[hugh]

Unfortunately my wife lost her first generation Kobo this week so I am going to get her a new eReader.

Anyone want to give me a good reason to buy one vs the other?

Price is essentially the same.

The reader will ONLY be used for books and I am not interested in paying extra for 3G.

TIA

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

Kobo, with qualifications.

For a simple reason, Amazon locks you in to their ecosystem for purchase. With the Kobo reader, you can purchase books from Kobo, BooksonBoard, Borders, Sony and any other ebook retailer that provides downloads in epub format. With a Kindle, you are limited to Amazon or a small number of ebook sellers that still suppoer mobi format. Kobo (and most epub readers) also support library borrowing. Kindle doesn't.

Unless ... you don't mind stripping DRM from ebooks. If you don't mind from a values standpoint, it is fairly easy to set up automated DRM stripping ... but that depends on whether your wife is comfortable with taking a couple of extra steps to sideload content or whether you're prepared to always load her books for her. In that case, I would probably go with the Kindle in that it's a faster reader, has the best dictionary functionality of any ebook reader, and has notes/highlights/jump to page features that aren't present on the Kobo.

 

[hugh]

Thanks JC,

The dictionary and notes functionality are not important to her. She is strictly reading best selling fiction. IN thinking about it,for her, its just the reading experience so screen quality, speed and weight are far and away the three critical areas.

The complaints she has with the 1st Gen Kobo is its slow and noisy page turning (noisy because in a quiet room pressing the button is very loud) and my complaint is that with every firmware update, I have had to spend an hour on the phone with Kobo or fixing the damn thing.

 

[Pinza]

my complaint is that with every firmware update, I have had to spend an hour on the phone with Kobo or fixing the damn thing.

That would be reason enough for me to go with a Kindle......

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

We're now into the second generation Kobo and it's a definite improvement. But, it's a generation behind the Kindle and it shows in terms of speed.

In thinking about the criteria you've identified, the Kindle is the best. But, the issue of sourcing material and buying content significantly mitigates against the Kindle if you accept the DRM and geographic restrictions imposed by publishers and sellers. If you don't and are willing to work around them, then it's the best option.

 

[BHoward]

Kindle hands down!

Better screen, faster, 3g buy anywhere, excellent sync with andriod and iphone, etc


Down side ... Amazon only DRM.

 

[hugh]

Don't care about 3G and DRM really isn't an issue for us since my wife reads a book and then never looks at it again.

I think I will take a look at the titles she has bought since XMAS on the Kobo and see if they are available and the same price on Amazon. If yes I get a Kindle.

 

[audacity]

I don't have a e-ink based reader, but I have co-workers who are avid readers with Kindles and they are very happy.

 

[hugh]

Hmm, prices similar though Kobo does seem to be cheaper for the ones my wife bought

 

[james99]

Kindle is the Ipad of e-readers.

I usually don't care if I buy the market leader in a device but this time the leader seems to be the best.

Small, fast, wifi and 3g for browsing, purchasing, etc, fast refresh, great battery.

I'll be on a beach in 10 days reading my daily newspaper (wifi and 3g delivered) monitoring my stock portfolio and reading email. All thru the Kindle.

Life is good, Kindle makes it better.

 

[hugh]

Again 3G, newspaper, email etc is of no interest.

Just interested in which is the best device for reading books. i.e./ quality of screen, how fast pages turn and battery life.

The one other layer of course is cost of books.

 

[Angelfish]

How about Sony?

I have a Sony pocketbook eReader, and it is small quick and quiet.

 

[135iAndy]

I'd say Kobo, we switched from Amazon to Kobo (Sony was the first one we bought) after they started to delete files from Kindles, and yes I know they promised they would never do it again*****

What we liked, is we can now go to almost any retailer and buy books, not tied to amazons controlled access.

We now own 2 Sony and 2 Pandigital E-readers, the Pandigital are used the most.

Andy

 

[hugh]

I like Kobo and Kindle over Sony because they also have iPad apps. I sometimes read a book after my wife and will do it on my iPad.

Please folks I'm just interested in Kobo and Kindle and deciding which might be a better choice considering speed and screen quality are really the primary criteria.

 

[DavidT]

I've never used a Kobo, but I love my Kindle

The screen quality and refresh rate is excellent. I only have the Wifi version... The 3G version makes no sense to me. If ever, for whatever reason, I MUST download a book where there's no Wifi available, I'll just turn on the hotspot on my Nexus One. $50 saved!

I've had to have my Kindle replaced once under warranty because of some strange bubbles that appeared under the screen. I couldn't care less though. Why? Because I called in to Amazon one morning to get the replacement sorted. My new Kindle was on my doorstep the next morning. I was a-m-a-z-e-d. No problems with my replacement since

 

[james99]

The $50 3g upgrade was a no brainer for me. You tether so you wouldn't need it as much.

We don't use it for purchasing books but FREE web browsing in and out of the country (mainly out since I have a smartphone).

I also have a newspaper subscribtition that comes via 3g, no need to hunt for a wifi hotspot.

Having the option of either model is a nice option.

 

[redzone]

i played with a kobo at a chapters it was way slower then the kindle i had used.

just my 2 cents

 

[ava0775]

Kobo

I have the first generation Kobo and was playing with the new one in store last week. The new one has faster page turns and more greyscale options this time around. I specifically like the WiFi - which is only available to access the store. I am not one to sync my Kobo on a regular basis so to do so in order to add new books is an extra step I can do without. Love that it is instant on the phone app.

If you are reading books after she is, it would seem you have the money tied up in books you wouldn't be able to use if you changed to a Kindle? Or would you only read on your apps versus an e-reader?

I use the library for e-books in both our town and the city where I am employed, a feature I can't get on Kindle.

If you can wait, a Chapters staff member told me a new model will come out in June for Father's Day. No idea on new features, just a suggestion on his part that at the very least the price will come down on the second generation model.

 

[North_of_Calgary]

Finally someone mentions libraries! We have two (1st Gen) Kobo's in our family and in the course of a year have only bought one book. Everything else has been library loans. And thanks to the internet, you can be in a hotel half way around the world and get a new book from your local library at no charge.

 

[Proteosome]

My wife and I both have kindles and we are both happy. I like being able to share the books not only between readers but also via apps.

I use calibre to put non amazon books on the kindle and it works well.

Having only compared it to the first gen kobo I can say hands down the kindle is better. From all the reviews I have read I would guess it is better than the second gen too (glare, speed, contrast).

My research also seemed to indicate that borrowing books from the library could be a frustrating affair. Libraries only have so many copies available for loan, just like physical books, so it can take awhilento get the book if it is popular. In addition, once you get the book you may only have two weeks to read it before it is automatically "returned". I can't speak to how quickly you can take it out again. Others may be able to elaborate, good or bad, but it is something to consider.