[Prestidigitweeze]

The only way to know whether a device's unaltered OS is agreeable is to actually use it -- something which is not terribly easy for North Americans in the case of Kobos Glo and Aura HD.

The ability to choose one's own screensaver is not a rarefied or "picky" request. It gives me childish pleasure to see intricate Ernst Haeckel illustrations bedizening my Kindle Keyboard, for example, or jarred skeletal remains on my PRS-350.

I often read as an aid to writing and I'm not alone in that -- I know a lot of writers who start their day by reading.

Seeing a banal image just before I read is profoundly uninspiring. Using an e-reader that restricts the screensaver to cliche or proprietary images, or features a home screen filled with intrusive advertising, is like being stalked by a door-to-door salesperson when you're trying to compose a sarabande.

I found the unrooted Nook ST incredibly disappointing in that regard.

I'm hoping that Kobo doesn't treat its devices as advertising real estate. I've never owned a Kobo, so feel free to beat me to death with good news on that score.