Converted format files on the Kobo - how do they look?

paskybond · 03-04-2012, 11:59 AM

Hello!

I've been trying to decide whether to get a Kindle touch or a Kobo Touch, and I think I'm settled on the Kobo - the Kindle was attractive because I sometimes get Amazon vouchers and they also have more weird/obscure books in their library, but when I found out that Kindle files can be converted to Kobo format I decided it was a no-brainer as it is so much cheaper than the Kindle (in the UK, anyway).

But my question is - how do the files look when you've converted them? If anyone uses Calibre here, how do you find it? Does all the formatting come through intact?

I have also read that on the Kobo, you can only highlight text in a book (or add a note?) if it is in a certain format - I got a bit lost about which though. Is that the native Kobo format? Would you be able to highlight text or add notes to a file that had been converted from Kindle format?

Thanks so much for your advice - hope it's good news cos I think the Kindle looks like a right stinker, what a horrible grey colour!

The Terminator · 03-04-2012, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paskybond

Hello!

I've been trying to decide whether to get a Kindle touch or a Kobo Touch, and I think I'm settled on the Kobo - the Kindle was attractive because I sometimes get Amazon vouchers and they also have more weird/obscure books in their library, but when I found out that Kindle files can be converted to Kobo format I decided it was a no-brainer as it is so much cheaper than the Kindle (in the UK, anyway).

But my question is - how do the files look when you've converted them? If anyone uses Calibre here, how do you find it? Does all the formatting come through intact?

I have also read that on the Kobo, you can only highlight text in a book (or add a note?) if it is in a certain format - I got a bit lost about which though. Is that the native Kobo format? Would you be able to highlight text or add notes to a file that had been converted from Kindle format?

Thanks so much for your advice - hope it's good news cos I think the Kindle looks like a right stinker, what a horrible grey colour!

I haven't bought a book from Amazon yet, so I don't know how they look when converted to ePub, but once you've converted it to ePub, you can add notes, highlights and use the dictionary.

For info on how to remove Digital Rights Management (DRM) Google search Apprentice Alf.

alexul · 03-04-2012, 01:23 PM

Kindle books are DRM protected( like most of the books) so the conversion won't be a 2 click operation. There are different softwares which they say they remove the protection, but haven't tried them. I also read that books downloaded to the computer are hardly to unprotect than those downloaded to a Kindle device. So make sure you actually succeed to unprotect an amazon book before buying a reader.
My girlfriend has a kindle and I bought a few books from her device and then unprotected them and read on kobo. They look identically so no quality is loss.

paskybond · 03-06-2012, 01:16 PM

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm definitely going to get the Kobo then, if you can highlight and annotate any ePub. It looks like stripping the DRM is going to be really tricky though. Thanks again!

digiSara · 03-06-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paskybond

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm definitely going to get the Kobo then, if you can highlight and annotate any ePub. It looks like stripping the DRM is going to be really tricky though. Thanks again!

It's not tricky at all, if you google Apprentice Alf

You can always "buy" a free book from Amazon and try it out. Once you have your software set up, it really is a couple step process.

Shankill · 03-06-2012, 09:07 PM

As digiSara said, no trick at all to it. Naturally, we can't discuss such methods, but there's an automatic method involving Calibre that exists.

As for reformatting, I buy maybe 10 or 15% of my books from the Amazon store (usually when it's unavailable elsewhere or much cheaper from Amazon), and Calibre's conversion from MOBI to EPUB is actually really good. There's usually nothing to tip me off as to which ones are converted from MOBI and which ones were originally EPUB, so from my experience, I'd say you can safely go for the Kobo and enjoy books from everywhere.

03-04-2012, 11:59 AM	#1
paskybond Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Kobo	Converted format files on the Kobo - how do they look? Hello! I've been trying to decide whether to get a Kindle touch or a Kobo Touch, and I think I'm settled on the Kobo - the Kindle was attractive because I sometimes get Amazon vouchers and they also have more weird/obscure books in their library, but when I found out that Kindle files can be converted to Kobo format I decided it was a no-brainer as it is so much cheaper than the Kindle (in the UK, anyway). But my question is - how do the files look when you've converted them? If anyone uses Calibre here, how do you find it? Does all the formatting come through intact? I have also read that on the Kobo, you can only highlight text in a book (or add a note?) if it is in a certain format - I got a bit lost about which though. Is that the native Kobo format? Would you be able to highlight text or add notes to a file that had been converted from Kindle format? Thanks so much for your advice - hope it's good news cos I think the Kindle looks like a right stinker, what a horrible grey colour!

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03-04-2012, 01:23 PM	#3
alexul Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 4324 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Device: PB 360, Kobo Touch	Kindle books are DRM protected( like most of the books) so the conversion won't be a 2 click operation. There are different softwares which they say they remove the protection, but haven't tried them. I also read that books downloaded to the computer are hardly to unprotect than those downloaded to a Kindle device. So make sure you actually succeed to unprotect an amazon book before buying a reader. My girlfriend has a kindle and I bought a few books from her device and then unprotected them and read on kobo. They look identically so no quality is loss.

03-06-2012, 01:16 PM	#4
paskybond Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Kobo	Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm definitely going to get the Kobo then, if you can highlight and annotate any ePub. It looks like stripping the DRM is going to be really tricky though. Thanks again!

03-06-2012, 09:07 PM	#6
Shankill Nameless Being	As digiSara said, no trick at all to it. Naturally, we can't discuss such methods, but there's an automatic method involving Calibre that exists. As for reformatting, I buy maybe 10 or 15% of my books from the Amazon store (usually when it's unavailable elsewhere or much cheaper from Amazon), and Calibre's conversion from MOBI to EPUB is actually really good. There's usually nothing to tip me off as to which ones are converted from MOBI and which ones were originally EPUB, so from my experience, I'd say you can safely go for the Kobo and enjoy books from everywhere.

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