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Old 07-12-2014, 06:22 AM   #1
Joyeuse
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Kobo Glo or Kindle Paperwhite?

Hello all! This is my first post here. I've lurking for a week or so while I try to decide which ereader to purchase, and I've narrowed my choices down to either a Kobo Glo or a Kindle Paperwhite. I'm hoping that you can help me make my decision, so in order of importance, I've listed my considerations below.

Availability: I live in Australia, and while I am capable of circumventing geo-restrictions, I'd rather not. I don't know if Kobo and Amazon have vastly different title selections, but after searching a few favourite series and the top ten or so on my unpurchased-TBR, both stores have books I'd buy. I suppose I'm relying on you to let me know if one falls considerably short!

Cost: When I convert Amazon's pricing to AUD, the Kobo Glo is a few cents cheaper than the Kindle Paperwhite. This is a negligible difference, so it will really come down to which store your community feels has a better price range! I'm aware that the Kobo store has many coupons, but I'm an impulse buyer and I probably won't be taking advantage of them!

Reliability: I live in the middle of nowhere, and it's a hassle to get the post office, let alone a brick and mortar store that sells these devices! The fewer times I'll probably need to factory reset my device, the better. I won't be jailbreaking or doing anything other than purchasing books on my laptop and then downloading them over wi-fi onto my ereader.

Format: I have no preference, though I understand that Kobo and Kindle books aren't compatible with each other's devices unless I cleanse and convert them. In all honesty, I likely won't do either of these things: I tend to stick with one brand once I've found what I like! My device will dictate whether I buy .epub or .azw (.mobi?) files exclusively, but I have no initial preference.

Appearance: I prefer the Kindle's logo, but I love that Kobos have coloured backs. At the end of the day, I'll probably hide either device with a case, and they look so similar, anyway. I do prefer the home screen on the Kobo, especially where it displays the time you've spent reading and how many books you've read! I don't know if the Kindle has this feature. I've just seen it on Instagram.

So, which device do you think I should buy?

Last edited by Joyeuse; 07-12-2014 at 06:24 AM.
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Old 07-12-2014, 06:26 AM   #2
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One bit of advice:

Whatever you buy, you will be inviting trouble if you don't buy a case (of some sort) to house your new ebook reader in.
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Old 07-12-2014, 06:44 AM   #3
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A few things that may or may not be important to you:

- Font management. Out of the box, you can load your own fonts onto a Kobo. Some people find the Kindle fonts hideous. But not all people.

- Library books: no Kindle borrowing in Australian public libraries, as far as I know; whereas you can borrow epubs that you put through Adobe Digital Editions for your Kobo.

- Not a huge difference between store ranges, except for Amazon-exclusive books (I don't know if they're a dealbreaker interest for you). Kindle is generally a slightly cheaper list price, but the Kobobooks discount thread means that the savvy shopper usually can get cheaper books at Kobo.

- Collection management is far better on the Kobo, with the use of Calibre.

- Once you do have Calibre set up to manage your books and your collections, it really is trivial to install DRM-cleansing (which we can't detail here), which means that shopping anywhere is easy, and a later change in device won't make your purchases useless.

- Just to check that you know this, because it's not quite clear from your post: you factory reset at home with button presses, you don't need to take it anywhere.

- Both are decent devices and odds are you'll be happy with either purchase, if no dealbreakers (like the library thing) surprise you afterwards.
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:26 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib View Post
One bit of advice:

Whatever you buy, you will be inviting trouble if you don't buy a case (of some sort) to house your new ebook reader in.
Thank you, Dr. Drib. I've yet to break my iPhone by carrying it around 'naked', but I've heard that ereaders are much more fragile. I'll definitely be buying a case!
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:27 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by meeera View Post
A few things that may or may not be important to you:

- Font management. Out of the box, you can load your own fonts onto a Kobo. Some people find the Kindle fonts hideous. But not all people.

- Library books: no Kindle borrowing in Australian public libraries, as far as I know; whereas you can borrow epubs that you put through Adobe Digital Editions for your Kobo.

- Not a huge difference between store ranges, except for Amazon-exclusive books (I don't know if they're a dealbreaker interest for you). Kindle is generally a slightly cheaper list price, but the Kobobooks discount thread means that the savvy shopper usually can get cheaper books at Kobo.

- Collection management is far better on the Kobo, with the use of Calibre.

- Once you do have Calibre set up to manage your books and your collections, it really is trivial to install DRM-cleansing (which we can't detail here), which means that shopping anywhere is easy, and a later change in device won't make your purchases useless.

- Just to check that you know this, because it's not quite clear from your post: you factory reset at home with button presses, you don't need to take it anywhere.

- Both are decent devices and odds are you'll be happy with either purchase, if no dealbreakers (like the library thing) surprise you afterwards.
Hi Meeera. I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to borrow library ebooks on a Kindle -- my local library set up ebook borrowing a few months ago, so I had definitely planned on taking advantage of that!

That's a big plus to the Kobo and a big minus to the Kindle... I think that alone may push me towards buying the Kobo.
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:28 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joyeuse View Post
Hi Meeera. I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to borrow library ebooks on a Kindle -- my local library set up ebook borrowing a few months ago, so I had definitely planned on taking advantage of that!

That's a big plus to the Kobo and a big minus to the Kindle... I think that alone may push me towards buying the Kobo.
Doublecheck with your library system. I've not heard of any Aus one with Kindle borrowing yet, but there's always a first time, maybe? (Or not...)
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:32 AM   #7
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Quote:
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Thank you, Dr. Drib. I've yet to break my iPhone by carrying it around 'naked', but I've heard that ereaders are much more fragile. I'll definitely be buying a case!
iPhones have a gorilla glass type screen, almost unscratchable and fairly hard to shatter (people manage, but generally only by nasty drops onto concrete or really rough handling). E-ink screens have a very thin glass substrate which will break not just from impacts but also from bending/twisting. You definitely need to take more care of them.
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:40 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Dr. Drib View Post
One bit of advice:

Whatever you buy, you will be inviting trouble if you don't buy a case (of some sort) to house your new ebook reader in.
I've had my Aura since last December with no cover and mine is doing just fine. That's not to say that something won't happen in the future but I've yet to find a cover that doesn't add too much weight and bulk.
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Old 07-12-2014, 07:44 AM   #9
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I've had my Aura since last December with no cover and mine is doing just fine. That's not to say that something won't happen in the future but I've yet to find a cover that doesn't add too much weight and bulk.
I'm picky about that and love the Gecko Slimfit covers, but mileage may vary on how much added weight/size is too much.
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Old 07-12-2014, 08:12 AM   #10
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The Kobo Glo has more customization options (fonts, margins, custom fonts). Amazon has better customer support. That's about it. Oh, and the Glo's light doesn't go as low as the PW2, but both front-lights are unusable in a pitch-black room anyway, so I don't think it matters.

However, Kobo are release an upgrade to the new Aura (presumably) in the fall, and Amazon have (always?) released an upgrade in the fall too. You might want to wait. There might be deals. But maybe not. Who knows?
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Old 07-12-2014, 09:32 AM   #11
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the Glo's light doesn't go as low as the PW2, but both front-lights are unusable in a pitch-black room anyway, so I don't think it matters.
That is completely a matter of personal opinion. I don't find that to be the case, for me. I will use either one of mine in a pitch black room, any time.
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Old 07-12-2014, 10:19 AM   #12
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The Kobo Glo has more customization options (fonts, margins, custom fonts). Amazon has better customer support. That's about it. Oh, and the Glo's light doesn't go as low as the PW2, but both front-lights are unusable in a pitch-black room anyway, so I don't think it matters.
Why do you consider them to be unusable? My PW2 is certainly usable in a pitch-black room: darkness is, after all, the situation in which you need the light.
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Old 07-12-2014, 12:04 PM   #13
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That is completely a matter of personal opinion. I don't find that to be the case, for me. I will use either one of mine in a pitch black room, any time.
Yeah I read on my PW2 in a pitch black room almost nightly.
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Old 07-12-2014, 03:11 PM   #14
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I use my Paperwhite 2 every single night.(In a pitch black room) I read more now than ever. I also have a Kobo Glo and while the Glo can be tweaked a lot more and has expandable storage, I prefer the pw2. The font rendering on the pw2 is way sharper and clean.(The fonts on the glo seem to be a bit fuzzy. I gave my Glo to my husband.

Just my 2 cents,

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Old 07-12-2014, 11:00 PM   #15
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I'm not clear on whether the OP is deciding between a Glo and a Paperwhite 1, or a Glo and a Paperwhite 2. The Paperwhite 2 is priced much higher than a Glo in Australia, so I'm guessing maybe Paperwhite 1?

If stretching to Paperwhite 2 prices, the light of either Aura goes well and truly low enough to read in blackness.
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