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Originally Posted by Ansileran
1. When browsing the library, which types of display do you get? Covers? List? Can you get it to display summaries as well? Which sort options are available?
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The home screen displays your most recent activity, including recently read books. The library offers a number of options:
1. List view, with and without covers. It includes 6 books with title, author, percent read, file format, and file size.
2. Cover view. It displays 12 covers on the screen, with no further details.
Both views allow you to show all of the books you own, and just the books that are currently on the device. (All of the books you own means the books you purchased from Kobo, whether they are on the device or not, and sideloaded books that are on the device.)
Both views allow you to sort by the last time you read them (most recently read first). You can also sort by title, author, file size, and file type. These are only sortable in ascending order, but the list loops from the first page to the last page so this isn't a huge issue.
Book details are obtained in this mode by long pressing. This gives you a synopsis (i.e. blurb), details (publisher, language, file size, file format). You can also rate it, mark it as finished, and add it to a shelf from this mode.
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2. Can I "rate" the books so that the ones I like best show up first?
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Yes on rating a book. I don't know what this is for since you cannot sort, search, or filter based upon the rating. (I suspect this is for their book recommendations.)
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3. Can I create collections? Edit / Create collections directly on the Aura?
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You can create collections (Kobo calls them shelves) directly on the Aura. It works well for small libraries, but it is cumbersome for large libraries. For large libraries, you are better off using Calibre.
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4. Can I edit a book's (let's say epub) metadata directly on the Aura?
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No. You can do this on a computer via Calibre.
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5. How is the dictionary working? Can I select a word and get the definition / translation immediately or do I need to go through menus to open the dictionary and then paste the word in it? Can it look for definitions / translations in multiple dictionaries at once?
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You can long press on a word, and a definition comes up automatically. I believe the language is determined from the system settings. When the definition is on the screen, you can access translations with two taps (dictionary icon then translation menu item). Throw in two more taps if you want to choose a different translation dictionary (one to open the menu, the next to select the dictionary). If you are looking for a definition in a different language, it involves four taps (dictionary icon, then definition menu item, then to open the language menu, finally to select the language). It is somewhat easier than it sounds, but you don't get definitions and translations on one screen if that's what you're looking for.
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6. How easy is it to use it one handed? My PRS-505 is great for this, I can hold it in eiter hand and have no trouble turning pages...
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Page turns: if you're a tapper, it is difficult because there is some reach involved to tap on the right part of the screen. If you're a swiper, it is easy because you can swipe anywhere. Other UI elements are hard to access with one hand because of the reach involved.
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7. Can it handle ebooks/documents in Chinese?
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Don't know. There are Chinese characters in one of the languages, but I suspect that it's Kanji.