Aura HD Kobo Aura HD Impressions Thread

[Waba]

Got Aura HD from Harvard!

First thing I fired it up with a cropped technical PDF and put it next to the 950... It looks great on both, but 950 wins do to the wasted space on the bottom: Page XXX of YYY... Hoping Kobo patcher eliminates this.

Fiction is a joy, this is my first backlit reader and I am so loving it... Kind of heavy compared to 350, my old favorite fiction reader but I think HD's versatility makes it worth it. The resolution, to me, is indistinguishable from printed books, and I have 20/7 vision... Hoping HD will take over rolls of both 950 (technical & published PDFs) and 350 (fiction).

Wish the power switch wasn't flush with frame, I fumble for it a little in the dark... Takes too many taps to get to Backlight brightness adjust. Only nitpicks so far, still learning the interface. Works great with Calibre, but not sure the kepub plugin I installed is working.

Really nice reader, feels like what Sony should have put out after the X50 line... I agree with eriksnoopy Sony's readers have become hopelessly outdated. But Kobo has come a long way, this is a fantastic reader!

[eriksnoopy]

Congrats Waba, both for getting the nice, crisp Aura HD and especially for still having a working 950 Its interesting that quite a few people have gone from the PRS-950 to the Aura HD, seems like we have the same taste in readers I also purchased the Aura HD yesterday, went to the local bookstore to get an espresso, but that turned out to be a bit too purple for my taste, went with the black (onyx) one instead... 199€ but an e reader is a must ever since i got my 950 (3 years back maybe?) Now its got black lines and black areas on it that wont go away, but on the bright side, i had a good reason to upgrade to a newer device and wont have to choose between two great devices before reading, but i do miss the 950, i used a permanent black marker to color the buttons which were chrome colored plastic and very reflective, used a tuff-love case and before that the original without-a-light case.

My new Aura HD, yes, it is quite slippery as i read here, i can live with that, not a fan of skins, unless it was leather, but for now im ok.
Reading with the light.. not yet a huge fan, tried it a little yesterday after my gf fell asleep, but had to turn it down to 1% so it wouldnt be too bright in a pitch dark environment. I would use an over head light when ever possible, but the built in light is a nice thing to have i suppose.
A tap instead of a swipe to turn pages is great, much more convenient.
The screen is super, worth the upgrade, and looks better then an average paperback in my opinion.

[FJames]

Originally Posted by eriksnoopy

not a fan of skins, unless it was leather

Yes! That would be great. Is there such a thing as a leather skin for the Aura HD?

[taosaur]

I grew up in biker country, but I do not get the impulse to put leather on everything. It seems especially absurd with electronics, but leather-bound DTBs aren't far behind. Leather is great for footwear and light armor (e.g. motorcycle jackets), but it's also heavy and insulating, two things you do not want for a mobile device. I get that a lot of people automatically connect leather with luxury no matter how it's used, and maybe even think of it as a 'natural' material (naturally flayed from a pig, doused in chemicals, irradiated, and doused in more chemicals).

I know there's no arguing taste; leather/pleather gadget accessories are just one of those tastes I find baffling, like sagging pants.

[eriksnoopy]

I agree that the leather we end up with has been treated by lots of chemicals (what hasn't?), but the few leather bound books that i own feel much better in my hand then plastic would. Everyone has their own taste, I'd take a leather cover or skin over most other materials any day

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by taosaur

I get that a lot of people automatically connect leather with luxury no matter how it's used, and maybe even think of it as a 'natural' material (naturally flayed from a pig, doused in chemicals, irradiated, and doused in more chemicals).

The texture, look and smell appeal to people. Besides which, not all leather is heavy (see the Octovo cases that were like Euro-cut m-t-m suits for the Kindle 3), and the heaviness/insulating aspects are superseded when companies create hybrid cases.

[dieterpops]

I received my aura HD and am pretty amazed at the consistency of the light. I've used both the Glo and the Paperwhite and this light is more consistent. I'm also impressed by the software as it's come a long way since the Touch. Looking forward to getting access to Pocket.

Also, for those in the US, Left-Bank books in St. Louis is a location that sells the Aura. Very excellent service from them.

[eriksnoopy]

Loaded some images on my aura hd today, and wow.. compared to my old reader the images look great. Can anybody give me advice on how i could go from one image to the next like turning a page? Thank You
also discovered that the aura cant change the font size on PDF books, no big problem, calibre helped me make them into epubs, but still.. my sony had that option 3 years ago..

[cgkr]

Originally Posted by eriksnoopy

also discovered that the aura cant change the font size on PDF books, no big problem, calibre helped me make them into epubs, but still.. my sony had that option 3 years ago..

That's quite interesting, I thought PDFs were all about having a consistent format across devices. I didn't know there was reader software that would change fonts etc.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by cgkr

That's quite interesting, I thought PDFs were all about having a consistent format across devices. I didn't know there was reader software that would change fonts etc.

The problem with the Sony feature mentioned here is that it shows you the scanned layer of text (which is often unreadably error-ridden), not the pristine reflowed pdf text. To my knowledge, no e-ink device does the latter thing.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

The problem with the Sony feature mentioned here is that it shows you the scanned layer of text (which is often unreadably error-ridden), not the pristine reflowed pdf text. To my knowledge, no e-ink device does the latter thing.

I'm not sure I understand you. The Sony feature did not show a scanned layer or anything like that. The feature worked for real text pdf files, not a scanned image file. It was able to reflow the text and increase the font size. Results were mixed but it worked.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I'm not sure I understand you. The Sony feature did not show a scanned layer or anything like that. The feature worked for real text pdf files, not a scanned image file. It was able to reflow the text and increase the font size. Results were mixed but it worked.

I own the exact same device as you, Rizla. In fact, my PRS-350 still lives in my messenger bag and I read it while coming home from work yesterday afternoon.

In my experience, when you adjust the font size of a pdf, the 350 switches automatically to the scanned text. I've never had the experience of changing the font size of a pdf and keeping the same layout, font and relatively error-free text.

I co-edit a magazine which is published quarterly as a pdf. We've just put out the most recent issue, so I'll have a look at it on the 350 when I return to work on Monday. I'm wondering whether we're talking about two different kinds of pdf, in which case the magazine might be illustrative of your experience, while a scanned pdf of a vintage copy of Michelet's Insects from Google Books is illustrative of mine.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by taosaur

I grew up in biker country, but I do not get the impulse to put leather on everything. . . . I know there's no arguing taste; leather/pleather gadget accessories are just one of those tastes I find baffling, like sagging pants.

Since some of us didn't grow up in biker country and might actually enjoy wearing big pants, it's possible we might be baffled by your impulse not to "put leather on everything."

Personally, I like wearing fitted pants, but I am rather fond of the leather goods that seem to have baffled you.

[ectoplasm]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

...the scanned text..

It looks like you don't understand that PDFs are not necessarily scanned images that are OCR'd. Commercial ebook PDFs are almost always created directly from a digital source. There can be no errors and there is no "scanned layer".

The ability to reflow is another thing, which depends on a combination of whether the PDF was tagged, and the capabilities of the reader software. I've found even untagged PDFs can still reflow pretty well for novel type text.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

In my experience, when you adjust the font size of a pdf, the 350 switches automatically to the scanned text. I've never had the experience of changing the font size of a pdf and keeping the same layout, font and relatively error-free text.

I co-edit a magazine which is published quarterly as a pdf. We've just put out the most recent issue, so I'll have a look at it on the 350 when I return to work on Monday. I'm wondering whether we're talking about two different kinds of pdf, in which case the magazine might be illustrative of your experience, while a scanned pdf of a vintage copy of Michelet's Insects from Google Books is illustrative of mine.

I'm talking about pdf files that contain actual text, i.e. ascii or something like it. I am not talking about pdf files that contain a graphical image like a jpeg file.

I found the best way to view a pdf on a Sony or any other reader was to remove the margins via Briss and view it in landscape mode. Either that or convert to epub.