Looking For The Optimal Reader

[ShellPhone]

Yes. I'm thinking it's a choice between Kobo or Kindle. I've read about a few e-readers, but believe the two K's are closer to what I'm after, maybe some of you could suggest better alternatives. I'm wanting the smallest e-reader or the smallest that I can get with the required specs. Must have access to Wikipedia, this is more important to me than loading on e-books. Wikipedia offline if possible. Don't wish to register with anyone (at least not with real details), don't wish my privacy to be invaded. Will like the option of having some (or many) e-books, purchased and/or free, however I'm not going to stop purchasing books, usually second-hand, as I do prefer them and have various reasons why I feel the need to support the format. So, primarily I want an e-reader for Wikipedia and such, but I'd like to experience e-books, and perhaps carry some documents or notes on it, if that's possible, but I don't wish to register with a company that is going to be tracking and monitoring my data. If all else fails, a new account, pseudonym, and gift cards to make purchases, that could work? Probably missed out several things I wished to ask but I can always add them shortly, just get the ball rolling...

[susan_cassidy]

You can't purchase ebooks on either Kobo or Kindle without registering. Your credit card data must be real (obviously). You can buy Amazon gift cards and apply them to your account, if you want, but I think you might initially have to have a credit card listed, to get country of residence confirmed. I'm not sure, though.

Wikipedia is available with Kindle, but requires an internet connection. I don't think there is enough memory to accomodate the downloadable version. Plus, you wouldn't have the latest edits.

Why do you care if Amazon knows what you are reading? They don't sell the data to anyone else, and if you bought the books from them, of course they know you have those books. Even if you email books to their cloud to sideload them, I've never seen any evidence that they look into those books. Why would they care? I think you are paranoid for no reason.

Kindle can read txt, pdf (not great), and mobi format from external sources. All other formats must be converted into one of those formats.

[ShellPhone]

I was thinking one could purchase e-books via different websites, therefore not having to register the Kindle to Amazon for example. Elsewhere and 'sideload' them?

Not the latest edits, sure... I guess the update would require WiFi and that would bring about the need for registration?

I'm not paranoid but if I was it'd be for good reason. It's a matter of principle primarily, they're taking liberties and this is just the beginning, if we're not careful and don't take a stand they've got us completely over a barrel. The fact that most people don't realise is what gives the industrialists the dominion over us. I'm not talking conspiracy, this is a reality. There have already been early warning signs if you care to look. It's not about what some Amazon CEOs might be doing with my data, chuckling to themselves, sweating and titillated, but the fact that they're allowing the government access to such data and able to track devices. It's just the icing on the cake. It's completely unnecessary. I've little to hide in terms of reading material, but it is a matter of principle. Where does it end? I should be able to read in private and feel at ease in this knowledge - I should have every right to.

[ShellPhone]

I'm in my early 20s by the way, if that puts my posts into some kind of perspective. I'm not a middle-aged, crises-stricken, technophobic, basement dweller. That's not to be prejudice towards such people, my turn may come. I'm not much a fan of technology which is rare for someone of my age, I'll admit, I'm not interested in the latest gadgets and for the most part never will be, but [unfortunately] I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to our oppressive society. I have seen a world within a world. An e-reader would be nice without the rigmarole that seems to come with it.

[ottdmk]

Well, I'm a big fan of my Kobo Aura H2O. As a plus, Kobo definitely doesn't grab details of side-loaded books. (They're a Toronto based subsidiary of Rakuten, and subject to Canadian privacy law.)

Kobo uses Adobe's DRM for side-loaded books. This expands the number of potential retailers you can deal with without needing to strip DRM. As a plus, this allows e-book library loans in England.

As for your Wikipedia needs: there is a project out there that takes the (admittedly free) Wikipedia database and packages it up as several e-books. Those would work on any e-reader and the cost isn't prohibitive (about 3 euros per volume.)

[Sonist]

I just switched from Kobo Aura HD (screen issues, poor customer service) to Kindle Voyage. I personally would not purchase another Kobo product (I have bought a total of four Aura HDs over the last two years, with only one remaining in working order).

The Voyage is probably the best built ereader sold currently, IMO.

The Kindle Voyage does have Wikipedia search option when you long-press a word on screen -- the pop up defaults to the word's dictionary definition, but from the dropdown menu you can chose either Wikipedia, or Translation (from a handful of languages).

Overall, I find the Voyage software more consistent and glitch-free than Kobo's, although there was nothing majorly wrong with Kobo's.

I would recommend the Voyage over the Kobo: The Voyage has considerably better build quality, the software is also a bit more polished, Amazon's selection and prices are generally better and in my experience, Amazon's customer service is dramatically better than Kobo's, should anything go wrong.

BTW, Kobo is tracking your reading habits, too. Both Amazon and Rakuten want to sell you stuff, but do offer some benefits in exchange. I do not believe the aim of such tracking is to "oppress" anyone.

You can purchase ebooks from different vendors and just use Calibre to organize your library, strip DRM and convert to a supported format, then upload to your device.

[Rizla]

With Kobo you set up an account on their website and login to the kobo with that. The email can be tied to nothing. Dunno about Kindle. You can probably do the same. You have to register both.

Kindle software is a lot more closed and limited than Kobo. It sounds like that might be an issue for you. Kobo is a lot more customizable.

They can both browse wiki.

If you want offline wiki, you need an Android reader (Onyx or Boyue), download an image of wiki (about four gigs?) and stick it on the Sd-Card.

[Cinisajoy]

No credit card needed for Amazon but you will need to put a gift card on it even if you just want freebies.
Or go to Walmart, buy a Visa gift card, register it under any name you want, then use it at Amazon.
You will need to create an email address.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by ShellPhone

I'm not paranoid but if I was it'd be for good reason. It's a matter of principle primarily, they're taking liberties and this is just the beginning, if we're not careful and don't take a stand they've got us completely over a barrel. The fact that most people don't realise is what gives the industrialists the dominion over us. I'm not talking conspiracy, this is a reality. There have already been early warning signs if you care to look. It's not about what some Amazon CEOs might be doing with my data, chuckling to themselves, sweating and titillated, but the fact that they're allowing the government access to such data and able to track devices. It's just the icing on the cake. It's completely unnecessary. I've little to hide in terms of reading material, but it is a matter of principle. Where does it end? I should be able to read in private and feel at ease in this knowledge - I should have every right to.

Wow! I'm sure glad you're not paranoid!

I'd like to suggest that in this forum full of moderately rational people you'll get more assistance if you don't try to defend your beliefs. They're not my beliefs but I'm willing to accept them as yours and let it go at that and offer what assistance I can. But not if I have to read a lot of paragraphs like the one above. That's just way over the top!

You seem interested in Kobos and Kindles and I have some of both. Personally I prefer the Kindles but both are really very good. It's mostly a matter of taste and platform. Amazon has a better selection of books and more sales and just way better everyday prices on most books. They give excellent service when you need it. Kobo has plenty of books but not as many and they're priced a bit higher. When I've needed customer service from Kobo they've been extremely difficult to get on the phone but once I got through (the last time took over 2 weeks of trying every day) they were very helpful.

The ereaders themselves are fairly different but in the ways that really matter they're both excellent. The Kindle software is fairly stable. Kobo software has an occasional glitch but nothing that'll worry you. Both work very well. I prefer the Kindle screens but both have excellent screens. If I could only have one ereader I'd hope it was a Kindle but if it was a Kobo I'd be happy enough.

If you want Wikipedia access the Kindle with 3G has an edge. You can use the 3G to get Wikipedia even if you're not near Wifi. Amazon supplies the 3G. It limits you to using it to connect to Amazon and Wikipedia and one or two other sites that I don't recall at the moment. The 3G version costs more but I like having access to Wikipedia no matter where I am to look up things as I read so to me it's worth it.

As for keeping Wifi on, or 3G, you have to have it on to access Wikipedia. Without it you can't. There's no other way.

My suggestion is to live dangerously. Pick the platform you want. Register it. Let the demons know where you are and be ready, if they show up, for fight or flight!

Barry

[susan_cassidy]

In order to get the latest releases, you have to register. I don't really consider Amazon to be any more "closed" than Kobo. You can still buy from other web sites. Sure, there may be a few more sites to pick from with ePub, but with publishers controlling the prices, it isn't like one site is going to be much cheaper than another. The major publishers books are all going to be on all the major retailers' sites. So, it isn't like the selection is going to vary much.

Amazon acts as a publisher, though, so all of those books are going to be exclusive to Amazon. I've actually found several new favorite authors among them, especially science fiction. I don't know if Kobo has a self-publishing, but if they do, I'm betting the supply at Amazon far outstrips theirs.

If all you want to read is public domain stuff, most any reader will work.

With Kindle, if you want to use the collections feature, you have to register.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

In order to get the latest releases, you have to register. I don't really consider Amazon to be any more "closed" than Kobo. You can still buy from other web sites. Sure, there may be a few more sites to pick from with ePub, but with publishers controlling the prices, it isn't like one site is going to be much cheaper than another. The major publishers books are all going to be on all the major retailers' sites. So, it isn't like the selection is going to vary much.

Amazon acts as a publisher, though, so all of those books are going to be exclusive to Amazon. I've actually found several new favorite authors among them, especially science fiction. I don't know if Kobo has a self-publishing, but if they do, I'm betting the supply at Amazon far outstrips theirs.

If all you want to read is public domain stuff, most any reader will work.

With Kindle, if you want to use the collections feature, you have to register.

Yes, you can self-publish on Kobo.
Not all ebooks (even the self-published ones) are exclusive to Amazon. I know self-published authors that publish everywhere.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sonist

I just switched from Kobo Aura HD (screen issues, poor customer service) to Kindle Voyage. I personally would not purchase another Kobo product (I have bought a total of four Aura HDs over the last two years, with only one remaining in working order).

Please give it up. It's not an issue with the HD. It's something you've done. You've has too many break for it not to be something you've done. The other one is working because you aren't using it and thus breaking it.

[Sonist]

How about this:

You and the other people who have had good experience with Kobo, post how great Kobo is.

I and the other people who have had bad experience with Kobo, post why we think Kobo is bad.

Those who are asking for an opinion can then make up their own minds.

But shouting down anyone who posts that their Kobo screen inexplicably broke and accusing them that they are a klutz and must have done something to break it, is presumptuous and insulting.

There is a fresh new post in the Kobo sub-forum about a broken Kobo screen, with the predictable and unhelpful "I keep mine in a good cover and it's fine, so it must be your own fault" responses.

I just did a "substrate" search in the Kindle sub-forum, which brought up one second-hand description of an unexplained substrate damage in past two years, from March 2014.

If you are correct, one would have to draw the conclusion that the Kobo owners are disproportionately klutzy lot, particularly given the fact that the Kindle sub-forum has about double the number of posts of Kobo's....

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sonist

How about this:

You and the other people who have had good experience with Kobo, post how great Kobo is.

I and the other people who have had bad experience with Kobo, post why we think Kobo is bad.

Those who are asking for an opinion can then make up their own minds.

But shouting down anyone who posts that their Kobo screen inexplicably broke and accusing them that they are a klutz and must have done something to break it, is presumptuous and insulting.

There is a fresh new post in the Kobo sub-forum about a broken Kobo screen, with the predictable and unhelpful "I keep mine in a good cover and it's fine, so it must be your own fault" responses.

I just did a "substrate" search in the Kindle sub-forum, which brought up one second-hand description of an unexplained substrate damage in past two years, from March 2014.

If you are correct, given that the Kindle sub-forum has about double the number of posts of Kobo's, one would have to draw the conclusion that the Kobo owners are disproportionately klutzy lot....

Search for "broken kindle" and you'll find more posts.

If there was a flaw in the HD that it spontaneously broke, then we would be seeing more posts other than yours. The fact that you broke 3 or 4 HDs would suggest to me and others that you did in fact cause the damage.

The only reason I'm asking you to stop is not because you are saying something bad about Kobo, but you are saying something that is not true.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Search for "broken kindle" and you'll find more posts.

If there was a flaw in the HD that it spontaneously broke, then we would be seeing more posts other than yours. The fact that you broke 3 or 4 HDs would suggest to me and others that you did in fact cause the damage.

The only reason I'm asking you to stop is not because you are saying something bad about Kobo, but you are saying something that is not true.

So, you are calling me a liar, because I have had a different experience than you?

When I searched for "substrate" in the Kindle sub-forum, in addition to the one second-hand description of inexplicably broken substrate, I found two posts since early 2014, both stating that they dropped their Kindles.

In the Kobo forum, there are a whole bunch of posts just this year, from users claiming that they have substrate cracks, but have not dropped, or otherwise damaged, their Kobos. Below are the posts about likely broken substrate, since about April 2015:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=substrate

These do not include posts stating that there was a drop, even if the poster claimed that there was minimal impact.

Compare these to the Kindle "substrate" search, or please do your own and prove me wrong.

Hate to say this, but if Kobo's sales were more significant, this would be class-action material.