SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases discussion
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Choosing e-reader
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Oleksandr
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Jul 25, 2020 06:52AM
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I love my kindle, but I’m not a fan of paying Jeff bezos for my ebooks... so I’m very interested in hearing about alternatives that are just as good.
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There are few big players and a score of smaller ones. Your choice should account for your needs.
Maybe the cheapest variant is Amazon Kindle, now 6" basic version only $89.99 (and lower on sales). The main disadvantage - unless you are confident enough to jailbreak it, you can read only books from amazon site and libraries' that lend mobi-files (most US libs do) or mobi from internet (e.g. Gutenberg)
B&N Nook and Kobo - the most used alternatives in the US, by default they use Adobe standard epub-files and you can read ebooks bought from B&N on Kobo and vice versa.
If you plan to read mainly outside, while commuting and the like 6" is enough (there are some 5" on the market) but for relaxing home read I'd advise larger screen - I myself currently use 8" Pockebook Inkpad (about 5 years old) and thinking about 10" version. Larger are more expensive, so my mother prefer to use $80 8" tablet instead - yes you have to recharge it way sooner but in home is it a problem?
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I had a sony reader way back in 2010 and now I have a Kindle Paperwhite 6 inches. Both are fairly similar with the difference that when you get e-books mainly from Amazon than the Kindle is more practical. I think the battery from the Kindle last longer, though it doesn't last as long as I would like, I usually have to charge it after reading two books.
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I like 8" Kobo forma https://gl.kobobooks.com/products/kob...
Also if you are willing to risk it, here is the main forum that helps to jailbreak Kindle https://www.mobileread.com/forums/ind...
I successfully jbroke my first Kindle (from 2009) and it can read epub books now, but I guess not to lose warranty, etc. usage of Calibre to convert to Kindle format is preferred
Leticia wrote: "I think the battery from the Kindle last longer though it doesn't last as long as I would like, I usually have to charge it after reading two books.."
Just a note that this still means usually a week or so - less if you read with internal lights or like 8 hours per day
Oleksandr wrote: "The main disadvantage - unless you are confident enough to jailbreak it, you can read only books from amazon site and libraries' that lend mobi-files (most US libs do) or mobi from internet (e.g. Gutenberg)."Another website where they explain how to read epub-books on a Kindle: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/...
I’ve used calibre to put my google books on my kindle, but it is a hassle. I’ve been considering a kobo.
I am considering a Kobo if my Kindle paperwhite breaks down. But it has been with me for five years and still strong as ever....There are still too few Amazon alternatives for Kindle books but they do exist.
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Note that Kobo doesn't read Kindle files as well, so you'll have to convert them with Calibre. It is a question in which format your e-library is larger
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I have a myriad of Kindles. I like the Kindle paperwhite the best, but since I got an upgrade on one, I'm scared to upgrade the others, as it messed up its ablity to allow me to read in landscape format, which is easier for me.
Do the epub files look OK after converted in Calibre to mobi? And can you convert pdf to mobi with this program?
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Mostly the epub files are fine.
But when you convert pdf files (and you can) they mostly don't work very well. I think it is all the hard returns--the lines don't wrap in the new format, but stay where they were in the pdf. And I have had converted pdfs where the font would not get bigger or smaller, too. Sometimes pdf files won't convert at all.
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The first question is: is epub or mobi protected - this is relevant if you have a large library of purchased books. If not, usually converted file is indistinguishable from the original.
As for pdf their problem in their name PDF is short for Portable Document Format - it keeps all data (fonts etc) to be seen the same on any device and on paper. This makes it pain in one's arse to convert to formats where you have to fit to a screen, change font size, etc.
I often received protected pdf / acsm from Netgalley which is a format that so I could not read in my Kindle since the calibre program could not read it. Can Kobo read protected pdf?
Mod
Seems yes:
Your eReader supports Adobe DRM and Social DRM.
If you download a book that is protected with Adobe DRM, you will need to use Adobe Digital Editions to put it on your eReader. You can read social DRM files without using ADE.
https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articl...
Thanks, Ol!It's really a hassle to read in laptop/phone for me - no matter what apps used - so a proper e-reader is the only way I could read e-books.
Mod
No prob! Note however that usually pdfs are assuming A4 paper, so if pdfs are your major format I lightly recommend larger screen (8"-13.3") but they are more expensive.
Oleksandr wrote: "It is a question in which format your e-library is larger."Absolutely true!
As most of the books I have are epubs, the choice is easily made nót to choose a Kindle :-D
Oleksandr wrote: "I like 8" Kobo forma."
Yesterday I looked on many different Belgian sites to see which e-readers we can buy here. Rather quickly I had a preference for Kobo. And after I compared the possibilities and read this article (https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/...), I've made up my mind. Re-reading this thread I see I came to the same conclusion as you, Oleksandr ;-)
I have recently bought the previously mentioned 8'' Kobo Forma and I can 100% recommend it.For me Kobo was basically the only logical choice, since most ebooks I read are from the library. The Danish library system uses Overdrive for non-Danish electronic books and Kobo has a neat integration (Rakuten owns Overdrive). Overdrive functions in 12 countries last time I checked and Kobo is probably the best choice in those countries for library users.
The rest of the ebooks I own are all epubs, both DRM-free and DRM-protected, and my Kobo reads both types without problems. DRM-protected ones need to be transferred through Adobe DigitalEditions, but it's quick and easy.
My only dilemma was choosing between Forma and Libra. I was a bit concerned that 8'' was a bit too big, but it's actually so light that the size is not a problem at all. Quite the opposite, it gives more freedom when reading pdf files.
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I'm glad to hear this
Banshee wrote: "I have recently bought the previously mentioned 8'' Kobo Forma and I can 100% recommend it."That's really nice to hear, Banshee!
Oleksandr wrote: "I'm glad to hear this"
Never thought I would change my mind about this subject (e-readers).
But you know what they say: "Only a fool never changes his mind" ;-)
It appears to be one of the advantages corona had in store for me ...
I can also highly recommend the program Calibre as an eLibrary organizer and file converter, e.g. it can convert PDF or epub into kindle's mobi format for you.
I've had my Kindle Paperwhite for 7 years now and I've been quite satisfied with it. It just works. I do sometimes use epubs: using Calibre it's easy to convert to mobi and read them on Kindle. The formatting is never a problem with epubs, though as others have said PDFs are hit and miss, mostly miss.My only complaint is that the vocabulary builder could be better. It seems to max out at 2000 total words.
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I agree it is easy to convert them. And I converted a bunch of them to mobi. But now I find (after experimentation) that mobi does not support bold fonts, but azw3 does. So if you care about this, as I do, convert to azw3 instead. It's just as easy.
