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Old 04-19-2013, 12:27 AM   #232
Prestidigitweeze
Fledgling Demagogue
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Posts: 2,384
Karma: 31132263
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: White Plains
Device: Clara HD; Oasis 2; Aura HD; iPad Air; PRS-350; Galaxy S7.
The Aura looks gorgeous, but one issue is still preventing me from snatching one.

My biggest concern is the restrictiveness of the official firmware, which only matters because of the absence of third-party firmware and the impracticality of rooting.

I've been watching XDA and MR's Kobo dev forums ever since the Glo was first released and have yet to read good news.

I've never been thrilled with the stock version of the Kindle (or the nightmarish banality of its screensavers). However, jail-breaking and custom work by third parties -- particularly certain Mobile Read members -- have made it a far more versatile e-reader in the long term.

Kartu's phenomenal work on PRS+ made previous generations of Sony reader incredibly versatile before Sony switched to Android. Because of Kartu's firmware and the solid but convenient hardware, the PRS-350 has been my favorite pocket reader for a number of years.

* * * *

Here's what people forget when they tout less mainstream devices than the Kindle or the Nook: The more popular a device promises to be, the greater the chances that third parties have found workarounds for its limitations. This means that using a Kindle can be either a mainstream or enhanced (i.e., indie) experience, and that the benefits might be far more pronounced than on a Kobo running stock -- but only because talented users and not company developers created it.

Even though the Aura looks more versatile than any existing Kindle, Sony or Nook e-ink reader "on paper" (we need a more modern expression for in theory), it seems far less so when I consider the lack of custom options.

That's my strongest reservation about Kobo readers generally and the Aura in particular, which has otherwise been calling me by name for the past few days ("Oreginald . . . Oh, Oreginald . . .").

Last edited by Prestidigitweeze; 04-19-2013 at 04:29 AM.
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