8+ Readers in comparison

[mgmueller]

Got it today from Amazon Germany.

Why did I buy it?
A few years ago, I've killed 3 DECT phones while being in the bathtub (me, not the phones) for one or two hours.
I didn't drop them in the water, but obviously the steam had been enough.
I have a few waterproof sleeves, but they're not that convenient of course.
I thought about a custom made waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, but I'm not too enthusiastic about 3rd party vendors fumbling around in my gadgets.
So the Kobo Aura H2O was the obvious choice.

Kobo Aura HD vs. Kobo Aura H2O:
I'm not a fan of the design of Aura HD. It seems dated and "old school" to me.
But I actually (slightly) prefer it over Aura H2O:
The backs of both could have some better grip/texture. But the Aura HD at least has some kind of "fold" on the back, which makes it quite convenient to hold.
The back of Aura H2O is just plain and so the over all design of Aura H2O simply is a bit boring.
The display of Aura H2O seems to be a bit brighter. Aura HD is absolutely fine, but still Aura H2O even seems slightly better.
I still hate the file management. Yes, they have a Micro SD. But why can't I choose, what to put there? On a book by book basis or by genre, for example. Yes, lots of you will say "use Calibre". But I don't want to fumble around, I want to have an "out of the box" solution.
Now they simply put all the downloads into the internal storage and then, as soon as this is filled up, the rest to the Micro SD. I'd rather have my "exotic" titles, which I only touch occasionally, like comics or travel companions, on the SD card and my favorite titles in the internal memory. I could download all books in the respective order manually, but I don't want to do that for 450 books.
Why not give some download options, Kobo?

I'm not sure about the waterproof aspect.
The cover over the Micro SD and the Micro USB port seems a bit flimsy.
Well, I don't want to dive with it and for the steam in the bathroom, protection should be adequate...

My verdict for now:
Kindle Paperwhite 2 definitely remains my favorite.
Kobo Aura H2O will be my backup for critical environments, such as the bathroom while in the bathtub or while on the beach.

I really look forward to Kindle Voyage on November 4th!

[Glorfindel]

And I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

[mgmueller]

Tonight I've tried some exotic task, I actually wanted to read.
Hmmmm...
I don't like it much for that.
It's relatively fat (meaning the depth of the unit).
It actually is a bit inconvenient to hold.
And the back doesn't feel "right" as well, it's a bit slippery.
In direct comparison, Kindle Paperwhite 2 is way slimmer and more convenient to hold.
I'll have to test again, but so far a big letdown.
The fold on the back of Kobo Aura HD after all hadn't been such a bad idea, it gave some "grip" to hold.

And:
Sometimes, it was extremely slow.
2 or 3 times I even thought, it had crashed. It had not, but it simply took some time to get back to the library after closing a book. I can't remember, having experienced this on Kobo Aura HD.

[mgmueller]

I really like it and have replaced my iPhone.
I never liked my iPhone for business tasks and now I've been able to solve lots (75%?) of my problems.
Just a few examples:

It's the little details:

You can use profiles.
The easiest and most convenient one:
I've scheduled a meeting. In that time, no ring tones, only flashes of the LED.

You type on the 3 physical rows of the keyboard.
You get excellent predictions in the 4th row at the bottom of the screen.
1 of those 3 predictions after 3 or 4 letters usually is the right one.
It automatically switches between my predefined languages. On iPhone, when typing German mails, I often forgot to switch from English to German and got absurd predictions. I always thought "hey, that's a well known term in German. Is it so hard to recognize that I'm not writing English at the moment?". Obviously, it's not hard, BlackBerry is doing this surprisingly well.
And now the trick and huge time saver: You don't click the word, you "flick" it. Just leave your finger on the keyboard, put it in the area of the right word (left, middle, right) somewhere on the physical keyboard. Now flick the word up to the text. This takes half a dozen tries at the first time, but then you've got it. Basically, I start in the middle row of the keyboard and flick a few millimeters into the display. Working great!

When turning it on, the LED for a second flashes red. Sounds trivial. But on many of my devices, I'm never sure, whether I actually turned it on and whether it's booting. Then, after 20 seconds, nothing happens and I switch on again. On BlackBerry Passport, you're 100% sure right after turning it on.

Reception, speech quality and battery duration are outstanding.

It's perfect for my (business) needs.
But it certainly won't be an iPhone killer. Not even close.
In the BlackBerry App store, I find maybe 25% of the apps I have on my iPhone.
In the pre-installed Amazon App Store, I find maybe another 25% of the apps I have on my iPhone.
I definitely don't need all of those apps on iPhone, lots are mere gadgets.
But the gap is huge and will be even bigger for gadgeteers.
I've installed Snap. It's kind of an interface to Google Play. I can login to my Google account and find all my apps I own in the Google Play store. But: They aren't optimized at all for the square screen of BlackBerry Passport and they are native Android apps.

So this means:

95% of the apps from the BlackBerry App Store work flawlessly. Surprisingly enough, a few did not. One map application for example states "no internet connection". So obviously, it's not an exclusive Passport store, but for all BlackBerry 10 devices. No biggy, I have a handful of apps behaving strangely on iPhone as well.

Maybe 80% of the apps from the Amazon App Store work, vast majority of those flawlessly. But of course it's Android Apps and from time to time something doesn't work for the square screen or whatever might be the reason.

With the apps from Google Play via Snap, it's "hit and miss". My hitrate of working apps probably is below 50%. It helps a lot and it's nice not having to pay again for apps I already own.

Personally, I can close the app gap well enough. But lots of gadgeteers claim "I can't live without Pocket or this and that app" and then it would be a frustrating experience.

So I'm coming to the old conclusion:
For restaurants, success is 90% about location.
For tablets and smartphones, success is 90% about apps.
For my business needs, it's working well. But for the majority of smartphone users, it probably won't be an alternative. Not to iOS and Android, but probably not even to Windows Mobile.

EDIT:
BlackBerry Passport really is one on the best tools (I don't want to call it a gadget, although it's great in that regard as well) I've bought in years.
I still discover some new details every day.
Example:
I love the LED. The most efficient way, to get informed about a waiting email or missed call.
I thought about buying a 3rd party app, that allows for configuring the LEDs.
For example per account or contact.
The LED has (at least) 4 colors: Blue, red, green and white.
I'm using blue for my corporate account, red for some special contacts and so on.
The 3rd party app even allows for combinations for example red-green-red-blue.
I didn't buy this app, because I don't want to have too many 3rd party apps running as background tasks.
But I thought about this app again and again.
And now the newest firmware adds this feature directly from BlackBerry.
I can't combine the LED colors, but everything else is there.
So simple - but so helpful!

[mgmueller]

I know, I'm a bit late to the game.
But it only came out today in Germany and I'm rarely ordering from overseas anymore just to gain a few weeks but risk warranty and such.
Anyway...

As always, Amazon did deliver exactly as scheduled.

First impressions:
Wow, the package really is small.
And, I think, it's the first time ever I've got any of my Kindles in a "real" box, not just some practical shipping box.
It's no box on the design level of Microsoft or even Apple, but it's a nice and unexpected touch. Gives the impressions, owning the most "valuable" Kindle so far.

Another Wow:
The reader itself is heavy.
On the good side, as in "great build quality".
In that regard, it really blows Kobo H2O out of the water.
In direct comparison, it beats Paperwhite 2 as well.
Not by much, but there are some nice albeit minor design details. The bezel looks kind of "futuristic" and at a glance promises some special features.

Bezel and housing are even (=same height), no gaps or steps.
The power on/off button is on the back. The back in general obviously is inspired by Kindles Fire HDX. I'm not a fan of the slope on Fires HDX, but on Voyage's small size it's absolutely okay.

As always, Kindles come (more or less) fully charged.
Turning it on for the first time.
So far, I don't see anything bothersome in the light or background.

The boot-up screen is the same as on Paperwhite 2.
Kind of a "bleeding" display.
It's a gimmicky and eye-catching display, but I'm not sure whether it's a clever decision.
On Paperhwite 2, for a moment I thought my display would be damaged...

As always, I bought the 3G version.
I absolutely love this feature.
Someone in another thread some time ago said: "It's not free, you pay for it".
Yes, you pay a one-time uplift. But, in my opinion, that's for the hardware.
Same difference as on iPads for example.
But then the usage is for free.
I simply don't want to use my own SIM card in a reader. In a multi-functional tablet it's fine. But I wouldn't want to "waste" a SIM card on a reader when using 3G maybe 50 times per year only.
And I don't want to bother about WiFi in every hotel or on each train I use.
But being able to buy and load an eBook, whenever and wherever I am: Absolutely fantastic!

As always, my Kindle comes pre-configured = already linked to my Amazon account and named as I defined weeks ago in my account.

Nice detail:
I'm adding my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The email address already is entered, I only have to add my password.

My email address for the Kindle has been pre-configured by Amazon: xxxxx10@kindle.com.
I guess, it's my Kindle #10 then. I have to count, but it seems about right:
Kindle 2, Kindle DX, Kindle DXG, Kindle 3, Kindle touch, Kindle Paperwhite 1, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HD8.9, Kindle Paperwhite 2, Kindle Voyage. Correct, that's 10.
And each a nice evolution to the one before.
None a disappointment so far.
Consider me a fan of Amazon and Kindles, obviously.

Now comes the well known introduction.
So far, I don't see any new features. Fine by me, I hadn't been missing any feature on Paperwhite 2.
Stop, I've been to fast: Auto Brightness is new. I didn't really miss it, but might be helpful and certainly doesn't do any harm.
Ah, now I see another new feature: "g" on the main screen, obviously linking to Goodreads.

Of course they mention Prime.
I have it, of course. But mainly for the faster shipment and for a few weeks now for Fire TV.
I want to own my books, not rent them. (I know, I only own a license, not the book itself). But of course it's a spectacular feature and, at least in Germany, frightening lots of competitors.

Just confirmed to use "Auto Brightness".
Very interesting.
I've had my Paperwhite 2 on brightness 10 all the time: Bright enough at night in the bed, not bothering me in broad daylight.
Auto brightness now reduced the brightness (1pm) and of course readability improves. Not drastically, compared to my setting of 10. But noticeably.

You can set the amount of pressure needed to turn pages when using the buttons. I'll try low (else it offers medium and high).
The buttons even can give feedback. I set it to "off". After all, I should see the page turn...

For now, I love it!
With one exception: I've hated this on all my Kindles so far = building my library for the first time.
On Kobo I simply would use "download all".
No such feature on any Kindle.
I manually (!!!) have to decide, which of my 933 books (all purchases from Amazon) I want to download.
Well, if the internal storage allows for it, I would like to download them all. In the order of most recent read.
I'll only have to do this once, but it really is annoying and unnecessary.

[HarryT]

My Voyage arrived this morning, too, and first impressions are very favourable. Very nice evenly-illuminated screen, and sharp, clear text. It feels very small alongside the H2O!

I really like the page-turn buttons. They work well.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

With one exception: I've hated this on all my Kindles so far = building my library for the first time.

You can do that online. You still have to click on each book. But, a small bit of javascript typed into the console will select them all in one swoop. I can work out the code if you are interested.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You can do that online. You still have to click on each book. But, a small bit of javascript typed into the console will select them all in one swoop. I can work out the code if you are interested.

Thanks for the tip.
I've used my 3+ hours on the train (almost there) to download my library and start to read my first book on it.
By far I favor Amazon, their bookstore and Kindles over Kobo.
Still, it wouldn't hurt them to check some features of Kobo:
In list view, you see the size of each book.
You can download all books automatically.

Else: I love my Voyage.
Almost as compact as my BlackBerry Passport, great display, great design, great light with auto brightness.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Browser:


More to come...

Hi, mg:

I knwo this is a skosh OT, but: I'm looking at (not as a reader, but as a laptop, etc.), the SP3; the Lenovo Thinkpad T-whatever series, and the Lenovo Yoga Pro, the new-er Pro that's aimed at the working market, with the 3-way stand, the stylus, etc.

I saw you make some disparaging comments about build quality with both the Thinkpads and the Yogas, herein, is that right? I mean...I've always found Thinkpads built hell for stout, ready for almost anything, durable...so I'm surprised to see you say that they are not. Did you test/do you have the ThinkPad T series laptop, and the ThinkPad Yoga, rather than the Lenovo Yoga? The one that has all the goodies, stylus, yadda, rather than the Notebook?

I wouldn't disrupt, but I'm going to buy this week (my Thinkpad is now 10 years old, and it wants a rest), and your tastes and demands seem to run similar to mine. The spouse wants to get it purchased ASAP for an upcoming birthday of mine (no, don't bother asking when/how many) and so...{sigh}, your thoughts would be most welcome.

TIA,
Hitch

[HarryT]

Hitch - I have the original Surface Pro, and use it every day. Great machine, and I'm sure the SP3 is even better.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hi, mg:

I knwo this is a skosh OT, but: I'm looking at (not as a reader, but as a laptop, etc.), the SP3; the Lenovo Thinkpad T-whatever series, and the Lenovo Yoga Pro, the new-er Pro that's aimed at the working market, with the 3-way stand, the stylus, etc.

I saw you make some disparaging comments about build quality with both the Thinkpads and the Yogas, herein, is that right? I mean...I've always found Thinkpads built hell for stout, ready for almost anything, durable...so I'm surprised to see you say that they are not. Did you test/do you have the ThinkPad T series laptop, and the ThinkPad Yoga, rather than the Lenovo Yoga? The one that has all the goodies, stylus, yadda, rather than the Notebook?

I wouldn't disrupt, but I'm going to buy this week (my Thinkpad is now 10 years old, and it wants a rest), and your tastes and demands seem to run similar to mine. The spouse wants to get it purchased ASAP for an upcoming birthday of mine (no, don't bother asking when/how many) and so...{sigh}, your thoughts would be most welcome.

TIA,
Hitch

Quite frankly, I wouldn't link Lenovo to their "historical" roots in IBM/Thinkpad anymore.

I didn't buy Lenovo Yoga about 15 months ago.
It did look a bit cheap, compared to their Sony equivalents for example.
But main reason had been another one. And personally, I think that's symptomatic for Lenovo: Design.
If you fold back the display and use Yoga as a tablet (which had been my original idea about using Yoga), then the keyboards points down. If you hold it in your hands, the keys rest on your palm. I already don't like this with the Surface Series, but here I simply can pull off the touch or type keyboards in an instant.

More in 30 minutes, conference call waiting..

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I didn't buy Lenovo Yoga about 15 months ago.
It did look a bit cheap, compared to their Sony equivalents for example.

I don't know, the Lenovo Yoga Y3 Pro looks pretty sweet.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops...-3-pro-laptop/

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't know, the Lenovo Yoga Y3 Pro looks pretty sweet.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops...-3-pro-laptop/

I haven't seen the Y3 yet, only the predecessors.
Don't remember the names of the respective models, but I looked at them about 12 to 18 months ago.

Re. my Lenovo ThinkPad 8:
Same there.
The display is quite good.
But if I compare this € 650 tablet (okay, it has 128GB, so it's no 1:1 comparison) with my € 300 (for my 64GB model) Dell Venue 8 Pro: The Dell actually looks more valuable and even feels better.
ThinkPad 8, for example, has a bezel with relatively sharp edges. I have the same with my Nvidia Shield Tablet, so it might be some kind of trend. But to me it feels kind of "unpolished". And there are quite a few other, similar design decisions:
On the back, they have a LED as the dot on the i of "ThinkPad". Some may find this cute. I find it a bit childish, especially for a business device.

Simply put:
I have a few gadgets, that stand out. Even after a year and more I enjoy, taking them out of the desk. iPad mini Retina is in that category. Surface Pro 2 was in that category. ThinkPad 8 is not even close. And when holding it in my hands, the Lenovo Yoga model about 18 months ago fell through immediately.

Personally, I wouldn't blindly order a Lenovo product, I would like to see it first.
Of course, you always can return it, but I try to avoid that. And I try to avoid the disappointment.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hi, mg:

I knwo this is a skosh OT, but: I'm looking at (not as a reader, but as a laptop, etc.), the SP3; the Lenovo Thinkpad T-whatever series, and the Lenovo Yoga Pro, the new-er Pro that's aimed at the working market, with the 3-way stand, the stylus, etc.

I saw you make some disparaging comments about build quality with both the Thinkpads and the Yogas, herein, is that right? I mean...I've always found Thinkpads built hell for stout, ready for almost anything, durable...so I'm surprised to see you say that they are not. Did you test/do you have the ThinkPad T series laptop, and the ThinkPad Yoga, rather than the Lenovo Yoga? The one that has all the goodies, stylus, yadda, rather than the Notebook?

I wouldn't disrupt, but I'm going to buy this week (my Thinkpad is now 10 years old, and it wants a rest), and your tastes and demands seem to run similar to mine. The spouse wants to get it purchased ASAP for an upcoming birthday of mine (no, don't bother asking when/how many) and so...{sigh}, your thoughts would be most welcome.

TIA,
Hitch

Re. Surface Pro 3:
As always, I can't give you a brief answer to that.

First of all: I love it and Microsoft really deserves respect for it.
It's unbelievably thin. It's beautifully designed.
But, and that's a big but:
Personally, I only see Surface Pro 3 for a very limited, business oriented clientele.
I never, not even in the enthusiastic first week, have used it as a gadget.

Meaning:
iPad mini Retina, in comparison, is a fun unit.
I enjoy, using it without any real purpose. Just strolling around in iTunes, discovering new apps. Enjoying some multimedia and the occasional game.
You can all do that on Surface Pro 3. But everything is a little bit less "fun".
There are more apps in iTunes and for whatever reason (I can't exactly put my finger on it) it is more fun to explore than the Microsoft store (or Google Play, for that matter).
Windows 8 is absolutely fluent, but again iOS 8 is a bit simpler and doesn't need any learning curve.

And I even have to compare Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3:
I've kept using my Surface Pro 2 for quite a while. The size and format are fantastic. Surface Pro 3 on the other hand is at the edge of "not being mobile any longer". It's really huge.

But on the other hand, Surface Pro 3 easily outshines my MacBook Air 2011.

So, step 1 in my opinion:
Will you be happy with Surface Pro X?
If you want to have a powerhouse for business oriented tasks, it's absolutely stunning.
If you want to have a compromise (1 for all) for business and fun tasks, I'd consider it critical. There probably are more "fun" Windows 8 tablets. For example my dated Dell latitude 10. Lightweight, convenient to hold...
And, depending on the importance of "fun", question is whether Windows 8 is the right OS at all.

Step 2 then, in my opinion would be: Surface Pro 2 or 3:
I never had problems with the size of Surface Pro 2.
It neither was too small for my personal demands, nor was it too big for traveling.
Frankly, I rarely take Surface Pro 3 with me on a trip. Not on a short trip, it's simply too bulky.

But again: For the right usage pattern, Surface Pro X is a spectacular piece of technology.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hi, mg:

I knwo this is a skosh OT, but: I'm looking at (not as a reader, but as a laptop, etc.), the SP3; the Lenovo Thinkpad T-whatever series, and the Lenovo Yoga Pro, the new-er Pro that's aimed at the working market, with the 3-way stand, the stylus, etc.

I saw you make some disparaging comments about build quality with both the Thinkpads and the Yogas, herein, is that right? I mean...I've always found Thinkpads built hell for stout, ready for almost anything, durable...so I'm surprised to see you say that they are not. Did you test/do you have the ThinkPad T series laptop, and the ThinkPad Yoga, rather than the Lenovo Yoga? The one that has all the goodies, stylus, yadda, rather than the Notebook?

I wouldn't disrupt, but I'm going to buy this week (my Thinkpad is now 10 years old, and it wants a rest), and your tastes and demands seem to run similar to mine. The spouse wants to get it purchased ASAP for an upcoming birthday of mine (no, don't bother asking when/how many) and so...{sigh}, your thoughts would be most welcome.

TIA,
Hitch

P.S. I've had a few IBM THinkPads for business laptops.
They haven't been my favorites re. design either, I back then preferred Toshiba Satellite Pro for example.
But the ThinkPads back then had been extremely well built, just not caring much about "style".
In my book, Lenovo is far from that kind of design and quality. On the other hand: Most manufacturers have dropped in quality, seems to be the general trend...