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taming · 04-24-2013, 06:41 PM

I've only had it for about an hour. Here are some initial observations.

Engadget had reported that the Aura did not work with a regular USB cable. Mine worked just fine with the cord I normally use.
I opted to set up using the desktop.
I already had the Kobo desktop installed on my home computer. The desktop did not seem to know that I had a reader attached until I clicked to sync. It then indicated that it needed to update the new device first.
I am not a fan of the very light blue and the grey windows on the desktop. I think the lack of contrast makes doing the sign-in etc. more difficult for people with problematic vision, old eyes, cheap monitors.
I took my sd card from my Kobo Glo and inserted it into the Aura. The 60 books in it processed in less than a minute. Wow! Some of the covers from the card didn't show up until I turned the device off and then on again.
I was clumsy seating the card, and got a message that the SD card needed to be reformatted. I knew it was just a failed attempt to insert it properly so I was fine ignoring it. New people might be confused by this.
Joining my network was flawless.
I liked having only 5 books sync at setup, but I had a hard time figuring out how to do a full sync.
I found myself doing a lot of double/triple taps on the settings menu--particularly the go back icon in the top left. All of the tap problems I experienced may just be do to a different feel with the device. Time will tell.
Speaking of the top left. The home button also needed multiple taps.
I really dislike having to swipe to move through pages in my library and shelves. With the right and left margins set so close on this kind of page, there doesn't seem much in the way of tap room, but I really don't like swiping. Give me room to tap or something to press to go back or forward. Swiping was easy and flawless. i just don't much like doing it.
In the library, there is nothing to indicate that Show or Sort have menus under them. Again, confusing. The words are in italics, so maybe that is the new indicator.
I change light settings fairly often. I hope there was a really good reason for making it necessary to go the top menu icon to change the setting, instead of having it at the bottom of the page. It took me awhile to figure it out, btw. I initially thought I had to go to the home screen to change this. Oh, and again, nothing indicating that there were options to set the brightness level.
Covers that looked fine full screen for sleep and off look pretty lousy that way with the bigger screen. I changed my setting, which worked for me, but some folks won't like this.
FWIW, calibre did not recognize it. Not really a kobo problem, but David may have some work to do.
I am still getting used to holding it. It seems nice ergonomically, but I wish it were less slippery.
The fonts are lovely, and everything adjusts as it should.
The lighted screen is great. I am guessing that some of the folks who would like a smaller bottom margin are not yet seeing that some real estate is reserved for when the bottom menu is open. I know some people have said that the top line is to close to the edge in ePub books, I have not seen that.
I will probably keep the light on most of the time. 20% is enough to improve the contrast between the text and the background.

It seems to me that this is a step forward in some ways, and backwards, in terms of usability, in others. Some of my negative observations are, no doubt, my old person/ previous user response to change. I do though wonder if there were trade-offs when they decided to make it look classier and whether everyone looking at it in their internal beta was a kewl person under 40.

v.

04-24-2013, 06:41 PM	#46
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	I've only had it for about an hour. Here are some initial observations. Engadget had reported that the Aura did not work with a regular USB cable. Mine worked just fine with the cord I normally use. I opted to set up using the desktop. I already had the Kobo desktop installed on my home computer. The desktop did not seem to know that I had a reader attached until I clicked to sync. It then indicated that it needed to update the new device first. I am not a fan of the very light blue and the grey windows on the desktop. I think the lack of contrast makes doing the sign-in etc. more difficult for people with problematic vision, old eyes, cheap monitors. I took my sd card from my Kobo Glo and inserted it into the Aura. The 60 books in it processed in less than a minute. Wow! Some of the covers from the card didn't show up until I turned the device off and then on again. I was clumsy seating the card, and got a message that the SD card needed to be reformatted. I knew it was just a failed attempt to insert it properly so I was fine ignoring it. New people might be confused by this. Joining my network was flawless. I liked having only 5 books sync at setup, but I had a hard time figuring out how to do a full sync. I found myself doing a lot of double/triple taps on the settings menu--particularly the go back icon in the top left. All of the tap problems I experienced may just be do to a different feel with the device. Time will tell. Speaking of the top left. The home button also needed multiple taps. I really dislike having to swipe to move through pages in my library and shelves. With the right and left margins set so close on this kind of page, there doesn't seem much in the way of tap room, but I really don't like swiping. Give me room to tap or something to press to go back or forward. Swiping was easy and flawless. i just don't much like doing it. In the library, there is nothing to indicate that Show or Sort have menus under them. Again, confusing. The words are in italics, so maybe that is the new indicator. I change light settings fairly often. I hope there was a really good reason for making it necessary to go the top menu icon to change the setting, instead of having it at the bottom of the page. It took me awhile to figure it out, btw. I initially thought I had to go to the home screen to change this. Oh, and again, nothing indicating that there were options to set the brightness level. Covers that looked fine full screen for sleep and off look pretty lousy that way with the bigger screen. I changed my setting, which worked for me, but some folks won't like this. FWIW, calibre did not recognize it. Not really a kobo problem, but David may have some work to do. I am still getting used to holding it. It seems nice ergonomically, but I wish it were less slippery. The fonts are lovely, and everything adjusts as it should. The lighted screen is great. I am guessing that some of the folks who would like a smaller bottom margin are not yet seeing that some real estate is reserved for when the bottom menu is open. I know some people have said that the top line is to close to the edge in ePub books, I have not seen that. I will probably keep the light on most of the time. 20% is enough to improve the contrast between the text and the background. It seems to me that this is a step forward in some ways, and backwards, in terms of usability, in others. Some of my negative observations are, no doubt, my old person/ previous user response to change. I do though wonder if there were trade-offs when they decided to make it look classier and whether everyone looking at it in their internal beta was a kewl person under 40. v. Last edited by taming; 04-24-2013 at 06:53 PM.