TR Forums

Hey Experts,

We have bought our daughters (11 and 13 yrs old: big-time readers) kobo touch ereaders for Christmas. The idea of accessing all the free legacy titles as well as the easy library services was part of the idea. But, since the purchase I have had some second thoughts about the gift(s) - unopened - can be returned.

Can someone explain to me how the ereader accounts (either chapters or amazon etc) work with respect to your purchased books? My biggest concern is that if we get a book for one kid, would that mean that the other would not be able to access it on their own kobo? What is the drm like on these 'books'. We have an android tablet... would I be able to access one of the kids' books on the tablet? Or are they restricted to the one device that is tied to the specific account it was purchased for?

If these items are super restricted, should we set up both kobos with one single account that we/they use to buy books so that they can 'share' the purchases?

One last question... if they have a shared account now but then in the future have their own account, will they lose access to any books purchased on the original account?

thanks for any help figuring this out.

dave

I can't say how Kobo does things (my wife and I have Kindles) but I think you've got at least two options:

1) Separate accounts for the kids, and if one's got a book the other wants to read they can trade readers.
2) The kids share an account and thus can access their collective books from either device. I can't imagine Kobo would restrict you to one device per account; for one thing, it would artificially limit their market.

It's possible to break the DRM on Kindle books, and probably on Kobo as well, but I don't know if it's kosher to discuss where to get these tools or their names on TR. Mods?

bthylafh wrote:

It's possible to break the DRM on Kindle books, and probably on Kobo as well, but I don't know if it's kosher to discuss where to get these tools or their names on TR. Mods?

No, not kosher. Liabilities. General discussion on the matter is allowed, but the line is drawn at specifying how or what.

Don't worry moderators! I'm not looking for ways to break ereader drm. I'm just trying to understand the restrictions of moving to the ereader method of consumption.

I guess the best option will be to share an account between the girls' readers. It would get complicated if one girl is reading one of 'her' books, while her sister wants to swap readers to access a different book. It's like Steam... even though you have a million games, you can only play them one at a time. I understand why they have that restriction, I just wanted to confirm it. It also means (I assume) that I won't be able to 'share' the reading on my android tablet. That's too bad. It sure makes used bookstores look like a better option... you know, sharing your finished books with family, friends etc.

thanks for the info

dave

I don't know anything about Kobo, but Kindles are limited to one Kindle device per account, so you can't share an account across two Kindles, and you can't share books across two accounts. It's one of the only big frustrations I've found since both my wife and I got our Kindles. There isn't any restriction on the Kindle app running on other devices however, so you can access the same account through a Kindle and through the Kindle app on an Android tablet (for example), just not through two Kindles.

That's good to know. Actually, it does make sense that the account would be tied to a single kindle. Otherwise groups of friends or a bookclub could all share an account (and the books). I'll have to look into the kobo system and see if the sharing is even a possibility. thanks.