Switching from Nook to Kindle

xoxojackie · 09-30-2012, 01:53 AM

I'm finally upgrading my 1st generation BN Nook--which at this point was getting maybe 2 hrs of battery life--and I'm moving to the new Kindle Paperwhite. I'm trying to prepare my tremendous Calibre library for the change.

All my Nook Books have long ago been deDRMed, so that's not an issue. What I'm wondering about is Kindle Formats: AZW, AZW3, MOBI... Is there a real difference? I know I read something about different compression between them, but I'm still not sure. What may be the best thing to convert my ePubs to?

Also, is there anything I need to know about major differences between maintaining a library on a Nook and a Kindle? I know no one knows much about the PW until it's out, but I'm just looking for general Kindle guidance.

Thanks!

s4nder · 09-30-2012, 04:39 AM

KF8 formats have a problem with line spacing, it's too large even on the smallest setting. I prefer old .mobi for this reason. Something to keep in mind at least.

jswinden · 09-30-2012, 10:32 AM

KF8 does have larger line spacing, but I don't find it to be a problem. You might though. Actually, I'm not sure the line spacing is a problem with KF8 or just a problem with the firmware on the Kindles that read KF8. At any rate, mobi is probably your safest bet.

KF8 has a lot of new whiz-bang features. However, unless a book is designed to take advantage of those features you won't see much difference from a book formatted with mobi. Chances are most of your Nook ePubs won't take advantage of that many of the KF8 new features.

pidgeon92 · 09-30-2012, 11:36 AM

Unless you need to have all of your ePubs on your Kindle, just let Calibre do its thing. When I load ePubs onto my Kindle, it formats them to .mobi when I click "upload." I love that it is a one-step process, that I don't need to convert/check format prior to uploading.

HarryT · 09-30-2012, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s4nder

KF8 formats have a problem with line spacing, it's too large even on the smallest setting. I prefer old .mobi for this reason. Something to keep in mind at least.

That's very much a matter of personal opinion. I find "medium" spacing to be entirely acceptable, and "small" to be too small. I'd recommend that the OP decide for himself whether or not it's acceptable.

6charlong · 09-30-2012, 01:09 PM

You don't need to worry about the line spacing. Kindle lets you chose your own and I'm like HarryT I find the small spacing too narrow.

You also asked about general differences. I've gone from ePub and Nook to Kindle too. There is a conceptual differences between them. Nook lets you take your entire library with you. If you run out of space you just get a bigger SD card although for me, once I upscaled to 8GB it hasn't been a problem. Nook accommodates large libraries with the ability to view your books directly from the OS so you can nest and thus organize them.

Obviously without the SD card slot on the Kindle you have to decide which books you genuinely want to take with you (you mentioned an enormous library so I'm assuming thousands of books). And if the Kindle has a way to nest books and view them directly from the OS I don't know how to do it.

As you observed we won't really get to know Kindle Paperwhite for a few more days. But I've found that the Amazon book store and Audible connection is more important than the hardware. Amazon's innovative approach to publishing has make the switch worthwhile. The way Amazon empowers their users to manage our own readers, especially online, are also far superior.

I'm especially happy with Amazon's handling of DRM. I accidentally registered too many devices with Adobe. After my last upgrade to a Glowlight I can no longer read books from any source except B&N. Very frustrating especially since most of my books come from other bookstores thus I can only keep a small part of my library on the Nook. Since I prefer to buy books from a local independent bookstore I'm locked out of using the Glowlight until Adept gives me another socket. (Apologies for the rant. My point is that the SD card slot is meaningless unless you have control over the reader and the library in particular.)

Blossom · 09-30-2012, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Unless you need to have all of your ePubs on your Kindle, just let Calibre do its thing. When I load ePubs onto my Kindle, it formats them to .mobi when I click "upload." I love that it is a one-step process, that I don't need to convert/check format prior to uploading.

Uploading to where? I've never heard of this. Is it new?

Synamon · 09-30-2012, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

Uploading to where? I've never heard of this. Is it new?

Upload is the wrong word, calibre can auto convert to the correct format when you highlight the ebooks and click 'Send to Device'. You don't have to convert the format in advance.

Blossom · 09-30-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxojackie

I'm finally upgrading my 1st generation BN Nook--which at this point was getting maybe 2 hrs of battery life--and I'm moving to the new Kindle Paperwhite. I'm trying to prepare my tremendous Calibre library for the change.

All my Nook Books have long ago been deDRMed, so that's not an issue. What I'm wondering about is Kindle Formats: AZW, AZW3, MOBI... Is there a real difference? I know I read something about different compression between them, but I'm still not sure. What may be the best thing to convert my ePubs to?

Also, is there anything I need to know about major differences between maintaining a library on a Nook and a Kindle? I know no one knows much about the PW until it's out, but I'm just looking for general Kindle guidance.

Thanks!

KF8 is AZW3 in Calibre. It's pretty much Amazon's rip off of epub.

Mobi is the original Kindle format. It does not have the line bug which is why many still use it. There are somethings like Small caps that mobi can't show.

Out of the two formats, KF8 is the superior format.

If you don't want much formatting differences then go with KF8 (AZW3) Keep in mind that the personal documents service does not support this format yet. So if you email a book to your Kindle it will have to be in mobi format.

On the Kindle you have what is referred to as the Cloud. There are two types. The Amazon books you buy and the Personal Documents Cloud. the PDC is 5GB of space for your personal nonAmazon books and documents. The benefits of using the PDC instead of sideloading books is you can sync, last page, bookmarks, notes and highlights to another Kindle. If you own more then one Kindle this is a must have feature.

AZW can be mobi or KF8. It's the extension Amazon uses for their own books.

Blossom · 09-30-2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Upload is the wrong word, calibre can auto convert to the correct format when you highlight the ebooks and click 'Send to Device'. You don't have to convert the format in advance.

I wasn't sure what they meant. I'm too picky to auto convert. I must see the finish product.

xoxojackie · 09-30-2012, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

On the Kindle you have what is referred to as the Cloud. There are two types. The Amazon books you buy and the Personal Documents Cloud. the PDC is 5GB of space for your personal nonAmazon books and documents. The benefits of using the PDC instead of sideloading books is you can sync, last page, bookmarks, notes and highlights to another Kindle. If you own more then one Kindle this is a must have feature.

AZW can be mobi or KF8. It's the extension Amazon uses for their own books.

I was under the impression that Whispersync didn't work with personal documents, but if it does, that's excellent, because I occasionally switch to my phone for reading.

Blossom · 09-30-2012, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxojackie

I was under the impression that Whispersync didn't work with personal documents, but if it does, that's excellent, because I occasionally switch to my phone for reading.

It works on the I app not Android yet. It also works on any other Kindle like the K3-3.3, K4, KT, KF and PW.

I read on my downstairs K4B and Sync to upstairs K4S and Kindle Fire.

AnemicOak · 09-30-2012, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

It works on the I app not Android yet. It also works on any other Kindle like the K3-3.3, K4, KT, KF and PW.

I read on my downstairs K4B and Sync to upstairs K4S and Kindle Fire.

It was added to the Android app back in March.

Blossom · 10-01-2012, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

It was added to the Android app back in March.

It was? awesome!

pidgeon92 · 10-02-2012, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Upload is the wrong word, calibre can auto convert to the correct format when you highlight the ebooks and click 'Send to Device'. You don't have to convert the format in advance.

Yes, this is what I meant. Sorry for the incorrect wording. I'm not picky about the formatting, so this option is perfect for me.

09-30-2012, 01:53 AM	#1
xoxojackie Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: 1st Gen Nook, Kindle PW	Switching from Nook to Kindle I'm finally upgrading my 1st generation BN Nook--which at this point was getting maybe 2 hrs of battery life--and I'm moving to the new Kindle Paperwhite. I'm trying to prepare my tremendous Calibre library for the change. All my Nook Books have long ago been deDRMed, so that's not an issue. What I'm wondering about is Kindle Formats: AZW, AZW3, MOBI... Is there a real difference? I know I read something about different compression between them, but I'm still not sure. What may be the best thing to convert my ePubs to? Also, is there anything I need to know about major differences between maintaining a library on a Nook and a Kindle? I know no one knows much about the PW until it's out, but I'm just looking for general Kindle guidance. Thanks!

09-30-2012, 01:09 PM	#6
6charlong friendly lurker Posts: 896 Karma: 2436026 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Device: Kindle, nook, Apple and Kobo	You don't need to worry about the line spacing. Kindle lets you chose your own and I'm like HarryT I find the small spacing too narrow. You also asked about general differences. I've gone from ePub and Nook to Kindle too. There is a conceptual differences between them. Nook lets you take your entire library with you. If you run out of space you just get a bigger SD card although for me, once I upscaled to 8GB it hasn't been a problem. Nook accommodates large libraries with the ability to view your books directly from the OS so you can nest and thus organize them. Obviously without the SD card slot on the Kindle you have to decide which books you genuinely want to take with you (you mentioned an enormous library so I'm assuming thousands of books). And if the Kindle has a way to nest books and view them directly from the OS I don't know how to do it. As you observed we won't really get to know Kindle Paperwhite for a few more days. But I've found that the Amazon book store and Audible connection is more important than the hardware. Amazon's innovative approach to publishing has make the switch worthwhile. The way Amazon empowers their users to manage our own readers, especially online, are also far superior. I'm especially happy with Amazon's handling of DRM. I accidentally registered too many devices with Adobe. After my last upgrade to a Glowlight I can no longer read books from any source except B&N. Very frustrating especially since most of my books come from other bookstores thus I can only keep a small part of my library on the Nook. Since I prefer to buy books from a local independent bookstore I'm locked out of using the Glowlight until Adept gives me another socket. (Apologies for the rant. My point is that the SD card slot is meaningless unless you have control over the reader and the library in particular.) Last edited by 6charlong; 09-30-2012 at 01:22 PM.

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09-30-2012, 04:39 AM	#2
s4nder Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 546874 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Aura One	KF8 formats have a problem with line spacing, it's too large even on the smallest setting. I prefer old .mobi for this reason. Something to keep in mind at least.

09-30-2012, 10:32 AM	#3
jswinden Nameless Being	KF8 does have larger line spacing, but I don't find it to be a problem. You might though. Actually, I'm not sure the line spacing is a problem with KF8 or just a problem with the firmware on the Kindles that read KF8. At any rate, mobi is probably your safest bet. KF8 has a lot of new whiz-bang features. However, unless a book is designed to take advantage of those features you won't see much difference from a book formatted with mobi. Chances are most of your Nook ePubs won't take advantage of that many of the KF8 new features.

09-30-2012, 11:36 AM	#4
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	Unless you need to have all of your ePubs on your Kindle, just let Calibre do its thing. When I load ePubs onto my Kindle, it formats them to .mobi when I click "upload." I love that it is a one-step process, that I don't need to convert/check format prior to uploading.

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