I have been having some trouble with my Sony Reader ever since they upgraded the library software. It’s just so damned buggy and keeps freezing up. The Reader itself still works fine but I do have a few beefs with it. I’m starting to look around at other options and I think I will be going the Kobo route by the end of summer.
In the meantime I had to find an alternative to the Sony Library. A few folks had recommended Calibre. I use Calibre to tweak files but I don’t like it for using with my Reader. There’s just too much going on in Calibre. I decided I would try whatever Kobo is using to get a feel for it before I bought.
They use Adobe Digital Editions and I am in love. The interface looks so sleek, nice and simple. I read primarily in EPUB and PDF format, which is exactly what ADE uses, so the first thing I did after download was load a few books.
Very nice. Click the pics for a bigger look.
The next step was to give buying a secure file a try. I checked the Kobo bookstore for Christopher Moore’s Bite Me. It was $3 cheaper than they’re selling it at the Sony store, thank you very much. I’m still not sure what’s what with this end of it, since with Sony Reader I have to authorize devices, but when I added Bite Me to my library in ADE I was able to just drag and drop onto my Reader without any trouble at all. Hopefully this will not be an issue in the future.
I was able to buy direct from Kobo, which eliminated the annoying aspect of having to actually be into the Sony Library if I wanted to make a purchase. Overall it was a painless process. The Kobo store leaves something to be desired but in Canada they are hitching their wagon to Chapters (or is it the other way around?) so I’m optimistic. As well, according to Kobo and Chapters one will be able to use Chapters gift cards to purchase books. Another bonus for me because I hate using my credit card for small purchases like books.
On a related note I had the chance to test drive a Kobo Reader when I was at Chapters last night — very nice! I love how it felt when I was holding it, much better than the cold metal of the Sony.
