Kindle or Kobo

[Enjoy Kalkan]

Hi Everyone,

I know this is a strange title but I am looking into "ebook readers" and wondered if anyone had any experience or preferences.. Mrs EK has a Kindle but it seems a shame you cant "share" books between devices... I was looking at the Kobo that WHSmith sell as they seem to have the books cheaper

Anyone with any advice..

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=9415.0

[PoppyS]

I haven't used the Kobo, but I wouldn't be without my Kindle.  As regards sharing books, if you and Mrs EK register your Kindles on the same Amazon account, then all the books are available to both devices (I think you can have up to 6 devices on one account).  It means though that all the books are paid from one credit card so as long as you trust each other not to go a mad book-buying spree then that could work!  I've found the prices of books are actually very cheap - there are loads of free ones, some very cheap (70p etc) and others are on offer from time to time.  If you tend to buy books whenever they are published they are likely to be more pricey, but many come down in price if you are patient.  Happy reading.

[Enjoy Kalkan]

Thanks PoppyS

[Bob & Jayne]

I don't know anything about the Kobo, but have just notice that Asda Direct are selling them for £49! plus £2.95 postage or free to collect in store.

Jayne

[Lizilu20]

Hi, my OH bought me a kindle touch last week and I'm still getting to grips with it, however it does say that you CAN share books. Apparently, you can share with a friend (does not have to be on same account) for 2 weeks but you are unable to read it on yours while on loan to them.
Please don't ask me how to do this as I'm still a novice, but if you log into your account or check it out online, I'm sure the instructions will be there. I must say, I love mine, already read 4 books and all free yaayy! Definitely invest in a light thoough. Shaun bought me a case with a light incorporated off ebay. I think it was approx £12.00 and is just the job!
Happy reading 

[Painter Man]

If you buy an IPad you can get apps for both Kindle and Kobo e-readers. This will allow you to read e-books available in both formats. Also there are a number of libraries in The Uk that "lend" e-books so you do not have to buy the books but can merely borrow them as if they were a normal library book. It is also possible to get an app to enable the reading of Kindle
books on a computer, though the reading experience is not as good as that on dedicated e-reader.
With regard to Kindle you can have several Kindle readers ( five or six ) on one account so that the whole family can share the same books.
With regard to lending books to other Kindle owners for a period up to two weeks this facility is only currently available in the USA, though Amazon say that it will be introduced in the UK in the future.
The great benefit of having an e-reader is that I do not have to pack fifteen books each time each time I came to Kalkan.

[misty]

I have just purchased an iPad download the Kindle App...but am at a loss as what to do now....for some reason there are no books to choose from or any means of entering a title...any suggestions welcome ?..

[Iwanttobethere]

Hi Misty. We have an iPad with a Kindle app. You need to go on to Amazon to register your iPad app on the Kindle store. You can then go ahead and download as many books as you want. As mentioned before many of them are free and are very good. Hope this helps.

[Lizilu20]

Hi Misty, I also have kindle on my ipad but found that I was unable to read outside as I could not see the screen in the bright light, which is why my OH kindly bought me the actual kindle too. Your ipad should have a library app on it which looks like a bookshelf. You can use this app just like the kindle app and download books, free and paid (through itunes???) I'm not sure as I just buy them, OH sorts the finances out. I just searched for free books while on this app and they appeared. The kindle app is very similar but I only downloaded that after I created a kindle account via amazon. If you have an amazon account, I presume that this is all you will need to download your books.
What's great though is you can synchronise the devices so I can start off on the ipad then carry on with the same book supposedly on the same page, but I've found that this does not always work- on my kindle. I love it!!

[sally]

I've just treated myself to a Kindle - the cheapest, most basic one, and I am thrilled with it.  Have already downloaded 20+ books & not paid a penny for them - all from the free range. 

I am not a very tech-savvy person but found setting up & using the kindle easy. And if you have any probs just put the question into google & there are loads of answers. 

I've just been reading it in bright sunlight (a rare occurence atm ) & it was fine!

[kalkan4eva]

....or you can just share paperbacks with family and friends...

[Lizilu20]

Very true K4E, but got the kindle mainly to take on holiday to save space for the water hammock!!!! 

[kalkan4eva]

 
I'm a bit old fashioned but I like my paperbacks - I leave them behind either at our rented accomodation for other guests or take them to Abi to raise money for the street animals. The space they then create in the suitcase is filled with bags
There's method in my madness

[msr]

Kindle is far superior to kobo. There actually is no comparison, mostly in the quality of the text. Would not want to read a book on the I pad , too cumbersome and there is no anti glare.  I have had a kindle for 18 on this wouldn't swop it for anything.

[pw]

....or you can just share paperbacks with family and friends...

No, not really...In the height of a Turkish summer your average paperback is lucky to last 1 read before the glue melts and the pages are all over the shop!!

PW

[Blue Lizard]

I drop my book at least a dozen times while reading it around the pool and dozing off..i fear a kindle would soon be a piece of broken plastic....and you can't squish a bug with one

[Livingproof]

Have you considered the Sony Reader? Both my wife and I have one and love them and now they've just launched the Reader Store in the Uk so you can choose to either download straight to the reader or the old fashioned way via your pc. And yes, as the book can be stored on the pc you can upload to another reader.

It may be a bit more expensive than a Kindle (which I also considered) but it's a quality bit of kit and looks stunning. Happy reading whichever you buy!

Justin

[alantj]

I drop my book at least a dozen times while reading it around the pool and dozing off..i fear a kindle would soon be a piece of broken plastic....and you can't squish a bug with one

Kindles bounce quite well even on tiled surfaces, as our daughter has tested many times.

As to which is the best ereader, we have tried a few and they all seem to do the job apart from the iPad which is pretty useless (almost impossible to read outside or even in a room with sunshine coming in the window and doesn't bounce)   

[Geriatric Ski Boy]

It is not really the device that is important but the e-book formats the device will"read". With the Kindle you can only read books formated for the Kindle, which you have to get from Amazon, this precludes using libraries and other sources on the internet. I am not sure but I think both the Sony Reader and the Kobo have more flexiblity.
 We have both a Kindle and an I-pad and I am not having difficulty reading outside unless the sunlight is directly on the screen, it is very easy to read material but if you do not lock the rotation button it can be annoying if you move positions. Maybe I am not having display problems because I am using an I-pad3.
The Kindle does have the advantage of a much longer battery life and is I think more robust and cheaper but not as flexible.
If you decide on a Kindle you might want to consider the 3G version, it is more expensive but it does allow you to pick up e-mails anywhere without any charges, though answering the e-mails is a little tricky on the keyboard but if you are travelling and do not wish to pay roaming charges to read e-mails this is one way to do it.

[Chris_S]

The later Kindles (3G and it's companion, plus the new Touch) will read PDF files and txt files (guttenberg use txt files).  Anything else can be converted with a PC and appropriate software to convert it to MOBI format (which is the same as the Amazon format).

As for dozing and dropping, put the Kindle in a leather case - this may help protect it if it falls, and you could always add a wrist strap to attach it to you for additional safety.  I got a very good one for about a fiver from www.7dayshop.com on Guernsey.

Finally, the Kindle's smaller than an iPad, so if you're not going to do anything but read then why use an iPad?  Reading in bright sunlight has already been covered and is the best reason for using a Kindle on holiday.  The again it's not sold by Apple either (who forced up the price of e-books worldwide by their greedy contract deals on the iStore).

Hope this helps.