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Old 10-04-2012, 17:59
miafi
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As the title suggests; Kobo or Kindle?

I've decided to go over to the dark side and finally give up the many books I own and perhaps so for something that takes up less space!!

Which is better for the money you pay? Are the e-books cheaper on one or the other? In terms of features and what not which up trumps the other?

I have a had a look online but I wanted a more personal opinion of them rather than the geeky type reviews I've already seen.

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Old 10-04-2012, 18:10
InsideSoap
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Kindle. Amazon is cheaper for books (you can buy and convert to use on Kobo or other ereaders but that's too much hassle). Of course it depends what type of books you read but 9/10 books I've looked for are on there. It's just the dreaded 'Publisher set the price' which pisses me off. Also Amazon's customer service is second to none should you experience any problems.

I've tried a Kobo and didn't like it. Also I can't remember the name for it but on the newer Kindles the page doesn't refresh every time (though you can turn on full refresh) and even though you can very faintly see the words from the previous page on the Kindle screen it doesn't ruin the reading experience, I found the text from the previous page a LOT more noticeable on the Kobo screen. The Wi-Fi one seems a bit girly to me too with the 'quilted' back. I'd be interested to know how many Kobo's have been sold, the price of them has changed so much (higher/lower/higher/lower) it's hard to keep up.

I love my Kindle, there's only been one day since I got it that I haven't used it and that was the day I got my iPad. I've even been accused of secretly working for Amazon because of how highly I praise them to people I know, but I don't work for them.
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Old 11-04-2012, 15:22
SHAFT
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I've has bith and I'd say Kobo simply because it is less proprietary and you can buy books form Waterstones/WH Smiths don't have to deal with the moral vacuum that is Amazon. Any talk about page turn response times and refeshes are irrelevant red herrings.They are superb e-readers.
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Old 11-04-2012, 16:07
IvanIV
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I would pick 5-10 books you want to buy and check if and for what price they are available. Amazon have a huge catalogue and a simple one-click purchasing and wireless delivery. Buying epub books might not be that straightforward. As for page turns, it is possible to configure Kindle to fully refresh after each page turn, should the remnants of the previous pages irritate. BTW if you feel adventurous and have a certain level of computer skills, you could buy let's say Sony PRS T1, which runs Android, jailbreak it and install Kindle app on it. That way you could buy both from Amazon and epub shops as well.
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Old 11-04-2012, 16:14
PhoenixRises
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I've has bith and I'd say Kobo simply because it is less proprietary and you can buy books form Waterstones/WH Smiths don't have to deal with the moral vacuum that is Amazon. Any talk about page turn response times and refeshes are irrelevant red herrings.They are superb e-readers.
Sorry for the change of subject but what is wrong with Amazon now, every time I come on these forums people seem to be hating another store or chain, so just curious what's up with Amazon now.
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Old 11-04-2012, 18:25
InsideSoap
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I've has bith and I'd say Kobo simply because it is less proprietary and you can buy books form Waterstones/WH Smiths don't have to deal with the moral vacuum that is Amazon. Any talk about page turn response times and refeshes are irrelevant red herrings.They are superb e-readers.
No, the previous page is clearly more visible on a Kobo than a Kindle. Not irrelevant at all as it detracts from the reading so anyone looking to buy one should consider this. Also with Kindle you don't just have to buy the books from Amazon, you do have the choice to pay more and buy them from Smiths or Waterstones. Amazon = cheaper and you can tell them about sites that are cheaper than them.

Sorry for the change of subject but what is wrong with Amazon now, every time I come on these forums people seem to be hating another store or chain, so just curious what's up with Amazon now.
Probably referring to Amazon paying (or not) paying tax, or because of them destroying the high street. Apart from food I buy most things online and Amazon is always the place I look first and usually end up using apart from if it's an Apple product or something.
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:30
SHAFT
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Sorry for the change of subject but what is wrong with Amazon now, every time I come on these forums people seem to be hating another store or chain, so just curious what's up with Amazon now.
Google 'Amazon' and 'workers rights' and you'll find plenty of articles. They are scumbags.

I'd rather pay a £1 more for a book elsewhere than use them.
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:42
InsideSoap
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I think it'd be hard to find a company that is perfect in the way it treats its staff. If we all boycotted companies because of things like this we wouldn't have many places to shop/eat/live/holiday etc etc.
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:45
alan1302
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If we all boycotted companies because of things like this we wouldn't have many places to shop/eat/live/holiday etc etc.
Or work probably!
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:51
silentNate
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I think it'd be hard to find a company that is perfect in the way it treats its staff. If we all boycotted companies because of things like this we wouldn't have many places to shop/eat/live/holiday etc etc.
Remember, you are defending this behaviour!!
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:58
SHAFT
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I think it'd be hard to find a company that is perfect in the way it treats its staff. If we all boycotted companies because of things like this we wouldn't have many places to shop/eat/live/holiday etc etc.
There are some companies/services that you can easily avoid using though. Amazon is one of them.
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:01
IvanIV
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December 15, 2008, nothing changed since then?
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:06
InsideSoap
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I'm not defending Amazon but I'm not going to stop using them because of its treatment when 1. it might have improved since then and 2. I'm one person, millions of people would have to boycott Amazon for there to be any effect. And like I said, Amazon is cheap and I like cheap. Yes it's easy to stop using a company or a service but Google any company and you'll find at least one horror story, okay it might not be as bad as Amazon but every big company will have problems with how it treats staff and also customers.

PS. The OP is going to love the amount of replies their thread has (until they see only about two of the posts answer their question).
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:11
SHAFT
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[quote=InsideSoap;57606518]I'm one person, millions of people would have to boycott Amazon for there to be any effect. /QUOTE]

To me it's not about having an 'effect' its about having morals and sense of common decency. But I suppose that isn't important as long as you're getting cheap books and DVDs. Happy shopping.
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:17
IvanIV
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At least they are not Chinese, everything else is Remember when every western visit to China had chastised them about the human rights? Now everybody close their eyes and buy their products. Boycott them, too.
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:31
alan1302
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At least they are not Chinese, everything else is Remember when every western visit to China had chastised them about the human rights? Now everybody close their eyes and buy their products. Boycott them, too.
Both Kindle and Kobo are made in China though...
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:32
alan1302
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[quote=SHAFT;57606631]
I'm one person, millions of people would have to boycott Amazon for there to be any effect. /QUOTE]

To me it's not about having an 'effect' its about having morals and sense of common decency. But I suppose that isn't important as long as you're getting cheap books and DVDs. Happy shopping.
And you never buy anything from say, China?
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Old 11-04-2012, 20:40
TheBigM
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The reason I prefer Kindle is that you can get your books in more places - on the computer, on the phone, the tablet as well as the dedicated kindle e-reader device.

The apps means you can have your books even when you don't have your reader.
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Old 11-04-2012, 21:31
InsideSoap
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The reason I prefer Kindle is that you can get your books in more places - on the computer, on the phone, the tablet as well as the dedicated kindle e-reader device.

The apps means you can have your books even when you don't have your reader.
There are similar apps for the Kobo I think, though I've never used one so don't know how good/bad they are but I have used the Kindle apps on my PC, iPod and iPad and think they are great.
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Old 11-04-2012, 21:50
psionic
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Both Kindle and Kobo are made in China though...
As are most gadgets.
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Old 11-04-2012, 21:56
psionic
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The reason I prefer Kindle is that you can get your books in more places - on the computer, on the phone, the tablet as well as the dedicated kindle e-reader device.

The apps means you can have your books even when you don't have your reader.
Same as the Kobo. Apps for smartphones, tablets and computers are all available to sync and access your purchases.

Sadly it only syncs the purchases you've made from Kobo themselves, and not stuff you've got from other sources.
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Old 12-04-2012, 21:02
LostFool
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Google 'Amazon' and 'workers rights' and you'll find plenty of articles. They are scumbags.

I'd rather pay a £1 more for a book elsewhere than use them.
Are Waterstones and WH Smitths any better? Both are responsible for the closure of many local independent bookshops.
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Old 15-04-2012, 11:01
miafi
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So really - they are possibly equally as good (I think that's what you were all trying to argue!). I think I may plump for the kindle, most of my family has a kindle and they can't praise it enough. I did have a look at the Kobo book store and put in 3-4 of my favourite books and it came out about £1 more expensive than Kindle..
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Old 15-04-2012, 11:51
alan1302
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So really - they are possibly equally as good (I think that's what you were all trying to argue!). I think I may plump for the kindle, most of my family has a kindle and they can't praise it enough. I did have a look at the Kobo book store and put in 3-4 of my favourite books and it came out about £1 more expensive than Kindle..
I think that is what swings it for most people - they are both very similar but if you can get what you want cheaper then you may as well get the Kindle.
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