Kindle vs Nook vs.....?

[Papy Oli]

I briefly owned the previous model, which was the Clara 2E. Gorgeous text on the screen, definitely better than my Paperwhite. I only returned it because at the time I had no business buying a new reader when my Kindle worked just fine.

The reviews on the new Clara BW and the Clara Color have been uniformly strong - with some people emphasizing simply that the Color's screen is not quite as crisp. But I can't imagine anyone would complain about the Clara BW, if it's even the same quality as the model I test drove. I might get one soon because I miss the 6-inch size, compared to the Kindle PW's slightly larger and heavier frame. The smaller size feels almost perfect for long reading sessions, if you're not trying to read PDFs.

Sounds good, thank you @NumberSix .

[NumberSix]

@Papy Oli re your post about Kindle issues:

Some books will lose the cover for whatever reason. I use Calibre to add a cover I've downloaded from google images and then reconvert the book to epub so that the new cover gets properly embedded into the file. Then the new file will upload to Kindle (or wherever else - I usually also add them to iBooks, as a way of backing them up) with the cover I have chosen.

Re your issue with sending files: I get this sometimes, too, and often what works is to convert to mobi, delete the original epub, and then convert back to epub. Many times that will resolve the send-to-kindle upload issue. Just had to do that the other day with one.

[NumberSix]

Sounds good, thank you @NumberSix .

One thing to keep in mind: if you sideload books to a Kobo, they're only on that physical device. There's no syncing between your phone app and your reader, for instance. (of course, books you buy directly from Kobo will sync cross-platform in Kobo readers)

For a lot of people, that's not an issue. It is for me, though, because I do a lot of reading on my iPhone - maybe even more than on my Kindle device. So when I sideload a book using send-to-kindle, I know that it will remember my place regardless of phone or Kindle device. (I forgot that was another reason I did not keep the Kobo Clara, even though I really liked it.)

[DavidW]

I own both the Clara BW and the Colour. In fact, I just read a novel on the BW this past weekend.

The Clara BW is superior for reading plain text due to stronger contrast and not having the screen door effect that the color filter brings to the Clara Colour.

The first point is crucial if you don't like using a front light or if you read a lot outdoors. Indoors, pumping up the front light completely mitigates that point with the Colour model. As for the second point, the SDE the Kaleido filter introduces depends on your eyesight. When I first got it, I couldn't see it. But then I got new glasses... and then I could. It is not like having a low res screen though. The BW layer is 300 ppi, it is just that the filter creates a fine pixelation on top of that.

As for Kobo vs Kindle, Kobo has no ads even on the home screen, supports far more formats, and has a more intuitive UI and more granular font customization. However, it doesn't have the send-to-Kindle feature, and Kobo Plus is not nearly as good as Kindle Unlimited. But depending on your country, Kobo might be the only one that supports library checkouts.

[Karl Henning]

I own both the Clara BW and the Colour. In fact, I just read a novel on the BW this past weekend.

The Clara BW is superior for reading plain text due to stronger contrast and not having the screen door effect that the color filter brings to the Clara Colour.

The first point is crucial if you don't like using a front light or if you read a lot outdoors. Indoors, pumping up the front light completely mitigates that point with the Colour model. As for the second point, the SDE the Kaleido filter introduces depends on your eyesight. When I first got it, I couldn't see it. But then I got new glasses... and then I could. It is not like having a low res screen though. The BW layer is 300 ppi, it is just that the filter creates a fine pixelation on top of that.

As for Kobo vs Kindle, Kobo has no ads even on the home screen, supports far more formats, and has a more intuitive UI and more granular font customization. However, it doesn't have the send-to-Kindle feature, and Kobo Plus is not nearly as good as Kindle Unlimited. But depending on your country, Kobo might be the only one that supports library checkouts.

Most interesting!

[Papy Oli]

@Papy Oli re your post about Kindle issues:

Some books will lose the cover for whatever reason. I use Calibre to add a cover I've downloaded from google images and then reconvert the book to epub so that the new cover gets properly embedded into the file. Then the new file will upload to Kindle (or wherever else - I usually also add them to iBooks, as a way of backing them up) with the cover I have chosen.

Re your issue with sending files: I get this sometimes, too, and often what works is to convert to mobi, delete the original epub, and then convert back to epub. Many times that will resolve the send-to-kindle upload issue. Just had to do that the other day with one.

Thank you, I am happy with moon+ at the moment but I'll bear the above in mind.

[NumberSix]

Libby/Overdrive library checkouts in the US work with Kindle, too, though it can't be done directly on the e-reader the way it is on Kobo.

But if I get a book from the library, I usually add it to my kindle - and then download the file and add it to my calibre. Once it's been through the calibre process, it can be re-uploaded via send-to-kindle, and the original library book can be returned.


I don't do that as much these days because I already have too many purchases that I need to read.

[Papy Oli]

One thing to keep in mind: if you sideload books to a Kobo, they're only on that physical device. There's no syncing between your phone app and your reader, for instance. (of course, books you buy directly from Kobo will sync cross-platform in Kobo readers)

For a lot of people, that's not an issue. It is for me, though, because I do a lot of reading on my iPhone - maybe even more than on my Kindle device. So when I sideload a book using send-to-kindle, I know that it will remember my place regardless of phone or Kindle device. (I forgot that was another reason I did not keep the Kobo Clara, even though I really liked it.)

Noted. Not too worried about the syncing element. Won't be an issue to update the odd bookmark manually here and there if i end up using both the phone and an e-reader.

[Papy Oli]

I own both the Clara BW and the Colour. In fact, I just read a novel on the BW this past weekend.

The Clara BW is superior for reading plain text due to stronger contrast and not having the screen door effect that the color filter brings to the Clara Colour.

The first point is crucial if you don't like using a front light or if you read a lot outdoors. Indoors, pumping up the front light completely mitigates that point with the Colour model. As for the second point, the SDE the Kaleido filter introduces depends on your eyesight. When I first got it, I couldn't see it. But then I got new glasses... and then I could. It is not like having a low res screen though. The BW layer is 300 ppi, it is just that the filter creates a fine pixelation on top of that.

As for Kobo vs Kindle, Kobo has no ads even on the home screen, supports far more formats, and has a more intuitive UI and more granular font customization. However, it doesn't have the send-to-Kindle feature, and Kobo Plus is not nearly as good as Kindle Unlimited. But depending on your country, Kobo might be the only one that supports library checkouts.

Thank for the information, @DavidW .

I would potentially only sideload on the Kobo. I bought enough complete EPUB editions on Arvensa and Delphi to last me until my passing  I have the books, I need to decide on the e-reader   

[Brian]

Does the Kobo have sorting/filtering options for your library? I have a second-gen Paperwhite (i.e., from like 2013!) and it won't even let you sort read/unread books. The easy library card integration of Kobo is interesting to me, along with dark mode and my dislike of giving money to Amazon.

[DavidW]

Does the Kobo have sorting/filtering options for your library? I have a second-gen Paperwhite (i.e., from like 2013!) and it won't even let you sort read/unread books. The easy library card integration of Kobo is interesting to me, along with dark mode and my dislike of giving money to Amazon.

On the Kobo, the filters are unread, reading, finished, purchased, and downloaded. You can sort by recent, date added, title, author, series, file size and file type. Finally, there are some ribbons (using MS Office terminology here!) you can switch to authors, and it will sort into folders by author. Ditto series, and just like Kindle and Nook you can also create collections.

[Papy Oli]

Ditto series, and just like Kindle and Nook you can also create collections.

Good to know. I organised mine by collections on moon+ (French authors, Brits, US, etc etc). It worked well for my music library so I carried on the same way with ebooks

[DavidW]

Does the Kobo have sorting/filtering options for your library? I have a second-gen Paperwhite (i.e., from like 2013!) and it won't even let you sort read/unread books. The easy library card integration of Kobo is interesting to me, along with dark mode and my dislike of giving money to Amazon.

Oh wait there is one thing you do have to know about library checkouts. With a Kindle, you can have multiple accounts through Libby, and it is just as easy to get your checkouts. But Overdrive on Kobo only allows one library, and you have to change. I say this because some people pay the fees to subscribe to large out-of-state digital libraries, and they do multiple of them and have like four libraries they check books out from.

[Brian]

On the Kobo, the filters are unread, reading, finished, purchased, and downloaded. You can sort by recent, date added, title, author, series, file size and file type. Finally, there are some ribbons (using MS Office terminology here!) you can switch to authors, and it will sort into folders by author. Ditto series, and just like Kindle and Nook you can also create collections.

This is great info, thank you for both posts but espeically this jealousy-inducing info about filtering. The old Paperwhite just had sort by most recently opened.

[DavidW]

This is great info, thank you for both posts but espeically this jealousy-inducing info about filtering. The old Paperwhite just had sort by most recently opened.

That is another thing... Kobo keeps supporting their devices (except the Mini) forever. Even the original models run the most current software.

That came to mind because the modern Kindle has more options than your old one. They have most recent, title, author, and publication date.

[DavidW]

By the way, Amazon is releasing a color Kindle. That is something that people have been wanting for awhile now.

[Papy Oli]

Since my last post in October, I did my homework on e-readers at the time and ended up ordering one during the last Black Friday offers as a part of a Christmas present. I eventually bought the Kobo Clara BW (at the time £119, but got it for just under £90 after cashback, reward points deduction, etc..).   

Despite being for a Christmas present, my beloved allowed me 2-3 days upon receipt to have a play around with the Kobo and have an initial set up, so that it was ready to use out of the box on Christmas day 

Initial impressions after nearly two months of use: absolutely love it and it has made reading a comfortable, easy, and above all enjoyable hobby.

Random thoughts:

- about 95% of my collection is sideloaded, mostly with a combinations of Complete editions in French and English, bought from Arvensa and Delphi Classics respectively. I also got quite a large number single books from Gutenberg Project and this website (https://standardebooks.org).

- All these books are in EPUB format and while it works fine on the Kobo when sideloaded via a laptop, the page numbering can get mangled (e.g. if you use, like I do, a slightly larger font, it could spread one book page over 3 screens with the same page number). To get round this, it was worth diving a little bit into the Calibre free software and its Kobo related add-ons. I ended up using Calibre to do an automated conversion and upload from EPUB to KEPUB (the Kobo format). Took a bit of fiddling but worked a treat eventually.

- Although I don't manage the whole collection via Calibre, it has also been handy to re-tag the books just like you would do with FLAC files in MP3TAG.

- Organising the books in collections was dead easy even if fiddly (e.g. it displays only 5 or 6 titles per page so you have to scroll through many pages to select all the titles you may want to add). You need to have a think ahead if you have lots of books sideloaded but once the ground work is done, it is clear and easy to use. Whether within a collection or the full book list, You can then filter and search by recent/authors/unread/finished, etc. One thing to bear in mind is that if you hook your kobo to a laptop and rename/reorganise the folders/books in the kobo subfolders, the collection settings for those will be removed and you'll have to add them again.

- The screen settings are three fold (A normal screen light and A natural to warm light accessible from the reading page + a black book page accessible from the settings). I have found the warmest background with a low brightness to be very comfortable to read at night.

- Not a library user so can not comment on that feature.

- Kobo Plus (equiv. to Kindle unlimited) is not of interest to me but browsing the choices, they do seem fairly limited.

- the Kobo shop however is very easy to use and you are spoilt for choices there. It is worth making use of a wishlist and monitor prices from there as there are often price reductions and special offers going on (e.g. down from £5.99 to £2.99 or even £0.99 - particularly with the daily offer). You can get an additional 10% on "some" of the books as a Kobo VIP (£6 a year) and you can accumulate points for every purchase that you can use on future book buys (full amount only, not partial). I have bought about 15+ books from the shop via a birthday gift card and that worked a treat. Just sync your e-reader on wi-fi and the books show within a minute. You just need then to add them to an existing/new collection if needed.

- Love the dictionary feature popping up by holding down on a particular word (same as the kindle app). It came with an installed English dictionary but I also installed a French version and an English<>French version for translation purposes. one thing that wasn't available I don't think on the Kindle is that you can save the Words you have looked up for future reference (available via "My activity" button).

- No ads on the homepage 

- No faffing about with an unreliable load to kindle webpage. That really frustrated me at the time and one of the reason I moved away from the AMZ environment (on top of having a bulk of non-AMZ Epub already). The Kobo purchased KEPUB are also protected to be fair but there are workaround this, if one seeks to have a physical copy to "hold".
 
- Not missing the colour on covers or otherwise based on my use.

- the 6" inch screen is spot for a comfortable use but sometimes the sausage fingers can get in the way (e.g. pressing the "..." to add to a collection and you end up opening the book instead    )

- very intuitive system overall to navigate and straight forward settings options.

- It took me a little while to settle for a font and font size to be fully comfortable with but now that is done, it is a breeze to read. You can also import your own preferred fonts into the kobo as well.

- The "original" sleep covers on Kobo are dead expensive. I found an alternative on Ebay for less than half the price and it works absolutely fine.

- If you plug your kobo in the laptop, don't forget to eject the kobo first before unplugging, otherwise it will send it into a tizz and freeze it. Also, if you plug it into a straight forward charger, do not click "Connect" on the loading screen, I did that once by mistake (the habit of connecting to the laptop) and it froze as well upon unplugging. I had to force a reboot by holding the power button on the back. No major issues or drawback to report other than that.

- The crux of it all: I always perceived reading as a chore, particularly fictions. I maybe used to read one or two books a year, stopping and starting, not finishing them. A personal block of sorts. Reading on the phone was a first breakthrough in the latter part of last year. As of today, with the Kobo reader, I am now on 10 finished books since Christmas day and well into my 11th novel. It is a game changer and opening new horizons for me. Yup, I love it.

[DavidW]

- The "original" sleep covers on Kobo are dead expensive. I found an alternative on Ebay for less than half the price and it works absolutely fine.

They are also terrible, they fall apart quickly! The cheap third-party cases last forever though.

Glad you like your Kobo.

Amazon is discontinuing download and transfer. After February 26, no one will be able to download ebooks. I believe this is because so many have been downloading their libraries and switching to Kobo (who has offered far better value on their devices and no ads). I've always been used to downloading books and using them on whatever device I want. I won't tolerate this.

I'm permanently switching to Kobo. If Kobo does the same thing I will give up on ebooks completely. But they might never do something so blatantly anti-consumer as Kindle and Nook have done.

[Kalevala]

They are also terrible, they fall apart quickly! The cheap third-party cases last forever though.

Glad you like your Kobo.

Amazon is discontinuing download and transfer. After February 26, no one will be able to download ebooks. I believe this is because so many have been downloading their libraries and switching to Kobo (who has offered far better value on their devices and no ads). I've always been used to downloading books and using them on whatever device I want. I won't tolerate this.

I'm permanently switching to Kobo. If Kobo does the same thing I will give up on ebooks completely. But they might never do something so blatantly anti-consumer as Kindle and Nook have done.

Interesting.  I've only read one book online.  I think (my opinion) that it's too hard on the eyes--particularly if you spend/have to spend a lot of time on the computer (happy to listen to other people's thoughts here).  And, I must admit, I love holding a book. 

K

[Karl Henning]

Interesting.  I've only read one book online.  I think (my opinion) that it's too hard on the eyes--particularly if you spend/have to spend a lot of time on the computer (happy to listen to other people's thoughts here).  And, I must admit, I love holding a book. 

K

Oh, I do not either read books or watch movies on the computer itself. I like the convenience of the e-readers. That said (and partly to wean my left hand back into the paths of righteousness, I'm presently making a point of reading "old tech" books. Presently, Richard Brautigan's A Confederate General from Big Sur.