Change of plans, maybe not a Kobo after all

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by mystika1

In that case, the kindle is fine. I have a kindle pw2 and have been very happy with it. Your purchased books are downloaded over WiFi instantly, or you can side load them if you prefer, In minutes. Borrowing from the library is super easy. You have thirty days after the date of purchase of the kindle to decide if you like it enough to keep it. Because of that, you can feel comfortable about your purchase. If you like it, great, if you hate it, return it and get the kobo. Your local best buy should have a pw2 on display to compare. I have a kobo glo and the kindle pw2. I do not feel the "walled garden" effects on either device. Honestly, I have had software issues on my glo, but nothing serious.

My point, do not feel that kindle devices will prevent you from enjoying your reading experience. In fact, I read more now that I have the kindle than ever before.

Hth,

Penny

OP lives in Canada. Libraries there don't offer Kindle books, only EPUB.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by meeera

If you don't mind the limited typography and display options on the Kindle, and you don't want Calibre collections management, it's a good choice.

You can setup collections management on any jailbroken Kindle.

[GUI Plugin] Kindle Collections -- calibre plugin to manage and export collections to the Kindle
LibrarianSync -- KUAL button to import collections from the list generated by the plugin.
KUAL itself
python packages are here, you will need this to run LibrarianSync.
Jailbreak, obviously.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

You can setup collections management on any jailbroken Kindle.

[GUI Plugin] Kindle Collections -- calibre plugin to manage and export collections to the Kindle
LibrarianSync -- KUAL button to import collections from the list generated by the plugin.
KUAL itself
python packages are here, you will need this to run LibrarianSync.
Jailbreak, obviously.

But that means having to jailbreak and you risk a firmware update not being able to be jailbroken. So the answer is to never buy a Kindle if you cannot live with it in the default state of being limited.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But that means having to jailbreak and you risk a firmware update not being able to be jailbroken. So the answer is to never buy a Kindle if you cannot live with it in the default state of being limited.

Chance are any PW2 you order will still be on FW<=5.4.5 and you can jailbreak. Amazon sends the OTA updates out sometime shortly AFTER the device first connects to WiFi.

And if you happen to get one with 5.6.1 -- oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You can always return it.

If someone would prefer a jailbroken PW2 over another device, I would consider it a worthwhile gamble, especially since AFAIK the odds are still in favor of getting a jailbreakable firmware. 5.6.1 is still very new, and until Amazon sells their current stock of PW2s that are turned off, not connected to Amazon's WiFi and the firmware image was first installed before 5.6.1 was a glimmer in lab126's eyes, that is what you will get.
And even then, it will probably take some time before they update the production line -- especially considering how easy it is to simply keep on letting the OTA install.



tl;dr -- I have a high level of doubt that a PW2 will ship with fw5.6.1 in the not-so-near future. Heck, some still shipped recently with 5.4.2.1 IIRC.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Quelch

If you're disenchanted with the Kobo people have a look at the Nook, it's an excellent eReader
Sold mine to a friend and it's still going strong after a couple of years of use

Agreed. Ergonomically the Nook is the best eReader I've used. Personally I think the software is fine. But this is the eReader I started with, so I may be biased.

[Chi Cygni]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

JBPatch.
Just apply the latest jailbreak 1.13 before connecting to WiFi -- devices are still shipping with jailbreakable firmwares.

Oh well. I just wanted to kindly point out not for everyone of us a jailbreak is an interesting option. Been a member here for 4 years, have always been afraid of jailbreaking - description howto seems difficult. For you it is a non issue, for general folk who are not so technical it is. Or may be.

I bought my H2O from a reseller, if I have any problem I will contact them, not Kobo. There are still some hoops to have the book just so but I'm very happy with customization out of the box, no need to ruffle my blond tresses over, for crying out loud, a font.

That said if I were in OP's place I'd try to get that Aura with cover for 99 usd (cad?) from a shop.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Oh well. I just wanted to kindly point out not for everyone of us a jailbreak is an interesting option. Been a member here for 4 years, have always been afraid of jailbreaking - description howto seems difficult. For you it is a non issue, for general folk who are not so technical it is. Or may be.

Lots of very non-technical users have been guided through the process. It merely requires following directions, and is perfectly safe.

The biggest stumbling block is always people who don't realize the jailbreak is in a zipfile inside a zipfile, and instead of extracting the contents just plop kindle-5.4-jailbreak.zip directly onto the Kindle, for a net effect of nothing. Which is harmless.

I bought my H2O from a reseller, if I have any problem I will contact them, not Kobo. There are still some hoops to have the book just so but I'm very happy with customization out of the box, no need to ruffle my blond tresses over, for crying out loud, a font.

That said if I were in OP's place I'd try to get that Aura with cover for 99 usd (cad?) from a shop.

I personally don't get the need for fonts, but some people clearly do.
Some people even justify it by stating, say, that the type is too blurry for their eyes, thy need a sharper font.
Seems fair enough. Who am I to tell them what they can and cannot see?

[Josieb1]

If the OP is mainly interested in buying ebooks on the store the device is linked to then I can only recommend the Kindle. Kobo are okay in the buying and downloading part via wifi but in my experiance their books are more expensive and the store is much more difficult to search, with less books.

Amazon offer a 30 day returns policy so if I were the OP I'd be tempted to buy one and risk not liking it and returning it, sometimes the return postage is worth the chance to try something out first. Or if she can see one first then do that.

Yes the Kindle is much more restrictive, unless you jailbreak, which I don't, you live with the fonts and the margins, but as a comprehensive Eco system Amazon can't be beaten.

[barryem]

I have a Paperwhite and when the Kobo Aura first came out I liked the idea of the flush bezel and I went to their website to order one. I already had a Kobo Mini so I had an account but it refused to accept my order.

I tried everything I could and then I tried to find a way to contact Kobo support and no luck there either. Their support people are very hard to find. I finally emailed them and got no response.

Then after checking every day I found a way to call in an obscure area on their website. It let me leave a message with the promise that they'd call me back, I think within two hours. They did call me 2 days later, finally.

Once I got past that roadblock, and that took over a week, their help person was as helpful as he could be. He couldn't get the order to go through either, even though he and his supervisor tried a number of things. They finally suggested I open a new account and try buying it on that. I did and it worked just fine.

It took 3 weeks to get my Kobo Aura and I wasn't able to find a way to contact them to find out why and there was no tracking information. In fact they never even sent a notice that it had shipped.

I got my Aura and it's not a bad device in most ways but there are a lot of flaws. For one thing, if I hold it by the bottom where the weight of the device forces me to squeeze the base just a little so it won't drop, the page turns. Most irritating. That's a way I like to hold it. But it's small so it isn't hard to grip from the sides and that's what I have to do.

Books in the Kobo store are nearly always at least 15% or 20% higher than at Amazon and double the price isn't that unusual. Probably 30% more is typical. So I bought a couple of books but then decided to buy from Amazon and convert books for it.

The problem with that is that many of the font controls only work well, and some only work at all with books purchased from Kobo. Books from other sources often won't change font sizes or line spacing. Sometimes they will. Mostly they won't. And font weight doesn't have any affect on any of the non-Kobo books.

The screen is decent. Far better than the screen on the Kobo Mini, which isn't bad either. But it's no-where as nice as the screen on my Paperwhite. The lighting isn't as even. The contrast isn't as good. I'm not saying it's a bad screen. It's not. But I'm spoiled by the Paperwhite.

I probably would have returned the Kobo but I didn't want to spend a whole week trying to get through to them again. So I kept it and I use it to loan books to friends and neighbors and I read on my Paperwhite.

My suggestion: if you can't find any way to get a Paperwhite, get a Kobo. But only if you can't get a Paperwhite.

Barry

[Lyn2012]

Originally Posted by barryem

The problem with that is that many of the font controls only work well, and some only work at all with books purchased from Kobo. Books from other sources often won't change font sizes or line spacing. Sometimes they will. Mostly they won't. And font weight doesn't have any affect on any of the non-Kobo books.

In my experience this just isn't so. I had a Kobo Aura (now have the H2O) and none of my hundreds of books were purchased from Kobo and they all work to change font sizes, margins and line spacing. They will all change font weight as well, as long as you are using a preinstalled font, although this can be made available to custom fonts as well by using the patches that are well documented on this site. There are probably some books that won't allow this level of customisation, but the vast majority seem to be absolutely fine.

[itisbomb]

If the OP decides that Kobo Aura is the one, I suggest the OP buy it from Indigo. It is running a Black Friday promotion right now. Apart from a CND $40 discount, Indigo is also giving a sleep cover worth of $39.99 away for free (with each Kobo Aura purchased, of course)

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/black-...ding-fwss%3aa1

It is hard to beat such a deal. My PRS-T1 is unfortunately still going strong. So I don't have any excuse to buy a new one. Dang!

[tencloudsx]

Hello friends my name is Halil and i am new on this community actually i cant say i am new i was following this community quite long time. Sorry about my english i am not native speaker :P
On my first post i want to help you hehe
in my opinion the best reader is Kindle Paperwhite, i am using it and sometimes it gives me a feeling as if i am reading a real book.
Here is a review about it might help you.
http://www.bestreadingtablet.com/kindle-paper-white/
Cheers

[Cesca]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Agreed. Ergonomically the Nook is the best eReader I've used. Personally I think the software is fine. But this is the eReader I started with, so I may be biased.

Unfortunately, Nooks aren't available in Canada (where the poster asking for advice is located).

[bcgirl]

Originally Posted by tencloudsx

Hello friends my name is Halil and i am new on this community actually i cant say i am new i was following this community quite long time. Sorry about my english i am not native speaker :P
On my first post i want to help you hehe
in my opinion the best reader is Kindle Paperwhite, i am using it and sometimes it gives me a feeling as if i am reading a real book.
Here is a review about it might help you.
http://www.bestreadingtablet.com/kindle-paper-white/
Cheers

Thanks and welcome here tencloudsx!
Tomorrow is the day, I will purchase a new ereader and add it to my Sony PRS-T1 and Kobo Mini collection. It will be my first front light ereader. I still lean more towards the Kindle. Looked at it for the first time at Staples today. Compared to the Kobo Aura, I like and preferred the size of the Kindle. Yes, more like a real book.
It is still tempting Kobo Aura with cover for only $99.95 but...it is only $20 more for the Kindle. Well no cover for that price.
The books either from Amazon or Kobo are same price. Regularly I get discount coupons from Kobo, kind of tricky, they only apply for a certain selection. Not for a book my choice.
Library books, I used to borrow them on my Sony. But then I like to read books again, some time later. Or the book I want to read is not there and there are waiting lists. So borrowing from public library is not a service I will use.
So for being in Canada I think the Kindle would be a better choice for me. Unless I overlook something, please feel free to let me know

What would be better, buying from local Staples or order from Amazon? Read something about 30 day return policy.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Cesca

Unfortunately, Nooks aren't available in Canada (where the poster asking for advice is located).

You should be able to find them new (or at least in mint condition) on eBay. Some U.S. sellers ship to Canada. I realize you wouldn't be able to use it on B&N, but I thought the OP wanted to side load ePubs anyhow.