Switching from Kindle to Kobo was the perfect resolution I ever made
I beloved my Kindle Oasis. I nonetheless do, if I am being sincere. Its construct high quality is great, its display is sharp and delightful, and studying e-books on it’s, usually talking, a complete pleasure. However final month, I made the swap to Kobo, and I’m not wanting again.
It was the announcement of the Kobo Libra Color in 2024 that first had me significantly contemplating the swap. I might been inquisitive about coloration e-ink screens for some time. The expertise is attention-grabbing, however I used to be additionally inquisitive about studying full-color comics on my e-reader. And whereas I knew that might include compromises in display high quality, in addition to coloration accuracy in comparison with an precise comedian or a standard pill, like an iPad, I remained intrigued.
I’m sure I made the correct option to ditch Amazon.
Lastly, after months of hemming and hawing, I lastly made the transfer and acquired a Kobo Libra Color, together with a Kobo branded SleepCover and a third-party stylus for taking notes on it. After just some weeks of utilizing it, I’m sure I made the correct option to ditch Amazon.
In what yr was the primary Kobo ereader launched?
Appropriate! The unique Kobo eReader launched in 2010, initially bought
via Borders bookstores within the US and Canada. It was a budget-friendly various to the Kindle,
priced at simply $149 at launch.
Not fairly. The primary Kobo eReader debuted in 2010, arriving as an
reasonably priced rival to Amazon’s Kindle. It was notably bought via Borders bookstores, making it broadly
accessible from day one.
Which firm acquired Kobo in 2012?
Appropriate! Japanese e-commerce big Rakuten acquired Kobo in 2012 for
roughly $315 million. The corporate has remained underneath Rakuten possession ever since, working as
Rakuten Kobo.
Not fairly. It was Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce big, that bought
Kobo in 2012 for round $315 million. Kobo continues to function as Rakuten Kobo to at the present time.
What display measurement does the Kobo Libra 2 function?
Appropriate! The Kobo Libra 2 sports activities a 7-inch — wait, particularly 6.8-inch
— E Ink show, making it barely bigger than the usual 6-inch Kobo Clara. Its ergonomic uneven
design additionally contains bodily page-turn buttons.
Not fairly. The Kobo Libra 2 incorporates a 6.8-inch E Ink show, inserting
it between the compact Clara and the bigger Sage in Kobo’s lineup. It additionally contains helpful bodily
page-turn buttons on its ergonomic grip.
Which file format, typically related to DRM-free ebooks, does Kobo natively assist
that Kindle doesn’t?
Appropriate! Kobo natively helps the EPUB format, which is the
industry-standard open book format broadly utilized by libraries and unbiased bookstores. This offers Kobo
a big benefit for readers who supply books from a number of locations.
Not fairly. The reply is EPUB — the open, industry-standard book format
that Kobo helps natively. Amazon’s Kindle famously doesn’t assist EPUB, which is one purpose many
readers favor Kobo for its flexibility.
What’s the identify of Kobo’s large-format ereader that helps stylus note-taking?
Appropriate! The Kobo Elipsa is Kobo’s massive 10.3-inch ereader designed for
studying and handwritten note-taking utilizing the included Kobo Stylus. It targets college students, lecturers, and
professionals who desire a digital pocket book and ereader in a single.
Not fairly. The Kobo Elipsa is the large-format 10.3-inch system in
Kobo’s lineup that helps stylus enter for handwritten notes. Whereas the Kobo Sage additionally helps a
stylus as an adjunct, the Elipsa was particularly constructed across the note-taking expertise.
Which library borrowing service is immediately built-in into Kobo gadgets, permitting
customers to borrow ebooks totally free?
Appropriate! Kobo gadgets function built-in integration with OverDrive, the
platform behind the favored Libby app, permitting customers to borrow ebooks immediately from their public
library with out leaving the system. It is one in every of Kobo’s most celebrated options.
Not fairly. Kobo has built-in OverDrive (Libby) integration, letting
readers borrow ebooks immediately from their native public library proper from their system. This seamless
library entry is without doubt one of the most beloved options amongst Kobo followers.
Kobo’s premium Libra Color was notable for being one of many first Kobo gadgets to
function what show expertise?
Appropriate! The Kobo Libra Color makes use of E Ink’s Kaleido coloration show
expertise, permitting it to render coloration pictures, comics, and e book covers in coloration whereas retaining the
eye-friendly, low-power advantages of E Ink. It was a significant milestone for Kobo’s {hardware} lineup.
Not fairly. The Kobo Libra Color makes use of E Ink Kaleido expertise to
show coloration content material. Whereas coloration E Ink is not as vibrant as an LCD or OLED display, it maintains the
paper-like studying expertise and glorious battery life that E Ink shows are identified for.
What’s the identify of Kobo’s subscription service that provides limitless book and
audiobook entry?
Appropriate! Kobo Plus is Kobo’s subscription studying service, providing
limitless entry to a big catalog of ebooks and audiobooks for a month-to-month charge. It’s out there in
a number of international locations and is Kobo’s reply to providers like Kindle Limitless.
Not fairly. The service known as Kobo Plus, and it provides subscribers
limitless entry to a rotating catalog of ebooks and audiobooks for a flat month-to-month charge. Consider it as
Kobo’s equal to Amazon’s Kindle Limitless subscription.
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Me and my Kindle
Why I wished out of the ecosystem
- Display
-
7in E Ink, 300ppi, 25 LED illumination, adjustable heat gentle
- Storage
-
8/32GB
- Battery
-
6 weeks
- Dimensions
-
159 x 141 x 3.4-8.4mm, 188g
The 2019 Kindle Oasis might be the perfect all-around e-reader Amazon ever made. It has since been discontinued, as Amazon focuses in on its common Kindle, Paperwhite, Scribe, and not too long ago launched Colorsoft traces. That is too dangerous, because the Oasis had a particular benefit over their different Kindle merchandise: buttons. Whereas the remainder of Amazon’s e-readers use equally glorious e-ink screens, and have most of the identical options because the Oasis, they lack the Oasis’s asymmetrical format, with web page flip buttons on one aspect.
Merely put: the Oasis is simpler to carry, due to its form, and clicking the web page flip buttons makes for a way more fulfilling studying expertise than swiping the contact display. You may nonetheless swipe to show the web page on the Oasis, however there isn’t any query in my thoughts the buttons are higher.
I wished out of the Amazon ecosystem.
I beloved my Oasis, and I nonetheless do in some ways, however I slowly started feeling aggravated by it. First off, I did not like how locked down Amazon’s ecosystem was. Whereas it was attainable to sideload books, together with via Amazon’s send-to-Kindle operate, which added syncing performance between gadgets, the Oasis clearly wasn’t constructed for that. It would not be an issue if all my books had been bought immediately from Amazon, however I supply books from every kind of locations, together with shops, the Undertaking Gutenberg web site, superior copies, and extra. Maintaining all that organized on the Kindle was changing into a chore.
However there have been two larger points for me. The primary was that I wished to have the ability to borrow e-books from my native library. Sadly, I’m in Canada, the place the OverDrive lending system doesn’t work with Kindle. That was instantly a degree in Kobo’s favor. Then there was the straightforward indisputable fact that I, like many others, have turn into disillusioned with Amazon as an organization, together with their monopolistic practices throughout the e book {industry}. I wished out of their ecosystem.
A splash of coloration
Making the transfer to Kobo
- Display
-
7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 show with FastGLR and Darkish Mode (150ppi)
- Storage
-
32GB
- Battery
-
A single cost on the eReader lasts as much as 40 days, based mostly on half-hour of studying per day with the entrance gentle at 30% brightness and WiFi and Bluetooth® wi-fi expertise off.
- Dimensions
-
5.7 x 6.3 x 0.32-inches (144.6 x 161 x 8.3mm)
- Model
-
Kobo
- Connectivity
-
USB-C
The Kobo Libra Color is a sport changer. The Libra Color permits customers to scribble down their each thought as they learn, write in a separate pocket book, and entry their very own Google Drive.
A part of the explanation it took so lengthy to make the swap to Kobo was that my Oasis was, and stays, a superbly nice system. Why ought to I spend the cash on a complete new e-reader when I’ve a working Oasis already? However these points, notably the shortage of library borrowing and the Amazon of all of it, began weighing on me. And it helped that Kobo had launched the Kobo Libra Color.
The Libra 2 was already an interesting system to me, on condition that its format and web page flip buttons already made it an honest various to the Oasis. Nonetheless, it wasn’t precisely an improve. The Libra Color, although, marked an improve in a wide range of methods. Higher battery life than the Oasis, for instance, in addition to the power to take notes with a stylus, and a quicker processor for a smoother expertise. Plus, after all, the colour display.
Once I examine the Oasis and Libra screens immediately, there isn’t any query the Oasis is the higher one, although the Libra continues to be excellent.
Although it needs to be mentioned, the colour display is just not essentially an improve. Due to how e-ink expertise works, to realize coloration, the very sharp black-and-white display has a filter utilized to it that makes the display darker total, affecting distinction, in addition to softening textual content. There are various who will discover the display a downgrade, regardless of the colour capabilities. Once I examine the Oasis and Libra screens immediately, there isn’t any query the Oasis is the higher one, although the Libra continues to be excellent. And coloration has benefits, too, together with a nicer-looking interface with coloration e book covers, in addition to color-coded highlights, and, after all, coloration comics.
An awesome resolution
Deciding on my selection
I will admit that I waffled a bit on whether or not to maintain my new Kobo Libra Color after buying it. It was an awesome system, however was it actually higher? And was spending that cash price it simply to get away from Amazon and borrow books from the library? It did not take lengthy for me to know I might made an awesome resolution.
Only a few days after I purchased the Kobo, Amazon made a giant change that confirmed my transfer was the correct one.
The very first thing was getting my private library all arrange. Although Kindle books usually have DRM locking them down, I used to be in a position to obtain all my purchases, strip them of their copy protections, and cargo them into the e-book group app Calibre. Utilizing Calibre, I additionally organized all my different e-books into one massive library, and I even went forward and glued numerous the metadata on my books to get all of them to ensure that syncing with my new Kobo. It is a fairly guide course of, however one which has me feeling extra in charge of my library. Now, even after I buy books immediately from the Kobo retailer, I preserve a saved copy in Calibre.
Then, just some days after I purchased the Kobo, Amazon made a giant change that confirmed my transfer was the correct one. The corporate introduced that on the finish of February, they’d now not permit customers to obtain copies of their bought Kindle e-books on to a pc. It is dangerous sufficient to have DRM on bought books, however not permitting customers to obtain the information immediately makes it clear that buying books doesn’t imply proudly owning them. Fortunately, I might made the swap to Kobo in time to obtain all my Kindle books, however others have needed to scramble, searching for different methods to get entry to the e-books they purchased. I am definitely glad that I used to be in a position to undergo that with none headache, and be away from Amazon’s closed ecosystem for good, having fun with comics on my Kobo Libra Color.