Touch Kobo Touch Review - Page 2

jiminrussell · 06-12-2011, 11:44 AM

Taming, I have seen the same thing on the left margin of the screen, it seems to be random as it can appear right after a full screen refresh or I can turn dozens of pages without seeing it at all. What I find really strange is that it is primarily in the left margin where there isn't any text displayed so is this really ghosting or a defective screen is what I am wondering.

joshmosh · 06-12-2011, 12:12 PM

I don't see any blocks on the left side of the screen, but I DO see the ghosting of the text from page to page until it does a full screen refresh. And for me it is very bothersome as it greatly reduces the text clarity.

Hopefully these issues are cleared up soon by the Kobo team.

siraks · 06-12-2011, 12:18 PM

i have yet to notice any ghosting that everyone speaks of, well to the extent i see in that image anyway. i have seen hints of it but nothing that deters me from reading, it's almost non existent for me.

remcdonald · 06-12-2011, 12:20 PM

I don't see the ghosting though I will admit I have had a few people tell me about it at work or who have new KTs. The reason that both B&N and KT probably went with the 6 pages then flash is actually pretty obvious to me. Everytime I showed someone an original Kobo either mine or at work they would quickly note the flash and how disturbing it would be to their reading how their ipod didn't flash when it changed pages (yes I know eink vs LCD), etc ,etc. So in order to mitigate that and get people using ereaders they cut down the flashes. I know if you have been using an ereader you get used to them pretty quick and they don't even really register in your brain anymore but it was keeping a large number of people away from Ereaders and so I can understand the change even if it did bring in this ghosting that I can't see but I believe you all does exist.

Nigol · 06-12-2011, 12:22 PM

I read around 300 pages yesterday and did not notice any ghosting at all or any of the artifact on the left of the screen. I did notice that sometime the text is a little pale on some occasion, but I think that having more font option could help that (like using a font that is more bold).

Maybe I am not understanding what is the ghosting you are talking about, but I do not see any text appearing from previous page at all.

Joe563 · 06-12-2011, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taming

I may have a defective reader. This is one of the reasons I am asking for other people's experiences, SP.

I am having the same problem with my touch reader. Both a pin reset and a factory reset have not solved the problem. I contacted the Kobo Helpdesk this morning and they have only one other person reporting this problem. As far as I can determine at this time it is not known whether this is a problem of defective units or a general firmware problem.

charleski · 06-12-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiminrussell

Taming, I have seen the same thing on the left margin of the screen, it seems to be random as it can appear right after a full screen refresh or I can turn dozens of pages without seeing it at all. What I find really strange is that it is primarily in the left margin where there isn't any text displayed so is this really ghosting or a defective screen is what I am wondering.

Your screen is defective. This is what you see when there's a small crack in the glass supporting the eInk.

http://www.brokenkindle.com/ has pictures of damaged eInk screens, which show a similar pattern, though obviously far worse.

Tony1988 · 06-12-2011, 01:25 PM

I think this whole ghosting thing can be fixed with an update. Two weeks ago when they first announced the KT there were some videos of it online. They had the black refresh at every page turn. I can only guess that they changed it to every 6 page turns because NOOK has it. So many people were excited about this feature for NOOK that Kobo probably felt they needed to do the same. Sadly it results in ghosting for both devices. I think Im gonna wait to purchase this and see if they fix it. If not I will just get a sony. I saw the ghosting on a device at BN and it was annoying as heck.

taming · 06-12-2011, 01:32 PM

It is not a broken screen--if it were, then it would always be there. That does not mean that it is not some other kind of defect. I have used my Touch today like crazy and have not seen it. I have used it to sync, purchased a book, played with multiple features and no ghosting-on-steroids.

I have come to believe that it might be something that shows up after I have had a mini-freeze. By that I mean that when my finger press doesn't quite take, I have had occasions where nothing on the touch screen worked. Pressing the home button clears these mini-freezes. I have had no mini-freezes today, and none of that strange ghosting big dark boxes emanating from the left either. I am going to continue to try to recreate it in a mindful way so I can report accurately to Kobo techies about what seems to produce it.

The ill effects of whatever I have done seems to go away completely after the Kobo Touch turns off and is then turned on again.

charleski · 06-12-2011, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taming

It is not a broken screen--if it were, then it would always be there.

Intermittent defects are always hard to diagnose, but the pattern that jiminrussell showed is quite distinctive, and certainly isn't text ghosting.

It's hard to say what's causing the problem you're having without seeing a picture.

Cyberman tM · 06-12-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remcdonald

As well the device is using Mini USB and Mini SD so your old cards and cables will not work (you get a new cable though so that's not a problem).

Sure it's mini, not micro USB? Mini is the one the Wifi (and original I guess) had, Micro is that very flat one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taming

Something else is going on with the ghosting. Yesterday morning, it seemed that I was having no ghosting and then later in the day it was happening again. Now I have had the same experience. I turned my Kobo on, have read over 200 pages, and no ghosting. Compare this to the every six pages shtuff from the end of the day, hum....

What was the temperature when you were reading? E-Ink starts to "ghost" when it's cold.
(At least my devices do.)

taming · 06-12-2011, 01:43 PM

I was reading in my house--about 20 Celsius--normal room temperature.

taming · 06-12-2011, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiminrussell

Taming, I have seen the same thing on the left margin of the screen, it seems to be random as it can appear right after a full screen refresh or I can turn dozens of pages without seeing it at all. What I find really strange is that it is primarily in the left margin where there isn't any text displayed so is this really ghosting or a defective screen is what I am wondering.

Yes, this is what it looks like, but I have had that banding/ghosting extend further across the screen and in two or more "blocks".

Joe563 · 06-12-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleski

Intermittent defects are always hard to diagnose, but the pattern that jiminrussell showed is quite distinctive, and certainly isn't text ghosting.

It's hard to say what's causing the problem you're having without seeing a picture.

The problem I am having is definitely not the one described by jiminrusell but more like the one described by JoshMosh.

The ghosting problem is more noticeable if there is a lot of white space on the current page since the 'ghosts' are only noticeable in the parts of the page not covered by text and also if previous pages have had non-text elements such as a book cover or the Library book list that cover multiple lines of text.

remcdonald · 06-12-2011, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyberman tM

Sure it's mini, not micro USB? Mini is the one the Wifi (and original I guess) had, Micro is that very flat one

My bad micro is what I meant the very flat very small one.

06-12-2011, 11:44 AM	#16
jiminrussell JimInRussell Posts: 355 Karma: 143302 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Russell Ontario Canada Device: kobo Aura One, Forma, Elipsa, Sage	ghosting on left of screen Taming, I have seen the same thing on the left margin of the screen, it seems to be random as it can appear right after a full screen refresh or I can turn dozens of pages without seeing it at all. What I find really strange is that it is primarily in the left margin where there isn't any text displayed so is this really ghosting or a defective screen is what I am wondering. Attached Thumbnails

06-12-2011, 01:32 PM	#24
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	It is not a broken screen--if it were, then it would always be there. That does not mean that it is not some other kind of defect. I have used my Touch today like crazy and have not seen it. I have used it to sync, purchased a book, played with multiple features and no ghosting-on-steroids. I have come to believe that it might be something that shows up after I have had a mini-freeze. By that I mean that when my finger press doesn't quite take, I have had occasions where nothing on the touch screen worked. Pressing the home button clears these mini-freezes. I have had no mini-freezes today, and none of that strange ghosting big dark boxes emanating from the left either. I am going to continue to try to recreate it in a mindful way so I can report accurately to Kobo techies about what seems to produce it. The ill effects of whatever I have done seems to go away completely after the Kobo Touch turns off and is then turned on again. Last edited by taming; 06-12-2011 at 01:36 PM. Reason: more info

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06-12-2011, 12:12 PM	#17
joshmosh Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch	I don't see any blocks on the left side of the screen, but I DO see the ghosting of the text from page to page until it does a full screen refresh. And for me it is very bothersome as it greatly reduces the text clarity. Hopefully these issues are cleared up soon by the Kobo team.

06-12-2011, 12:18 PM	#18
siraks use the force Posts: 575 Karma: 564666 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ontario Device: Kobo Touch, Lenovo K1	i have yet to notice any ghosting that everyone speaks of, well to the extent i see in that image anyway. i have seen hints of it but nothing that deters me from reading, it's almost non existent for me.

06-12-2011, 12:20 PM	#19
remcdonald Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 49376 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo, Kobo Touch	I don't see the ghosting though I will admit I have had a few people tell me about it at work or who have new KTs. The reason that both B&N and KT probably went with the 6 pages then flash is actually pretty obvious to me. Everytime I showed someone an original Kobo either mine or at work they would quickly note the flash and how disturbing it would be to their reading how their ipod didn't flash when it changed pages (yes I know eink vs LCD), etc ,etc. So in order to mitigate that and get people using ereaders they cut down the flashes. I know if you have been using an ereader you get used to them pretty quick and they don't even really register in your brain anymore but it was keeping a large number of people away from Ereaders and so I can understand the change even if it did bring in this ghosting that I can't see but I believe you all does exist.

06-12-2011, 12:22 PM	#20
Nigol Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 363616 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Montreal, Canada Device: Kobo Original, Kobo Touch	I read around 300 pages yesterday and did not notice any ghosting at all or any of the artifact on the left of the screen. I did notice that sometime the text is a little pale on some occasion, but I think that having more font option could help that (like using a font that is more bold). Maybe I am not understanding what is the ghosting you are talking about, but I do not see any text appearing from previous page at all.

06-12-2011, 01:25 PM	#23
Tony1988 Guru Posts: 711 Karma: 4033862 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: sony prs-350	I think this whole ghosting thing can be fixed with an update. Two weeks ago when they first announced the KT there were some videos of it online. They had the black refresh at every page turn. I can only guess that they changed it to every 6 page turns because NOOK has it. So many people were excited about this feature for NOOK that Kobo probably felt they needed to do the same. Sadly it results in ghosting for both devices. I think Im gonna wait to purchase this and see if they fix it. If not I will just get a sony. I saw the ghosting on a device at BN and it was annoying as heck.

06-12-2011, 01:43 PM	#27
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	I was reading in my house--about 20 Celsius--normal room temperature.

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