Should I buy a kindle AND a kobo?

[ottischwenk]

I have both - but don't use either.
Im using Likebook and Boox Android EInk tablets.

[mimosavj]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I have both. I found it awkward to read non Amazon ebooks on a kindle so I keep the two sets of books separate for reading.

Hi, how is it awkward to read non-Amazon ebooks on a Kindle?

I am thinking of getting a new PW 5, which costs only AUD$170 (Black Friday) vs AUD$270 for a Libra 2.

I never use a Kindle. Does the Kindle handle collections and annotations well? I arrange all my books (most in Vietnamese Unicode) in collections and series so that I can find them. I don't read comics/pdf and I highlights words/passages in my books for proofreading and later export the annotations to a text file via Calibre. All these my Kobo H2o handles well.

My main concerns is if it's worth the $100 different to familiarize myself with a new ecosytem, consider that I have to convert tens of thousands of EPUBs to MOBIs.

Thank you
Mimosa

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by mimosavj

I never use a Kindle. Does the Kindle handle collections and annotations well? I arrange all my books (most in Vietnamese Unicode) in collections and series so that I can find them. I don't read comics/pdf and I highlights words/passages in my books for proofreading and later export the annotations to a text file via Calibre. All these my Kobo H2o handles well.

My main concerns is if it's worth the $100 different to familiarize myself with a new ecosytem, consider that I have to convert tens of thousands of EPUBs to MOBIs.

I'm going to assume that you are looking at the 6.8" Paperwhite 8GB?

Your new PW will require all collections to be done manually since Amazon protects the database from external access.

As for series? In theory my PW should have series but so far, it does not seem to have any desire to display series information for Amazon purchased books. For sideloaded books, even that option does not exist.

As someone who own a PW and multiple Kobo ereaders, the convenience of using calibre and a Kobo together is worth the extra cost.

[mimosavj]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I'm going to assume that you are looking at the 6.8" Paperwhite 8GB?

Your new PW will require all collections to be done manually since Amazon protects the database from external access.

As for series? In theory my PW should have series but so far, it does not seem to have any desire to display series information for Amazon purchased books. For sideloaded books, even that option does not exist.

As someone who own a PW and multiple Kobo ereaders, the convenience of using calibre and a Kobo together is worth the extra cost.

Thank you for your response. That's what I am thinking too, saving $100 does not justify the hours and headache to try to figure out a new ecosystem, especially when collections and series are essential in my case because the search function rarely works with Unicode titles/authors.

Best regards
M

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by mimosavj

Hi, how is it awkward to read non-Amazon ebooks on a Kindle?

Mimosa

If you email, or use Send to Kindle, mobi files you cannot bold the font or see the covers,

If you sideload AZW files using a usb you can bold the font but I had issues with some files not showing even though calibre said they were on my kindle. Sometimes when files turned up they would be duplicated, and files that wouldn’t stay in collections. If you connect your kindle to the cloud immediately after loading AZW files you lose the cover, but it comes back when you reconnect to calibre. Not sure what happens with covers if you don’t use calibre.

In the end it just became a headache so I no longer try and read non Amazon ebooks on my kindle.

[mimosavj]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

If you email, or use Send to Kindle, mobi files you cannot bold the font or see the covers,

If you sideload AZW files using a usb you can bold the font but I had issues with some files not showing even though calibre said they were on my kindle. Sometimes when files turned up they would be duplicated, and files that wouldn’t stay in collections. If you connect your kindle to the cloud immediately after loading AZW files you lose the cover, but it comes back when you reconnect to calibre. Not sure what happens with covers if you don’t use calibre.

In the end it just became a headache so I no longer try and read non Amazon ebooks on my kindle.

Thank you for the detailed response, that sounds painful. Since I read a lot of sideloaded Vietnamese books, I wouldn't want to go through this frustrating process. I think I'll pay the extra $100 to get the Libra 2.

[Tarana]

I use Calibre and Alf to free my books from a specific platform. The only things I read that don't always play nicely when switching platforms are cookbooks and craftbooks which is the sole reason why I'm considering getting a Kobo this Black Friday.

FWIW, there have been only a handful of books at Kobo that I can't get at Amazon, but about 15% of books at Amazon that I can't get at Kobo. Totally depends on what you read.

[Victoria]

For what it’s worth, I now own both. I got a kindle in 2008, and the kindles remain my primary reader. However I live in Canada, where library ebooks are only available in the kobo format. So I finally bought a Kobo Clara a couple of years ago to borrow books on. I should have done that sooner. It’s a great little device, and pays for itself quickly, in terms of being able to borrow free books.

I think they’re both excellent, and you’ll enjoy whichever you decide to get. The reader itself is just a tool, and quite affordable, because it’s a onetime purchase that lasts for ages. In my experience, most of the investment is in the books, not the reader. Good luck with your decision!

[mimosavj]

Thank you very much for your responses. I think I will just wait until the Libra 2 is on sale. I agree that both the Kindle PW 5 and the Kobo Libra 2 are nice devices, and pretty similar in features. Since I am so used to the Kobo ecosystem (8+years), especially with the extra plugins/patches, trying to adapt to the Kindle might not worth the difference in cost.

Best regards
M

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

If you email, or use Send to Kindle, mobi files you cannot bold the font or see the covers,

If you sideload AZW files using a usb you can bold the font but I had issues with some files not showing even though calibre said they were on my kindle. Sometimes when files turned up they would be duplicated, and files that wouldn’t stay in collections. If you connect your kindle to the cloud immediately after loading AZW files you lose the cover, but it comes back when you reconnect to calibre. Not sure what happens with covers if you don’t use calibre.

In the end it just became a headache so I no longer try and read non Amazon ebooks on my kindle.

You keep saying that you can not bold the font or see the covers of books sent using send to kindle, but I'm not sure why, because I promise you that I can.

A week or so ago, I sent 37 books to my Kindle cloud using Send to Kindle, and I can adjust the boldness and the cover displays as my sleep cover. I don't see the covers in "grid view" on my Kindle, but I never use that. They can't be put into collections automatically using Calibre, but I was able to quickly and easily add all of them to a collection on my "Content & Devices" page on my Amazon account, and they showed up in the collection on all of my Kindles. Because they are in my Kindle Cloud, my progress syncs automatically on all of my Kindles and on my phone. The pictures below are from one of those books.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy a Kindle--I really don't care what you get. I'm just trying to debunk the myth that you can't adjust boldness or have the cover show. I also want to debunk the "collections are a hassle" myth on Kindles.

If you're someone who never turns on wifi and doesn't want to sync their books, then yes...you're better off with a different reader, and Kobos are great. If you're interested in reading the same book on more than one device, Kindles are great, no matter *where* you buy your books from. If you want to read a lot of library books, and you don't live in the US, Kobos are better.

Shari

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mimosavj

Hi, how is it awkward to read non-Amazon ebooks on a Kindle?

I am thinking of getting a new PW 5, which costs only AUD$170 (Black Friday) vs AUD$270 for a Libra 2.

I never use a Kindle. Does the Kindle handle collections and annotations well? I arrange all my books (most in Vietnamese Unicode) in collections and series so that I can find them. I don't read comics/pdf and I highlights words/passages in my books for proofreading and later export the annotations to a text file via Calibre. All these my Kobo H2o handles well.

My main concerns is if it's worth the $100 different to familiarize myself with a new ecosytem, consider that I have to convert tens of thousands of EPUBs to MOBIs.

Thank you
Mimosa

Before you buy a PW5,do you realize that the screen is muddy, has shadows on the edges, and images have less detail? The Kobo Libra 2 is a much nicer screen. Better contrast and images are a lot more detailed.

If you have bought a PW5, return it. You be much happier with the Kobo Libra2's screen.

[davtay]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Before you buy a PW5,do you realize that the screen is muddy, has shadows on the edges, and images have less detail? The Kobo Libra 2 is a much nicer screen. Better contrast and images are a lot more detailed.

If you have bought a PW5, return it. You be much happier with the Kobo Libra2's screen.

HTF do you know this? You do not have a PW5. You spout this stuff as if it is fact, but it is just your OPINION, based on no relevant information.

You are very helpful in some instances (fonts, etc.), but your dislike of Kindles is only your opinion.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by shalym

You keep saying that you can not bold the font or see the covers of books sent using send to kindle, but I'm not sure why, because I promise you that I can.

A week or so ago, I sent 37 books to my Kindle cloud using Send to Kindle, and I can adjust the boldness and the cover displays as my sleep cover. I don't see the covers in "grid view" on my Kindle, but I never use that. They can't be put into collections automatically using Calibre, but I was able to quickly and easily add all of them to a collection on my "Content & Devices" page on my Amazon account, and they showed up in the collection on all of my Kindles. Because they are in my Kindle Cloud, my progress syncs automatically on all of my Kindles and on my phone. The pictures below are from one of those books.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy a Kindle--I really don't care what you get. I'm just trying to debunk the myth that you can't adjust boldness or have the cover show. I also want to debunk the "collections are a hassle" myth on Kindles. Shari

This is a mobi file sent to my Kindle via Send to Kindle. As you can see from the picture I cannot bold the font. I can currently see the cover and add it to a collection. It’s the lack of a bold option that affects me the most.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

This is a mobi file sent to my Kindle via Send to Kindle. As you can see from the picture I cannot bold the font. I can currently see the cover and add it to a collection. It’s the lack of a bold option that affects me the most.

How did you create the mobi file? If you send an old style mobi, then yes, that will happen. There are many ways to fix this, though. If you want to convert using Calibre, then you can change the mobi file type to "both" in the MOBI output section of the conversion dialog. (See attached picture for an example of the setting) You can also take an epub and change the file extension from .epub to .png and send that using the Send to Kindle app. Or, you can do what I do, and use kindlegen to create the mobi file. I used to use Calibre, but when Amazon started messing with the email to Kindle function (changing the author to be the email address of the sender), I started using kindlegen and Send to Kindle instead.

Shari

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by shalym

How did you create the mobi file? If you send an old style mobi, then yes, that will happen. There are many ways to fix this, though. If you want to convert using Calibre, then you can change the mobi file type to "both" in the MOBI output section of the conversion dialog. (See attached picture for an example of the setting) You can also take an epub and change the file extension from .epub to .png and send that using the Send to Kindle app. Or, you can do what I do, and use kindlegen to create the mobi file. I used to use Calibre, but when Amazon started messing with the email to Kindle function (changing the author to be the email address of the sender), I started using kindlegen and Send to Kindle instead.

Shari

I didn’t create the mobi file. It’s from an author I support on Patreon. I’ll try the both option but I remember trying that years ago and it never changed anything. I only use Calibre I don’t know anything about Kindlegen.