Kobo vs kindle

sarah69696pink

Hi,
I'd like to get my Dad an e-reader for his bday.

As far as I can see the main benefit of the kindle is the longer battery life, but my Dad will only use it at home so I don't think this is a big issue.

Am I missing something else though - like is the kindle a lot easier to use than the kobo?

Thanks

penrhyn

Where is he going to be buying his books, Amazon has a vast library, including a lot of free stuff, no idea what a Kobo has to back it up.

prowla

I have a Kindle Touch, and it pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin.

Dave_C_2

If you google kobo vs kindle this MSE site comes first.

Kindle touch wi-fi for £109 wins for me.

Dave

Mrs_Arcanum

If you think your Dad will download books via the library a Kobo would be better (some library's specifically state their e-books do not work with Kindle).

sarah69696pink

thanks all - really useful and that website was really helpful.
He's not very good with technology so I wanted to get him the one that would be easiest to use, which by the sounds of it may be the kobo.

-TangleFoot-

sarah69696pink wrote: »

As far as I can see the main benefit of the kindle is the longer battery life...

The primary selling point is the ecosystem surrounding it - the device itself is of little import since you can purchase and read Kindle books on a wide variety of systems. Unlike the alternatives, all you need is an Amazon account and some sort of computer to read your purchases on.

I've got an old Interead Cool-er that incorporates the same DRM system as the Kobo and can only tell you that it's a real hassle to work with compared to that of the Kindle.

grizzly1911

Just had a kindle touch for a present.

I have never looked into them until I received this one and there are pluses and minuses to them all.

Kindle does tie you in to some extent but as a posted said elsewhere you are buying a seamless service.

Certainly as I already have an Amazon account (easy in its own right) it has been dead easy to use , download some free stuff and buy a selection of books very easily. They are downloaded to the kindle via wifi in seconds.

Still exploring the free stuff from all providers but apart from historical stuff range is limited IMO.

You can reformat other ebooks to kindle IIUIC.

bod1467

Calibre is a good application for converting documents to just about any other e-book format.

prowla

On usability, I tried a Kobo, and I couldn't get it to do anything.

With my Kindle I can buy (well actually I haven't paid for a single book as there are thousands of free ones on Amazon) a book on my PC and it will automatically download onto my Kindle via the airwaves.

The only think I don't like about the Kindle is that it hasn't got a cover flow type interface like some of the adverts seem to imply.

penrhyn

I'm looking forward to trying the Kindle app on my Nexus 7 when it arrives, come to think of it at £159 its not that much more than a Kindle and more versatile if you only want to use indoors.
The Kindle is great outdoors with the E ink display.