Kobo Glo HD

[GeoffR]

The speed of page turns and other things is going to be affected by how much time and memory is used by other things.

Features such as typeface kerning, automatic hyphenation, adjustable typeface weight and sharpness all require time and memory during the rendering process. Even if the rendering is done in advance and the results buffered, they still take extra memory which impacts on the speed of other things.

The question is: what is more important to reading? Pages that turn a fraction of a second faster, or those extra typographic features that are lacking on the Kindle?

There is a trade-off: you can do it faster, or you can do it better. I think Kobo has made the right choice.

(But of course, all the reviews will compare page turn speed while very few will mention kerning, automatic hyphenation, etc.)

[shalym]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

The speed of page turns and other things is going to be affected by how much time and memory is used by other things.

Features such as typeface kerning, automatic hyphenation, adjustable typeface weight and sharpness all require time and memory during the rendering process. Even if the rendering is done in advance and the results buffered, they still take extra memory which impacts on the speed of other things.

The question is: what is more important to reading? Pages that turn a fraction of a second faster, or those extra typographic features that are lacking on the Kindle?

There is a trade-off: you can do it faster, or you can do it better. I think Kobo has made the right choice.

(But of course, all the reviews will compare page turn speed while very few will mention kerning, automatic hyphenation, etc.)

It may be that all of the reviews compare page turn speed because that is more important to the majority of people. Even more important is having the page turn consistently when the screen is tapped.

I love my Aura HD, and I do read on it, I just tend to read on my Kindles more. The biggest reason I use the Kindles more is the touchscreen--for me, a capacitive touchscreen works so much better than IR that there's really no comparison. I love the way the Kobo UI is organized, I love the stats, and I really like the ability to make the font darker. All of that is completely useless, though, when I'm deep into a story and I tap the screen and move my eyes to the top of the page and see...the same page I was reading. If that happened once in a while, it would be one thing. Unfortunately, it happens two or three times in an hour of reading. Even worse is when I'm reading in bed, and the corner of the blanket touches the screen and turns the page.

I realize that there are people who have issues with capacitive screens, and for them, the IR screens on the Kobo readers are great. I had a lot of issues with the IR touchscreen on the Kindle Touch, too, and gave that away after about 2 weeks. The fact that I still use my HD at all is a testament to how much I love the UI of my Kobo. I just wish I could love the touch screen as well.

Shari

[mystika1]

Originally Posted by shalym

I just tend to read on my Kindles more. The biggest reason I use the Kindles more is the touchscreen--for me, a capacitive touchscreen works so much better than IR that there's really no comparison. I love the way the Kobo UI is organized, I love the stats, and I really like the ability to make the font darker. All of that is completely useless, though, when I'm deep into a story and I tap the screen and move my eyes to the top of the page and see...the same page I was reading. If that happened once in a while, it would be one thing. Unfortunately, it happens two or three times in an hour of reading. Even worse is when I'm reading in bed, and the corner of the blanket touches the screen and turns the page.

I realize that there are people who have issues with capacitive screens, and for them, the IR screens on the Kobo readers are great. I had a lot of issues with the IR touchscreen on the Kindle Touch, too, and gave that away after about 2 weeks. The fact that I still use my HD at all is a testament to how much I love the UI of my Kobo. I just wish I could love the touch screen as well.

Shari

That's exactly how I feel. My kindle just works. As much as I love to be able to darken fonts and tweak the reading experience, I rather stability and smooth page turns.

Penny

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

https://www.kobo.com/devices/compare#ereaders look here. Dale

Thanks Dale, but it's the same link for me in Aus as the one I posted .... and no, we still don't get the H2O as a choice for comparison. Just the original HD. (Which is out of stock, and no doubt won't be sold here again)

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Thanks Dale, but it's the same link for me in Aus as the one I posted .... and no, we still don't get the H2O as a choice for comparison. Just the original HD. (Which is out of stock, and no doubt won't be sold here again)

did you scroll down a bit. There is a whole second row of devices that are available for comparison.
https://www.kobo.com/devices/compare#ereaders

Dale

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by bernard.ryefield

Actually the Glo has a SD card slot contrary to the HD, so is well alive!

No SD card, no buy!

Didn't they already announce that the Glo (the original one) was going to be discontinued? I'm pretty sure I read that here. So, if you want the original Glo you probably should think of picking one up. (I don't know how many they have on hand but I do know that the Mini eventually ran out.)

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by booklover6

FYI, I just successfully placed my order from the US with Chapters Indigo. Delivery Date May 22. Shipping was under $15.

They're addictive, aren't they?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mystika1

That's exactly how I feel. My kindle just works. As much as I love to be able to darken fonts and tweak the reading experience, I rather stability and smooth page turns.

Penny

My H2O just works. Yes, the page turn is a fraction slower, but it is still faster than the time it takes me to get my eyes to the top of the screen to continue reading. It's also faster than the time to turn the page of a pBook. So I don't see this as an issue. Also, what we have with Kobo is built-in hyphenation, kerning, and advanced font control. All of that does take some time so page turning can be slightly slower. What Kobo could use is a faster processor.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

The speed of page turns and other things is going to be affected by how much time and memory is used by other things.

Features such as typeface kerning, automatic hyphenation, adjustable typeface weight and sharpness all require time and memory during the rendering process. Even if the rendering is done in advance and the results buffered, they still take extra memory which impacts on the speed of other things.

Honestly, the sharpest, best defined font I have on all my eReaders is the Constantia add-on font on my Kindle Touch. I thought I would like Glo's ability to adjust fonts, but no matter how much fiddling I do, I can't get the built-in fonts on the Glo to match the Constantia font on the Kindle Touch.

That said, it's all relative. The Glo's fonts are quite readable, I just thought they would be a little sharper and not quite as faded out. Without the "Glo" light turned on, the screen is "muddier" than the non-lit Kindle Touch's so, when reading on the Glo, I pretty much have to use the light -- even when the room is brightly lit up.

[Rizla]

I read with a bold font. I couldn't live with the Kindle's font limitations.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Honestly, the sharpest, best defined font I have on all my eReaders is the Constantia add-on font on my Kindle Touch. I thought I would like Glo's ability to adjust fonts, but no matter how much fiddling I do, I can't get the built-in fonts on the Glo to match the Constantia font on the Kindle Touch.

That said, it's all relative. The Glo's fonts are quite readable, I just thought they would be a little sharper and not quite as faded out. Without the "Glo" light turned on, the screen is "muddier" than the non-lit Kindle Touch's so, when reading on the Glo, I pretty much have to use the light -- even when the room is brightly lit up.

For just a little bit more $ than the PW2, you can have a screen every bit as good as the Voyage. That's a heck of a deal. And with the Glo HD, you can install Constantia and use that as your go to font. You cannot do that on a Voyage because the Voyage cannot be jailbroken. The only way to use a font not on the Voyage is to embed in a KF8 eBook.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by rcentros

They're addictive, aren't they?

Oh, yes. I love kobos.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For just a little bit more $ than the PW2, you can have a screen every bit as good as the Voyage. That's a heck of a deal. And with the Glo HD, you can install Constantia and use that as your go to font. You cannot do that on a Voyage because the Voyage cannot be jailbroken. The only way to use a font not on the Voyage is to embed in a KF8 eBook.

That's what I do with all the books I put on my Voyage. Your Charis SIL looks great on it.

[mystika1]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My H2O just works. Yes, the page turn is a fraction slower, but it is still faster than the time it takes me to get my eyes to the top of the screen to continue reading. It's also faster than the time to turn the page of a pBook. So I don't see this as an issue. Also, what we have with Kobo is built-in hyphenation, kerning, and advanced font control. All of that does take some time so page turning can be slightly slower. What Kobo could use is a faster processor.

If I would be certain that I wouldn't experience multiple page turns per tap, I'd buy the glo hd. I used to have to reset my glo at least twice a week(usually in the middle of the night) because the screen would freeze. I was really loyal to kobo until I finally had enough of getting up at night searching for a straight pin for the reset hole. I actually want to buy the hd, but...do I want to chance it? Especially since I can't drive to a store and return it if I don't like it.(nearest indie store is three hours away)


Have you ever had problems with multiple page turns on your h2o?(or any other problems for that matter) I ask this because I have had my pw2 for over a year and have not had a reason to reset it once.

Thanks,

Penny

[Ryvyan]

This may sound like a silly question but I'm not familiar with e-readers' technological advances since the Nook STR. What's the difference between capacitive and IR (which Nook uses) touch-screen? The Glo HD is of capacitive while H2O infrared?