Nook or Kobo?

I've decided that I'm going to get an ereader with my tax refund. I'm in Canada, so the only ones that are really available here are the Kobo and the Sony ereaders. My mom and I have planned a trip to the states when my refund comes in (within the next few weeks) and my dad has generously exchanged some money from Canadian to US so that if the exchange rate happens to go up, I'll still get it cheaper.

So, all that being said, I think I have it narrowed down to either the Nook or the Kobo.

I'll be honest, I highly doubt that I'm going to actually buy any books. A lot of the ones that I read are public domain, and if I can't find them there, I can use either of those two with the library here. My friend has also given me her library card number, and another friend is going to give me his, so I'll have libraries here in London, in Toronto and up north in Thunder Bay as well.

If I get the Nook, I will be using a friend's address in the US to register it and an IP hiding service to purchase them using a B&N gift card. This seems to be the easiest way to purchase books with the Nook.

I ousted the Kindle, which I had initially been thinking of, because I was told that it's better for people that actually buy books. I don't like that the files are specific to the Kindle whereas basically every other one uses ePub files. I also heard that it's PDF reader is lacking and, since most libraries use ePub, you can't borrow library books with it.

I haven't really looked into the Sony one much, but there's just something about it looks wise that I'm not too fond of. My friend has one and loves it, but I just don't know.

The same friend's sister has a Kobo and my friend frequently loads books onto it for her sister. She says it's really easy to use. The thing that I don't like about it is that it uses the lower bit greyscale, so the contrast is lacking a bit. Another upside is that I don't have to go to the states to buy it... although it is only a few hours and it would be a nice trip for my mom and I.

My mom's friend had a Kobo, as did a few others that she knows, none of them could get them working properly and ended up returning them. I am not sure whether or not this is an age thing (they're all 60+ and basically only know how to email) or if it's genuinely the product. It also seems like there are a lot of menus to go through before getting to what you actually want.

If I do go with the Nook, I will be getting the original one (not the colour), with WiFi. The 3G won't work here, so there is no sense in paying $50 more for that one. I have read reviews from people in Canada that use them here, it seems to be fairly simple and I have a computer genius here to help me if I get stuck, lol. I like that it's android based and that it has a simple web browser. I also like that it uses the higher bit greyscale screen - from online comparisons it seems to be crisper and brighter. I don't know whether or not I would even use the web browser, or whether it would even be compatible here, but it's just something that's an added bonus. It's the same price in the US as the Kobo is here - ~$149. The Nook would actually end up being slightly cheaper, because of the exchange rate.

So, those of you that have the Nook or the Kobo, what do you like about it and what do you not?

Those of you that have something else, feel free to chime in as well!

I have the Kobo and absolutely LOVE IT! My hunny bought it for me for Christmas and I don't know how I ever lived without one. I have never had a single problem with it and find it very easy to use. I download all of my books from one particular website for free and now have a library of over 600 ebooks to read.

My Mom has the Sony Ereader touch and although it is nice, in my opinion it isn't necessary to pay for one of those when a Kobo is just as good. I've never seen the Nook and I don't know anyone locally who has one but they get great reviews.

Thanks for the review!

I too get most of my books for free from a particular website, I have the Kobo app for my phone because I wanted to try it out and see if I would actually use it before spending the money on the reader.

It's down to the Nook or the Kobo, I think I'd be happy with either but since we're going to the states anyways I'm going to go with the Nook - unless we get down there and they're sold out, lol.

The only two things I didn't like about the Kobo were the screen contrast and the menu thing, but I haven't played with the Nook at all yet. I'm definitely going to do that at the store before I buy one.

I'm starting to think that it's an age thing with my mom's friends, lol. I also suspect that maybe their computers are older and not running an OS that's compatible with the Kobo... but not sure.

I got a Kobo reader for Christmas, too; I'll admit I find it difficult to use sometimes, but I think that's because I have trouble with my eyes and the keypad is, for me, a little small and hard to read. I've only downloaded 1 book so far, but that's because I'm extremely cheap and I guess I haven't come across that free web-sjte Kailie mentioned

What I'd love to know is how to delete some of those titles that were included in the reader when I got it. I'd love to free up the space to add titles that I actually want to read.

BTW, if it's not against TCS guidelines, could someone pm me the address of that free book site? Please?

You can also get the kindle in Canada, you just order it from Amazon.com instead of Amazon.ca...and if you're going to the states you can just pick up the kindle there.

A kindle has been on my wish list for a long time

I thought about the Kindle but nixed it for a couple of reasons. I can't borrow library books on it, our library site specifically says that they don't support Kindle, all of their books are ePub and Kindle is something else. My friend was researching them two years ago before she went with a Sony reader, she said that they're good if you buy the books, but for sharing and whatnot it's too much of a hassle. You have to put the book through a few different programs to get it in the right format and it can go all wonky. The last thing I want is to get halfway through a book and then have it all screwed up.

Libby - I'll PM you the address of the site I use, but you have to be invited to sign up. I don't have enough points on there to send you an invite but if you know someone else that uses it they can invite you.

They have improved ALOT in 2 years.
Also when I was talking to my local library they said they will be supporting the Kindle very soon I'm in Canada as well so I'm assuming all library's will be supporting them.

I'm going to look into the Kobo's though since you guys seem to like them, last time I looked at Reviews nobody seemed to like them, that's why I looked into the Kindle.

Why does technology have to be so complicated?!?!

The Kobo has improved a lot since the newer model with Wifi was released, from what I've read.

I have one of those Kindle's and just love it. Although, I really like the feel and smell of REAL books. So I am finding I hardly use the Kindle at all. OH well...

Originally Posted by libby74

What I'd love to know is how to delete some of those titles that were included in the reader when I got it. I'd love to free up the space to add titles that I actually want to read.

Click to expand...

I pmed you the site I use.

I deleted all of the preloaded books. It took a little time to go through each one but I highlight the book, press the menu button on the side, and choose delete. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by nerdrock

The Kobo has improved a lot since the newer model with Wifi was released, from what I've read.

Click to expand...

Mine is wifi so maybe that's why I love it?

Originally Posted by Kailie

I pmed you the site I use.

I deleted all of the preloaded books. It took a little time to go through each one but I highlight the book, press the menu button on the side, and choose delete.

Hope this helps!

Click to expand...

Thanks Kailie, and thanks nerdrock, for the links.
Kailie, I'm going to try this to delete some of those preloaded books; I seriously doubt I will ever read the US Constitution. (now watch, as soon as I delete it I'll need the darned thing! )

Originally Posted by Feralvr

I have one of those Kindle's and just love it. Although, I really like the feel and smell

of REAL books. So I am finding I hardly use the Kindle at all. OH well...

Click to expand...

I love the feel and smell of real books too, especially older ones and I frequent our used book store here quite often. I want an ereader to bring to work with me, take on trips, have in waiting rooms, etc, where it's a bit cumbersome to bring a book or two or three along with me.

I also have all of the pet's vet records in PDF format on my computer, I want to transfer them over to my ereader so that I have them in case of emergency. If I have to go to the evet I have everything right there - bloodwork, records, etc. Every time I'm there I have the vet photocopy the new page, then I update the file with it. Maybe I'm a bit anal about it, lol, but when we switched vets and our old vet refused to transfer the records, it really came in handy.

I have the original Nook. And, I absolutely love it. There is absolutely nothing that I've found that I do not like about it. I do live in the US, but I have a friend that lives in Canada that has one and she loves hers as well (it was purchased in the US). And, from what I hear about her family and friends, they have the Nook as well and find it just as user friendly as I do. Unfortunately, her comments about the Kobo were not as positive. But, without personal experience regarding the Kobo, I can't really offer much.

Thanks to Kailie, I now use the same source she does for free books. And, I now have quite the library downloaded onto my Nook. I had previously been purchasing books via the B&N site, but downloading the free books, though it takes some additional time to do (minutes, really -- nothing unreasonable), I have saved quite a bit of money. From the moment I got my Nook, I found it easy to use. I was one who thought that I'd never get past the feel or smell of reading books, but I don't know how I ever lived without my e-reader now!

I do not have the best eyesight and I find reading with Nook to be very easy on my eyes. The contrast is excellent and the resolution is crystal clear. While I don't have the color version, I still have downloaded some photos and other files onto my Nook and they are still pleasant to look at and use. The browser is Android based and it works very well -- especially when I know I'm going to be out, but do not want to lug my laptop around with me. I will say that the battery does drain a lot more quickly when the web browser is turned on, but I've found that if I turn that feature off (which is very easy to do) when I'm solely reading, the battery can last 10+ days. And, since it plugs into either an outlet or your computer, it is easy to charge.

I tried a number of different e-readers before deciding on the Nook. And, the person who bought it for me is the most tech savvy individual I know. My brother knows a lot about research and getting the most for what you buy. I certainly agree with his assumption that the Nook (the basic version) was the best deal. And, I have had NO issues with it in the time that I've owned it (since Christmas). Like I said, I have only heard second-hand reports about the Kobo, but, among my friends, it has not received the best reviews. I've heard much more positivity around the Nook. But, that's just my two cents...

Thanks so much for the review!

One thing that I really like about the Nook is that it's android based... so is my phone, lol.

I have looked up the Barnes and Nobel stores that are closest to where we'll be going (Port Huron), there's one that's about 5 miles away, then the rest are about 30-40 miles. I'm going to call the closest one first and see if they have them in stock the day we go, if they don't, I'll call the next one on the list and so on. Hopefully they'll hold one for a few hours until we can get there, but if not I'll figure something else out.

There are a lot of them on Kijiji, I thought briefly about buying one from there but the classic Nook Wifi starts at around $200, lol. No way.