Kindles and Library Books

emsywoo123

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Kobo's are not as good as Kindles. .

Sorry to be a pain but can you explain why?

thegirlintheattic

emsywoo123 wrote: »

Sorry to be a pain but can you explain why?

Part of it is personal preference but:

- Amazon CS is second to none, you will get a replacement Kindle out of warranty for accidental damage 9 times out of 10.
- Kindle has more storage space on the device (although Kobo has SD card)
- Kindle has longer battery life
- Kindle has a faster page turn, the Kobo is slow so the words stay on the screen longer which annoys me as a fast reader.
- Amazon has a wide selection of books that are often priced below other sites. Some authors offer free books for a limited time or sales that are only available on Amazon.
- Similarly I prefer the online interface of Amazon rather than Smiths and often get gift cards that can be used there.
- build quality is better (mine survived a drop onto a stone floor with no damage)
- The 3G with the Kindle is fantastic when aboard
- Kobo is better for the range of file types it accepts 'off the shelf' but it's free and simple to convert books purchased from other places for the Kindle.
- Kindle is lighter with more accessories.
- Kindle has experimental features such as a audio-book player and web browser.

emsywoo123

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Part of it is personal preference but:

-
- Kindle has a faster page turn, the Kobo is slow so the words stay on the screen longer which annoys me as a fast reader.

This is a major point for me, thank you!

Is it worth the extra £40 to get the touch?

thegirlintheattic

emsywoo123 wrote: »

This is a major point for me, thank you!

Is it worth the extra £40 to get the touch?

I have the old keyboard which I love. I've used the touch as it is what my family have and like that too but I've not tried the basic model so can't really compare. On the keyboard it can be a little cumbersome to scroll when on the internet or when looking to highlight a specific sentence, so if you are doing those kind of things I'd say yes, otherwise I don't think it matters for straight reading.

loulou123

The speed of page turn has never bothered me on the kobo and I'm a very fast reader - maybe it depends on the model?

lolavix

I have the K4, not having a touch screen doesn't bother me and with the recent price drop it's even more of a better buy! As said above, there are so many free books, and if you have a wish list and track it on ereaderiq many more popular books drop in price if you are happy to wait for a bit. Also second that Amazon customer service cannot be faulted - after 2 hours of trying to sort out a wi-fi problem they sorted it in 5 mins!

Sam1903

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Kobo's are not as good as Kindles. Whilst an out of the box Kindle will not allow you to borrow library books, there is a very simple way of getting around this, which are documented online.

Can you explain searched and cant find anything, my library states you cant read on my Kindle
Thanks

kingfisherblue

I use two websites for free books, so haven't really thought about borrowing from the library. I still borrow physical books, but not ebooks as there are so many free ones. The sites I use both send daily emails of free Kindle books, but be aware that they can become chargable if you don't download that day. You can choose genres on the Kindle Users Forum site.

https://www.kuforum.co.uk

https://www.ereaderiq.co.uk

vivatifosi

Most, though not all afaik, libraries in the UK use Overdrive. The majority of files are in Adobe ePub format and as has been stated, not compatible with the Kindle. Again as stated, Amazon has commenced pilot in the US to work with libraries.

Although Overdrive is also the system in the States, my understanding is that there is no roll-out planned in the UK at the moment. The last I heard, which was a discussion on Radio 4 a couple of months back, was that there are data protection issues with regard to the Kindle format, in that Amazon would be able to tell the type of library books that you read. (I work in a library but this is what I've heard, not what I know iykwim).

Most of the people I know who read eBooks from the library don't have eBook readers though. They either read on a phone, iPad or laptop.

pollyanna24

Thanks for everybody's help!

I only want to read books, and now I'm stuck in a load of technology stuff that I don't really understand, haha.

Part of me just wants to buy an ipad and read books as I do (on a slightly bigger screen), but I'm so not sure. Not flushed with money, but prepared to buy things for me and my kids that aren't just going to get pushed to the back of the cupboard, if you see what I mean... Hmm... this reminds me.. gona start a new thread now!).

For now, think I'll stick with iPhone to read books on the way to work or the old real physical books, haha.