Kobo glo or aura - what's the difference? ereader newbie!

[sqdancer]

My other half has an Aura, so I pulled it out to check. The Aura definitely goes dimmer than my Glo. (My Aura HD also goes dimmer than my Glo.)

[Tizzalicious]

Originally Posted by sqdancer

My other half has an Aura, so I pulled it out to check. The Aura definitely goes dimmer than my Glo. (My Aura HD also goes dimmer than my Glo.)

Awesome, thank you!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Tizzalicious

For those of you with both the Glo and the Aura: Is the least bright light setting on the Aura just as bright as on the Glo? I love my Glo, but I do wish it could be a little less bright (especially when I have a migraine. Ouch.).

I have both devices. I just checked for you. 1% on the Aura6" is very much lower than 1% on the Glo in a fully dark room.

[MickeyC]

The Kobo Web site states the Aura supports both ePub and mobi. Does this mean you can read Kindle books on the Aura?

Have been using a Sony (505 and T1) since early 08 but Sony is getting out of the eBook business in the US so I'm looking for an alternate.

Also, I assume I can read non DRM books on the Aura like the books in the Patricia Clark Memorial Library. Have I got that right?

Thanks

[Glorfindel]

if it supports .mobi files then you could read books from Amazon but they are DRMed... If by kindle books you mean azw or azw2/3/4 that Amazon uses, no, you can't

[Glorfindel]

as far as mobi books go I get most of mine from gutenberg.org

[Abtacha]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

The Kobo Web site states the Aura supports both ePub and mobi. Does this mean you can read Kindle books on the Aura?

You can read DRM free .mobi books, but you are better off converting them to epub with calibre

Also, I assume I can read non DRM books on the Aura like the books in the Patricia Clark Memorial Library. Have I got that right?

Thanks

Yes, you can either copy them directly with you favorite filemanager (like Windows explorer) or use Calibre.

[MickeyC]

Thanks for the info

[Rizla]

I've handled the glo and the aura hd instore. the glo felt and looked like a toy next to the aura hd.
the hd was pure class. the screen clarity is exceptional. the light looked perfect. I could barely see the led sources at the top of the screen.

The glo is fine. the led source at the top was very visible. again the screen clarity was fine.

But the hd was a caddilac. awesome. id get the auta hd. I would just have to. its hands down much nicer.

the only reason I might get the glo is because it can be rooted. that's not for everyone. the hd cannot be rooted afaik.

A big downer with glo is that some people find that the light is too bright ia dark room. That would really put me off.

Incidentally im not sure if you're talking about the aura hd or the newer smaller aura. im talking about the hd. the new aura can be rooted and the light goes down all the way afaik.

regarding browsing on the net, I'm posting from a rooted nook using opera. I'm accessing the mobileread.mobi mobile version of the site and its a very pleasant experience. in this case its better than using a tablet. non mobile sites are quite a pain to use though. if you root the glo or aura (non-hd) you can do more with them. but you need to be tech-savvy.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I've handled the glo and the aura hd instore. the glo felt and looked like a toy next to the aura hd.
the hd was pure class. the screen clarity is exceptional. the light looked perfect. I could barely see the led sources at the top of the screen.

The glo is fine. the led source at the top was very visible. again the screen clarity was fine.

That's a good trick considering the LEDs are along the bottom of the screen.

But the hd was a caddilac. awesome. id get the auta hd. I would just have to. its hands down much nicer.

Personally, I though the opposite. The Aura HD feels cheap and platicy.

the only reason I might get the glo is because it can be rooted. that's not for everyone. the hd cannot be rooted afaik.

The Glo, Mini, Touch and Aura HD are all rootable in pretty much the same way. Not all the tweaks and patches needed have been worked out for all of them, but a lot have. The newer Aura doesn't have an internal SD card, so it isn't if access to this is needed. And it is more dangerous to root as you can't put the original image back on the device easily.

A big downer with glo is that some people find that the light is too bright ia dark room. That would really put me off.

A firmware change reduced the light level and newer devices seem to be less bright.

Incidentally im not sure if you're talking about the aura hd or the newer smaller aura. im talking about the hd. the new aura can be rooted and the light goes down all the way afaik.

As I said above, the new Aura is the least rootable of the Kobo devices because it doesn't have the internal SD card.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That's a good trick considering the LEDs are along the bottom of the screen.

.

What I find really weird......I just got a white Glo, and there is such a glare along the top, that it looks like there are lights up there! Much more of a glow there, than on my black Glo. Both running the same firmware. I find it very strange how different the lighting is on them. Not complaining, I absolutely love the white Kobo Glo. (and the black Glo, and the white mini, and the black mini, and the black Aura HD....you get the idea ). The screen of the Aura HD is truly amazing, though. The lighting has none of the glow I described. It is superb. But I don't take the Aura HD out of the house. So I have the Glo and Mini for that

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The Glo, Mini, Touch and Aura HD are all rootable in pretty much the same way. Not all the tweaks and patches needed have been worked out for all of them, but a lot have. The newer Aura doesn't have an internal SD card, so it isn't if access to this is needed. And it is more dangerous to root as you can't put the original image back on the device easily. . . . As I said above, the new Aura is the least rootable of the Kobo devices because it doesn't have the internal SD card.

Just to clarify:

You're saying that the device which is more difficult to root is the Aura and not the Aura HD.

This is worth pointing out because Rizla's comments were about the Aura HD specifically even though the thread is about the Glo and the Aura. I wouldn't want people to buy/avoid the wrong e-reader if ease of rooting is a deal-making feature for them.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by davidfor

A firmware change reduced the light level and newer devices seem to be less bright.

I asked recently in the kobo forum about this, and whether rooting would improve it, and I was informed it is still too bright for many people. Apparently it's a hardware limit and some people have resorted to soldering in a resistor. A real pity. Thank you for the clarification re: the new aura and rooting. Again, what a pity.

[navis]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The newer Aura doesn't have an internal SD card, so it isn't if access to this is needed. And it is more dangerous to root as you can't put the original image back on the device easily.

...

As I said above, the new Aura is the least rootable of the Kobo devices because it doesn't have the internal SD card.

Are you sure it doesn't have an SD card ? Could be a mistake, or I didn't understand what you meant (English is not my language), but their websites states 4GB internal storage + up to 32GB through microSD for the Aura...

I'm myself trying to decide between a Glo and an Aura, so this difference could be decisive :-)

Thanks,
--
Rémi

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by navis

Are you sure it doesn't have an SD card ? Could be a mistake, or I didn't understand what you meant (English is not my language), but their websites states 4GB internal storage + up to 32GB through microSD for the Aura...

I'm myself trying to decide between a Glo and an Aura, so this difference could be decisive :-)

Thanks,
--
Rémi

Yes, the Aura DOES have a micro SD slot for an external card.