Recommend an ebook reader

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#554785 7-Dec-2011 01:57

Sorry, I'm in the Kobo boat, Kobo + Overdrive is a pretty darn good combo. (For those that cite .mobi support on Overdrive, I saw last week that Penguin withdrew it's entire collection in .mobi format from Overdrive).

I also don't really like the fact that Amazon went down the reinvent the wheel path, where EPUB is already a pretty darn good format (and still is not implementing it), with a Kobo you miss out the the Amazon book collection, but there is Kobo's own store and Whitcoulls e-book store (which I think is pretty much powered by Kobo's site) plus any other publisher that is happy to either give ebook downloads as .epub or Adobe Digital Editions DRM'ed books. Without messing with conversion etc.

I don't have a personal interest in which you choose (unlike some *cough* ;)), but that's my reason for going with, and sticking with the Kobo. Whatever you choose, I highly recommend e-Ink, can read e-Ink all day, no issues, where any type of L(C|E)D/etc screen becomes unbearable after a while. Downside is low light situations.

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#554797 7-Dec-2011 06:36

mattwnz:Are you sure the newest one does. I know the old one with the keyboard does have audio, but I had heard that the newest version without the keyboard doesn't have it. eg no audio books or music while reading.

You are correct the new one does not have audio but if you want audio just get the keyboard. It also has twice the battery live and storage. We have one of each.

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#554798 7-Dec-2011 07:25

nigelj: I don't have a personal interest in which you choose (unlike some *cough* ;)), but that's my reason for going with, and sticking with the Kobo.

Regardless of "personal interest" (yes, the Amazon link on Geekzone is a referrral link and there's no hiding), the main reason I bought the Kindle over the Kobo was the library size via Amazon. And if you want copyright free books, head over to Project Guthember and download from there as well - the files work just fine.

The rubber pad on Kobo felt like a toy, and the ones I saw were very dirty. And the fact the Kindle 3G works anywhere, anytime - if I am out and about I can buy a book whenever I like, whenever I see a new title on the window, or mainly when I am away in airports (where I do most of my book browsing).

nigelj: Whatever you choose, I highly recommend e-Ink, can read e-Ink all day, no issues, where any type of L(C|E)D/etc screen becomes unbearable after a while. Downside is low light situations.

The downside is the same of real book ;)

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#555136 7-Dec-2011 17:18

I'd recommend the Kobo Touch. When I played with it in Whitcoulls I was just blown away at how light it was, definitely easy to hold in one hand while in bed. The Kobo Touch is lighter than the Kindle 3; 185g and 241g respectively. The Touch is also smaller than the Kindle 3 while still having the same screen size.

And the touch screen was awesome, very easy to use, no fiddly buttons for me!

I've found it much easier to find free EPUB books than MOBI books (free as in public domain or out of copyright), EPUB just seems to be used by more people and websites.

If you're into comics then you'll know about the CBR and CBZ formats, Kobo supports them but Kindle doesn't.

You can insert an SD card into the Kobo to increase the storage space, Kindle doesn't support SD cards.

There's a comparison here.

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#555972 9-Dec-2011 15:51

MurrayM:
There's a comparison here.

lol you are not seriously using a comparison provided by kobo? How about one from that is least from a semi independent source.

http://ereadercomparisonchart.org/ereader-comparison-chart-nook-kindle-kobo-ebook-reader-comparison/

Edit I also think it is worth noting that the landscape has changed somewhat with the new kindles from Amazon which are not included in either comparison.

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#555976 9-Dec-2011 16:01

Nety: lol you are not seriously using a comparison provided by kobo? How about one from that is least from a semi independent source.

http://ereadercomparisonchart.org/ereader-comparison-chart-nook-kindle-kobo-ebook-reader-comparison/

Thanks for pointing out the independent comparison, it confirms what I was saying about the Kobo Touch being smaller and lighter than the Kindle 3, plus it picks up a couple of things that I missed, i.e. the Kobo Touch has 7 font styles to the Kindles 2, and the Kobo Touch has 17 font sizes to the Kindles 8. I'm much obliged!

Of course it's different horses for different courses, one little feature may be a deal breaker for some people (i.e. if you want 3G access to download books while you're sitting on the train then the Kindle is the way to go as no others offer that (unless you go for a tablet)).

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#556072 9-Dec-2011 20:29

Hey was not trying to say it did not valid points just that using a link to a manufactures web site of the product is hardly going to give a a fair or objective comparison, things like the option of 3G which is strangely left off Kobo's site. The international book store, fairly sure Amazon have that! As I also mentioned a comparison of the Kindle touch and the Kobo touch and things may look a little more apples for apples rather then apples for pears. The Kindle 3/keyboard as you concede has different strengths.
Anyway what it really comes down to what you value and it sounds like for you the Kobo fits. A interesting read here comparing the Kindle, Nook and Kobo touches.

http://www.marco.org/2011/12/02/kindle-touch-vs-nook-simple-touch-kobo-touch-kindle-4

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#556202 10-Dec-2011 07:59

I was just playing devil's advocate, thought someone should mention the Kobo since even though Kindle is way and afar the most popular e-reader, there are still a few other choices around. I tend to be an under-dog supporter (I went with Android rather than iPhone when the first Android phone hit NZ and I bought a Kobo because they were the first reasonably cheap e-reader to be widely available in the NZ market).

Backing Amazon is probably a smart move, the Kindle hardware is very good and Amazon seem committed. Also I like Amazon as a company (my web design business uses AWS quite a bit and I've had very good experiences with that). If the Kindle supported EPUB natively, rather than having to convert to MOBI, then I'd probably be more inclined to say that Kindle wins hands down.

BTW that last link you posted was a very informative read.

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#556207 10-Dec-2011 08:14

I know two people that have gone through 2 Kobo's each. Not huge sample I know, but for the 100% of people I know with a Kobo to have to have had them replaced under warranty twice, doesn't say much for their reliability.

I have a Kindle (DX), and I love it.

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#556211 10-Dec-2011 08:29

So can you guys tell me please what is the cost of books you purchase thru Amazon.
How does it all work? What does it cost for something on the best seller list e.g?

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#556212 10-Dec-2011 08:30

Best seller lists items go from US$7.99 through US$11.99 usually. I bought some of last year's books from US$1.99.

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#556220 10-Dec-2011 08:58

Makuta: So can you guys tell me please what is the cost of books you purchase thru Amazon.
How does it all work? What does it cost for something on the best seller list e.g?

The only way to make any sort of comparison is to pick some books that you are looking at reading then compare the price from wherever you normally get them to the price on Amazon. Unfortunatly that however still does not give you a good idea because as touched on by Freitasm there are always specials and often a book that might cost $30NZD here will be sold for $1.99 or similar in USD.
My experience so far is that you always come out cheaper then getting the physical book here but the savings tend to be less if you are after a specific book or series rather then just browsing.
As for as how does it work. You browse the books on the Amazon site from your PC (much better experience I would suggest) or you can browse from the Kindle or device running the Kindle software. In either case you just click on the buy link for book you want and a minute or two later it is on the device ready to read.

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#556231 10-Dec-2011 09:16

I have to say the amount saved over last year was incredible. Most of the ebooks cost 1/3 of the paperback price, even the "zero day launch".

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#556247 10-Dec-2011 09:55

Thanks for that guys

So would the Kindle Wi Fi 6 " e reader at $189 and the Kindle Keyboard 6" e reader at $209 represent good value at Dick Smith?

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#556251 10-Dec-2011 09:59

As said in the first page, if you are not into instant gratification and want to save a couple of bucks (while supporting us), you can order the Kindle directly from Amazon through our Amazon Kindle order page...

You should check the price though, make sure it's what you are looking for, etc. Even after shipping and currency exchange it should be just under the local price.

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