Trying to decide between Kobo and New Kindle 3

[Asterisk411]

I'm trying to decide between Kobo and the new Kindle (w/Wi-Fi) that has been announced. I'm mostly want an ereader for reading books, a few newspapers and magazines, and some manga.

I don't care about 3G, audio, or buying books though the device (I plan on connecting to the computer when needed.)

I don't want to be limited to one ebook store, so I'm wondering how superior is epubs to mobi for most books? How big of a hassle is it to remove DRM and convert to mobi for the Kindle? (I currently have Calibre.)

Is the Kindle still worth it if I have half of my books in mobi format?

What is the screen quality difference between Kobo and Kindle 3?

What is the difference between screen refresh rates between them?

How is the navigation for both ereaders?

Anyone know the Price for the new Kindle 3 for Canada (is it the same as the US)?

Thanks

[J. Strnad]

Well, first I'd do some shopping at the various stores for both and see who has the books you want.

If they come out about the same, as fond as I am of my Kobo, unless they lower the price substantially it's hard to recommend the Kobo over the upcoming Kindle Wi-Fi. And I don't know that they can lower the price much.

[ProfCrash]

You are not limited to one store for either reader. There are many stores that sell books formatted for the Kindle outside of Amazon. the difference is that Amazon will archive your Amazon purchased books for you. This allows you to delete a book when you are done with it and retrieve it free of charge at a later date. Amazon does not archive books purchased through other stores.

[Asterisk411]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

You are not limited to one store for either reader. There are many stores that sell books formatted for the Kindle outside of Amazon. the difference is that Amazon will archive your Amazon purchased books for you. This allows you to delete a book when you are done with it and retrieve it free of charge at a later date. Amazon does not archive books purchased through other stores.

What are the websites for the store that sells books formatted for Kindle? Backing up shouldn't be a problem with usb drives and burning off to cd.

[Asterisk411]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

Well, first I'd do some shopping at the various stores for both and see who has the books you want.

If they come out about the same, as fond as I am of my Kobo, unless they lower the price substantially it's hard to recommend the Kobo over the upcoming Kindle Wi-Fi. And I don't know that they can lower the price much.

Right now I"m looking through kobo and sony's bookstore vs Amazon's and find them fairly comparable (when combining Kobo and sony's store.)

[ProfCrash]

Baen and Smashwords are the two I know off the top of my head. I have not used either but I have read about them.

Gutenberg and Feedbooks are good places to go for free classics no longer constrained by a copyright.

[carld]

I've used Baen a number of times, and Smashwords once. Both seem to be fine. Fictionwise also sells books that work on the Kindle as long as you buy "Multiformat" titles.

Baen
Smashwords
Fictionwise

[ficbot]

Oh my goodness, no contest! Get the Kindle. You can buy straight off the rack, as it were, from Smashwords and Fictionwise for multiformat, and stripping drm off epub books is trivial. Kobo is slower, pokier and buggier. It is prettier. But having used both, I would not recommend the Kobo over the Kindle.

[Kindle Addict]

I wouldn't call it 'no contest' if you expand your options to include the Nook. I have a Kindle2, Kobo, iPad, and now a Nook, and I have to say, I'm most impressed by the Nook.

It depends on your particular situation: do you purchase all of your books, or are you planning on borrowing books from your local library via Overdrive? If so, then the Kindle is a pain, since all the books you borrow have to be un-DRMed and converted (and PDFs don't always convert all that well). If you buy all of your books, you can still buy from Barnes and Noble internationally, but Amazon does have the best selection of all the sellers (although usually not for Canadians due to publishing restrictions). The Kindle's 3G does work internationally, while the Nook's 3G does not (although it can be hacked to do so).

The Kindle's navigation is a bit painful, which is where the Nook's color display really comes in handy. My only complaint is that the Nook's battery seems to last for 2-3 days, whereas the Kindle and Kobo's battery lasts for a couple of weeks.

The Kobo initially seemed 'beta', but a recent software update made it 'better'. Still navigation is painful, and there's no connectivity other than USB. It is small and light - maybe too light, as it feels a bit 'cheap' compared to the Kindle and Nook. For the same price the Kindle and Nook blow the Kobo away.

If you are technically-minded, the Nook can be softrooted (since it just runs Android), which means that a good selection of third-party applications are available. I'm not sure of the Amazon third-party developer situation, but I signed up as a developer in January, and I've barely heard a peep! There are some mods can be deployed on the Kindle (fonts, screensavers, etc.), and I haven't seen any Kobo mods at all.

The Nook may be a bit tough to find in Canada, but with so many people travelling to the US for holidays, you should be able to find someone who is willing to stop by a B&N and pick up a Nook. If you are not considering a Nook, then the Kindle3 is the way to go.

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by Kindle Addict

The Kobo initially seemed 'beta', but a recent software update made it 'better'. Still navigation is painful, and there's no connectivity other than USB. It is small and light - maybe too light, as it feels a bit 'cheap' compared to the Kindle and Nook.

This is incorrect. The Kobo also has bluetooth wireless and an easily accessible SD card slot. The nook's card slot is micro-SD and only accessible by removing the battery cover, which is inconvenient for hot-swapping (very useful because I don't have to worry about rounding up a USB cord). The bluetooth is designed primarily to synch with a Blackberry, but will also accept files from a computer or cell phone (you have to plug the device in to a wall charger or computer to get it to refresh the database unless it is synched with a BB). I found this to be quite useful because it allowed me to send files directly from my cell phone without having to fire up a computer (I have wall chargers laying about conveniently, so plugging it in wasn't a problem). I have to disagree with you about it feeling cheap. I thought it felt quite solidly built. The quilted back was quite nice. The device definitely appealed to me aesthetically. The main problem with the Kobo, IMHO, is that it is simply too slow. It reminds me of the nook before all the firmware updates sped it up.

[Noah98]

If screen quality is of any concern to you, get the Kindle. The Kobo's screen is worse than the nook, all of the Kindles, and the Sony prs-300/505.

The Kindle 3 should have the best screen out of all the ereaders. It also has much faster page turns when compared with the very slow Kobo.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Noah98

If screen quality is of any concern to you, get the Kindle. The Kobo's screen is worse than the nook, all of the Kindles, and the Sony prs-300/505.

How so??? The Kobo uses the same Viziplex screen as everything else (except for the K3). What makes it 'worse'?

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

How so??? The Kobo uses the same Viziplex screen as everything else (except for the K3). What makes it 'worse'?

While it is true that they all use Viziplex screens, the contrast and text sharpness is not the same among ereaders. The nook barely edges the Kindle 2, and both are superior to the Kobo. if you go to CNET.com, watch the video review (or read the written one) of the Kobo, and they mention how the screen is not up to par with the competition.

When I was shopping for an ereader, I wanted the best screen clarity. When I compared the Sony, Kobo, Kindle, and nook, the nook was slightly better than the others, and all were much better than the Kobo. Other new Kobo owners on these boards will confirm that they noticed the difference when shopping for devices and chose the Kobo anyway.

I'm actually envious of the Kindle 3 because I know it is going to have a better screen than my nook!

[ProfCrash]

The Kindle's navigation is a bit painful, which is where the Nook's color display really comes in handy. My only complaint is that the Nook's battery seems to last for 2-3 days, whereas the Kindle and Kobo's battery lasts for a couple of weeks.

I must be weird because I don't find navigation on the Kindle painful. I was fine with navigating on the K1 and have found that navigation on the DXG to be even easier. The Nooks battery last a shorter period of time because of the LCD screen and I have read plenty of reports from folks that the Nooks navigation is not intuitive and a bit of a pain in the butt.

Really, you are going to be fine with any of the e-readers. They all serve the same purpose and what is being discussed are the bells and whistles. Make a list of the features that are most important to you and buy the ereader that has those features or the majority of those features.

Most importantly, take a look at the book stores and see which book store has the majority of books that you are interested in so that you know you will be able to read what you want.

I have a feeling that you will be fine with the Kindle, Nook, Sony, or Kobo. Personally, I think the Kindle and Nook ar emore likly to be around for a long time then the Sony or Kobo. Sony does not seem to be doing much to update their ereaders and the loading process is a pain and Borders is a late entrant in a crowded field from a company in serious trouble. I could be wrong, but that is my gut feeling.

[Wet Coast]

It's no contest to me, a Kobo owner. Buy the Kindle 3 - Amazon will deliver a finished product. Prior to paying for my Kobo unit, I was told my Kobo would accomodate Bluetooth transfers from my smartphone. When my iPhone wouldn't do a BT transfer, I was told that capability was "coming". Well, it's been two months and it's still "coming". My husband has a Kindle 2 and the screen is marginally better. Buy the Kindle 3 - better price plus they deliver what they promise. It's also nice to be USB free.