Nook is orange.

[JSWolf]

Here's another thing Kobo has going to it that Kindle's do not and this is a big one. Kobo still supports older devices while Amazon end-of-life's them. So your older Kobo can run the current firmware.

It's possible that Amazon may have just end-of-lifed the PW3 for no good reason. Firmware 5.12.5 just came out but it's not available for the PW3.

[bookyboy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Here's another thing Kobo has going to it that Kindle's do not and this is a big one. Kobo still supports older devices while Amazon end-of-life's them. So your older Kobo can run the current firmware.

It's possible that Amazon may have just end-of-lifed the PW3 for no good reason. Firmware 5.12.5 just came out but it's not available for the PW3.

You mean like my end of life, 6 year old Kindle Voyage that just got the latest update last week?

Or how are we defining "end of life" here?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Thanks for that information. I've given up on PocketBook making something I'm interested in, so I haven't kept up on their products.

I always liked the PocketBook 360 but was too cheap to buy one when they were still available (but already getting rare by the time I discovered them). Just occurred to me, was this the "prototype" of the Kindle Oasis? Could these be used "left-handed?"

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

You mean like my end of life, 6 year old Kindle Voyage that just got the latest update last week?

Or how are we defining "end of life" here?

end-of-life is when the company (in this case, Amazon) stops supporting the device with updates.

[bookyboy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

end-of-life is when the company (in this case, Amazon) stops supporting the device with updates.

So...

The Kindle Voyage was released 6 years and is still getting the latest updates.
That's super support of a former flagship in my opinion.

Who's doing vastly better than that?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

So...

The Kindle Voyage was released 6 years and is still getting the latest updates.
That's super support of a former flagship in my opinion.

Who's doing vastly better than that?

Hmm... my Kobo Touch was purchased summer 2011 and is still getting the latest updates. How is the support for the Kindle 4 and Kindle Touch that were introduced in autumn 2011?

[bookyboy]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Hmm... my Kobo Touch was purchased summer 2011 and is still getting the latest updates. How is the support for the Kindle 4 and Kindle Touch that were introduced in autumn 2011?

1. That's exceptional that Kobo is doing that.
2. It's totally above and beyond what I would expect

Do you guys realize how abysmal e-reader hardware was 9-10 years ago?

You don't actually want a company going much out of their way to support something so ancient - at least at some point. Eventually, resources are much better expended on newer and better and more capable hardware and features.

I don't use *any* screen based/tech product that is from 2011 or older honestly. It has gotten a lot better since then, on basically any product line (e-reader or otherwise)

I think anything in the realm of 4-7 years is very fair for termination of support of the latest updates.

We must remember that "not getting new features" doesn't necessarily render the device unusable either. In some circumstances or with some features it *might* (library integration or a particular App perhaps), but that's a side concern.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

1. That's exceptional that Kobo is doing that.
2. It's totally above and beyond what I would expect

Do you guys realize how abysmal e-reader hardware was 9-10 years ago?

You don't actually want a company going much out of their way to support something so ancient - at least at some point. Eventually, resources are much better expended on newer and better and more capable hardware and features.

I don't use *any* screen based/tech product that is from 2011 or older honestly. It has gotten a lot better since then, on basically any product line (e-reader or otherwise)

I think anything in the realm of 4-7 years is very fair for termination of support of the latest updates.

We must remember that "not getting new features" doesn't necessarily render the device unusable either. In some circumstances or with some features it *might* (library integration or a particular App perhaps), but that's a side concern.

Kobo is not going out or their way to support the older hardware. Kobo is doing a great job keeping the older hardware going. Way too many companies stop supporting perfectly good hardware in order to get you to buy newer hardware. That's abysmal service. If Amazon is end-of-lifing the PW3, then that is abysmal service.

Kobo makes devices that work and keep on working. as shown by the fact that they are still supported with the current firmware. Amazon makes devices that get end-of-lifed. Kobo gets high marks for what they are doing. Amazon, not so much (blah!).

Not everyone can afford to buy a new Reader. Also if you have an older Reader, you might give it to your child to use. It's great that Kobo can have all the new firmware. Would you like to be given a Kindle Touch? I wouldn't. But a Kobo Touch would be OK as a first Reader.

[bookyboy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobo is not going out or their way to support the older hardware. Kobo is doing a great job keeping the older hardware going.

You have no idea what resources it does or doesn't consume and/or what burden that places on Kobo's software team.

Kudos to them for supporting very old hardware, but please don't pretend that you have some intricate knowledge of what sacrifices they are or are not making to provide that support.

Try to be a bit more impartial in your analysis.
Honestly your posts sometimes come across as "homer for Kobo" posts.

These are mega corps - don't get too enamored with any of them.

Personally, I'm loyal to none of them and purchase and use what suits my needs and preferences best. I recommend all do the same.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I always liked the PocketBook 360 but was too cheap to buy one when they were still available (but already getting rare by the time I discovered them). Just occurred to me, was this the "prototype" of the Kindle Oasis? Could these be used "left-handed?"

If the Oasis is amazon's idea of an evolved PB360, they botched it.

The 360 is for 360 degrees and is appropriate. Using only buttons and the 4-way ring it is possible to very quickly select any of 4 screen orientations. In addition, all buttons (including power) can be reprogrammed (including long press). And, when the orientation is changed, the default and customized functions move to the buttons that make most sense for that orientation.

Too bad it had no sleep mode and was super prone to freezing up. The battery cover was easy to remove and the battery was connected using a plug which helped doing a reset when the reader froze. Oh yeah, it had a slot for an external micro-sd card, which it was prone to corrupt.