It looks like Amazon are going to prevent Kindle users from downloading purchased books to transfer over USB.
I assume this is to stop people stripping the DRM from the files.
So now I'm looking at Kobo and trying to work out if their price-matching or VIP scheme is worth it.
(No need to reply to me saying how evil Amazon are, thanks.)
Kobo will price match Amazon - refunding the difference + 10% of the competitor's price.
I found a Kobo book which was £4.99. Kindle was £4.31.
So that would get me a credit of £1.11. Nice!
Or, I can join the Kobo VIP scheme for £6/year. That comes with reward points and price discount.
The VIP discount for that book takes it to £4.31. Same as Amazon.
So, I *think* I'm better off getting the £1.11 discount (effective price £3.88).
Anyone else done the maths on this?
Fair play, a few hours after I submitted the price match, Kobo credited my account.
Looks like I'm switching my book buying!
To summarise:
💶 Kobo will undercut Amazon Kindle pricing by 10%.
📖 You can download regular ePubs from them; you don't need to use a Kobo device or app.
🔓 DRM is trivial to strip.
🔃 Calibre will convert to any other format if you want to read on a Kindle, Palm Pilot, or whatever.
🧮 There is a loyalty point / discount scheme. But I'm not entirely sure it is worth it.
Terence Eden
Snaprails