Seems like only choice is Kindle

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It was said someplace that some people would not bother to buy a Kindle because of buying it from Amazon (or words to that effect). Then I said that it would not bother me to buy a Kindle from Amazon if it had the features I wanted.

If Amazon did go and change the Kindle to suit my needs, I would consider one if I was in the market for a another Reader.

What Amazon would have to do is give useful settings and at least DRM free ePub support.

Thank you for clearing that misunderstanding up. Just curious about the epub support - do you expect drm-free mobi support on an epub reader as well?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The nook is not really all that good. The interface is a mess and the 500mb you get after the partitioning for side loaded eBooks is a joke. There is no card slot for expanding the memory for side loaded eBooks.

Opinions differ. I think the Nook Simple Touches are -- ergonomically -- the best designed eReaders available. Fonts are good and dark. And the interface is fine for me. They are dated, however and, unless you buy the newest one (the one with no SD slot) they have lower resolution screens than the higher ended Kindles and Kobos (though the newest Kindle Basic has the same resolution). But only one of my eReaders (see sig) has a higher resolution -- the Glo -- and I get along fine with all of them.

[ottdmk]

DuckieTigger, interestingly enough, Kobo will display DRM-free mobi, but it's not official and by most anecdotal reports it's poor.

Fortunately most sources of DRM-free e-books provide multiple formats. I do think, as a matter of principle, Kobo's mobi support should be a bit better though.

[hoichi]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Opinions differ. I think the Nook Simple Touches are -- ergonomically -- the best designed eReaders available. Fonts are good and dark. And the interface is fine for me. They are dated, however and, unless you buy the newest one (the one with no SD slot) they have lower resolution screens than the higher ended Kindles and Kobos (though the newest Kindle Basic has the same resolution). But only one of my eReaders (see sig) has a higher resolution -- the Glo -- and I get along fine with all of them.

I quite liked the shape of my Nook ST but it didn't matter much since I've put it in a cover. My Aura HD has unpleasantly sharp edges, but, again, I don't use it without a cover these days, so.
I might stay with my Simple Touch if it had front light. It's a fine reader otherwise. That said, I don't regret getting the Aura HD. It's not perfect but, beside other things, its much higher resolution provides more comfortable reading without the need for huge-asinus font sizes or interstellar line-spacing

Originally Posted by ottdmk

I do think, as a matter of principle, Kobo's mobi support should be a bit better though.

That would be convenient for some people, but I wouldn't bet on any device to have a thorough support for all the possible formats. Maybe it would be more reasonable to expect decent support for a couple of formats and just convert the rest on a desk- or laptop.
Yes, I do use Calibre. Why, what's the matter?

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Yes, I agree 100%.

What I want to know from twowheels is do you actually like the look of your Kindle and would you duplicate the look of your Kindle on a Kobo if you had a Kobo because you like it or would you go smaller margins and/or line height if you could? Or, are you just saying you like it because that's the best you've got and there isn't anything better?

I just stumbled across a fitting answer in a book that I finished over lunch:

Another way to think about this is no one should notice a book’s typeface. And even the finest typeface can do nothing to help writing that has nothing to say.

Stories I Told Myself
by Patrick E. McLean

And for the grammar police... I see it too, but it's a book containing the contents of his podcasts, which is spoken English and tends to be less formal than written.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Opinions differ. I think the Nook Simple Touches are -- ergonomically -- the best designed eReaders available. Fonts are good and dark. And the interface is fine for me. They are dated, however and, unless you buy the newest one (the one with no SD slot) they have lower resolution screens than the higher ended Kindles and Kobos (though the newest Kindle Basic has the same resolution). But only one of my eReaders (see sig) has a higher resolution -- the Glo -- and I get along fine with all of them.

What sig?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

What sig?

Sorry, I meant the blurb on the side under my name -- which shows what eReaders I use.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Converted ePubs look exactly the same as the original.

Next question. How do mobi files converted to epubs in Calibre look on the Kobos?

[HarryT]

Again, exactly the same.

[hoichi]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I just stumbled across a fitting answer in a book that I finished over lunch:

Another way to think about this is no one should notice a book’s typeface. And even the finest typeface can do nothing to help writing that has nothing to say.

Stories I Told Myself
by Patrick E. McLean

You don't notice a typeface until you've started meddling with it. And then you're done with.
But seriously, I've got a number of ebooks that make me grateful for all the options my Kobo has. Why, I've got a few paper books that might use some customization. Some of them are set beautifully but I wish to God they used bigger font sizes. So that's one of the things that ebooks can, and should, do better than pbooks.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ottdmk

DuckieTigger, interestingly enough, Kobo will display DRM-free mobi, but it's not official and by most anecdotal reports it's poor.

Fortunately most sources of DRM-free e-books provide multiple formats. I do think, as a matter of principle, Kobo's mobi support should be a bit better though.

No, Kobo's support of mobi is part of the firmware and supported by Kobo. It is listed as a supported format in the specs of most of the e-ink devices. I don't know why it is missing from the others as they use the same firmware. But, it isn't something they concentrate on. And I hope they don't as I would prefer them to fix the problems with epubs.

I always recommend converting to epub. I have looked at a couple of large mobi books that had no obvious problems. But, as I hadn't done that for a while, I just tried a couple now. The issue is that there was no ToC and text selection didn't work. The books appeared to be displayed correctly, so they are readable,

[Rizla]

You can convert Amazon format to epub and vice-versa very easily. It's trivial.

If you want the choice of more ways to format the screen (fonts, margins, etc), get a Kobo.

Amazon has the better customer support.

That's about it.

If you're willing to buy used / refurbed, you can get a Sony T2 cheap on ebay. The old Nook Simple Touch (non-lit) is also a good device, if you can find one. Other options do exist but they mean shipping from far away (presumably you are in the USA), which effectively removes them as options for most buyers.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by hoichi

You don't notice a typeface until you've started meddling with it. And then you're done with.

I disagree with that. I use Bold Caecilia. It significantly improves the reading experience. If I couldn't use it, I would get a different e-reader (I use a rooted Nook ST).

[cct1]

I have both the Voyage and H20, and prefer the Kobo by a large margin. The better looking screen--the more soft white versus the more electronic blue of the Voyage is a major plus to me, I love the larger screen size, and the ability to change fonts and font weight.

I'm tied to the Amazon ecosystem, and use Calibre, so it's not as seemless as I'd like but it's worth it to use the reader.

The Voyage has it's place--I didn't return it--it fits in my front jean pocket, or coat pocket, which makes it my travel ereader of choice. At home, it's the Kobo hands down.

I agree 100% that Kobo needs to get back into the U.S. market with a physical display. I bought the Kobo after I was less than happy with the Voyage's screen, with a fair amount of trepidation as I couldn't try it out worse. I couldn't be happier with it, but I understand why someone would be leery plunking down that much money sight unseen. I was.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Thank you for clearing that misunderstanding up. Just curious about the epub support - do you expect drm-free mobi support on an epub reader as well?

Actually, Kobo does support some version DRM free Mobi.