How does the Kindle app for Android stack up to Kobo?
Google Android smartphone owners now have a couple choices for ebook clients, including Amazon Kindle and Kobo. How do these two apps stack up to each other and what is your favorite Android ebook application?
Last week I posted my Google Android ebook reader showdown and concluded that Aldiko and Kobo were my favorite two applications. Many of us Google Android owners have been waiting anxiously for the release of the Amazon Kindle application and you can find it now in the Android Market for free. Jason Perlow already posted a review of the app with an extensive image gallery so I won't repeat the same thing here and recommend you check it out. Since I previously wrote a full review of the Kobo application for Android, let's take a closer look at how they stack up.
Kobo
Amazon Kindle
Font types
3 available
Default only
Font sizes
5
5
Background/font colors
Day/night toggle
White, sepia, & black
Bookmark/furthest read sync
Automatic, with inconsistent behavior
Manual and automatic sync
Orientation support
Portrait only
Landscape and portrait
Bookstore
In application
Mobile formatted web page
As you can see there are only a couple of differences between the two (background color support, font types, and orientation support) and it really comes down to which ebook store you are invested in for your purchased content. Now that you can find both Amazon and Kobo clients for Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Mac, and Windows PC devices and computers you can figure out which is best for you. I use Kobo primarily because I can read Kobo books on my Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Reader while the only dedicated ebook reader that supports Amazon ebook store content is the Kindle.
I understand that support for an in-app store, dictionary, and more are coming to the Kindle app while the furthest read support in the Kobo reader is being improved.
Both apps are currently limited in that they do not allow you to read EPUB books, including from other ebook stores or public libraries, that could be transferred via USB or microSD card connection. To read non-DRM EPUB books you should look at the Aldiko application that I wrote about in my ebook reader showdown.
