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judyz · 10-02-2012, 02:38 AM

Not one crash here. Upgrading from an old Kobo Wifi model. I haven't owned a touch but I have set them up for friends and family members. But then I also NEVER disconnect it from the computer without ejecting. I am also patient enough to allow it a few seconds to do it's update after adding a book without hitting buttons. These two things seem to make a big difference in my experience.

I find the GLO is a nice compact unit. Physically quite smaller. The back is still ruberized and has a cross hatch pattern but isn't as nicely quilted as my old Kobo was. Physically it seems like a better constructed unit with higher quality plastics. There are two physical buttons on the top. One that is ironically hard to see in the dark for the light beside the slider switch for the power. Both are recessed to avoid accidental hits and seem well made. I am sure after a day or two I will have the light button position memorized by touch.

The screen is certainly higher resolution though for the average page of text you wont notice it. It is quite nice though for pictures and diagrams. The option of choosing your refresh is quite nice. The refresh can be set between 1-6 pages. Obviously with a 6 page refresh you will get astonomical battery life but personally I love the clean look of a refreshed page with 0 ghosting. At a refresh of 6 with this screen one can see some ghosting but nothing that would stop you from enjoying it. Just a personal preference.

The light is such a huge improvement that I don't know where to start. I find myself using it constantly. It significantly reduces eye strain and makes you realize just how less than ideal the lighting conditions are in some of the places you read. It is easily adjustable and magically even. You will see a couple of waves (like water marks) at times at the bottom when the light is on in certain conditions but it seems like a pretty trivial thing. It is certainly far more even than any clip light I have ever used and quite an upgrade. It is remarkable how they have managed to make it so even. With the light turned up the eink screen certainly looks more white than grey. The light is adjustable quit easily.

The processor and general performance seems much improved. The eink lag is barely noticeable unless you are trying to type in a long password. It passed my stress test (updating the data base after having 500 books sideloaded onto it) with flying colours. Doing this on my old wifi was the kind of cruel thing that could leave you looking for a pin. Even the touch seemed to sit in the corner and cry for a few minutes. The GLO is definately much snappier and didn't crash.

Software: The extras included include Sukuko, Chess, sketch pad and a browser. I find the menu a bit less intuitive than I would prefer. It takes multiple selections to get to things. The software keyboard certainly isn't optimized that well. Basic functionality like the period key require a second screen and for instance the browser doesn't have any web specific keys. But we do get blessed with a rather large key for french accents and some curiously placed arrow keys. The faster hardware and new high res screen does make it possible to browse the web without too much difficulty as long as you don't mind black and white. You wont be watching youtube videos obviously but you could check your email or the news headlines if you found yourself stranded with just your Kobo and a wifi connection. I don't think anyone will choose to use their Kobo for the web given any other choice.

I have to admit I don't bother with Kobo's software since I find Calibre (totally free software) does a much better job including the sideloading of books you didn't specifically purchase from Kobo. They don't have a driver for the GLO yet since it was just released but no doubt it will be out soon. For now you just have to pick "save to disk" and select specific format epub and choose your device as the drive. I am hopeful that Kobo will eventually sit down with the folks at Calibre and assist them with the nuances of how to read the Kobo database so that we can enjoy the full functionality of Calibre. The Kobo app is great for synching among various devices with the books in your Kobo library but for someone with a mix of devices and files it doesn't do everything as easily as Calibre.

Thats my thoughts after a day with the GLO. Hope this is helpful to others considering it. I certainly am not feeling any buyers remorse. I got two good years out of my wifi and expect that and more from my new GLO.

10-02-2012, 02:38 AM	#34
judyz Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10638 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kobo Wifi, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-950	Not one crash here. Upgrading from an old Kobo Wifi model. I haven't owned a touch but I have set them up for friends and family members. But then I also NEVER disconnect it from the computer without ejecting. I am also patient enough to allow it a few seconds to do it's update after adding a book without hitting buttons. These two things seem to make a big difference in my experience. I find the GLO is a nice compact unit. Physically quite smaller. The back is still ruberized and has a cross hatch pattern but isn't as nicely quilted as my old Kobo was. Physically it seems like a better constructed unit with higher quality plastics. There are two physical buttons on the top. One that is ironically hard to see in the dark for the light beside the slider switch for the power. Both are recessed to avoid accidental hits and seem well made. I am sure after a day or two I will have the light button position memorized by touch. The screen is certainly higher resolution though for the average page of text you wont notice it. It is quite nice though for pictures and diagrams. The option of choosing your refresh is quite nice. The refresh can be set between 1-6 pages. Obviously with a 6 page refresh you will get astonomical battery life but personally I love the clean look of a refreshed page with 0 ghosting. At a refresh of 6 with this screen one can see some ghosting but nothing that would stop you from enjoying it. Just a personal preference. The light is such a huge improvement that I don't know where to start. I find myself using it constantly. It significantly reduces eye strain and makes you realize just how less than ideal the lighting conditions are in some of the places you read. It is easily adjustable and magically even. You will see a couple of waves (like water marks) at times at the bottom when the light is on in certain conditions but it seems like a pretty trivial thing. It is certainly far more even than any clip light I have ever used and quite an upgrade. It is remarkable how they have managed to make it so even. With the light turned up the eink screen certainly looks more white than grey. The light is adjustable quit easily. The processor and general performance seems much improved. The eink lag is barely noticeable unless you are trying to type in a long password. It passed my stress test (updating the data base after having 500 books sideloaded onto it) with flying colours. Doing this on my old wifi was the kind of cruel thing that could leave you looking for a pin. Even the touch seemed to sit in the corner and cry for a few minutes. The GLO is definately much snappier and didn't crash. Software: The extras included include Sukuko, Chess, sketch pad and a browser. I find the menu a bit less intuitive than I would prefer. It takes multiple selections to get to things. The software keyboard certainly isn't optimized that well. Basic functionality like the period key require a second screen and for instance the browser doesn't have any web specific keys. But we do get blessed with a rather large key for french accents and some curiously placed arrow keys. The faster hardware and new high res screen does make it possible to browse the web without too much difficulty as long as you don't mind black and white. You wont be watching youtube videos obviously but you could check your email or the news headlines if you found yourself stranded with just your Kobo and a wifi connection. I don't think anyone will choose to use their Kobo for the web given any other choice. I have to admit I don't bother with Kobo's software since I find Calibre (totally free software) does a much better job including the sideloading of books you didn't specifically purchase from Kobo. They don't have a driver for the GLO yet since it was just released but no doubt it will be out soon. For now you just have to pick "save to disk" and select specific format epub and choose your device as the drive. I am hopeful that Kobo will eventually sit down with the folks at Calibre and assist them with the nuances of how to read the Kobo database so that we can enjoy the full functionality of Calibre. The Kobo app is great for synching among various devices with the books in your Kobo library but for someone with a mix of devices and files it doesn't do everything as easily as Calibre. Thats my thoughts after a day with the GLO. Hope this is helpful to others considering it. I certainly am not feeling any buyers remorse. I got two good years out of my wifi and expect that and more from my new GLO.