Before I return my Kobo HD Glo...

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I tried that yesterday with both my GLO HD and the H20 and it worked perfectly. for the tip.

I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't know it, either.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

3) Calibre, Kobo just ties in so nicely with third party software. It's like the execs thought 'Hey, we can save money by not trying to exclude third party software from interacting with this device, and then we don't need to worry about making a feature rich desktop app, if we leave this open.

For me, this trumps everything else about other ereaders.

Originally Posted by MGlitch

5) while you can root the Kindle and Nook, it's just so much easier not to have to deal with it.

I'm with you on that, too. While mucking around with rooting can be rewarding, it's nice to have a device that does what I want it to, with just a few tweaks.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by GoodCompany

The 350 is my first and till now only and it is a terrific reader. When you mention the solidity of the Kindle's software, is it your impression that other brands have more issues with software or just that in your experience the Kindle has consistently performed well?

Both. Kobo's firmware means the device has lots more options for tweaking things to get it to look exactly how you want, but its therefore more prone to freezing & small glitches. The Kindle firmware gives you far less options, and perhaps consequently, is far more stable. I'm in no way saying any Kobo is a bug-ridden mess, I don't fiddle much with the settings on mine, and it's only frozen a handful of times (albeit its used the least of any of my ereaders).

In regards to the squeaky casing, I'm not sure there is a great deal of difference in the quality or robustness of the devices on offer, at least bewteen the same price points. There is a difference with the more expensive options, as I'd say the H2O is a little more robust than the Glo HD, just as the Voyage feels slightly more solid than the PW. The desire for lightweight ereaders means there is nothing to compare with the solidity in your hand of those 356/650 Sony readers!

The page flip feature of the Kindle is nice (screen within a screen), but things like this and all the other software related issues, as others have mentioned, is mainly just down to user-preference. You might find that how Kobo works with Calibre for collections a better feature, whereas I prefer to use plugboards on Calibre to organise my books on my ereader and not use collections at all. If the Kindle worked better with collections though, I might never have even tried plugboards in the first place (and you can use these with Kobo too).

Only other thing to add, any chat of devices being locked down or tied to a company are a bit of a nonsense IMHO. Apart from Nook previously only giving a small portion of space to non-Nook books, you aren't tied to anything, because you've said you already use Calibre to format switch. So like me, you can read whichever book on whichever device you want. And there is nothing convoluted about it. With one exception, and that is library books if you are outside the US, which is why I bought a Sony reader (and then my Kobo) to complement my Kindle.

It sounds like you could just be keeping your Glo HD now anyway, so all of this is probably immaterial. But never mind. I'm sure the more you learn about it and discover how to set it up exactly as you like, you'll be happy with it. You might end up with a Kindle one day and then find you prefer the Kobo anyway, the grass isn't always greener.....

[barryem]

Originally Posted by llcj

I often see barryem compare his Kindle devices with his Kobo devices. Keep in mind that his Kobo devices are four year old tech while his Kindles are new tech so it's not really a fair comparison.

At this point, I think it's more a matter of personal preference rather than substantial hardware superiority of one brand over the other (when comparing like with like.)

You're exactly right and I usually point that out in my comparisons. And I often say that they're both excellent devices and that personal preference is what counts most.

However it's worth saying that when my Kobo's were new (more like 2 years ago) my Kindles were comparable models and I decided to upgrade the Kindle and not the Kobo. That's due to my personal preference.

I don't think you've ever seen me say that someone should get a Kindle and shouldn't get a Kobo. They're both fine devices and I'm glad we have such good choices.

Barry

[GoodCompany]

Thanks again for all your responses. I kind of surprised myself and ended up returning it. When I finally got it up and running properly, there were just too many things not to my liking. I found the flimsiness and slight give while holding it distracting (this would have probably been alleviated with a cover, but I never got that far). The print on my Sony PRS-350 seems darker which I prefer (here to, maybe a different font or setting on the Kobo would have made the difference, but I didn’t get there). I didn’t like the heavy ghosting from the homepage when you went from there to the first page of what I was reading. The feature I thought would be the big upgrade for me was the backlighting and I was surprised I didn’t care for it (and I’m sure this would be no different on the Kindle) – felt more like a computer screen than a reader all of a sudden. I’d maybe enjoy it on an airplane or something, but not a feature I would use regularly. And I don’t want to be unkind about Kobo’s customer service as I think they are really putting in an effort. The phone lines seem to be available 24 hours, I had little wait time for someone to pick up, and all the reps were nice and doing their best. However, every incident turned out to be convoluted and ultimately unsatisfactory. I don’t want to go into all the details, but the final event was, I returned the reader and responded to their return authorization e-mail with my tracking number. The next e-mail I received from them was directions on how to reboot my reader (a form e-mail that also had the model of reader I bought incorrect). In fairness, there were some things about my Sony reader I didn’t like at first that didn’t bother me with time. I didn’t have much time to explore the Kobo. I had to make a decision quickly as I didn’t get it properly working till toward the end of the 30 day window to return. I can truly appreciate the Kobo love expressed in several of these posts. It is feature rich and I can see why it would be the right choice for many. I would probably be happy with less choice as in the Kindle as a couple of you mentioned, but will probably stick happily with my Neanderthal Sony for the moment. It asks so little of me and doesn’t even bother telling me what time it is. Work may be taking me abroad in the fall and at that time I may have another look at the Kindle then as I may appreciate wi-fii when traveling, and a couple of features there do appeal to me. Happy reading to all and to all a good night!

[Hemmi]

I love my Sonys! They can still be had secondhand although you're always taking a chance now on how long the battery will last. I got a T3 last fall and it is the best ereader I've ever used although I'm in love also with the T2 I got a couple of weeks ago. And there's always my PRS650 that I read on happily for many years.

I did try a Kobo Touch for a while and, while it was just fine as an ereader, I couldn't deal with the lack of page turn buttons. Happy to read thru this thread and learn about all the wonderful things Kobos can do. Someday, all my Sonys will die and then it'll be a Kobo. Until that day, I'm hoarding my Sonys as long as they last.