Any book format with DRM has restrictions on what can be used to read it. But that still does not mean it’s restricted to just one device family!
For a book in any of the popular formats that doesn’t have DRM added can be read by a lot of devices and software.
E.g., I read .mobi (azw3) books on my Nook Simple Touch using the FBReader app.
I could install, if I wanted, the Kindle reader app on it and read DRMed .mobi files! Some people do this. Buy a Nook, install the Kindle reader, get all their books from Amazon and not B&N.
I repeat: There is no lock-in whatsoever for Amazon and Kindles. You can read books from Amazon on other devices. You can read books from other places on Kindles.
Thanks so much for all the replies. Bear with me, as I am a bit confused.
Tablets and phones are out for me. Looking for something light, good on the eyes, doesn’t need recharging all the time.
So what I’ve gleaned is that most people prefer Kindle, and we have one Kobo fan. Where I’m confused is what free/almost free content is available for each. Kindles can’t read the epub format, correct? But there is software that will convert epub to something the Kindle can read. Kobo can’t access the Kindle library, which seems to have the most non-public domain content by a long shot. Is there software that works the other way, converts the Kindle library so Kobo can read it?
What I’m most worried about is that a lot of the free or low-cost content I’ve seen available is not what I want to read. I am voracious but picky. Patterson and his ilk is unreadable to me. And there is a lot of that type of stuff, as far as I can see, in the free/nearly free content.
I don’t know about the public library access where I’m going, will have to check. Generally, is library content accessible for all devices?
I like the waterproof aspect of the Kobo. Is it sturdier in general than the Kindle?
Calibre is a free and easy to use program to manage an eBook library. You’re going to need a program like it anyway regardless of what device you have. It will take care of any conversions (and more!) that you might run into.
So forgot, I mean forget, about formats. This is not a reason at all to decide on what device to buy!
In terms of hardware and book availablity, I know of no advantage Kobo has over Kindle. Reply listed several advantages Kindle has over Kobo.
Now: One thing we’ve talked little about is the reader interface. Does the interface work for you? Can you get the type size/style set easily for you? Is it easy to jump to a particular place (e.g., a bookmark you set)? Things like that.
One thing people keep getting hung up about on computing devices is the hardware and such. The main issue is the software! In this case, the reader interface. Find the interface you like and get the hardware that supports it.
Note: For some readers, you can install an alternate reader program. E.g., I did this on my Nook. Maybe there’s another reader program you like. Can you install it on the device you’re considering?
Calibre is the popular choice for converting books; not super user-friendly, but you get used to it. With the ability to convert formats you don’t need to be too concerned about whether you can find books you want to read.
Hardware is very similar among the different brands of ereaders. The big difference is software; Kobo is much more versatile than others when it comes to organizing your books, and it has tremendous flexibility when it comes to adjusting the size of text, margins, line spacing, etc. – you can even install your own fonts if you want. (I don’t have the waterproof version; I just put mine into a ziplock sandwich bag for reading in the tub.)
Book availability: Kindle/Amazon is the easiest way if you want to commit to getting all your books from Amazon and if you assume Amazon will never go out of business in your lifetime – several online booksellers have gone out of business and the users lost all the books they had purchased.
If the 2 million or so books in the Kobo store isn’t enough, there are millions of ePub (and other) ebooks available around the web from smaller booksellers, you can buy direct from some publishers, depositories like Project Gutenberg, etc. With DRM-free ebooks you never lose your books due to licensing issues or companies going out of business, you own them.
Amazon/Kindle certainly is the most popular in the USA; it takes the lead for ease of use. Kobo is not very well known here, but it is very popular in Canada and much of the rest of the world; it leads when it comes to versatility. Unless you decide to only buy books from Amazon, you will be following the same learning curve with either when it comes to finding stuff you want to read.
I have a Kindle and have no problems with books from other sources. Just use Calibre to convert format if needed.
I have “bought” free books from Amazon, those are backed up on the computer, can’t be touched.
My point there was that sticking with just Kindle/Amazon is the easiest way to acquire books. Once you get into using other sources and converting books Amazon loses that advantage and the learning curve is the same as with any other ereader.
I have two Kobos, one of which is the Aura (the waterproof one). I’ve been very happy with it and like the OP, I wanted a dedicated e-ink reader as reading with a backlight fatigues my eyes. To be fair the Aura also has a backlight but it’s not nearly as bad as trying to read off a tablet or laptop. I’ve downloaded books from gutenberg.org and some other sources and have had no issues with the conversion. Even Adobe’s Digital Editions wasn’t that hard to use.
My father prefers his Kindle, I like my Kobo. Your best bet is to try them both out and see which one floats your boat.
A source of free books not mentioned is The Baen Free Library. Their goal is to hook you into their writers and ongoing series but they have 64 books available right now.
Calibre has the capability of downloading RSS feeds to make ebooks that can be synched. Some of the included “recipes” to manage them don’t do very well since the rss feed is complex though.
Since there’s some things I like to read where the option is pdf, pdf, or pdf, it’s useful to point out that calibre can be pretty bad at converting them. To quote from their help so people aren’t surprised
OK, decided to go with Paperwhite for now. Can always upgrade to Kobo in the future if it seems the thing to do. Amazon wants me to add “special offers” upgrade for 20 bucks. Apparently it will, well, offer updated special offers on the welcome screen if purchased. Is this feature worth it, Dopers? Thanks.
I think you have it backward. You have to pay $20 extra to avoid the “special offers,” which are basically ads (mostly for ebooks) that appear as a “screensaver” when you’re not reading a book.
Go ahead and get the “special offers” configuration, which is the default nowadays and is cheaper. You probably won’t mind the ads, but if you do, you can pay extra later to remove them.
You can also keep it in airplane mode and transfer books to it via USB. You get no ads, the battery lasts a bit longer, and you avoid the updates that some find annoying.
I have a Kobo, but found it completely impossible to add a free epub book to my library. They gave me some instructions that didn’t work and finally agreed that it is not possible.
That’s odd as I’ve had no problem adding books with my older Kobo and my new one. The process varies slightly between models but I’ve included a link for youtube here that should help you.
That’s weird. I add free epubs to my Kobo all the time (I just added a bunch of short stories from Gutenberg.org for example). I used Calibre (but that shouldn’t be the only way).
Hmmm … very puzzling that they told you it is not possible since so many of us do it all the time. I mean, that’s what the thing is for, reading digital books.
If I were to guess, I’d guess you’re trying to put the epub files in the wrong place. Just drag and drop or cut and paste them to the root directory of the Kobo, not in the .kobo or .adobe-digital-editions directory. If your epub book is in a folder which also contains the cover art, cut and paste the entire folder – if it is only the epub file, just copy that one – and the books come right up on the home screen and in your Library.
I’ll add my opinion that I concur with those who say that both the Kindle and the Kobo will let you read books from many different sources and neither one is a lock-in, particularly with the availability of convenient converters like Calibre. The two determinants of which one to buy should be (a) whether you think your primary source of purchased DRM books will be Amazon (AZW3 format) or something else (EPUB, most likely), and (b) which one you like better.
I bought a Kindle because I really liked the Paperwhite and had heard that Kindle was at the leading edge of e-ink technology (which may no longer be true or important, but I still love the Paperwhite). Also, Amazon support has generally been very good and that’s a plus. There’s no doubt that Amazon sells their Kindles in the hope that users will buy their books exclusively from Amazon and they certainly make that as easy as possible, but that need not be the case.
I have several tablets and started my ebook experience there, but I much prefer the Kindle for reading except for books in which color or lavish illustrations are important. It’s smaller and much lighter and e-ink does make it a print-like experience, in fact it’s even better because the front illumination lets you read in relative darkness, yet without the eyestrain of an LCD screen. The Kindle Fire may be a nice device, but I don’t consider it a Kindle at all, but simply Amazon’s venture into the tablet space.
Whether this holds true or not in the USA, I do not know, but in many public libraries will not cope with Kindles but will with a Kindle Fire. (Absolutely no problem at all regarding all the various things that read epub - only Kindles seem to be in the problem category.)