Aura HD Kobo Aura HD

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by SouLThinking

Here it is 5/3. I ordered on 4/18. I finally received the invoice but no tracking number. I don't get it!

Not having a tracking number doesn't mean it hasn't shipped. I received my tracking number and the actual shipment on the same day within an hour of each other.

[DomesticExtremis]

I was in WH Smith today and couldn't resist having a look at the Aura.
I have to say it seemed enormous compared to my Mini.
Very responsive though and a lovely display.
The sales guy wandered by to tell me 'that's the Aura you're looking at'
'Yes, I know'
'We've only got one left in stock'

I saw in The Register that Nook were being heavily discounted,
possibly as a prelude to issuing a new, smaller range of e-readers,
so maybe there's smoe truth in the rumours after all.

I'm beginning to think that Kobo have got the right sales pitch -
people don't want to be locked inside walled gardens, they just want
an e-reader and be able to read books from wherever.
Imagine how it would be if you could only buy dead-tree books
from one chain of bookshops.

Anti-competition lawyers would have a field day.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DomesticExtremis

I'm beginning to think that Kobo have got the right sales pitch -
people don't want to be locked inside walled gardens, they just want
an e-reader and be able to read books from wherever.
Imagine how it would be if you could only buy dead-tree books
from one chain of bookshops.

Anti-competition lawyers would have a field day.

*Knowledgeable* people don't want to be in walled gardens. All the others don't care one zilch, at least not in the beginning. They just want something, and they don't want:

- To read a manual
- To learn anything
- To think where to get something
- To think about how to back stuff up
- To think about the future with regard to their purchases
- ....

In short: They just want books / apps / games / series / songs / whatever, and they don't want to think about anything else. They are happy to place their trust in Apple, Amazon, Kobo, Steam, or whomever, and they just hope that everything is taken care of *for* them, that it will work, now and in the future, until the end of days.

If that comes with a walled garden, so be it.

The problems start if they're not happy inside the garden anymore for some reason, and they want out. Then they lack the knowledge, information, patience or skill to leave, while retaining their purchases. So, they stay. They stay, until the company that built the garden goes broke, and then *poof*, everything could be gone in one fell swoop.

As long as your books have DRM, you're still in a walled garden: The Adobe one, for example. OK, the Adobe garden has a Sony section, a Kobo section, and so on. With some hassle, you can move from one to the other, but if you ever want an e-reader that doesn't do Adobe EPUB DRM, then you're still stuck.

[Breid]

Originally Posted by FJames

I still don't like the feel of the hard plastic sharp-cornered case though. I don't want to add the extra size and weight of a cover, and in any case the official Kobo cover for the Aura doesn't improve the grip at all: the back is made of the same slick plastic as the Aura, and of course it does nothing for the grip of your thumb on the slick front bezel. So I've been thinking about alternatives. Some sort of spray-on rubber coating? Some strategically-placed bits of vinyl or cloth tape? How about wearing a Kobo glove on my reading hand instead of using a cover? One of those soft cloth gloves with grippy rubber bumps would be perfect!

I must have super insensitive fingers, I have not noticed any sharp edges on my Aura or on the official sleep cover. IMHO the sleep cover does not add any appreciable weight to the Aura, although I do not like its hard plastic back, would prefer the tactile appeal of leather. I can use my Aura one-handed, I have long fingers, but I usually hold it book style.

[FJames]

^^ I'm comparing my Aura to my Touch, right where the corner sits in my palm when I'm holding it normally:

- The Aura has less rounded corners than the Touch, about half the curve radius.
- The Aura is all hard plastic, while my Touch has soft rubber coated corners
- The bottom surface of the Aura corner is bezeled, but the top edge is sharp as a knife.

I'm experimenting with putting black vinyl tape on strategic spots to make the surface softer and grippier.

[taming]

I'm fine with the Aura's feel now that I have used it for a week or so, but I thought about getting the stuff you put on the bottom of bathtubs --strips that you can cut to size. You can also buy decorative bathtub grippy shtuff. Duckies, anyone?

[guitarizt]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Not having a tracking number doesn't mean it hasn't shipped. I received my tracking number and the actual shipment on the same day within an hour of each other.

He can try live chat too. I did that and I'm not sure if they're right, but twice they told me the order is still waiting to be shipped.

[chrisparker]

Mine was a FAT32 formatted 64GB card. I formatted it with Disk Utility (Mac OS X 10.8.3). Didn't work.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by FJames

^^ I'm comparing my Aura to my Touch, right where the corner sits in my palm when I'm holding it normally:

- The Aura has less rounded corners than the Touch, about half the curve radius.
- The Aura is all hard plastic, while my Touch has soft rubber coated corners
- The bottom surface of the Aura corner is bezeled, but the top edge is sharp as a knife.

I'm experimenting with putting black vinyl tape on strategic spots to make the surface softer and grippier.

Yes the corners are less rounded compare to the Glo too. But, fool that I am, I have run my fingers along the "knife" like top edge, and I am please to report that I escaped without any cuts or grazes.

I also do not find the surface particularly slippery. I agree that the back is not as nice as the quilted effect on the Glo. I have a white Glo with a silver back, and a white (ivory) Aura. The Aura is a slightly greyer white than the Glo, and seems to be a very similar plastic (front and back) to the front of the Glo. I would have preferred a similar back as on the Glo. But the Aura is OK, and I don't find it too slippery or sharp. Just not as aesthetically pleasing.

[haydnfan]

I also don't like the hard plastic on the Aura and the expensive sleep cover too! I'm hoping for a good third party cover to come out.

[SouLThinking]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92 View Post
Not having a tracking number doesn't mean it hasn't shipped. I received my tracking number and the actual shipment on the same day within an hour of each other.

Where do you live and how long total did it take. My charge to my card was just a couple days ago. So how long after the charge did it take? Thanks in advance.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I also don't like the hard plastic on the Aura and the expensive sleep cover too! I'm hoping for a good third party cover to come out.

IMHO, Kobo made a mistake with that folded back. It makes the reader fatter, it makes making covers more expensive, and some people may just not want such a back. Hard plastic is not nice to hold. I think they should have just upsized the Touch and given it the new front light and new screen.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

He can try live chat too. I did that and I'm not sure if they're right, but twice they told me the order is still waiting to be shipped.

I did this the day before it arrived. I was told it absolutely had not yet shipped. It arrived the next day, and according to the email, had been shipped 3 days prior to my chat.

Originally Posted by SouLThinking

Where do you live and how long total did it take. My charge to my card was just a couple days ago. So how long after the charge did it take? Thanks in advance.

I made the order 4/16. I was charged on 4/19. The unit shipped the same evening. It arrived at about noon on 4/23, half an hour or so after the shipping email arrived.

[guitarizt]

Hmm that's not good. I'm gonna not sign for mine if it comes. I've already tried cancelling it because I'm sick of waiting and they kept telling me it hasn't shipped yet even as today. I tried to cancel it last night, but they said they had to escalate it to tier 2 and they don't work until monday. This is such a scam.

[Nil Einne]

Originally Posted by chrisparker

Mine was a FAT32 formatted 64GB card. I formatted it with Disk Utility (Mac OS X 10.8.3). Didn't work.

it sounds like they are really limited to 32GB cards, at least as of the current firmware.

BTW I asked Kobo about when they are expecting more stock for the Espresso for their webstore, first I asked via email, before they opened for the day (Friday) I think but after quite a few hours with no reply and seeing someone mention their twitter, I decided to try it and they seemed to imply they're hoping to have more stock next week https://twitter.com/KoboHelp/status/330433977578041344