Kobo, the Almost Competition

I have a visceral dislike of Amazon but wanted an e-ink reader. Kobo is the only real competition, and after a few months of using one — it does the job.

But that’s it. I can’t say it’s a device that I’m enamored with.

The pros

• The pocket integration is slick and useful if you have a lot of long-form read it later articles from the web (like I do).
• Sideloading books is straightforward and all common formats are supported (Kindles don’t support epub).
• The screen and lighting are top notch.

The cons

• The iPhone and iPad Kobo Apps lack polish and handing off between them isn’t smooth. This means: read on the Kobo, use the apps to go through annotations.
• The built quality has a chintzy feel to it.

Or to sum it up. I wish Apple made an e-ink reader (so much for my love of competition). Even better would be an open reader that allowed me to access my Amazon, Apple and now Kobo libraries on it.

Also, Kobo isn’t sold in Ukraine. I found a used one on OLX.

My verdict: it’s good enough, but not amazing. My biggest worry when buying books is whether Kobo as a company will be around in 20 years.