Why do you prefer Kobo ereaders to Amazon ereaders

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I'm guessing the reading apps on Android ignore the css, but that would not be acceptable to me either.

Some ignore css and/or font embedding. They get deleted. Aldiko Classic and Lithium seem OK. You can directly install the KOReader apk from Git if your android allows direct installs. Usually a developer option.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Some ignore css and/or font embedding. They get deleted. Aldiko Classic and Lithium seem OK. You can directly install the KOReader apk from Git if your android allows direct installs. Usually a developer option.

Re "a developer option", it's easier to access than that on most Androids - some variant of "allow install from untrusted sources", on the Android devices I've had over the last few years, it's normally been in security or thereabouts.. I did that with my Lenovo tablet last week, then got notified the other day that I also need to allow updates from untrusted sources. KOReader is now my default reader app for those books requiring a larger and/or color screen

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by ps67

I forgot to mention that I actually bought the Kobo Aura One because I wanted a 7.8" screen, and Amazon didn't have it and doesn't even have it today. Now i prefer it because it is more open and customizable but if there was a 7.8" screen amazon ereader I would have bought it.

Amazon innovation is really lagging behind when it comes to screen size. Odd. And boring. In fact Kobo has really gone for it with Elipsa. Thank heavens we are not relying on Amazon for innovation. They've really dropped the ball of late. It's almost as if...they don't care.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Re "a developer option", it's easier to access than that on most Androids - some variant of "allow install from untrusted sources", on the Android devices I've had over the last few years, it's normally been in security or thereabouts.. I did that with my Lenovo tablet last week, then got notified the other day that I also need to allow updates from untrusted sources. KOReader is now my default reader app for those books requiring a larger and/or color screen

I recall a key feature for koreader for me was the ability to override book car with on the fly reading settings. I used to have to do this stuff with a Sony. I don't miss all the fricking about regenerating books with fixed css.

[fduniho]

Although my first ereader was a Kobo, I switched to Kindle and never regretted it. For a while, Kobos did have some features that I wished Kindles also had, such as a book cover screen saver and warm lighting, but the latest Kindles now have those features. My actual Kobo is fairly old. It doesn't even have a touch screen. I do sometimes think about getting a newer Kobo for the sake of actually knowing the differences between Kindle and Kobo and because Kobos might be better in some ways. Also, it now looks like there will never be a 6 inch Kindle with warm lighting, which is making me think more seriously about getting a Kobo Clara HD.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by fduniho

Although my first ereader was a Kobo, I switched to Kindle and never regretted it. For a while, Kobos did have some features that I wished Kindles also had, such as a book cover screen saver and warm lighting, but the latest Kindles now have those features. My actual Kobo is fairly old. It doesn't even have a touch screen.

The Kobo Wi-Fi? That's a blast from the past - released eleven years ago. Things have definitely moved on since then.

[drofgnal]

I've never tried a Kobo. Amazon has been fine. Yea, I have some beefs with the latest FW, but all in all, since I've bought all my books to date from Amazon I just stick with their readers.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I've never tried a Kobo. Amazon has been fine. Yea, I have some beefs with the latest FW, but all in all, since I've bought all my books to date from Amazon I just stick with their readers.

You do know you can read ebooks bought on Amazon on a Kobo? IMO it's immoral to lock content you buy to one proprietary device; only library/rented/streamed content should be lockable, though DRM inherently is useless to stop piracy and only limits consumer consumption. I don't have to buy publisher supplied glasses or lamps to read paper books. Or a specific model of player from a Studio for DVDs or BDs.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Quoth

IMO it's immoral to lock content you buy to one proprietary device; only library/rented/streamed content should be lockable, though DRM inherently is useless to stop piracy and only limits consumer consumption.

IMO, it's hypocritical to hold certain businesses to different moral standards than others just because of their size and reach. Do you make certain all the sole proprietors you do business with are on solid moral footing? What kind of deep dive have you done on the ethics of the people you buy pizza or milk from?

I'm not saying people should ignore their consciences when choosing who they want to do business with. I'm saying don't cherry-pick who you're going to hold to higher moral standards when making those choices. What's good for the golden goose is good for the lowly mom & pop. Don't do business with wife-beaters, pedophiles, and tax-evaders just because you choose to remain ignorant of their potential moral shortcomings.I

Also: is Kobo really more "moral" for failing to match the success of Amazon? I'm fairly certain it wasn't for lack of trying (amoral trying) that they wound up playing second-fiddle.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I don't have to buy publisher supplied glasses or lamps to read paper books.

But paper books aren’t the same as ebooks, although similar in some aspects. The bottom line is that paper books are real property while ebooks are virtual and licensed. Your analogy is a failure. And since I know you know this but choose to imply either that they are the same or that you since you would like them to be the same it makes no nevermind that legally and practically they aren’t, I’m calling intent to deceive. Too much “because I say so” going on here, IMO.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I've never tried a Kobo. Amazon has been fine. Yea, I have some beefs with the latest FW, but all in all, since I've bought all my books to date from Amazon I just stick with their readers.

That’s pretty much where I am at: convenience.

Kindle eReaders are more than ‘good enough’ for me, but I also like to read on my iPad mini, and if I had to pick just one device, that would be it.

Whatever hardware/software/openness advantages Kobo eReaders offer (as detailed in this thread and elsewhere) would necessarily inconvenience me to take advantage of, and in the end, none of these seem compelling enough for me to actually get one.

I have made a start on de-DRM ing my several thousand Kindle books, but at the rate I’m going, I will never finish. I’ve convinced myself that I can (someday) finish a script to automate the process, and thus save many hours of effort, but my resolve to do so is weak.

The path of least resistance (and having more time to read instead of managing a collection of books I will read only a fraction of) is to stick with Kindles, which I’m doing: getting the new Paperwhite next month.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by tomsem

That’s pretty much where I am at: convenience.

Kindle eReaders are more than ‘good enough’ for me, but I also like to read on my iPad mini, and if I had to pick just one device, that would be it.

Whatever hardware/software/openness advantages Kobo eReaders offer (as detailed in this thread and elsewhere) would necessarily inconvenience me to take advantage of, and in the end, none of these seem compelling enough for me to actually get one.

I have made a start on de-DRM ing my several thousand Kindle books, but at the rate I’m going, I will never finish. I’ve convinced myself that I can (someday) finish a script to automate the process, and thus save many hours of effort, but my resolve to do so is weak.

The path of least resistance (and having more time to read instead of managing a collection of books I will read only a fraction of) is to stick with Kindles, which I’m doing: getting the new Paperwhite next month.

As I started deDRM-ing since the first ebook I bought (from Amazon) and using Calibre for library management when I still had a few hundred ebooks (also mostly from Amazon then), that has never been a block for me. In fact, I would never have bought an ereader or an ebook if it had not been possible to de-DRM. Still, I too used only Kindles for many years. They were good enough for me and Kobo readers were more boring back then than Kindles. I bought my first non-Kindle reader as recently as 2019. Of course I didn't have to de-DRM my whole library of thousands of books, because they all were already de-DRMed (I do that immediately after buying with every book I buy, a habit deeply ingrained by now).

[Pajamaman]

I could have done a kobo or amazon poll, and why, but I wasn't sure of where to start with the whys. I suppose convenience, or existing engagement in ecosystem is important.

[DiapDealer]

I have no ereader preference. I buy from everyone and read using apps on a tablet.

I just always snicker whenever someone tries to suggest that Kobo and EPUB are somehow the more "moral" choice, when the only thing either have done is be less successful than Amazon and Kindlebooks. Moral Kobo would trade places in a heartbeat with immoral Amazon if given half a chance. It's fair if someone loves Kobo devices and prefers to use them. But it's unfair to suggest that they're the "moral" choice simply because they failed (though not from lack of trying) to keep up with evil Amazon.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I have no ereader preference. I buy from everyone and read using apps on a tablet.

Well, you do, it's just not between the two companies the thread is about. Or, more correctly, you have a preference for how you read ebooks which does not involve the devices under discussion. And I suspect that preference is fairly flexible.

I just always snicker whenever someone tries to suggest that Kobo and EPUB are somehow the more "moral" choice, when the only thing either have done is be less successful than Amazon and Kindlebooks. Moral Kobo would trade places in a heartbeat with immoral Amazon if given half a chance. It's fair if someone loves Kobo devices and prefers to use them. But it's unfair to suggest that they're the "moral" choice simply because they failed (though not from lack of trying) to keep up with evil Amazon.

I agree with you on this. I always wonder how much of the moral posturing some companies do is because they know they have lost the war and justifying why or coming up with another tactic. For example, Kobo used to talk about being "open". But, whether that was something they truly believed or just something they thought would help them, I don't know. I am sure there are some companies out there that have these moral practices because that is what they truly believe, but, I'm not convinced I have ever seen one. Or at least not one with more than a few employees. I definitely haven't worked for one.