Why do you prefer Kobo ereaders to Amazon ereaders

[Pajamaman]

Of late, I've noticed on mobileread an increased interest in Kobo readers, and a reduced interest in Amazon ereaders. For example, there is a lot more activity in the new Kobo devices thread than there is in the new paperwhite. In previous years, it would have been the other way round. Perhaps this is blip, or I am mistaken. But I personally have noticed a shift toward Kobo.

In any case, subjective or not, this poll asks why more mobilereaders are turning to Kobo, and away from Amazon.

The poll will probably lack good questions because I'm not sure myself. Feel free to add other reasons in your messages, and if you prefer Amazon kit to Kobo, and disagree with the basis of this poll, feel free to post your view.

I can add new questions if enough people feel I've missed important questions.

The poll is multiple choice.

I have posted this in general discussions instead of the Kobo subforum as I feel it is an important general question referencing a sea change I have noted among mobileread users.

[DNSB]

I clicked on multiple choices but the poll results only showed one as having been choosen.

Edit: I should have waited a few more seconds. Now my choices are showing up.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I clicked on multiple choices but the poll results only showed one as having been choosen.

I entered multiple responses and it worked.

[Sirtel]

I was Kindle-only for many years. The two main reasons for this were the lack of physical buttons on Kobo devices and the fact that they were usually more buggy. Neither of those reasons applies anymore. Kobo has come a long way, while Amazon seems to have stagnated.

That's not to say I'm never going to buy another Kindle. If Amazon releases a 8'' Oasis, for example, I'll probably buy it. But this year's crop of Paperwhites doesn't interest me at all. No buttons, the same boring regular shape, I already have several 7'' devices. Yawn.

I ordered the Sage, although I'm a bit disappointed it's much heavier than the Forma and the Libra.

[Lynx-lynx]

I've responded, I've never owned an Amazon device, and nor will I. I've owned a Sony device and a number of kobo devices, so from that perspective I may, or may not, be considered biased.

However, on the odd occasion I have bought ebooks from the Amazon store, and then converted them to epub.

I can also attest to never having bought anything else from Amazon, and can't see a reason why I would in the future, so again, that is a bias.

I don't know if there is a rationale to include the purchase of ebooks from the Amazon store as an added question, that is, along the lines of: I buy Amazon ebooks as well as Kobo ebooks, but don't own an Amazon ereader. This question may go towards elucidating a clearer picture of the use of Amazon product, just not the ereader. Mmm, maybe that's not necessary at all, having said that, lol.

[JSWolf]

I selected multiple answers.

One thing I really dislike about Kindle is KFX. It's just not needed and everything KFX is doing can be done with KF8 just like RMSDK.

[John F]

I picked more open and customizable, but what I realy care about are formatting options: font size, line spacing, margins.

[Uncle Robin]

I bought my first Kobo, a Clara, simply because it was on special. It seemed like a better reader than my PW3 too, and I liked being able to sideload more easily. Since then, the ease of patching and lately the ease of using KOReader has guaranteed I stay, despite Kobo's best efforts to drive me away

[Mort1997]

I don’t prefer kobo to amazon

[ZodWallop]

My first reader was a Nook (because back then they were more open than Amazon) and since I have used Nooks and Kobos. I don't have an interest in Kindles because of their previously poor page layout.

For my purposes, Kindle software is no better than Nooks, but a Nook can read ePub. Kobo has better options for me with series and collections (though to be honest, I don't use them much).

Lastly with Amazon, there's the ads. Those really turn me off.

I am glad Amazon keeps making e-ink devices. I think they help keep the company solvent.

[Josieb1]

I moved to Kindle’s from Sony once they released the Kindle Keyboard in the UK. I’ve had every iteration of Kindle up to and including the Voyage. After that I bought an Oasis 2, then a Paperwhite 4. Both the Oasis 2 and the PW4 are, screen wise, inferior to the Voyage. I read a lot of fan fiction so earlier this year I bought a Kobo Libra H20. I had had Kobo’s a few years ago but went back to Kindle. This time I’m staying with Kobo. I know own a Clara HD, a Forma and have just ordered the Sage.

Kobo software is far superior to Amazon’s, it’s simple things like swiping up and down the screen to change brightness, it’s being able to manage my ebooks through Calibre. I don’t like the Kindle software, it’s restrictive and awkward to use. Even down to being unable to bold a font on a side loaded mobi file, even when sent using Send to Kindle. Amazon make it awkward to read and manage side loaded ebooks. And mangling collections can only be done on the device, so it’s time consuming.

It’s easier to read my Amazon ebooks on a Kobo that it is vice versa.

[pdurrant]

As this is in the General Discussion section, you really ought to have an "I don't. I'm happy with my Kindle" option.

[jhowell]

More people discussing new Kobos than new Kindles could be a sign that Kindle users are happy with the device they already have. That is the case for me.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by jhowell

More people discussing new Kobos than new Kindles could be a sign that Kindle users are happy with the device they already have. That is the case for me.

Don't know about that. I've always been more or less happy with my current reader(s), but that doesn't stop me from discussing and buying new models. I gather there are many people like me. And then there are lots of people who never buy a newer device as long as their old one still works fine. And THEN there are people in between those two...

In short, I don't think that Kindle users are very happy with their devices these days while Kobo users are not. My personal take is that Amazon produced more interesting devices a few years ago, but is now resting on their laurels. Kobo has become the more innovative one now.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

My personal take is that Amazon produced more interesting devices a few years ago, but is now resting on their laurels. Kobo has become the more innovative one now.

I agree with you about that.

I still disagree with the premise of this thread; that Kobos being discussed more means that a greater number of people prefer them. I think that a poll of what e-reader people prefer would be more informative regarding that question.

Added: Perhaps I stated that too strongly. The premise is a shift toward Kobo, not Kobo being the dominant preference. It would take a poll regarding changing preferences over time to investigate that.