Comments on: Why I Finally Broke Down and Ordered a Kindle Paperwhite

By: Paul Durrant

Paul Durrant — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:59:22 +0000

I won’t buy books that have encryption-based DRM that I can’t remove. Luckily, at the moment, that means I’m happy to buy books with any of the main DRM schemes (Amazon, Adobe, B&N).

By: Alexander Inglis

Alexander Inglis — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:53:09 +0000

I’d like to put in a plug for the Kobo Glo, similar paperwhite technology touch screen. It’s a dream reader, as far as I am concerned and, as Amazon has many featues it does not support here in Canada, Kobo’s eco system is preferable.

And I still use my Nexus 7 tablet, with a Kindle, Kobo and Overdrive app to read some of my content there. But for e-ink, long battery life, crisp screen, light-weight and portable, I love my Glo!

By: Rob Suggs

Rob Suggs — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:24:35 +0000

Just curious to see people who are so eager to find flaws with Amazon while finding none with the corporate behavior of Apple. The Apple-led collusion to raise prices was just fine, while Amazon’s stand with Macmillan was unconscionable? OK. Amazon is not a perfect organization–hard to be that size and have no big flaws–but there’s a reason for their success with e-readers. Jeff Bezos was passionate about it from the beginning, when no one had an idea that this thing could work, and while Steve Jobs was shrugging and saying, “Nobody reads anymore.” My loyalty is based as much on Amazon’s commitment to the idea itself as to the superior customer support. I’ve never had a single problem with the DRM.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:11:48 +0000

I had a Sony reader about 4 years ago and had to use ADE. I hated that system with a passion that was unrivalled. I had to repeatedly re download books due to problems with ADE, I lost books due to to many downloads and restrictions about downloading the same book to one account. My account kept getting locked out and when I tried to reset it I was told that I could not reregister my ADE because I was already registered but still could not access my books or my ADE. The whole thing also would not play nice with my Mac and even I tried downloading my books from a PC instead I still had problems. I tried deleting the ADE program and re download it and it still gave me problems.The whole thing was a nightmare.

I got so frustrated with the whole process that when I saw the Kindle advertised in Aug of 2010 I immediately pre ordered one. The reason I love the Kindle so much is that there are no additional programs needed to use it, it didn’t have to be connected to a computer to download books and it had wi-fi and I could download books anywhere. No more did I have to have my PC or laptop to download a book. No more fiddling with extra software that had to be updated all the time and wondered if it would work once it did update. No more hassle, just the sheer pleasure and ease to download my books and read where ever and when ever I wanted.

While no e-reader or platform is perfect, I find that for me Amazon is much nicer to deal with and if you have a problem with your device, which I did and got a replacement Kindle within 3 days no questions asked, or if you have to get a refund on a book due to poor formatting or a mistaken purchase, they are very pleasant and easy to deal with.

By: Nico

Nico — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:33:20 +0000

@Brian They do use DRM. I believe it’s Adobe Digital Editions which, as devini mentioned, has some drawbacks, like a limited number of gadget authorization spaces. But Kobo makes their ebooks readable by other ADE-enabled devices. Such as, I believe, the Nook and the Sony Reader. So they’re kind of like library ebooks… they’re device-agnostic but still have DRM on them. Not ideal, but a damn sight better than a lot of stuff out there.

Kindle books, and most other ebooks from stores with ereaders, will only work on their home company’s devices and apps.

From the Kobo site: “Your eBooks are yours to do with as you please, so you’re never locked in to one device (unlike some other leading eReaders). Feel free to read your Kobo eBooks on any open eReader you already own, or load your open eBooks onto your Kobo Mini. They’re your eBooks after all!”

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:12:06 +0000

“That’s why I like Kobo’s concerted effort to keep their books as open as possible.”

Explain please. Kobo is no more DRM-less than any other ebook player in my experience. Maybe I’m missing something.

By: Nico

Nico — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:01:41 +0000

@devini ADE v. Amazon DRM is a question of the least of two evils. Really no DRM is beneficial to a customer. That’s why I like Kobo’s concerted effort to keep their books as open as possible.

Also, yeah, Amazon’s return system is great. I’ve returned books to Apple, but you do have to write them a note about why, which is obviously a pain.

By: Nico

Nico — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:46:29 +0000

@Vanda + Brian: Maybe you guys can help me out. Is there a setting that enables/disables page numbers or have I just not come across any books that have them?

I probably should have said something like “when kindle books don’t have page numbers.” I just hate Locations… I can see why they’d be necessary for the coding of highlights and such, but I don’t know why they chose to display them to readers.

Also, Brian, that’s kind of what I meant about the Prime Library. It’s a nice bonus, but not really a feature that tips the scale in a meaningful way.

By: devini

devini — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:40:00 +0000

You sound like you hate something without really knowing what you’re talking about. I would much rather have Amazon’s DRM than ADE. At least with Amazon you can still read your books no matter how many gadgets you have. All the other stores that use ADE drive me crazy. Now that is a system worth criticizing. You can easily return books to Amazon for refunding without going through hoops like Kobo, Sony, etc. Good luck getting a refund from Apple if you make an erroneous purchase. Like I’ve said from the beginning: Amazon got everything right right from the get go. None of the other even come close.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:26:25 +0000

“The Kindle has page numbers for many/most print books.”

Just to clarify, I mean for books that have a print equivalent.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:24:24 +0000

“The fact that it doesn’t have page numbers annoys the hell out of me”

The Kindle has page numbers for many/most print books. Instead of just have arbitrarily generated “page number” like ADE based readers (which is less accurate than locations) Amazon gives you real page numbers that refer to the actual page number in a specific print edition of the book. Just tap the top part of your screen to bring up the menu options and you’ll see the current page number at the bottom of the page. I’m not sure however if page numbers are available in foreign language books yet or not.

“I’m not about to pay $79 a year for for the Library”

I don’t think they expect anyone will. It’s more of a “bonus feature” for folks that have Prime for other reasons.

By: Vonda Z

Vonda Z — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:20:09 +0000

“The fact that it doesn’t have page numbers annoys the hell out of me” – where is this coming from? My Paperwhite has real page numbers. Just tap the top of the screen and on the bottom it will tell me “Page XXX of XXX” on the bottom of the screen. Of course, the book file itself has to support real page numbers, but they are there.