Kobo Clara BW v Kindle Paperwhite

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Clara BW, of course.

That said, you could always wait for the next Kobo model - maybe it will be a black-and-white 7" device? - and meanwhile go on using your PW.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Ditto

I think that's what I'm going to do, but thanks everyone for all your suggestions and tips, even though I'm going to stick with what I have now they weren't wasted!

On a side note my Paperwhite replaced a Kindle Voyage. I have to say I preferred the Voyage but I noticed when charging the battery seemed to be getting a lot warmer than it used to so that is why I replaced it with the Paperwhite. Now I still have the Voyage, I'm not sure I would trust it for daily usage because of the battery but what I might do is use it as an 'experimental' Kindle and try some of the hacks etc mentioned on here, if I brick it it won't be any great loss

[John F]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

There is nothing for Kobo to support if you use sideload mode. You can't visit the store or sync your books, so you're on your own. That's kind of the whole point of using it.

So if I call up Kobo, and ask a question similar to "I can't get sideload mode to work, what am I doing wrong?":

1. Will Kobo help solve the problem, and should I expect them to help me to solve the problem.
2. Will Kobo say they don't support the feature and not help
3. Say it is not a supported feature, but help anyway.
...

[shuvashish76]

It's like calling Windows customer care and asking about how to block the bloatware/ads/trackers they provide. Their business depends on it. Kobo's business depends on using their store service which requires signin. They expect you to use the device and their service as it is not tinker with it.

I don't think officially they'll help.
But who knows...maybe there are mobilereads enthusiasts working at their customer service and they'll help anyway...😉

[Graham44]

Just a note to what I said earlier - I dug out my Kindle voyage as I was considering messing around with 'hacks' etc on it but looking at the back of it the rubberized coating had bubbled and started to peel off in two places. Now I know nothing had got spilled on it or anything as it was in a drawer, but I can't say for sure it's got something to do with the battery either. However as I can't rule that out I don't think I'm going to take the chance of charging it up and using it, I will just leave it dead.

[Graham44]

Well I'm flim flaming again I'm going to see if I can find a Clara BW in a local shop and have a look at it in the flesh. I did some measuring and it's almost the same size as my defunct Kindle Voyage, which I got on with OK.
Interestingly as I had my Kindle Voyage out I thought I would compare the 'feel' of it to my Paperwhite which is bigger, and I was surprised, the Voyage being smaller felt much better in my hand, I didn't realise quite how cumbersome the Paperwhite felt compared to the Voyage.

The screen being smaller didn't really make any difference either, at the end of the day you can adjust the font size to suit your eyes which negates the size of the screen somewhat.

I will see what I think when I see one in the flesh.

Just an aside, what do people think of the Kobo reading experience if you keep everything stock, no jailbreaking etc are there any distractions is it easy to navigate etc? On my Kindles I never go to the 'Home' screen I always stay in the book I'm reading or in the library.

I also see the Clara's power button is on the back like the voyage, whereas the Paperwhites is on the bottom, I prefer the button on the back, it feels more natural to me to reach when you finish reading. So another potential plus point for the Clara.

Edit: One more question, did I read right somewhere that Calibre will automatically convert a book to a correct format if you send it to a device that doesn't support the format the books in? All of my books are in Kindle format at the moment, I know I can batch convert them to a kobo friendly format but do I need to bother?

[Sirtel]

Kobos don't need jailbreaking, you can modify your Kobo out of the box.

They aren't any harder to navigate than Kindles, IMO. While I have always patched my Kobos, patching doesn't change the UI all that much, it only improves some aspects and features. But plenty of people use their Kobos without any mods.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Graham44

Edit: One more question, did I read right somewhere that Calibre will automatically convert a book to a correct format if you send it to a device that doesn't support the format the books in? All of my books are in Kindle format at the moment, I know I can batch convert them to a kobo friendly format but do I need to bother?

Calibre can auto-convert, but sending books to your device will be slower. Not important when you send a couple of books, but with 50, 100 or more it would be pretty noticeable.

[DNSB]

A few people I know who own Kindles keep their books in ePub in calibre for ease in editing, etc. One of them owns a Kindle DX and has to convert to mobi to read on it but prefers keeping his books in ePub as being ready for when they finally bite the bullet and purchase a new ereader.

[Graham44]

Well I bought a Clara BW, I like it so far.

Things are a little different compared to a Kindle but it will just take a little getting used to.

It's comfortable to hold and read on so thats the main thing! I may (or may not) try creating a custom screensaver, I will look into exactly what you have to do

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Graham44

Well I bought a Clara BW, I like it so far.

Things are a little different compared to a Kindle but it will just take a little getting used to.

It's comfortable to hold and read on so thats the main thing! I may (or may not) try creating a custom screensaver, I will look into exactly what you have to do

Congrats!

Yes, it's a bit different. It took me a little while to get used to the Kobo way of doing things, and I still continued to read on my Oasis for a couple of years. In that time my preferences slowly changed, until I no longer wanted to read on Kindles at all. For me personally, various patches and mods for Kobos played a large part in this, as you can't really change much on a Kindle without jailbreaking it (which I never even attempted to do).

[aborh]

I switched to a Kobo Clara HD from Kindle Paperwhite about 5 years ago, and will never go back. The Kobo will open many more file formats than Kindle, and it's a lot easier to "make it your own" with Calibre and little tricks like the Sideload edit on the config file. It's NOT scary to do that at all; very good instructions can be found on this forum and also on Reddit.com.

Last year I also bought a Clara Colour, which I liked except the contrast was somewhat lacking. My vision is not what it used to be, and so I gave the Colour to a younger friend. The Clara HD is crisp and clear to my aging eyes (another friend has a Clara BW, and after looking at it, I believe you will not be disappointed).

There is a Large Print Mode under the Beta Settings that has really improved my reading enjoyment. Not only can you enlarge the text of the book you're reading, it also enlarges menu headings and book details. Kobo seems thoughtful as a company.

[Graham44]

Well I've done my first 'mod' - added the screensaver folder and added four pictures that I prefer as a sleep screen.

Seems to work and cycle through them OK. This alone for me has made the swap to Kobo worth while

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Graham44

Just a note to what I said earlier - I dug out my Kindle voyage as I was considering messing around with 'hacks' etc on it but looking at the back of it the rubberized coating had bubbled and started to peel off in two places. Now I know nothing had got spilled on it or anything as it was in a drawer, but I can't say for sure it's got something to do with the battery either. However as I can't rule that out I don't think I'm going to take the chance of charging it up and using it, I will just leave it dead.

That's just the nature of this specific kind of velvety smooth plastic. It breaks down over time. Has nothing to do with a battery.

I have make up cases, very, very expensive make up cases, with the same problem. My best guess is, it reacts with skin oils.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

That's just the nature of this specific kind of velvety smooth plastic. It breaks down over time. Has nothing to do with a battery.

I have make up cases, very, very expensive make up cases, with the same problem. My best guess is, it reacts with skin oils.

Another reason for a case.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

That's just the nature of this specific kind of velvety smooth plastic. It breaks down over time. Has nothing to do with a battery.

I have make up cases, very, very expensive make up cases, with the same problem. My best guess is, it reacts with skin oils.

I'm sure that is probably the case (no pun intended ) but as the battery did seem to be getting warm/ overly warm as well I don't think I will take the chance.