# Why a Kindle?



## bknyfinest1 (Dec 27, 2014)

I'm asking because after years of being anti Amazon, I bit the bullet and bought a Voyage. A dedicated top of the line ereader? It was like catnip.  I've had it since release day, but I'm still having a hard time falling in love with it. I'm not one of those people with a noticeable lighting issue or anything else, so a faulty device is not the issue. It could just be the result of having been a lover of Nook eink devices for years and trying to get used to a new ecosystem. I thought about my lack of overwhelming love today when I realized that I've done NOTHING to personalize my device. All of my Nooks have skins, multiple covers etc. 

So my question to all of you is why Kindle? Have you had one from the inception of eink devices? Did you switch like me? Which Kindle is your favorite? What is your favorite thing about having one?


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I had a slick that does e-pubs first.  Then I had a kobo but I do not like their store.  Next was a tablet with the Kindle app.  I loved the Kindle store and all the freebies.    Then I got a kindle Fire.    Liked it for reading even better.  Then I found an older touch.    I love the e-ink for reading outside and in the tub.

Now is it the device or the Amazon store you aren't liking?  
More precisely,  what did you want your Voyage to do that it can't/won't do?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I think that the different ecosystem is probably part of your issue.  I know people say Macs are easier to learn and maintain than Windows PCs, which is probably true, but people who go from Windows to Macs have issues because they're used to the way things work on the Windows machine.  I know, because I've trained people going from Windows to Mac (and vice versa).

I've had the K1, the original Kindle Touch, the basic Kindle, the Kindle Paperwhite 1st and 2nd gen and now the Voyage.  The Voyage, to me, is the best Kindle yet.  But I've not used a Nook extensively--I've played with them at the store, and I found that ecosystem somewhat difficult.  We do have members who have used both.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

When I was first looking into eReaders, they were way too expensive for my budget. And there was little content. And you still had to have a computer to get anything on them. Then Sony released one -- which was very cool -- I checked it out extensively. It had rather more content -- they'd gotten some big publishers on board. And was a slick and stylish device. Still expensive . . . but. . . . I was thinking about it.

I'd been an Amazon customer since about 1996 so when I saw the Kindle announced on their home page I was Very Excited. Oh --  also expensive!  But no more so than the Sony. And. . . well. . . . they had me at 'wireless'.  I'd have ordered right away but they were showing as sold out so I 'thought about' it for a while. Checked the forums on Amazon periodically. Checked the page -- verified the specs. Compared thoroughly to the Sony. When they came available the next spring and the price dropped by $40, I bought. It arrived in July of 2008 and I haven't looked back.  I've owned every model sold since except the 2nd generation model on sale in February of 2009 and the Touch model that came out in 2011. 

At this point switching to something else would be . . . . difficult. I've very familiar with the kindle, and I've got over 2000 books in my library on Amazon. I did look carefully at both the Nook and Kobo -- but, while I found them to both be satisfactory devices, there wasn't anything to tempt me into switching.

I'd been a B&N customer as well -- it's completely possible that if they'd been FIRST with a wireless eReader, they'd have my loyalty.  Amazon won, with me, by being first -- and I stick with 'em because I've been happy with the quality of the devices, the amount and type of content available, and their exceptional customer service and customer centric policies.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I've had a Kindle for over six years now and I've had at least one of most of the models: original, K2, K3 (aka keyboard), DX, touch, fist gen basic, PW1, and now a Voyage.  I've also had an original Fire and I now have a Fire HDX7.  I've had an original Nook as well as a Simple Touch and a Sony or two.
Amazon's devices were easier to use because of the wireless options that Ann mentioned.  It was instant gratification to be able to finish a book and immediately have the next one appear.  I've been an Amazon customer for a long time for other things, so it was logical to start there.  And to be fair, at the time of the original Kindle, there was no such thing as a Nook.
Having used both devices and stores, I think the Amazon one is easier to navigate.  And with the recent improvements to Manage Your Content and Devices, that has gotten even better.  Also Barnes and Noble's prices tend to run higher than Amazon's.

So far, the Voyage is just about perfect.  I had been missing page turn buttons for two years since I got my PW.  But I do think the bezel is a little thin and the sensors are a little awkward at first.  But the screen is beautiful and it is so nice to not need an additional light.  I had to read on an older model for a while and it was hard to remember that I needed to sit by the lamp in the living room.  The best thing?  I have an entire library with me at all times.  I don't have to carry around 2-3 paperbacks, keep one in the car and take an extra duffel bag with me on vacation.  The next best thing is a tie between the instant gratification and being able to make the font larger


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

I got my kindle in May 2009, a kindle 2, early on in when kindle 2s existed. I'd been interested in ebook readers for a long time, but hadn't been able to justify one. I was given it, but it had already been my favorite of the ebook readers I'd seen (and had been watching.

Build quality, customer services, ease of use (nooks got better at this, but it took time), all make me prefer kindles. They seem to be the better engineered ebook readers compared to competitors. The other ones I like the looks of are kobos, but that lacks convenience for buying books. 

I currently have a kindle 2, kindle voyage, and nook 1st generation. My favorite is definitely the voyage, though I still feel like I'm abandoning my loyal k2 that stuck with me for so many years. Installing the kindle app is also one of my first things to do on any tablet or phone. It's a necessity.


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## bknyfinest1 (Dec 27, 2014)

There is nothing my Voyage can't do, I actually like it. I think the mac vs. PC analogy is apropos. I got so used to having a nook and playing on the BN website that being on Amazon talking about Kindles is really like visiting a foreign country for me. I read at least an hour or more a day (darn work and husband interfering with my reading time  ) and having an ereader allows me to do that on my subway commute every day. Not to mention the fact that I love the idea of having my library with me all the time. I know that there are lots of Kindle lovers out there, and I was just curious about what people really love.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I don't have another e-reader to compare experiences to, but I have no desire to switch eco-systems after having one form of Kindle or another since the original in 2008.  I have always been an Amazon fan for all kinds of shopping since way before Kindle so it seemed a natural fit at the time.  I haven't found any retailer on-line or brick-and-mortar store that can beat Amazon's customer service.

So besides all the reasons to have an e-reader (carry library with at all times, get a new book immediately, ability to increase font, low-weight over paper books, paper-like screens easy on the eyes, dictionary with a touch, etc.), Amazon's customer service and largest availability of e-books would sway me to a Kindle even if other e-readers have the same options.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

bknyfinest1 said:


> There is nothing my Voyage can't do, I actually like it. I think the mac vs. PC analogy is apropos. I got so used to having a nook and playing on the BN website that being on Amazon talking about Kindles is really like visiting a foreign country for me. I read at least an hour or more a day (darn work and husband interfering with my reading time ) and having an ereader allows me to do that on my subway commute every day. Not to mention the fact that I love the idea of having my library with me all the time. I know that there are lots of Kindle lovers out there, and I was just curious about what people really love.


Good on that. I just wanted to make sure you picked the best kindle for you.
Now if you have any trouble finding something at the Kindle store, let us know. Always willing to help with a search.


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## NightReader (Apr 25, 2010)

I didn't get the original Nook because I found the difference between the e-ink and the little lcd screen at the bottom painful (the difference in brightness and contrast messed with my migraines).

But, I did buy one of the original Nook tablets to go with my original Kindle 2 thinking it would give me the best of both worlds.  But, I always found the BN website  lacking and difficult to search.  Combine that with what were generally higher prices at BN and the difference in free books (Amazon seemed to have many, BN maybe one or two a week) and I found that I greatly preferred Amazon.  So, I mostly only used the Nook for library books.

So, "why Kindle"?  Because Amazon has the best store.  (Even though in theory I thought that BN's epub should've been a better format.)


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I got my first kindle, the original K1 in 2008. I never even looked into other e-readers. I think Sony was the one current e-ink out at the time and I had never seen one. I have been a Amazon customer for a long time and have always been happy with their customer service. 
I stayed with Kindle for many reasons. Still the best customer service, I am not even sure how B&N or Kobo handle returns if needed. Kindle just always worked for me I have no reason or want to switch. I played with a Nook at the store, but didn't like it much. Probably the reverse from the OP, I am used to the kindle software.

As long as there are kindles, I will own one. No interest in any other brand. The majority of books I buy of Amazon, and those that from other places get send with the send to kindle app so they are too part of the archive. 

So customer service, convenience, price, software and hardware and habit.  

I don't have a Voyage yet though. I keep waiting until they are on regular order and available right now. I am still using the first gen Paperwhite and a basic with buttons. Still have the K1 and the K3 also.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Atunah said:


> So customer service, convenience, price, software and hardware and habit.


Great way to put it, Atunah.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I'm another original Kindle owner. I've had a K1, K2, Paperwhite 1 and 2 and now the Voyage. I looked into other readers and liked what Amazon had most. I have been an Amazon customer for many years and I think that may have influenced me the most. I looked at the Nook when they came out but was very happy with the Kindle and the ease of ordering books.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

I bought a Kindle Pagewhite 1, Nook Simple Touch, and a Kobo Touch all at the same time, so I never grew loyal to any single platform. I use my iPhone to simulate an iPad, or borrow my father's iPad 1 on occasion.

The iPad, being a tablet computer, doesn't quite count as an ebook reader in my heart. However, it has the best reading and library interface of all the machines. Operates smoothly and effortlessly and flawlessly. The downside is the display is bright, making it harsh on the eyes in a dim environment, and can't be easily seen in direct sunlight. In a brightly lit room, it is very pleasant to read on it. It is heavy compared to the e-ink ebook readers.

The Kindle PW is nice. It has an excellent chassis design that is pleasant to hold when reading. I find it's library interface to be wanting and in serious need of streamlining and improvement. I don't like that the light cannot be turned off completely. Battery-life would improve if one could do that. The new Pearl Screen e-ink technology is very easy on the eyes when reading. The backlight does go down to a very low level, making it fairly comfortable to read very late at night.

The Nook Simple Touch is the most responsive of the e-ink devices (I'm excluding the Apple devices which are in a different class). Very fast switching from one thing to another. I love that I can customize the screen when the unit is turned off and have mine loaded with many images to rotate through whenever the Nook is put to sleep. The chassis could be redesigned to make it more comfortable to hold—the front bezel is not rounded enough and it tends to dig into the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, making it uncomfortable to hold for long periods.

The Kobo I feel has the best library interface of the e-ink devices (again, excluding Apple from this). But is a tad slow with refreshes, page turns, etc. Comfort holding it falls between the Kindle and the Nook. But the backlight can be turned off completely. The screen is nicer than my first generation Nook, so I tend to prefer reading EPUB-based ebooks on the Kobo instead of on the Nook.

To say which one is better than the other is hard to say. Each has strengths and weaknesses that compliments those of its competitors. As long as the text is comfortable to read on the screen, it doesn't matter what I'm reading on. It is the story that I'm reading, not the container (tablet, phone, ereader, paper magazine or book).

Amazon as a platform offers the best shopping experience, though I find their interface to be messy.

Apple has the best and cleanest shopping interface, but their discovery is terrible. They only show the top 25 titles in any given category, so good luck to any author who isn't in the top 25% of the top 100 bestsellers list. Readers cannot browse the titles the way they can on other platforms. Apple seriously needs to work on this, because readers cannot find new authors or books unless they debut at the top. Not good for independent writers.

Kobo needs work. They say they are working on it, but the recent improvements have only brought it back to where it was. They need to step it up a bit. Kobo is supposed to be a really hot market outside the US, mainly Canada and Europe. But I have yet to see real evidence of this. I DID like that Kobo was trying to support local booksellers by allowing them a small share of the profits from ebook sales when a Kobo ebook was ordered through the bookseller's website. But, I don't see much PR on the project, and it seems to have fizzled out. That was one of my primary reasons for pushing Kobo.

Barnes & Noble… Well, their shopping interface via the web browser on a desktop is decent. I have minor issues with collecting my books after purchase. Either download them or wirelessly load them into the Nook, but it never seems quite clear to me. Nonetheless, I do seem to have all the books that I purchased. One of the biggest problems I see with B&N is a confidence issue among self-published writers. The whole debacle about shutting down the Nook program last year and then suddenly back-tracking on that, then selling off their Nook program to Samsung has me wondering if they are really committed to the ebook market.


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

Unfortunately, there is a compelling counter-argument against Kindles in all their forms:

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/e-readers-a-threat-to-impressive-looking-bookshelves-201105163819


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

The idea of an ereader always appealed to me big time, and I bought a Rocket EBook back in the 90's. It was a wonderful device. Did much of what current ereaders do and did it well, but it was very heavy. The shock for me was that very little content was available. If indie books, there was no review system to help you choose, and if traditionally published, if something was available, it cost more than the paperback and often as much as the hard cover. So while I still loved the idea of an ereader, I wasn't going to buy another one in a hurry. I resisted everything that came after and even resisted the Kindle at first.

What changed my mind about the Kindle was that after the release of the original Kindle the number of books available for it increased steadily. I kept an eye on how many of the books I wanted were available for it and how much they cost. When I became convinced Amazon was really going to support the device, I bought mine about 6 months after they were first released. So I've had the original Kindle, the K3 (Kindle Keyboard), PW1 and now Voyage. My reason for a Kindle is availability of books, Amazon's review system (and available samples and easy return policy) which keeps me from getting burned when I buy books. The only device I can compare it with is the Kobo. I have a Kobo so that I can read epubs when that's the only format I can get something in, but it's an inferior device in every way IMO (admittedly it's an older model and has to be hooked up to the PC to load books).

I'm not convinced the Voyage is enough better than the PW to be worth the price, but since I bought it and gave my PW away before using the Voyage long enough to come to that conclusion, it's what I have, and it's certainly a great device, just not that much greater than the PW.


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## devalong (Aug 28, 2014)

I love my old K2 and my Paperwhite. I wish the Paperwhite had text to speech because I like that for the non-fiction I have to absorb for work - good for flights and long drives. I hate reading more than a few hundred words on a laptop monitor and for my final two edits I always send to kindle (I also love how easy Amazon makes it to send anything I write to my kindle) and check everything on my Kindle. The note taking function is super.

If I could attach an external keyboard to my Paperwhite for editing and annotating non-fiction, it would be like I died and went to grayscale heaven .


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

alawston said:


> Unfortunately, there is a compelling counter-argument against Kindles in all their forms:
> 
> http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/e-readers-a-threat-to-impressive-looking-bookshelves-201105163819


Fortunately (for me), I don't own books for the sake of impressing other people. I own books for the sake of reading them.  



bknyfinest1 said:


> There is nothing my Voyage can't do, I actually like it. I think the mac vs. PC analogy is apropos. I got so used to having a nook and playing on the BN website that being on Amazon talking about Kindles is really like visiting a foreign country for me. I read at least an hour or more a day (darn work and husband interfering with my reading time ) and having an ereader allows me to do that on my subway commute every day. Not to mention the fact that I love the idea of having my library with me all the time. I know that there are lots of Kindle lovers out there, and I was just curious about what people really love.


Yeah, it's a lot of what you are used to. From what I can tell, there are more books available on Amazon, though every now and the, a situation arises where there are books available on B&N that aren't available on Amazon; that happens less now that disagreements between Amazon and the publishers are settled.

Generally, and as others have said here, Amazon's customer service is hands down better than really anyone else's. Whether it's a problem with a book or a device, they handle the problem well and generously.

And, as a Kindle owner, you're now part of the best forum on the 'Net! 

Betsy


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## rlkubi (Dec 7, 2009)

I didn't buy the original Kindle because of the price.  Then we were going on a 3 week trip and didn't want to pack a lot of books.  My husband bought a K2 for me for early Christmas in 2009 and I haven't looked back!  I had the K2, Original Fire, Fire HDX 8.9 now, Kindle Keyboard, Paperwhite and now the Voyage.  For me I can't imagine going back to books.  I love taking it and never running out of books.  I love not having to have a light.  I have never used a Nook though and I won't because I'm perfectly happy with the Kindles.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

rlkubi said:


> I didn't buy the original Kindle because of the price. Then we were going on a 3 week trip and didn't want to pack a lot of books.


That was me, too. But then I had a gift card and Oprah had a coupon for another $50 off. The idea of being able to carry a library with me at all times....heaven! And then, once I experienced the Amazon ecosystem, I never looked back.

Betsy


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

ellenoc said:


> The idea of an ereader always appealed to me big time, and I bought a Rocket EBook back in the 90's. It was a wonderful device. Did much of what current ereaders do and did it well, but it was very heavy. The shock for me was that very little content was available&#8230;


I remember seeing the ad for the Rocket in Popular Science and thinking to myself, "That's _IT! _No more running out of underwear on long trips!" 

But when I looked into it (_expen$ive!!!_) I discovered some of their fatal flaws:
[list type=decimal]
They were using a proprietary format for their ebook files. After years of VHS vs. Beta-max, CD vs. CD+, Windows vs. everything, Word 1 vs. Word 2 vs. Word 3 vs. Word 4 vs. Word 5 etc., and losing writing stuff because whatever word processor I was using changed their file formats in an effort to force consumers to upgrade, I-and clearly many consumers-were very reticent about buying into a platform that if the company went under and my ereader broke, my library would be useless. Any money I invested could wind up being a waste. Also, the books could only exist on the Rocket, which meant I had no backups. If I lost or broke my Rocket, all my books would be gone.
They chose the worst possible reading list for their audience. Their marketing people said, "We should get the top titles from the bestsellers lists to offer as a library." That was akin to shooting themselves in the head. The top bestsellers were (and are) generally Romances and Mysteries. Stop and think for a moment: the Rocket was a new electronic gadget. Who is the primary consumer of shiny new techy gadgets? Techies, Geeks, and nerds. What do those people read most? Science fiction and Fantasy. There was not one title in either of those categories added until just before NuvoMedia nearly went bankrupt and was bought out by Gemstar. (And if memory serves me correct, I don't remember seeing any Horror titles at all. So much for Stephen King!) Marketing chased after the wrong audience.
The ebooks they offered were only available through them. (Well, until they partnered with B&N.) Again, this was Marketing pushing the "Air Tight Solution" (yes, this is a highly apropos porn reference) where people could only buy the reader through their company and then could only buy books from them as well. This is known publicly as _Product Lock-In_. Again, consumers were fed up with this practice through other media formats and were already wary of this practice. The only reason Amazon's Kindle program survived this practice was because Amazon had both the broad variety of books and genres available for product and the service to back it all up.
Their pricing was insane. Hardcover prices for ebooks. Even back then, I knew this was wrong because once the final ebook file was created, there were no more production costs for it. Their ebooks cost five times more than the paperback versions of the same books! Marketing thought they could charge this much because they thought they had consumers at both ends. (They were wrong.)
Still, I followed ebooks for years. Watched them when they came out on the Palm Pilot PDAs in the PDB file format. Then I got really excited when I heard that Amazon was going to buyout the French company Mobi to create their own ebook. I got even more excited when publishers (not fully understanding what they were doing, which is probably why they got it so right) came out with the EPUB format.

I actually designed an ebook reader and ebook file format back in the late 90's, very similar to what would eventually become the B&N Nook. Unfortunately, I didn't trust my then employer and by the time I got in with a company I could trust, technology had already left me behind. Just to blow my own horn, my design is still unique in that it was meant to be taken outside: waterproof and solar-powered. I liked to go camping a lot, an activity not gadget friendly.



rlkubi said:


> I didn't buy the original Kindle because of the price. Then we were going on a 3 week trip and didn't want to pack a lot of books. My husband bought a K2 for me for early Christmas in 2009 and I haven't looked back! I had the K2, Original Fire, Fire HDX 8.9 now, Kindle Keyboard, Paperwhite and now the Voyage. For me I can't imagine going back to books. I love taking it and never running out of books. I love not having to have a light. I have never used a Nook though and I won't because I'm perfectly happy with the Kindles.


I cannot count the times when I was a kid and I had to make the choice between just one more book or another pair of underwear&#8230;[/list]


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

For me personally, it's more about the Kindle store than the device itself. In my experience, there are more ebook sales and deals in the Kindle store than for Nook. And there's www.ereaderiq.com to help me keep a watch on the books I want for when they go on sale - there is no such tool for Nook (well, there's luzme.com but it's not as reliable as ereaderiq because they don't check the books everyday). I see so many Nook users complaining about how all the good ebook deals are on Kindle but not Nook. One person even bought a Nook because they kept hearing about all the great ebook sales and prices, not realizing people were mostly talking about Kindle, not Nook, and wound up sorely disappointed. Despite the fact that Nook supports epub and you can buy ebooks from other stores like Google Play (so there's more competition to keep prices lower), which don't support Kindle, Amazon make up for it by providing the best deals. I have no need to look elsewhere, not when I can pick up big name authors for $2 while it's still about $11 on Nook, Google Play, iTunes, Kobo, etc.

Also, I don't know if Nook has this or not - but I love the cloud sync feature. Instead of side loading, I love that I can send drm free books/documents to my cloud and it will function just as a book I bought from Amazon. I can download it to any device on my account and it will sync across all devices. My husband was really disappointed his Kobo didn't have that.


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## bknyfinest1 (Dec 27, 2014)

Thank you all for your detailed, thoughtful responses. Truth be told I was expecting to be flamed along the lines of "how could you possibly even thing about questioning buying a Kindle from the great Amazon?". 

I switched from Nook to Kindle because I didn't want the latest Nook, a tablet. My preference and great love is for a dedicated ereader, and the day after the Voyage was announced I had one on the way for release day delivery. It was so weird to actually get it, and I'm such a creature of habit. There are things that I do love about it, like the syncing across all devices and the auto brightness feature (which I'm still trying to get a handle on). Its also a beautiful device, which I really noticed the other day when I picked up my Nook to read (for old time sake) and saw the difference in text sharpness immediately. I think I just need to spend more time with it to really feel the overwhelming, can't live without love that I'm used to with my Nook.


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

I hope you grow to love the Voyage as much as your Nook, bknyfinest1. 

My first, and only, ereader is the Kindle Keyboard 3G. I also read on a Fire HD 6 tablet. When the time comes to buy another e-ink device, I'll definitely buy another Kindle.

I appreciate Amazon's ebookstore as much as their devices. Two considerations for me are that many ebooks (especially indie-published) are now exclusive to Amazon, and I've noticed that B&N's ebook prices are _sometimes_ higher.


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## alicepattinson (Jan 27, 2013)

Because they have the best service of e-books.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

bknyfinest1 said:


> Thank you all for your detailed, thoughtful responses. Truth be told I was expecting to be flamed along the lines of "how could you possibly even thing about questioning buying a Kindle from the great Amazon?".


We have a lot of members who are both Nook and Kindle. And also Kobo. Basically, we're readers here, going for what will give us the best reading experience--which is ultimately a very personal thing. Some people want to read ePubs, too, without having to convert docs (or being unwilling to break DRM).

Plus, we don't allow flaming here. 

Welcome again!

Betsy


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

When I first heard about the first generation Kindle (it's like an iPod for books!!!) the only other real choice was the Sony reader, which didn't have wireless capability. More importantly, I felt that  because Amazon had started primarily as a bookstore there would ultimately be a stronger long-term commitment to the device and to the bookstore. So Kindle won and I was thrilled with it.  

Then along came the iPhone and all those reading apps, and I found myself picking up free ebooks that were in ePub format. But I really wanted an eReader for reading those, so I got a little Sony Pocket reader.  I could also put library books on it (this was before Kindle teamed up with Overdrive for that). But darn it, I still couldn't put B&N eBooks on it because of their DRM (they started selling eBooks before they released the Nook). So when the Nook was old enough to start showing up on eBay I found one and picked it up and sold my Sony. 

Since then I've owned most generations of the Kindle. I missed my little Sony reader but never really warmed up to my first Nook, ended up giving the Nook to a sister-in-law and buying another Sony Pocket reader (at an excellent price on eBay). I could read Nook books on my iPad Mini. When Radio Shack sold Nook Simple Touch readers for $20, I jumped on that. It was a huge improvement over the first generation Nook, and lovely for just reading, but I still found doing almost everything else on it to be aggravating. I remember thinking with the first Nook that it sometimes felt like they had added at least one step to doing every function - turning wireless on/off, putting books into Collections/Shelves, etc. (Honestly the Sony readers - RIP - had the best system for organizing books.)  Once I got my Paperwhite 2, I sold the Simple Touch and was back to Kindle-only status. 

You can't beat Amazon's customer service. I've never had to call them for technical issues (I can usually find an answer here) but when my daughter dropped her 2nd gen Kindle I called to verify that there wasn't something we could do to fix the scrambled screen. The Kindle CS guy said it should've survived the fall and sent a replacement, even though the warranty didn't cover accidental damage. When my 3rd gen Kindle developed a crack in the case that was purely cosmetic, I called to be sure it wouldn't become a more serious functional issue down the line. When the CS rep checked my warranty date (I'd bought it used on Craig's List) he saw that there was less than a week left on the warranty and sent a replacement, "just in case". That's another thing I preferred with Kindle - remaining warranty transfers to a new owner, it didn't with Nook when I had the original one. That may have changed though. 

Atunah summed it up well when she said "customer service, convenience, price, software and hardware and habit". All of those keep me with Amazon and Kindle. In your shoes, though, had I started with a Nook or a Sony, I'm sure I would've had an adjustment period. I currently have a Paperwhite 2 and am just a bit envious of your Voyage, but so far I'm holding out because my PW2 is skinned and sleeved and my books are all organized just how I want them and I'm not quite ready to start over with all that. But once I see one in a store, all bets are off.   And I've once again sworn off other-than-Kindle readers. For now. If something particularly shiny comes along, who knows?  But in the foreseeable future, I'll always have a Kindle, even if I pick up something else to augment it.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Some people want to read ePubs, too, without having to convert docs (or being unwilling to break DRM).


Amazon does offer a service and program for converting EPUBs to the MOBI format. It's what I use to convert my ebooks over to MOBI for publication.

I generate the EPUB files first, make sure they are formatted the way I want them, and then convert them to MOBI. It works very nicely and keeps the formatting the way it was set in the EPUB.

Calibre can also make the conversion, but I don't know if I'm comfortable with using it for production work. Still, Kovid Goyal, the author of Calibre, has made excellent strides in the quality of the program over the past year or so. My opinion could change in the near future. I recommend Calibre as an excellent tool for anyone who has an ebook reader.

*<soapbox>*
It does stand to be mentioned, as Betsy pointed out, that same ebooks have DRM on them. There are extensions for Calibre that can remove the DRM from ebooks and they do work very well. I stand firmly on the "No DRM" side of the argument. I believe that if you buy my book, regardless of how it is contained, you have the right to read my book on any device you wish. For the record, I have no DRM on my ebooks, and I have yet to see any evidence of people "pirating" my book. Baen Publishing has been publishing ebooks for years-even before Amazon was selling them-and their business has not suffered at all for lack of DRM.
*</soapbox>*


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Re: DRM removal:

Each person has to make their own decision, ideally with as much info as possible. Defeating the DRM scheme is likely against whatever ToS you agreed to when you purchased the eBook.  That said, I can't find much fault when all you want to do is read the thing you already paid for on a different type of reader.

Be that as it may: as it is against Amazon's (and other ebook retailer's) ToS to manipulate the file in order to defeat the DRM, whatever the reason, we don't allow discussion here of how to do it, nor links to sites on how to do it.

Note that I mean to imply no criticism, and really don't want a DRM or Not discussion here; I'm just stating the kboards position.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

WDR said:


> I remember seeing the ad for the Rocket in Popular Science and thinking to myself, "That's _IT! _No more running out of underwear on long trips!"
> 
> But when I looked into it (_expen$ive!!!_) I discovered some of their fatal flaws:





You were smarter than I, but I loved my Rocket and did get some decent books for it. As I remember, I saw in one of the forums that there was a way to convert the Rocket format to something more open, but I never pursued it and so lost the books I had on it when I finally disposed of the device (which was still working perfectly when more than 10 years old). The only book I lost that I regret was one of Jonathan Kellerman's as it was the only one on there I might want to reread someday.


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## bknyfinest1 (Dec 27, 2014)

WDR said:


> Calibre can also make the conversion, but I don't know if I'm comfortable with using it for production work. Still, Kovid Goyal, the author of Calibre, has made excellent strides in the quality of the program over the past year or so. My opinion could change in the near future. I recommend Calibre as an excellent tool for anyone who has an ebook reader.


It was a few months ago when BN decided to remove the ability to download your ebooks to your desktop; a pivotal moment in my ereading world. From that moment I never bought another ebook from BN, and I used Calibre to convert my library (after realizing that I still had an older version of Nook software which still allowed me to download my books) to AZW3 format. There are a few little annoying kinks but it worked well for about 95% of my ebooks.


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## John F (May 19, 2014)

I got my Kindle exclusively to read library books that the library does not circulate in print form. It's served me very well, and paid back many times what I paid for it. So far I haven't bought any Kindle books or other e-materials, and don't expect to. Well, I have downloaded a few that Amazon offered for free, and maybe they count these as purchases. But if I want to own a book, it's still got to be paper and ink.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

bknyfinest1 said:


> It was a few months ago when BN decided to remove the ability to download your ebooks to your desktop; a pivotal moment in my ereading world. From that moment I never bought another ebook from BN, and I used Calibre to convert my library (after realizing that I still had an older version of Nook software which still allowed me to download my books) to AZW3 format. There are a few little annoying kinks but it worked well for about 95% of my ebooks.


I had not heard this, bynyfinest1! Amazing...poking around on the Internet, I see a lot of complaints about this. It does seem like B&N has always made it more difficult to read purchased content than other providers.

Betsy


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I had not heard this, bynyfinest1! Amazing...poking around on the Internet, I see a lot of complaints about this. It does seem like B&N has always made it more difficult to read purchased content than other providers.
> 
> Betsy


It's just a different approach to lock in. Marketers have to understand that you don't win customers by making it difficult or inconvenient to use your product. You do it through excellent service and product offering.

Seriously, the distributors should take a long hard look at Baen Publishing. Baen has been publishing ebooks without DRM since the 90's, in all formats available for popular devices used to read ebooks. After nearly 20 years of doing this, Baen reports no negative impacts on their sales. It's hard to argue with 20 years of data. And unlike other publishers, readers can purchase the ebooks directly from Baen if they wish, instead of purchasing the ebooks from third-party distributors. Or vice-versa. Been certainly seems to be doing well.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

WDR said:


> It's just a different approach to lock in. Marketers have to understand that you don't win customers by making it difficult or inconvenient to use your product. You do it through excellent service and product offering.
> 
> Seriously, the distributors should take a long hard look at Baen Publishing. Baen has been publishing ebooks without DRM since the 90's, in all formats available for popular devices used to read ebooks. After nearly 20 years of doing this, Baen reports no negative impacts on their sales. It's hard to argue with 20 years of data. And unlike other publishers, readers can purchase the ebooks directly from Baen if they wish, instead of purchasing the ebooks from third-party distributors. Or vice-versa. Been certainly seems to be doing well.


Or take a look at the music industry which has already been through this whole piracy/DRM battle and realized you can't stop piracy and the more you try to do so, the more people will pirate. Now that iTunes no longer uses DRM, I am more than willing to buy music from them.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

history_lover said:


> Or take a look at the music industry which has already been through this whole piracy/DRM battle and realized you can't stop piracy and the more you try to do so, the more people will pirate. Now that iTunes no longer uses DRM, I am more than willing to buy music from them.


Yup. Steve Jobs tried to convince the music publishers not to use DRM, but they insisted. They wouldn't allow iTunes to use their music unless Apple applied DRM, so Apple had no choice if they wanted iTunes to have a chance to grow. When they (Apple/Jobs) were finally able to get the music publishers to acquiesce, the DRM was removed rapidly and music sales on iTunes exploded.

Because some media (audio/video/print) producers still insist on DRM, Apple has a button that allows the producer to apply DRM on any release put up for sale. All the distributors (Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc.) have followed Apple on this and have a button that allows a publisher to apply DRM if they so desire. The only say the public has in this matter is to vote with their dollars and buy media that isn't locked up.

My take on it is you paid to have my book available to read. You should be able to read it in any way or manner you wish: On a car, near or far, on a boat that doesn't float. While you're eating toast with jam, or eating fresh green eggs and ham&#8230;


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## parakeetgirl (Feb 27, 2009)

I have ereaders from all different companies. I have multiple Kindles, Nooks , a Kobo. What makes me use the Kindles more than any of them is the Amazon store, and their customer service. The Kindles themselves are great hardware. Sturdy too. My K1 still works!

I feel like the Nooks are a good product, but I have ran into several issues with hardware and customer service. The prices were always a little bit higher than Amazon, but that at least seems not to be the case as much anymore.

The Kobos tend to be a little bit glitchy and the response time of CS is abysmal.


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## ct85711 (Jan 25, 2015)

When I originally got my kindle, I got it mainly because the amazon store was significantly larger than nook's ebook store was.  I knew at that time, that customer service was not going to be anything to worry about because it boils down to, What customer service in middle of the ocean?  Now, I've been using multiple different nooks in addition to my kindle.  Like parakeetgirl mentioned, I have been running into several issues with nooks, that I never did for kindles.  I'd consider getting me a Kobo, but they are not sold in the US so I can't even see if I like them or not.  I'm not worried about their store, as most of my books anymore is side loaded due to keeping both a mobi and a epub versions.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

ct85711 said:


> I'd consider getting me a Kobo, but they are not sold in the US so I can't even see if I like them or not. I'm not worried about their store, as most of my books anymore is side loaded due to keeping both a mobi and a epub versions.


Kobos are most definitely available in the US. I have one, and I will admit it is my most commonly used ebook reader by a narrow margin. The Kobo uses the ePub file as its ebook format. So anything you get from Project Gutenberg, Nook, Apple, or Bitbooks will be readable on your Kobo-so long as there is no DRM on the ebook.

Kobo has been trying to crack the market open by promoting their ebook reader through independent bookstores. If you buy an ebook from Kobo by going through the independent bookstore's website, they share a small percentage of the sale with the store-similar to Amazon's Affiliate program. I don't know how much of a share the bookstores receive or how well their program is progressing. But I give them credit for trying.

I feel the Kobo has the best library interface of the three primary ebook readers: Kindle, Kobo, and Nook. (Note: I am not including tablet computers on this list, such as the iPad or Fire.)

Of the three ebook readers, I do find that the Kobo tends to be a little funky in rendering an ebook on screen. From the programming perspective when I'm trying to build an ebook file, I find that a bit annoying. I shouldn't have to tweak an ePub file just for the Kobo alone so it looks the same on the Kobo as it does on a Nook or an iPad. Where I usually see errors is how it renders large font sizes, such as the title on the title page of the book. The large letters tend to collide with each other. (Another way of looking at this problem is it does force me to be very careful when working on my QA and create a superior ebook file that works properly on all platforms.)

If nothing else, I would advise any writer seeking to be an independent writer to purchase one of each of the major ebook reading devices: Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and-if you can afford it-an iOS device such as iPad or iPhone. Your ebook should render the same across all the platforms. By having each one, you can test your ebook across them to ensure there are no mistakes that renders your book unreadable. Remember, you can write them off as business expenses. (Well, in the US.)


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

ct85711 said:


> I'd consider getting me a Kobo, but they are not sold in the US so I can't even see if I like them or not. I'm not worried about their store, as most of my books anymore is side loaded due to keeping both a mobi and a epub versions.


You used to be able to buy them at Borders . . . I expect at this point you'd have to order online: http://store.kobobooks.com/

I don't think I've seen them in any other stores -- like Best Buy or Target -- but I admit I've not gone looking.

I checked out the Kobos at one point . . . . I liked them better than the Nooks that were available at the time. They were VERY close to the kindle (I already had one of them) but didn't have the selection or Amazon's customer service and guarantee. As I recall they did have more typeface choices but this was a neutral point for me as I've been happy with the typefaces kindle has made available. Though I know for many this is an important consideration. And I remember them being very intuitive to use. . . where as Nook was just . . . complicated.  Always seemed to take at least a half dozen more steps than I thought it ought to. Or where things were in menus and sub menus didn't feel logical to me.

This was several years ago, though, and the size of the library, at least, is, at this point, almost moot: there are plenty of ebooks no matter where you prefer to buy them. And there are 'independent' distributors as well that have formats that will work on all the major devices. In the early days, there were fewer stores that sold ebooks and Amazon won me by having a large library with books I wanted to read at a price lower than what was available via their competitor -- which, at the time, was pretty much just Sony; Nook and Kobo came maybe a year later. For me to switch, they would have had to be significantly better and they were not, by my analysis.


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## ct85711 (Jan 25, 2015)

Sadly, all the independent bookstores/christian bookstores in my area closed down or moved away.  I tried looking them up, and went to where they say they are and find out it's no longer in business.  The only thing the kobo has for me on advantage is supporting both epub and mobi; even then, that isn't much to make a difference as I am used to maintaining 2 versions of the ebook on my computer's library.  The biggest unknown for me, is how much I like their user interface (hence why I'd prefer to test one before buying it).  At least with kindle, I can go to Best Buy or Staples and play around on a demo, to get a feel for it.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

ct85711 said:


> Sadly, all the independent bookstores/christian bookstores in my area closed down or moved away. I tried looking them up, and went to where they say they are and find out it's no longer in business. The only thing the kobo has for me on advantage is supporting both epub and mobi; even then, that isn't much to make a difference as I am used to maintaining 2 versions of the ebook on my computer's library. The biggest unknown for me, is how much I like their user interface (hence why I'd prefer to test one before buying it). At least with kindle, I can go to Best Buy or Staples and play around on a demo, to get a feel for it.


My Kobo does not support mobi. Just epub.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

cinisajoy said:


> My Kobo does not support mobi. Just epub.


Some Kobo readers do support mobi (unprotected mobi, I'm sure) - the Auras and Touch do, the Mini & Glo don't. At least that's according to the specs on their website.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Meemo said:


> Some Kobo readers do support mobi (unprotected mobi, I'm sure) - the Auras and Touch do, the Mini & Glo don't. At least that's according to the specs on their website.


I have a first generation.


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## ct85711 (Jan 25, 2015)

Well, if the H20 doesn't, then that will resolve that issue about trying to find a local place that has them.  The only reason I'd look at them is for that support; otherwise I'll stick with a Kindle.  I know a tablet wouldn't be too good, as I like to read enough that I'd kill its battery half way through.  I don't like the idea of being tied to constantly keeping it plugged in just to read; and I wouldn't be using any of it's other features as I have a computer to do that on.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

ct85711 said:


> Well, if the H20 doesn't, then that will resolve that issue about trying to find a local place that has them. The only reason I'd look at them is for that support; otherwise I'll stick with a Kindle. I know a tablet wouldn't be too good, as I like to read enough that I'd kill its battery half way through. I don't like the idea of being tied to constantly keeping it plugged in just to read; and I wouldn't be using any of it's other features as I have a computer to do that on.


The H2O is part of the Aura line, and according to the specs on the Kobo site, it does support mobi.

I love the specs of the Aura HD and some of the features. But I'm happy enough with my PW2 - and more than happy with Amazon's customer service.


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