[Lee Morris]

Hi! All
Well a bought the Kobo from QVC earlier this year and did not use it alot and when I took it out the week before last found the screen had gone, to quote a comment on the Kobo forum the E-Ink has gone.

It is out of stock at QVC so I am getting my money back which means I am on the look out for a new reader, the thing is the E-Ink failure looks to be a common problem on all readers.

I guess that some if not all companies are already working on a fix although it will be in future products, so what is the most reliable E-Reader on the market?.

Could it be that the Kindle Fire HD is a reliable E-Reader and will not have the problems?.

I look forward to your suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[alan1302]

Kindle Fire HD would be reliable but it's not an eReader it's an Android based Tablet PC with an LCD screen - not eInk

The normal Amazon Kindle would be a direct swap for a Kobo

[InsideSoap]

Get a Kindle from Currys with their insurance and then if it breaks (even by accident) get a new one from them. Think it's as many replacements as needed and I've saw someone replacing one in Currys and it was fast and easy. Similar insurance on amazon also. People might say its a waste of money but its cheap and good to have.

Like all technology you will experience problems but not everyone does. It just seems like lots of people do because people use the Internet to complain.

[NaturalDancer]

Originally Posted by InsideSoap

Get a Kindle from Currys with their insurance and then if it breaks (even by accident) get a new one from them. Think it's as many replacements as needed and I've saw someone replacing one in Currys and it was fast and easy. Similar insurance on amazon also. People might say its a waste of money but its cheap and good to have.

Like all technology you will experience problems but not everyone does. It just seems like lots of people do because people use the Internet to complain.

Just adding that I have a Kindle (standard one) and it has the best screen for reading in sunlight if that's any help - I know we don't get a great deal in this country but we do sometimes - great for reading in the sun on holiday. Also just for info you can browse the internet with the Kindle - can't actually do anything - but I don't think a lot of people are aware of that.

[Anika Hanson]

Get a kindle. I've had the kindle keyboard for over 2 years and it still works perfectly. There are a few different models about depending on what you want, i.e one with a keyboard and page turn buttons, a smaller, cheaper one and one with a built in light and touch screen. They are good quality and amazon will provide you with great support.

[neo_wales]

Just get a Kindle, its still the best out there.

[bobcar]

Both my wife and I have Sony PRS-350s and have had no trouble with them at all and neither have friends with their Sony's - that is only anecdotal but they do seem really well built. You can use the books you bought for the Kobo on a Sony eReader.

By contrast I know a couple of people who have had faulty Kindles.

[Anika Hanson]

Originally Posted by bobcar

Both my wife and I have Sony PRS-350s and have had no trouble with them at all and neither have friends with their Sony's - that is only anecdotal but they do seem really well built. You can use the books you bought for the Kobo on a Sony eReader.

By contrast I know a couple of people who have had faulty Kindles.

I had no end of trouble with my PRS -300 Sony reader. It crashed, rebooted, froze, it took about a minute to open a book and some books it refused to open and would crash.On the contrast I have owned 3 different kindle models and I've not had a problem with any of them. I guess you can get bad units for any make of ebook reader.

[Magic Cottage]

Originally Posted by neo_wales

Just get a Kindle, its still the best out there.

Another vote for the Kindle. Not had any problems here.

[Stilian]

I would recommend either the Kindle Touch or the Kindle Keyboard with WiFi and 3G. You can find them new or second hand quite cheap and they are pretty reliable too.

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I had no end of trouble with my PRS -300 Sony reader. It crashed, rebooted, froze, it took about a minute to open a book and some books it refused to open and would crash.On the contrast I have owned 3 different kindle models and I've not had a problem with any of them. I guess you can get bad units for any make of ebook reader.

This is true which is why I said my experience was anecdotal. I would point out that you had an older model than me and the 350 was a big improvement on the 300.

Watchdog did an article where they were criticising Kindle reliability though I'm not sure how much I trust Watchdog.

When I was choosing my eReader I did look at the Kindle (which then was just the keyboard version) but the Sony just seemed better made, what swung me though was the touch screen (which Kindle now has), the small size and the fact I didn't want to be tied to Amazon - the latter seems a good reason now as I can get library books and read for free which I couldn't do with the Kindle. It is also easier to just get free ebooks for the epub readers - Amazon charges for Charles Dickens.

For me to consider a Kindle in the future Amazon would have to open it up and allow for epub reading with the same DRM as the others. For me it is more about getting an open reader not tied to one company than about the particular reader, most of the e ink readers are pretty good.

[grazman]

Just get a normal kindle for £69. Bargain!

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by alan1302

The normal Amazon Kindle would be a direct swap for a Kobo

I've just noticed this comment and it is not correct, the OP would have to re-buy any books from Amazon. Getting one of the epub readers would be a direct replacement and the old books (if any) would be readable. Once you have a library of books then you are tied in with Kindle but can change to a different manufacturer (other than Amazon) with epub.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by bobcar

I've just noticed this comment and it is not correct, the OP would have to re-buy any books from Amazon. Getting one of the epub readers would be a direct replacement and the old books (if any) would be readable. Once you have a library of books then you are tied in with Kindle but can change to a different manufacturer (other than Amazon) with epub.

OP could always convert the book in Calibre which is pretty quick and easy to do.

[Anika Hanson]

Originally Posted by bobcar

This is true which is why I said my experience was anecdotal. I would point out that you had an older model than me and the 350 was a big improvement on the 300.

Watchdog did an article where they were criticising Kindle reliability though I'm not sure how much I trust Watchdog.

When I was choosing my eReader I did look at the Kindle (which then was just the keyboard version) but the Sony just seemed better made, what swung me though was the touch screen (which Kindle now has), the small size and the fact I didn't want to be tied to Amazon - the latter seems a good reason now as I can get library books and read for free which I couldn't do with the Kindle. It is also easier to just get free ebooks for the epub readers - Amazon charges for Charles Dickens.

For me to consider a Kindle in the future Amazon would have to open it up and allow for epub reading with the same DRM as the others. For me it is more about getting an open reader not tied to one company than about the particular reader, most of the e ink readers are pretty good.

You can get the classics for free from project Guthenberg in mobi format and then add them to your kindle.

I bought my kindle keyboard when the the kindle first launched in the UK. In those days it was a straight up choice between a kindle or a Sony reader and the prs-350 was not out. Apart from all the problems I was having with the Sony 300, the main reasons I bought the kindle at the time was that the keyboard model had better specs than the Sony readers that were out at the time (improved e-ink display, text to speech, audio, whispersync, buying books directly onto the device etc), another big bonus was access to the kindle store, at the time the epub stores in the UK were lacking in terms of content and books were a lot more expensive than those in the kindle store. Also I felt that there was better support from Amazon, for example during the warranty amazon would send you a replacement kindle next day delivery no questions asked, whereas Sony would tell you to send it away for weeks so that it could be repaired.

I would imagine that the later models of the Sony readers were more stable than the model I had. However, unless they plan to release a new device soon, they seem to be falling behind the kindle, Kobo and even the Nook.

I bought a Kobo glo a few weeks ago and whilst the device was nice enough I still felt that the kindle and the amazon experience outweighed any benefits of using an 'open' device like the kobo.

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by alan1302

OP could always convert the book in Calibre which is pretty quick and easy to do.

I would assume copyright law though? Even if it is I don't think it is that unethical as you have actually already paid for the book.

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

You can get the classics for free from project Guthenberg in mobi format and then add them to your kindle.

That's much better though it doesn't put Amazon in a good light charging for them.

I would imagine that the later models of the Sony readers were more stable than the model I had. However, unless they plan to release a new device soon, they seem to be falling behind the kindle, Kobo and even the Nook.

To be honest I don't really want anything extra from my eReader, the screen is extremely clear and extra resolution would not improve it - I very specifically want it for reading novels, if I wanted to say read pdfs for work I'd definitely get something bigger but for novels the small size is ideal. I'll keep what I have until it breaks and then look at what the ones on the market have to offer, it probably wouldn't be a Kindle though just because it's tied to Amazon (nothing against Amazon I use it all the time).

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

I had no end of trouble with my PRS -300 Sony reader. It crashed, rebooted, froze, it took about a minute to open a book and some books it refused to open and would crash.On the contrast I have owned 3 different kindle models and I've not had a problem with any of them. I guess you can get bad units for any make of ebook reader.

My PRS-350 has been working perfectly for what feels like years now. Never missed a beat, despite having custom firmware ....

The later Sony readers are running Android, likely they're now rooted and you could put in additional apps .... Angry Birds on an e-ink screen anyone?

Quite a few colleagues have Kindles, and a few of them have had problems. Doesn't mean they're all problematic.

Final observation - aren't virtually all e-ink screens manufactured by the same company? So at least the screens are all going to be virtually equal?

[spiney2]

my kindle keyboard is fine no problems. the browser part is crash prone when on inhternet but amazon do call it "experimental". device restart maybe 2 mins. no such problem when reading ebooks.

if a kindle goes faulty during guarantee period then amazon customer services are very good. they send you a new one then you return the old one.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by bobcar

I would assume copyright law though? Even if it is I don't think it is that unethical as you have actually already paid for the book.

Got to admit I'm not sure what the legal standing on that is...but personally for me I think if you own the book then you can do what you want for it as long as you are not selling it on or copying it.

[Anika Hanson]

Originally Posted by alan1302

Got to admit I'm not sure what the legal standing on that is...but personally for me I think if you own the book then you can do what you want for it as long as you are not selling it on or copying it.

I think it's a bit of a grey area, but I would agree as long as you don't distribute it to others then I think you should be free to format shift so you have it for personal use on other devices. I suppose it's a bit like ripping DVDs and then putting them onto your tablet/phone etc.