Best eBook reader?

[eblend]

Hey guys,

So my mom decided to get a new ebook reader after talking to her friends about them. She reads a ton of book all the time from the library but wants to go e-book now that they travel for vacations often enough and doesn't want to bring books with her as they are heavy and take up space.

I was originally thinking just a straight up ebook reader with the monochrome display as I believe it would be easier on the eyes, but it would be nice if they were able to use it to write e-mails and things to us as well, so more like a tablet.

If there a best hybrid solution to this? I thought I read sometimes that some Samsung tablets have some reading mode, does that actually help and make it more like an ereader or no?

Another questions is regarding books. Is there some service where you can borrow e-books with a subscription much like she does with library physical books, be it from kindle, kobo or whoever?

I also don't want to lock myself down to any given provider and have the ability to load own e-books for example.

Any suggestions for the best route to go?

[schocker]

If you want tablet features you are better off with a tablet. I have a kobo touch that is a few years old now and it works awesome as I prefer to read on the e-ink screen. The refresh is very slow so it doesn't work well for anything but books really. I use the calibre software to load my own books but I belive you can use the kobo with the calgary library. The kobo is able to read mobi, epub and pdf formats that I have used. Kindle I think is more difficult to set up for your own books. I would therefore reccommend a kobo. I would say a touch or glo, having the back light would probably be nice for reading at night or in the dark.

[roopi]

I've never used an e reader but I do have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 that I use for reading. It does have the reading mode and I don't mind reading books on it at all. I only read about 1 book per month though. In reading mode it just seems like the white background is a little dimmer. I haven't noticed anything other than that.

[Mitsu3000gt]

My research pointed me to the Kobo Aura HD. Highest PPI screen (not sure if it still is), instant page turns, and best of all, you aren't locked down as far as e-book file format goes. The front-light is excellent, it looks basically like Timex Indiglo, with any brightness of your choosing. Battery life is easily 2 months. Yes I know you can use calibre but it isn't always perfect and it's annoying. The size is about perfect for my preferences. Kindle locks you to their restricted format.

Kobo's Canadian selection is much better than Amazon Canada, if you buy your e-books.

All tablets suck as e-readers, and all e-readers suck as tablets. Nothing comes remotely close to e-ink for reading and vise versa.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Kindle PaperWhite, three members of my family (ages 16 to 72) have one, all based on this review. All were bought through Amazon.com and use the USA account:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/ama...-ebook-reader/

Amazing how much better the PaperWhite is over the previous versions, I have a three year old Kindle which still works fine but has me wanting the new PaperWhite.

You can borrow ebooks and more through the Calgary Public Library system. Need an online account obviously. No idea as to how well it plays with a Kindle as I use Caliber and my iPhone or laptop.

[sheik_yerbouti]

Originally posted by CanmoreOrLess
old Kindle which still works fine but has me wanting the new PaperWhite.

You can borrow ebooks and more through the Calgary Public Library system. Need an online account obviously.

I thought that the library ebooks didn't work on Kindle readers.

[eblend]

Sweet thanks for the feedback guys, didn't know you could borrow from the library with Kobo, so has me leaning that way, plus the whole "any format" thing. Might just pickup the Kobo Aura HD

Thanks!

EDIT: Looks like Kobo Aura H20 is a waterproof version of Aura, and only $10 more, so will go with that as my mom wants to take it to super humid places on vacations and ruined the last laptop by taking it with her into the washroom after a hot shower...

[msommers]

Kindle Voyage

[anarchy]

Originally posted by sheik_yerbouti


I thought that the library ebooks didn't work on Kindle readers.

That's what I thought as well?

I have a Kindle Paperwhite as well - no complaints, pretty smooth device. I took the case off of it and had a small nick on the screen, I called Amazon and it was within my one year warranty and they just sent me a new one no questions asked.

When I was researching e-books the reviews I read on Kobo's were that they had a higher tendency to crap out but no idea how much of that is true.

I'd also suggest that you keep an e-book and tablet separate - they have two different sets of functions. The e-ink is perfect cuz it's easy on the eyes and lasts for ever for battery.

[DeeK]

Another recommendation for kindle paperwhite. While the V1 was full of problems, the V2 is a blessing. I've never read so many books in my life.

The in-laws entire family has various different e-readers, kobos, nook, etc. All of them have died, or had issues. They've all switched to the kindle paperwhite since.


On a side note, if you are worried about which devices accept which formats, ignore it. Just download Calibre, it's free and is the best thing I've used since I got this kindle.

[gpomp]

Kindle Paperwhite with US amazon account.

[anarchy]

How do you get a US Amazon account and what's the advantages of that?

Also, what's Calibre and what does it do?

Sorry for the derail.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by anarchy
How do you get a US Amazon account and what's the advantages of that?

Also, what's Calibre and what does it do?

Sorry for the derail.

Calibre can convert any e-book type to another. It's an annoying extra step, but nice to have as a backup. It's not always a great conversion either. It's better to have a reader that can simply read any file, IMHO.

[CanmoreOrLess]

It looks like a Kindle does not play well with the Calgary Library:

"The 3M Cloud Library is not currently supported by Amazon."

http://www.3m.com/us/library/eBook/index.html

Advantage to the other eBook readers mentioned.


Library eBook info:

http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/book...e-library?s=93

[gpomp]

Originally posted by anarchy
How do you get a US Amazon account and what's the advantages of that?

Also, what's Calibre and what does it do?

Sorry for the derail.

just use a us mailing address for your Amazon.com account. Books are generally cheaper in the states.