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RobertJSawyer · 09-19-2013, 03:33 PM

Went to my local Chapters to see the new Kobo Aura 6-inch E Ink e-reader in the flesh. Overall, it's lovely, although, as usual, Chapters simply doesn't have it set up right to show of the device:

Only public-domain books loaded, most of which lack the standard kepub bells-and-whistles; nothing that demonstrates the new Beyond the Book feature; no dictionary installed; no illustrated books (so no way to test the new picture-zoom feature); no sample Pocket articles loaded; and no placard to tell anyone how much the darn thing costs (it's Cdn$149) -- and the sample had one of the pin-pricks of brightness that people have talked about here.

Still: it's really nice as an upgrade to the Glo. Thinner, smaller (and the Sleep Cover is MUCH smaller in terms of height). The flush bezel is terrific, and I didn't find the glare from it (identical to the bit of glare from the matte-finish screen) was bothersome.

Changing brightness by swiping two fingers up or down works just fine. Marking text is a bit more spritely than before, and more accurate, too, in my quick test. Screen refresh options are now: every chapter (!), every page, every 5 pages, and every 10 pages. Instead of a full refresh (brief inverting of the video), each page change very rapidly dissolves to a faint dot screen (like the ones used to shade areas in comic books, although not nearly as obvious as that). I actually kind of liked the transition, and certainly wouldn't find it obtrusive.

The back of the case has a very fine diamond pattern, almost like lizard skin; it's quite comfortable to hold (much more so than the Aura HD's slick back).

At a glance, font choices seemed the same as on my Glo, although there are now two fonts designed to help dyslexics (instead of just one).

The only Sleep Cover available was a black leather one, but it was in stock, too.

The gray Kobo logo in lower left is much less obtrusive than the stark white one on the black Glo, but I'm sad to see them take out the neat underline in the shape of an open book -- I liked the older version of the logo better. Oh, well.

Overall, a really nice device.

09-19-2013, 03:33 PM	#163
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 738 Karma: 4306712 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Hands-on evaluation at my local Chapters Went to my local Chapters to see the new Kobo Aura 6-inch E Ink e-reader in the flesh. Overall, it's lovely, although, as usual, Chapters simply doesn't have it set up right to show of the device: Only public-domain books loaded, most of which lack the standard kepub bells-and-whistles; nothing that demonstrates the new Beyond the Book feature; no dictionary installed; no illustrated books (so no way to test the new picture-zoom feature); no sample Pocket articles loaded; and no placard to tell anyone how much the darn thing costs (it's Cdn$149) -- and the sample had one of the pin-pricks of brightness that people have talked about here. Still: it's really nice as an upgrade to the Glo. Thinner, smaller (and the Sleep Cover is MUCH smaller in terms of height). The flush bezel is terrific, and I didn't find the glare from it (identical to the bit of glare from the matte-finish screen) was bothersome. Changing brightness by swiping two fingers up or down works just fine. Marking text is a bit more spritely than before, and more accurate, too, in my quick test. Screen refresh options are now: every chapter (!), every page, every 5 pages, and every 10 pages. Instead of a full refresh (brief inverting of the video), each page change very rapidly dissolves to a faint dot screen (like the ones used to shade areas in comic books, although not nearly as obvious as that). I actually kind of liked the transition, and certainly wouldn't find it obtrusive. The back of the case has a very fine diamond pattern, almost like lizard skin; it's quite comfortable to hold (much more so than the Aura HD's slick back). At a glance, font choices seemed the same as on my Glo, although there are now two fonts designed to help dyslexics (instead of just one). The only Sleep Cover available was a black leather one, but it was in stock, too. The gray Kobo logo in lower left is much less obtrusive than the stark white one on the black Glo, but I'm sad to see them take out the neat underline in the shape of an open book -- I liked the older version of the logo better. Oh, well. Overall, a really nice device.