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I've been on the fence regarding my next ereading move for a while now. Amazon has been continuing its Apple-ification of the Kindle ecosystem by shutting down

I've been on the fence regarding my next ereading move for a while now. Amazon has been continuing its Apple-ification of the Kindle ecosystem by shutting down systems, APIs, and features that made it open and accessible. I am sure most people won't care, and the current state will continue to appeal to a certain kind of mindset that is only interested in the consumption aspect (or worse, the shilling for such ecosystems). Not that the rest of the industry is a great place at the moment. All major ebook sources are DRMd and locked, and that includes libraries, which have traditionally been associated with public spaces and openness. I have heard that Kobos are becoming a more viable alternative as a reading device, and that they are a little more open. It works with Calibre and Calibre-Web. I will now be researching a Kobo device for this year, and although I am 'voting with my wallet', I don't think it will make much of a difference being a single drop among millions going the other way.

CameronNemo 4y ago
The Kobo I have can be mounted as a USB mass storage device, and the books synced that way (with rsync or just copying in the file browser).
fumeux_fume 4y ago
Kindle devices now support the open epub format which is a improvement at least. Kobo devices come chained to Rakuten so it's not a big enough difference for me to consider switching... for now.
- wilsonnb3 4y ago
  They only kind of support epub - you can now email a drm-free epub file to your "Send to Kindle" email address but it will be converted to a different format before being sent to your device. You still can't load or read epubs directly on Kindles.
  - 33955985 4y ago
    >You still can't load or read epubs directly on Kindles To the average reader, does this have an negative impact?
    - goosedragons 4y ago
      Plenty. It doesn't support DRM'd ePubs adding an extra layer of complexity, Amazon doesn't allow "personal documents" sent via email to have covers and they are picky about ePub support and sometimes book conversions will fail but would otherwise work in a native ePub reader.
      - 33955985 4y ago
        > Amazon doesn't allow "personal documents" sent via email to have covers This doesn’t appear to be true. I have several non Amazon epubs that I sent using the web interface, all with covers.
        goosedragons 4y ago
        Looking at it seems like they fixed this with Firmware 5.15.1 but for a while this was true.
ethanbond 4y ago
In case you haven’t, check out the Supernote. It is amazing if you like annotating/highlighting etc. Only big downside is no backlight, but a neck light has made the transition easy for me and the annotation capabilities well, we’ll worth it. Also works with Calibre (epub, pdf, docx)
- KRAKRISMOTT 4y ago
  I wish they would get Android running on this https://www.pine64.org/pinenote/ https://www.pine64.org/pinenote/ Moon+ reader will knock kindle out of the water
jacurtis 4y ago
Just to clarify, you can still use the Kindle for books purchased elsewhere or rented at a library. This article is specifically a restriction on "Kindle Unlimited" which is a spotify-like subscription for books. Without this subscription, the Kindle still allows standard one-off downloads from the Amazon store (no surprise). But it can also accept epub and mobi file formats coming from anywhere. You can plug the Kindle in with a usb cable and move files over directly like a mass storage device. Alternatively, it offers a free "wireless transfer" service where you email epub, pbf, or mobi files to a randomly generated email address unique to your device. I use the email service frequently to transfer ePub files I get elsewhere and it works flawlessly. You send the email and open the kindle and it generally shows up in your library on the device near-instantly. It's very good. If you use Calibre to manage your ebooks, it has a "send to Kindle" button, which is just using this email wireless transfer tool under the hood. You input your unique email address into Calibre and then when you click the "Send to Kindle" button that's how it works and it works well. As mentioned earlier you can also transfer via usb. The newest Kindles also have USB-C which was a welcome addition. Lastly I use my Kindle with books rented at the library. You just need a library card and a "Libby" account. The integration is a first-party integration, so no surprise it works essentially natively with Kindle. You choose an ebook at your local library and read it on your Kindle. The Kindle will even show you details about when the book is due and you can return it from the Kindle. It's all very good. I know Kobo is considered more open because its not tied to Amazon. But I am a heavy Kindle user and have never felt weighed down by it being an Amazon device. I read books from a variety of sources. I buy books (computer books usually) from independent creators and I will send ePubs to Kindle, I will read books loaned from the library and I will also sometimes buy books directly from Amazon. The Kobo gives you the same functionality for the first two, but not the ease of purchasing from Amazon. Amazon is the largest book vendor in the world, so like it or not, I find myself still buying from there, so its nice to have that option. I admit I have never paid for the Kindle Unlimited subscription. Its mostly low-quality novels pumped out by authors who publish 3-12 books a year. It is incredibly popular among Romance Novel readers (the largest genre of published books), but there are also lots of mystery and sci-fi books on there. But these aren't top quality NYTimes Top Selling books, they are low-rate airport novels in my experience.
- 4y ago
wincy 4y ago
I got my wife a Boox and it’s just a modified Android (watching a YouTube video on an e-ink screen is good for a laugh). She likes it a lot. It’s nice too since it’s completely open so you can add whatever apps you want to it.
- 33955985 4y ago
  Onyx violates GPL2 by refusing to release source code. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962
charles_f 4y ago
I just switched from a first generation paperwhite to a kobo clara 2e. My kid has a last generation paperwhite so I can compare. What I like: the small format, 6" is better than 7 imo. It's not Amazon. It works with overdrive (at least in Canada) so I can borrow books from library. What I don't like: it doesn't have a "send to kindle by email" equivalent, that I was heavily relying on. Books sent by usb don't sync between devices, and have some quirks (they seem to work slower, you can't highlight across pages). Calibre web could give you that but in practice it is too buggy to be a sustainable option. It's overall not as polished as a kindle Overall I'm ok with the move, it works sufficiently well, and I'm especially glad to reduce the cash I send to Amazon
- ei8ths 4y ago
  i almost went that route, i really like the email to kindle and also wanted the oasis features which i think kobo does now. I dont like throwing money at amazon, it needs some competition.

CameronNemo 4y ago

The Kobo I have can be mounted as a USB mass storage device, and the books synced that way (with rsync or just copying in the file browser).

fumeux_fume 4y ago

Kindle devices now support the open epub format which is a improvement at least. Kobo devices come chained to Rakuten so it's not a big enough difference for me to consider switching... for now.

wilsonnb3 4y ago
They only kind of support epub - you can now email a drm-free epub file to your "Send to Kindle" email address but it will be converted to a different format before being sent to your device. You still can't load or read epubs directly on Kindles.
- 33955985 4y ago
  >You still can't load or read epubs directly on Kindles To the average reader, does this have an negative impact?
  - goosedragons 4y ago
    Plenty. It doesn't support DRM'd ePubs adding an extra layer of complexity, Amazon doesn't allow "personal documents" sent via email to have covers and they are picky about ePub support and sometimes book conversions will fail but would otherwise work in a native ePub reader.
    - 33955985 4y ago
      > Amazon doesn't allow "personal documents" sent via email to have covers This doesn’t appear to be true. I have several non Amazon epubs that I sent using the web interface, all with covers.
      - goosedragons 4y ago
        Looking at it seems like they fixed this with Firmware 5.15.1 but for a while this was true.

ethanbond 4y ago

In case you haven’t, check out the Supernote. It is amazing if you like annotating/highlighting etc. Only big downside is no backlight, but a neck light has made the transition easy for me and the annotation capabilities well, we’ll worth it. Also works with Calibre (epub, pdf, docx)

KRAKRISMOTT 4y ago
I wish they would get Android running on this https://www.pine64.org/pinenote/ https://www.pine64.org/pinenote/ Moon+ reader will knock kindle out of the water

jacurtis 4y ago

Just to clarify, you can still use the Kindle for books purchased elsewhere or rented at a library. This article is specifically a restriction on "Kindle Unlimited" which is a spotify-like subscription for books. Without this subscription, the Kindle still allows standard one-off downloads from the Amazon store (no surprise). But it can also accept epub and mobi file formats coming from anywhere. You can plug the Kindle in with a usb cable and move files over directly like a mass storage device. Alternatively, it offers a free "wireless transfer" service where you email epub, pbf, or mobi files to a randomly generated email address unique to your device. I use the email service frequently to transfer ePub files I get elsewhere and it works flawlessly. You send the email and open the kindle and it generally shows up in your library on the device near-instantly. It's very good. If you use Calibre to manage your ebooks, it has a "send to Kindle" button, which is just using this email wireless transfer tool under the hood. You input your unique email address into Calibre and then when you click the "Send to Kindle" button that's how it works and it works well. As mentioned earlier you can also transfer via usb. The newest Kindles also have USB-C which was a welcome addition. Lastly I use my Kindle with books rented at the library. You just need a library card and a "Libby" account. The integration is a first-party integration, so no surprise it works essentially natively with Kindle. You choose an ebook at your local library and read it on your Kindle. The Kindle will even show you details about when the book is due and you can return it from the Kindle. It's all very good. I know Kobo is considered more open because its not tied to Amazon. But I am a heavy Kindle user and have never felt weighed down by it being an Amazon device. I read books from a variety of sources. I buy books (computer books usually) from independent creators and I will send ePubs to Kindle, I will read books loaned from the library and I will also sometimes buy books directly from Amazon. The Kobo gives you the same functionality for the first two, but not the ease of purchasing from Amazon. Amazon is the largest book vendor in the world, so like it or not, I find myself still buying from there, so its nice to have that option. I admit I have never paid for the Kindle Unlimited subscription. Its mostly low-quality novels pumped out by authors who publish 3-12 books a year. It is incredibly popular among Romance Novel readers (the largest genre of published books), but there are also lots of mystery and sci-fi books on there. But these aren't top quality NYTimes Top Selling books, they are low-rate airport novels in my experience.

4y ago

wincy 4y ago

I got my wife a Boox and it’s just a modified Android (watching a YouTube video on an e-ink screen is good for a laugh). She likes it a lot. It’s nice too since it’s completely open so you can add whatever apps you want to it.

33955985 4y ago
Onyx violates GPL2 by refusing to release source code. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962

charles_f 4y ago

I just switched from a first generation paperwhite to a kobo clara 2e. My kid has a last generation paperwhite so I can compare. What I like: the small format, 6" is better than 7 imo. It's not Amazon. It works with overdrive (at least in Canada) so I can borrow books from library. What I don't like: it doesn't have a "send to kindle by email" equivalent, that I was heavily relying on. Books sent by usb don't sync between devices, and have some quirks (they seem to work slower, you can't highlight across pages). Calibre web could give you that but in practice it is too buggy to be a sustainable option. It's overall not as polished as a kindle Overall I'm ok with the move, it works sufficiently well, and I'm especially glad to reduce the cash I send to Amazon

ei8ths 4y ago
i almost went that route, i really like the email to kindle and also wanted the oasis features which i think kobo does now. I dont like throwing money at amazon, it needs some competition.