Why do you prefer Kobo ereaders to Amazon ereaders

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ilovereading.com

Smashwords is a hidden gem that not nearly enough indie authors use which is a huge shame.

Smashwords was the first place I bought 3rd party books. Before I learned how to put Amazon books on my Nook. The reason I didn't stick with them was that their site was a mess and search was useless.

Now that was years ago. Hopefully there have been improvements. And I do wish indie authors would support Snashwords.

[azayn]

Kobo is indeed more innovative but Amazon, like Apple, has a massive ecosystem behind Kindle that makes it a more attractive option for the average consumer. I do think Kobo could give Amazon some much needed competition if their devices were marketed better in the US. It has less visibility than even B&N Nook.

Amazon has a de facto monopoly on the e-reader market in the US because it’s so pervasive. Kindle is basically synonymous with e-reader.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by azayn

Kobo is indeed more innovative but Amazon, like Apple, has a massive ecosystem behind Kindle that makes it a more attractive option for the average consumer.

That kinda depends where this average consumer is. The unavailability of Kindle library borrowing everywhere outside the USA gives Kobo a huge plus everywhere that Kobo-Overdrive integration exists.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by azayn

Kobo is indeed more innovative but Amazon, like Apple, has a massive ecosystem behind Kindle that makes it a more attractive option for the average consumer. I do think Kobo could give Amazon some much needed competition if their devices were marketed better in the US. It has less visibility than even B&N Nook.

Amazon has a de facto monopoly on the e-reader market in the US because it’s so pervasive. Kindle is basically synonymous with e-reader.

OTOH Google has a massive infrastructure compared to Apple and the Playstore and hardly sells ebooks at all.

Amazon was first a success at selling books online (in market share) and competed in eBooks before they bought Mobipocket (the main seller to Symbian, Palm OS and Windows CE PDAs and phones).

Also being able to run the Kindle App has not much helped Android based eink makes & models.

Sony was crazy to regard their ereader as simply a way to sell books, though they were first wit eink and the Kindle was later and poorer. It was a management fail that they switched to Android (without ability to install apps, which is the ONLY point to Android) when the PRsx50 series was so good. It wasn't a bad idea to transfer their bookshop customers to Kobo, but was bad that they simply gave up consumer market and focused on the Digital Paper corporate ones which typically for Sony were crippled by having no mass storage mode, basically only worked for PDFs and via a Sony program.

So it's not simple. I do hope Kobo stays in the market, but having a bookstore isn't absolutely the answer. Look at Barnes & Noble!

[azayn]

Originally Posted by Quoth

OTOH Google has a massive infrastructure compared to Apple and the Playstore and hardly sells ebooks at all.

Not really the same thing. The Play store is built around apps and e-books are just a throw in. Google makes zero attempt to market or develop their e-book business because their bread and butter is search, not e-books. Apple isn’t in the e-book business either but they at least put a little more effort into it by developing a tablet, a reading app and a decent online store.

Also being able to run the Kindle App has not much helped Android based eink makes & models.

This is true. The experience of running the Kindle app on an Android e-Ink device is less than optimal as I’ve discovered with my Nova 3. My Oasis feels a lot snappier despite having underpowered hardware. But for me, the main benefit of Android e-Ink devices is the ability to side load books and use apps. Having the Kindle app is a nice bonus but not essential.

So it's not simple. I do hope Kobo stays in the market, but having a bookstore isn't absolutely the answer. Look at Barnes & Noble!

I never said Kobo needed a bookstore but they need have a presence in the US market. The average person the US has never heard of Kobo. I remember back in the day Borders used to sell Kobo devices but not a single store carries them today. You can see Kindles at every Target and Best Buy but when’s the last time anyone has seen a Kobo on a store shelf?

When I visited Canada, Kobos were on display at Chapters and available through Best Buy.

I believe Kobo decided a while ago not to enter the US market because they didn’t want to compete with a juggernaut in Amazon. Instead they focused on smaller markets in other countries. This is a mistake though as Kobo can still be profitable in the US even with a smaller presence. People want more options but nothing is available except Kindle. I could see them jumping ahead of B&N which has been stagnating for years.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by azayn

I never said Kobo needed a bookstore but they need have a presence in the US market. The average person the US has never heard of Kobo. I remember back in the day Borders used to sell Kobo devices but not a single store carries them today. You can see Kindles at every Target and Best Buy but when’s the last time anyone has seen a Kobo on a store shelf?

Walmart is supposed to be their retail partner in the US, and there is even a Walmart eBooks app (functionally the same as the Kobo app). I’ve never actually seen Kobo eReaders displayed there, though I rarely visit the electronics department on my infrequent Walmart visits (maybe those in more urban regions have them?).

[azayn]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Walmart is supposed to be their retail partner in the US, and there is even a Walmart eBooks app (functionally the same as the Kobo app). I’ve never actually seen Kobo eReaders displayed there, though I rarely visit the electronics department on my infrequent Walmart visits (maybe those in more urban regions have them?).

I was excited when I first heard about Kobo's partnership with Walmart a few years ago but unfortunately, it hasn't gone anywhere. You can find Kobo devices on Walmart.com but I've never seen one at any physical Walmart store. No signs or promotions for it in stores either.

A shame because Walmart could get them much needed exposure in the US market.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by azayn

I was excited when I first heard about Kobo's partnership with Walmart a few years ago but unfortunately, it hasn't gone anywhere. You can find Kobo devices on Walmart.com but I've never seen one at any physical Walmart store. No signs or promotions for it in stores either.

A shame because Walmart could get them much needed exposure in the US market.

Amazon probably sells more of them than Walmart.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Sony was crazy to regard their ereader as simply a way to sell books, though they were first wit eink and the Kindle was later and poorer. It was a management fail that they switched to Android (without ability to install apps, which is the ONLY point to Android) when the PRsx50 series was so good. It wasn't a bad idea to transfer their bookshop customers to Kobo, but was bad that they simply gave up consumer market and focused on the Digital Paper corporate ones which typically for Sony were crippled by having no mass storage mode, basically only worked for PDFs and via a Sony program.

Typical Sony. Make awesome hardware, and really garbage software that tries to lock you into their ecosystem and forces you to use said garbage hardware to use their amazing hardware.

I wonder if they'll ever learn -- I just avoid Sony outright.

When shopping for my first eReader I looked for almost a year before the Kindle 3 had a huge price drop that pushed me over the edge. I went to Borders and B&N many times and looked at the Kobo devices (didn't like the baby blue button and quilted look on the back -- stupid reason, but that's what it was that stopped me), and while I really liked the Sony the software still made you realize you were using a computer, not reading a book, plus they were crazy expensive in comparison. My green backlit LED screen on my Palm III was good enough for a long time -- and I liked the auto-scroll feature on the Mobipocket app -- I could just set a reading speed and watch it scroll by, periodically adjusting as necessary w/ the front arrow buttons. Somehow even those low res LED screens were easier on they eyes than LCD and OLED screens of today

After two Kindle readers I'm very happily using a Kobo now, 100% within KOReader.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by azayn

I was excited when I first heard about Kobo's partnership with Walmart a few years ago but unfortunately, it hasn't gone anywhere. You can find Kobo devices on Walmart.com but I've never seen one at any physical Walmart store. No signs or promotions for it in stores either.

A shame because Walmart could get them much needed exposure in the US market.

I don't understand this either. I rarely shop at Walmart but when I decided to buy a Kobo Clara I checked the Walmart website for availability and no stores anywhere near me had Kobo ereaders in stock.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Walmart is supposed to be their retail partner in the US, and there is even a Walmart eBooks app (functionally the same as the Kobo app). I’ve never actually seen Kobo eReaders displayed there, though I rarely visit the electronics department on my infrequent Walmart visits (maybe those in more urban regions have them?).

My local Walmart has a tiny display (only 2 models), They also have a small panel of 'book gift type cards'

IIRC when I was in the SF bay area, they did have more models (folk there also make more $ )
Both my readers were bought thru in store pickup (neither were models on display) Both reader say Kobo on the Bezel, BUT are clearly Walmart Branded on the screen.

[azayn]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Typical Sony. Make awesome hardware, and really garbage software that tries to lock you into their ecosystem and forces you to use said garbage hardware to use their amazing hardware.

This is actually symptomatic of the entire Japanese electronics industry. The prevailing attitude is that hardware is king and software is just an afterthought. Software development is often outsourced and minimal resources are devoted to it.

Failure to adapt to software is one of the reasons why Japan fell behind South Korea and China after dominating tech during the 80s and 90s.

This video goes in depth on the subject: https://youtu.be/GqMSWuSeDPA

My very first e-reader was a Sony PRS-505 which I still have fond memories of. It was slim and lightweight, better than the early Kindles and I had high hopes that Sony would build upon it’s success, but sadly they faded away in the e-reader space.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Typical Sony. Make awesome hardware, and really garbage software that tries to lock you into their ecosystem and forces you to use said garbage hardware to use their amazing hardware.

I wonder if they'll ever learn -- I just avoid Sony outright.

When shopping for my first eReader I looked for almost a year before the Kindle 3 had a huge price drop that pushed me over the edge. I went to Borders and B&N many times and looked at the Kobo devices (didn't like the baby blue button and quilted look on the back -- stupid reason, but that's what it was that stopped me), and while I really liked the Sony the software still made you realize you were using a computer, not reading a book, plus they were crazy expensive in comparison. My green backlit LED screen on my Palm III was good enough for a long time -- and I liked the auto-scroll feature on the Mobipocket app -- I could just set a reading speed and watch it scroll by, periodically adjusting as necessary w/ the front arrow buttons. Somehow even those low res LED screens were easier on they eyes than LCD and OLED screens of today

After two Kindle readers I'm very happily using a Kobo now, 100% within KOReader.

Sony's software was eventually better then that of the Kindle. That is once Sony added ePub. You had the ability to read ePub and you had better Calibre integration with collections. Amazon basically took that away.

[chongjasmine]

I just bought a refurbished kobo glo hd. Reason: Its memory can be expandable by hack, and I want a really large memory for my ebook reader. Kindle just doesn't make that possible.

[LDB]

Originally Posted by chongjasmine

I just bought a refurbished kobo glo hd. Reason: Its memory can be expandable by hack, and I want a really large memory for my ebook reader. Kindle just doesn't make that possible.

What is the advantage of really large memory? Huge quantity of books? Huge books (War and Peace etc.)? Just curious.