In America, modern eink reading devices have become closely associated with Amazon in the eyes of the public. Just like how Kleenex is often used to describe all tissues, Kindle has become the phrase used to identify any eink reading device. Is this fair, though?

I Mean, Isn’t Kindle the Only Option?

You can be forgiven for thinking so. But actually, no. A number of years ago, I wanted to pick up a new eink reader after my old Kindle Paperwhite died. I held some reservations about Amazon’s market dominance and walled garden practices in their ebook shop, so I explored alternatives. I was particularly keen on finding a device that directly supported the more open EPUB format for ebooks.

I settled on a Kobo eReader, created by the company Rakuten Kobo.

My first Kobo was the Kobo Clara HD. I used this for a few years, but the battery began acting up and it was out of warranty. When I contacted Kobo about it, they did give me some store credit at least, which I was able to use when I went to purchase a replacement.

My second (and current) Kobo is the Kobo Clara 2E. This has been working great for a long while now. It’s even waterproof.

Why Something Other Than Kindle?

Kobo devices offer direct EPUB format support unlike Kindle devices. This means you can easily directly load EPUB files from places like Project Gutenberg onto your device using a USB connection.

Further, the embracing of EPUB format means that the Rakuten Kobo ebook shop uses EPUB for your purchases. This means when you purchase ebooks from Rakuten Kobo, those books can be read in eReaders other than the devices sold by Kobo. To read most of your Kobo purchases on non-Kobo devices, you do need to download Adobe Digital Editions, since they are protected by Digital Rights Management, but by doing so, you can indeed deploy those ebooks to non-Kobo eReaders.

Some ebooks sold by Rakuten Kobo make it even easier. I was pleased to find that some ebooks sold by Kobo (like the Harry Potter series) use soft DRM, which means they are able to opened by any app or device without the need for Adobe Digital Editions or a similar program “allowing” the deployment to happen. You can just click and drag those books as many places as you want!

The caveat is the following: your identifying details have been embedded into ebooks that use soft DRM. So if you share them with others and/or they end up on the web, the publisher will know that you illegally distributed your copies of the books.

I personally think soft DRM is a great approach and should be utilized by more publishers.

This is opposite of how ebooks are treated by Amazon. There, you must read your eBooks on a Kindle device or Kindle app. In fact, more recently, Amazon has decided to remove the ability to download and transfer ebooks over USB from Kindles, making Kobo an even more appealing choice for those who value openness and portability.

Do You Like Public Libraries?

I am pleased to report that Kobo devices directly support borrowing ebooks from local libraries. While you can borrow ebooks on Amazon devices, I have heard that you need to use a Kobo to borrow from public libraries if you live in a country other than the USA.

The system for borrowing from public libraries is a bit different on Kobo devices than Kindles. I have used both systems, and I prefer the Kobo system. You sign in to your local library on the Kobo device itself; you can browse and borrow ebooks directly from your eReader (not the case on Kindles). You could alternatively use an app like Libby on your smartphone to search for and borrow ebooks. Then when you sync your Kobo device next, the borrowed ebooks will download onto the Kobo so long as your Kobo device and Libby app are using the same public library system.

Conclusion

Rakuten is a very large company like Amazon. However, for now, their Kobo eReaders offer me more openness by directly supporting USB transfers, the EPUB format, and control over my ebook purchases from their ebook shop.