Seems like only choice is Kindle

[JSWolf]

delete post

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by meeera

Read the reviews. A fair few of those are people who broke their devices.

I have a feeling that most of those broken Readers were not used in a cover.

Originally Posted by Anthem

Kindles win by default? Hardly. Amazon may have the largest ebook market share (and have had, for quite some time) but they also aggressively develop their hardware and software even when no one is really breathing down their necks.

They are making a great product with great features that people like very much.

My second choice would definitely be Kobo over BN. Definitely.

I have to disagree. Features that people would like very much are what Amazon is NOT giving people. Look at the customization options. Wide margins, large line height, and few fonts with some being too light. Then you go to two other set of settings with even wider and more wider margins and line height. How is this what people want? It's not. Not at all. The current lowest settings should be the biggest settings with two others being smaller and more reasonable. The fonts in the font menu should all be optimized for eInk. After that then you can say Amazon might be on the path to trying to give users what they want.

Originally Posted by crich70

Interesting. What's the name of the story the screen shot is from JSWolf? Just curious.

That is a screenshot from The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker. It's the first book in the Spenser series. I've not yet read the entire series and have decided to start over and eventually read all of them.

[JSWolf]

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[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by larand

I feel the same way. I'd prefer an epub reader, but I just ordered a Paperwhite because the Kobo store wouldn't accept my repeated efforts to order a Kobo Glo. There are so many nice things about Kobo, but customer service and device availability in the US aren't among them.

I decided to take a chance and ordered the Kobo Aura H2O from Chapters. It came in 4 days and is a very nice Reader. I'm glad I decided to do it.

When I realized I was facing an uphill battle to get the Kobo, I looked around. The Nook is too hobbled--only 500 MB available for sideloading--and I've never liked the UI when I checked them out at the B&N store locally. That basically leaves Amazon, since Sony is out of the business.

When all I had was my 650, I bought a nook STR at Radio Shack for about $20 when they were getting rid of them. I bought it as a spare and I too did not care for the UI.

While I prefer for a variety of reasons to buy from someone who isn't Amazon, the hard cold fact is that they are the 800-lb. gorilla of the e-book business in America, and they have the best customer service in my experience (My first e-reader was a first-gen Kindle). Were I in Canada, where Kobo is common, I wouldn't even think twice about Amazon, but here in the States there aren't many good alternatives. I wish Kobo would get their act together in the US, but until they do, my business will be going elsewhere.

I would not be bothered buying a Reader from Amazon if they had one that had what I wanted. Amazon gives it's users what Amazon thinks they want and because of that, it's the most inflexible Reader in terms of how an eBook looks on screen. The average user is stuck the way Amazon thinks eBooks should look.

Another issue is that a lot of people don't know of Kobo. They know of B&N and they might know of Sony, but since Sony is out of the Reader business, that's a no go. They won't be knowing about Onyx or Pocketbook and the lesser known Readers, forget it. So what the choices are for eInk are rather limited in the US.

Kobo needs to get the H2O in to the independent bookstores with a good display right at the front of the stores. But it would be better to get Kobo's in Staples, Best Buy, and other big retail shops in the US. But Kobo should make sure the displays are good. I was in Wal-Mart recently and I could not find a Kindle display.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Take a look at the attached screenshot to see just what you can get with it.

This seem to be the content of about 30% of your posts, yet when I see this screenshot my eyes nearly bleed... I have no idea how you can find that more appealing.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by twowheels

This seem to be the content of about 30% of your posts, yet when I see this screenshot my eyes nearly bleed... I have no idea how you can find that more appealing.

The point being, with a Kobo you can make the text look how YOU want it.

(I'd have the line spacing much further apart, too. That looks painful).

But, hey, we're all different.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by khalleron

The point being, with a Kobo you can make the text look how YOU want it.

(I'd have the line spacing much further apart, too. That looks painful).

But, hey, we're all different.

Exactly, that is the point. I can text how I want it. I don't have such fixed options for how my eBook will look.

Here are more screen shots showing what I think you'll like better then what I like.

Yes, you can get bigger text, more margin space, more line height, more fonts then these samples. The Point being is you have choices. The Kindle doesn't give you much in the way of choices.

[twowheels]

Nope... all too crowded for my liking. I'm perfectly happy with this (which jut happens to be the screen I was on minutes before opening this post), which looks better on the Kindle screen than it does on my computer monitor.

[DuckieTigger]

(Bold mine)

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would not be bothered buying a Reader from Amazon if they had one that had what I wanted. Amazon gives it's users what Amazon thinks they want and because of that, it's the most inflexible Reader in terms of how an eBook looks on screen. The average user is stuck the way Amazon thinks eBooks should look.

There, this. I always knew it to be true. Thank you for coming out and saying it yourself. You are going out of your way to push your agenda on everybody else. How is anybody supposed to take you serious, especially in which one should I buy, when it comes to a buying decision? Please don't even tell me that a great many Kindle owners are too stupid to buy something, anything better. Does a Kindle work for everybody? No, of course not, I never said that.

I listened to nonsense like that - at the time the biggest thing was the myth of inability to sideload at all to a Kindle. The only regret I have is that I waited so long to try a Kindle. I even jailbroke it and started developing on in. In hindsight I should have just read on it instead of never-ending fiddling with it. There is no more JB on it, no hidden features. And it is a joy to use once I started doing only one thing on it: read my books.

Kobo needs to get the H2O in to the independent bookstores with a good display right at the front of the stores. But it would be better to get Kobo's in Staples, Best Buy, and other big retail shops in the US. But Kobo should make sure the displays are good.

The greatest feature ever in a Kobo is the ability to loan library books outside the USA which a Kindle can't do. Since libraries do support Kindle here in the US, it will be much harder to grab a hold in the market. You cannot just throw out money on displays and presence in the hope that enough people will buy it. Eink readers always been niche products, and becoming ever more so with the rise of multi-function devices like tablets and phones.

I was in Wal-Mart recently and I could not find a Kindle display.

I was under the impression that there hasn't been any Kindle in Walmart for over two years now. Even online at Walmart it is only other sellers, not Walmart itself that has them.

[Terisa de morgan]

If you can do it, try to check a Kobo at a shop, so you can compare with Kindle. And, if you can get a Kobo Aura by 99$ (I think they can still be purchased at that price), then I think it's a good deal.

eInk is a good option, any device you get will be good, but you can try this too (Nook, I wouldn't recommend it now either).

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Nope... all too crowded for my liking. I'm perfectly happy with this (which jut happens to be the screen I was on minutes before opening this post), which looks better on the Kindle screen than it does on my computer monitor.

I am sure, if you really wanted to, you could make a Kobo look like that too. Shouldn't you switch? (just kidding)

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

I am sure, if you really wanted to, you could make a Kobo look like that too. Shouldn't you switch? (just kidding)

With no problem at all, and even wider lines

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

(Bold mine)
There, this. I always knew it to be true. Thank you for coming out and saying it yourself. You are going out of your way to push your agenda on everybody else. How is anybody supposed to take you serious, especially in which one should I buy, when it comes to a buying decision? Please don't even tell me that a great many Kindle owners are too stupid to buy something, anything better. Does a Kindle work for everybody? No, of course not, I never said that.

You misread what I wrote and got it incorrect. I never said Kindle owners are stupid. Others have said that (well, implied) in the SD card slot thread. They have said that Amazon has this fixed options because some users are unable to handle more flexible options. I said I would not have an issue buying a Kindle if it had sensible options. It doesn't and that's the major issue with Kindles.

I listened to nonsense like that - at the time the biggest thing was the myth of inability to sideload at all to a Kindle. The only regret I have is that I waited so long to try a Kindle. I even jailbroke it and started developing on in. In hindsight I should have just read on it instead of never-ending fiddling with it. There is no more JB on it, no hidden features. And it is a joy to use once I started doing only one thing on it: read my books.

Personally, I tweak because I can and once I'm done, I just go off and read. I don't have to keep tweaking. That includes tweaking the CSS code. It is silly when people say things that blatantly are not true like not being able to side load.

The greatest feature ever in a Kobo is the ability to loan library books outside the USA which a Kindle can't do. Since libraries do support Kindle here in the US, it will be much harder to grab a hold in the market. You cannot just throw out money on displays and presence in the hope that enough people will buy it. Eink readers always been niche products, and becoming ever more so with the rise of multi-function devices like tablets and phones.

Very true. if you do live outside the US and want to use Overdrive, you do need an ePub Reader that supports RMDSK (ADE & Adept). One thing I like about the Kobo is that you have more control over how the default fonts can look, the line spacing and the margin, and more font sizes.

I was under the impression that there hasn't been any Kindle in Walmart for over two years now. Even online at Walmart it is only other sellers, not Walmart itself that has them.

That could be. I didn't look that carefully last time I was on Wal-Mart's website.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Nope... all too crowded for my liking. I'm perfectly happy with this (which jut happens to be the screen I was on minutes before opening this post), which looks better on the Kindle screen than it does on my computer monitor.

Yes, I can duplicate those settings. That shows how flexible the settings are. I can go from settings you find awful to settings you like and a lot in between. So there's something there to satisfy someone.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Nope... all too crowded for my liking. I'm perfectly happy with this (which jut happens to be the screen I was on minutes before opening this post), which looks better on the Kindle screen than it does on my computer monitor.

Now that one has too much empty space.