Switching to Kobo from Sony

BadBilly · 05-19-2021, 11:16 PM

Howdy!

My dear Sony PRS-T1 is growing more cranky as the days pass. I've been satisfied with it's capabilities. It lets me read ebooks and I can borrow library books into it with ease. I use Calibre to deDRM the books I buy and sideload them and I have a lot of pd stuff from PG and the MR library. I'm looking for a new reader. Because I live in Canada, Kobos are easy to find and not stupid expensive. I've seen some other machines that look nice but they're priced in US dollars, so after conversion, they're pricey. So I'm pretty sure I'm going Kobo. So, a few questions:

I love the multiple dictionaries of the Sony and how easy it is to look up foreign words I might come across in a book. Does Kobo come with any foreign language dictionaries loaded or do I have to buy and load them separately? Or are there freeware versions? I've seen some discussion on MR about it.

Does Kobo play nice with ePubs that aren't purchased from Kobo?

How easy is it to borrow books from the public library? Can I do it directly from the reader? If anyone knows about the Toronto Public Library in particular, that would be great.

I'm leaning toward Kobo Libra H20. I want physical page turn buttons and 7 inches seems a good size. My Sony is 6 inches and that is nice. Is there really anything about the Kobo Forma that would justify the substantial price premium over the Libra H20. An extra inch of screen doesn't seem worth an extra $100 (or more).

Thank you for your advice.

Nightflyer · 05-19-2021, 11:36 PM

Toronto must be doing something right for ebooks and ereaders.

They set a world record of books loaned last year.

https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-...nloads-in-2020

PeterT · 05-20-2021, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightflyer

Toronto must be doing something right for ebooks and ereaders.

They set a world record of books loaned last year.

https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-...nloads-in-2020

They tend to set new records most years.

hobnail · 05-20-2021, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadBilly

Does Kobo play nice with ePubs that aren't purchased from Kobo?

How easy is it to borrow books from the public library? Can I do it directly from the reader? If anyone knows about the Toronto Public Library in particular, that would be great.

I buy my books from Amazon and use their "Content & Devices" page to download the ebook to my pc; it's typically .azw and sometimes .mobi. I have the DeDRM plugin for Calibre installed which removes Amazon's DRM when I drag the book into Calibre. From Calibre I upload it to my Kobo. I've yet to have one that hasn't worked.

JSWolf · 05-20-2021, 06:06 AM

I have Sony Reader PRS-T1 and I switched to a Kobo Aura H2O and It was a very good choice.

Kobo will read ePub borrowed from Overdrive, from Google Play Books, from Kobo, from eBooks.com, an others. You cannot read eBooks bought from B&N or Apple.

If you are setup to be able to remove DRM, then you can purchase and convert Kindle eBooks.

davidfor · 05-20-2021, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadBilly

I'm leaning toward Kobo Libra H20. I want physical page turn buttons and 7 inches seems a good size. My Sony is 6 inches and that is nice. Is there really anything about the Kobo Forma that would justify the substantial price premium over the Libra H20. An extra inch of screen doesn't seem worth an extra $100 (or more).

The difference is that the Forma has a Mobius screen. This uses a plastic substrate rather than the glass used in the other devices. It makes the screen a lot less fragile and reduces the weight significantly. The Forma is 197g compared to the 192g of the Libra H2O.

Quoth · 05-20-2021, 10:11 AM

I bought a Libra and the extra cost of a Forma paid for my 10" Lenovo tablet.

DNSB · 05-20-2021, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

I buy my books from Amazon and use their "Content & Devices" page to download the ebook to my pc; it's typically .azw and sometimes .epub.

Did you mean azw3 and sometime .mobi? I've never seen an Amazon ebook download as an .epub.

salamanderjuice · 05-20-2021, 11:53 AM

Toronto Public Library supports Overdrive and with the newer Kobos you can check out books entirely from the device. You can also still sideload them with Adobe Digital Editions if you were doing that for your Sony.

They can read ePubs from other stores so long as they are DRM free or sideloaded with ADE.

EDIT: They do have foreign language dictionaries you can download for free, most of the bigger languages are covered well like French, Spanish etc. Something like Welsh though you'd have to add it yourself.

Cedros · 05-20-2021, 12:47 PM

The Kobo readers do have multiple language dictionaries and as a French learner, I find they work really well. I loved my Sony reader, too, but I've been a devoted Kobo user for years now. For me they're definitely the best choice, because of the Overdrive library integration and also the (highly tempting) Kobo bookstore. I think you'd be very happy with a Kobo.

hobnail · 05-20-2021, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

Did you mean azw3 and sometime .mobi? I've never seen an Amazon ebook download as an .epub.

Thanks, fixed for the epub/mobi part. As for azw3 versus azw, they're more or less interchangeable in my mind with regards to how I use them.

BadBilly · 05-20-2021, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

I bought a Libra and the extra cost of a Forma paid for my 10" Lenovo tablet.

That is one cheap tablet! Difference between Libra H20 and Forma right now is CA$100.00. Maybe the difference was bigger when it first came out. Still, $100.00 can buy a lot of books.

BadBilly · 05-20-2021, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightflyer

Toronto must be doing something right for ebooks and ereaders.

They set a world record of books loaned last year.

https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-...nloads-in-2020

Yes, it's a very good public library. An excellent example of how tax dollars can make a city a nicer place to live. There are so many branches (I won't bore you with the history of how that happened) and the branches tend to integrated well into the neighbourhoods they serve and are certainly community hubs. Personally, I'm really happy with the digital services, including Hoopla, Kanopy, and OverDrive. Anyone who lives in Toronto and doesn't have a library card should get one. Lots of benefits.

4691mls · 05-20-2021, 03:35 PM

If you want to browse for library books on another device and then use Kobo's sync to obtain them, then the library book has to be the same edition as Kobo has in its store. Usually this works but you may occasionally run into a book that doesn't work.

Some people here have seen this a lot, others hardly ever - I suspect it depends on a combination of your taste in reading materials and what books your local library chooses to have in its selection.

If you run into a library book that can't be synced, you can still get it by downloading onto your computer and transferring to the Kobo via USB using Adobe Digital Editions.

BadBilly · 05-20-2021, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

The difference is that the Forma has a Mobius screen. This uses a plastic substrate rather than the glass used in the other devices. It makes the screen a lot less fragile and reduces the weight significantly. The Forma is 197g compared to the 192g of the Libra H2O.

Thanks! I understand a bit more now.

At one time, I'd have been a big fan of the plastic substrate, but I've had the Sony for...8 years? Maybe 9? I've done a lot of commuting with it and even taken it overseas and back and I've only taken a normal level of care in handling it (let's not talk about the time I got chocolate in all the ports), so I don't think I'd break a glass substrate. I've been working from home since before the pandemic, so the reader doesn't leave home that often and it rides in a backpack or jacket pocket. I'll get the cover and that should do the trick.

As for a 5 gram weight saving, I'm not sure that's an issue.

J/k: I know the Forma has a larger screen. But I think that larger screen would mean it was no longer pocketable in jacket.

I think I can say that the differences don't add up to an extra $100 for me, though I'm sure they make sense for some.

05-19-2021, 11:16 PM	#1
BadBilly Nodding at stupid things Posts: 209 Karma: 4097046 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: Sony T1, OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, iPad Mini 2, PC	Switching to Kobo from Sony Howdy! My dear Sony PRS-T1 is growing more cranky as the days pass. I've been satisfied with it's capabilities. It lets me read ebooks and I can borrow library books into it with ease. I use Calibre to deDRM the books I buy and sideload them and I have a lot of pd stuff from PG and the MR library. I'm looking for a new reader. Because I live in Canada, Kobos are easy to find and not stupid expensive. I've seen some other machines that look nice but they're priced in US dollars, so after conversion, they're pricey. So I'm pretty sure I'm going Kobo. So, a few questions: I love the multiple dictionaries of the Sony and how easy it is to look up foreign words I might come across in a book. Does Kobo come with any foreign language dictionaries loaded or do I have to buy and load them separately? Or are there freeware versions? I've seen some discussion on MR about it. Does Kobo play nice with ePubs that aren't purchased from Kobo? How easy is it to borrow books from the public library? Can I do it directly from the reader? If anyone knows about the Toronto Public Library in particular, that would be great. I'm leaning toward Kobo Libra H20. I want physical page turn buttons and 7 inches seems a good size. My Sony is 6 inches and that is nice. Is there really anything about the Kobo Forma that would justify the substantial price premium over the Libra H20. An extra inch of screen doesn't seem worth an extra $100 (or more). Thank you for your advice.

05-20-2021, 11:53 AM	#9
salamanderjuice Guru Posts: 969 Karma: 13558066 Join Date: Jul 2017 Device: Boox Nova 2	Toronto Public Library supports Overdrive and with the newer Kobos you can check out books entirely from the device. You can also still sideload them with Adobe Digital Editions if you were doing that for your Sony. They can read ePubs from other stores so long as they are DRM free or sideloaded with ADE. EDIT: They do have foreign language dictionaries you can download for free, most of the bigger languages are covered well like French, Spanish etc. Something like Welsh though you'd have to add it yourself. Last edited by salamanderjuice; 05-20-2021 at 11:55 AM.

05-20-2021, 03:35 PM	#14
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	If you want to browse for library books on another device and then use Kobo's sync to obtain them, then the library book has to be the same edition as Kobo has in its store. Usually this works but you may occasionally run into a book that doesn't work. Some people here have seen this a lot, others hardly ever - I suspect it depends on a combination of your taste in reading materials and what books your local library chooses to have in its selection. If you run into a library book that can't be synced, you can still get it by downloading onto your computer and transferring to the Kobo via USB using Adobe Digital Editions. Last edited by 4691mls; 05-20-2021 at 03:39 PM.

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05-19-2021, 11:36 PM	#2
Nightflyer Connoisseur Posts: 81 Karma: 2122502 Join Date: May 2020 Location: Asia (from USA) Device: Meebook M6, Kobo Clara HD	Toronto must be doing something right for ebooks and ereaders. They set a world record of books loaned last year. https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-...nloads-in-2020

05-20-2021, 06:06 AM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,803 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I have Sony Reader PRS-T1 and I switched to a Kobo Aura H2O and It was a very good choice. Kobo will read ePub borrowed from Overdrive, from Google Play Books, from Kobo, from eBooks.com, an others. You cannot read eBooks bought from B&N or Apple. If you are setup to be able to remove DRM, then you can purchase and convert Kindle eBooks.

05-20-2021, 10:11 AM	#7
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,018 Karma: 111111255 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I bought a Libra and the extra cost of a Forma paid for my 10" Lenovo tablet.

05-20-2021, 12:47 PM	#10
Cedros Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 2149666 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Device: Kobo Clara; Kobo H20v2; Kobo Glo HD;	The Kobo readers do have multiple language dictionaries and as a French learner, I find they work really well. I loved my Sony reader, too, but I've been a devoted Kobo user for years now. For me they're definitely the best choice, because of the Overdrive library integration and also the (highly tempting) Kobo bookstore. I think you'd be very happy with a Kobo.