I got my Mum the standard kindle, which is backlit now. Only difference is it's physically smaller though the screen is about the same size, resolution is a little lower but it looks the same to me, backlight might not be quite as even.

Kindles are good devices and the integration with Amazon books is handy, but next time mine needs replacing I'll be looking around at Kobo or such. I'll probably end up with another Kindle, but I'll look. I got a new Paperwhite recently, with a case to avoid damage, and within two weeks I scratched the screen a bit :( I only notice under some light conditions but it's annoying.

My wife has the Kobo, the one that has Overdrive built in so you can connect to the local Library and download books direct to the device. Its also backlit, only downside is it doesn't have great battery life.

I'm a long-time Kindle user, but if you don't want to buy books, a Kobo is ideal, as the library systems will allow you to borrow ebooks from their libraries on a Kobo or similar - this service isn't natively available for Kindle users and although there are workarounds, it's a hassle. 

My next ereader is likely to be a Kobo, so I can borrow books instead of buying them. I only ever read them once and it's quite staggering looking through my library and seeing how much O have spent over the years on books...

Handsomedan

 

 

 

My next ereader is likely to be a Kobo, so I can borrow books instead of buying them. I only ever read them once and it's quite staggering looking through my library and seeing how much O have spent over the years on books...

 

have you looked into joining Bookbub. Its a free service that will let you set up what you like reading and Authors you like and send you daily emails on all the free and cheap books available according to your preferences , in my case Amazon, that you can get . I have over 300 books in my library at Amazon that were free.  

vexxxboy:

 

Handsomedan

 

 

 

My next ereader is likely to be a Kobo, so I can borrow books instead of buying them. I only ever read them once and it's quite staggering looking through my library and seeing how much O have spent over the years on books...

 

 

have you looked into joining Bookbub. Its a free service that will let you set up what you like reading and Authors you like and send you daily emails on all the free and cheap books available according to your preferences , in my case Amazon, that you can get . I have over 300 books in my library at Amazon that were free.  

 

Personally, I've found Kobo devices to be unreliable; my wife had two or three different Kobo models that have all failed unexpectedly - either simply dropped dead one day, or died a horrible death mid-firmware upgrade.  

Whereas my first (6+ yrs old) Kindle is still trucking along in use by my FatherInLaw; and the newer ones we've bought are all fine too.

YMMV, of course.

I'm a long-time Kobo user. I've had family/friends that have had Kindles but whenever I've compared the hardware I've found that there's very little (if any) real difference; they're both well built, the quality of the screen looks the same, battery life is really good (eg I can get a couple of months of reading out of my Kobo before I need to recharge it) and the backlight looks the same to me. Where they differ is in their software. Of course there are different models, where they tend to differ is in the size of the screen and the built-in memory used to store your library.

• Kobo's let you borrow books from NZ libraries that use OverDrive, something that isn't built into the Kindles.
• Both offer several fonts to use, but Kobo lets you side-load new fonts.
• Kobo has built-in support for several different file types: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR. Kindles can handle fewer file formats. However if you don't mind mucking around using PC software you can fairly easily convert from one type to another using something like Calibre.
• Kobo offers Pocket support. Pocket allows you to read articles on the web that you save for later and then syncing with your Pocket account will give you access to them all on your Kobo ereader.
• Kobo is more flexible when you want to organize your library. On a Kindle if you've added books you've purchased from elsewhere they will sit in the main library and you will not be able to move them to a folder. On a Kobo everything you have stored can be organized as you want. This might be important if you have a large library.

Some of the above points may not matter to some people, while for other people they might be really important (I have a friend that is a font nut and he definitely has a favourite font to use when reading, so being able to add his one fonts to his e-reader was critical for him).

In conclusion I'd say that if you're heavily invested in the Amazon eco-system (eg you already have bought lots of ebooks from Amazon) then it makes sense to get a Kindle, otherwise you're better off with a Kobo, especially if you want to borrow books from your local library.

Batman: My understanding is e ink is better on the eyes?

If they are all backlit now (didn't know that thanks, I was very confused) ... Is there any reason not to buy a galaxy s tab which is oled?

Yes they're better on the eyes. 

No they're not backlit. They're frontlit. It's different and noticeable. The backlighting on a Galaxy Tab is what would make it less easy on the eye. Also battery life. I charge my Kindle every few months. 

I have Kindles and have done since they were a thing. Having said that, the *big* downside is that you can't get books from the library (easily) on them, which means you are buying books from Amazon or collecting from their free library (which is huge but perhaps not what some people want). 

E-Ink is the only way I read books now, especially, since almost all my recreational reading is done at night before bed. 

For me it's Kindle or nothing, for my kids, I'd consider other options, but right now they have my old Kindles. 

Batman: My understanding is e ink is better on the eyes?

If they are all backlit now (didn't know that thanks, I was very confused) ... Is there any reason not to buy a galaxy s tab which is oled?

The lighting is different, front lit and a bit warmer than the super bright LEDs in a tablet, so they're much much nicer to read on for any period. They're much much lighter than a tablet so easier to read on. A kindle is pretty similar to paper with a built in small light, as opposed to a bright screen.

You shouldn't use LED screens an hour before bed at least, but kindles don't seem to cause problems.

Some e-readers also have lighting that automatically adjusted to a warm white in the evening - my Kobo (Aura HD, I think?) has this, as does the equivalent current model.

MurrayM's post above captures many of the reasons why I've elected to get a Kobo - and would do so next time.

The ability to borrow books from the public library so easily is a massive advantage - and I can still elect to purchase from Kindle and convert for those titles I can't buy from the Kobo store using Calibre. A while back the cheaper Kobos didn't have OverDrive built-in, so required plugging into a computer and using Adobe Digital Editions to transfer - I'm sure that's the reason my son doesn't use his Kobo that much, as it's enough of a hassle to make one think twice. When it's built-in one can either browse and borrow directly from the Kobo, or do so via another device and they're automatically synced on the device. 

Agree another big tick for Pocket support - it's just brilliant being able to simply click 'save to 'Pocket' on any interesting webpage/article I find but don't have the time to read then and there, and have it automatically turn up on the Kobo.