Now that it's on sale in Japan, I went to a local store to check out a demo unit. On it's own, it's not a bad device and I was about to buy it - but then I looked at the Glo next to it and all of it's flaws became glaring.
Like Canuck says, I don't think the "scratches" from the screen are an issue in normal usage (I couldn't see them at all in the highly illuminated store). What did kill it for me was the lower screen/ink contrast (as compared to the glo and new paperwhite) as well as the uneven backlighting (The top 1/3 of the display is a warm yellow, and the bottom 2/3 is the standard white/cool blue).
I also didn't experience any real issue with glare from the plastic screen on top. The glare was almost the same as that from the glo and paperwhite. Also, for those curious, the pink case is smooth and has no texture (it's quite slippery) whereas the black has texture and felt relatively grippy.
Compared to the glo on display next to the aura it was pretty obvious that Kobo somehow took a step back in their application of eInk screens. I was a bit disappointed. If they simply took the glo, made it a bit thinner and shaved the bezel down it would be perfect. I suppose I'll wait to upgrade my original Nook STR until the Aura 2 comes out.
