MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - First e-reader choice from a picky engineer

meeera · 01-16-2016, 04:03 AM

The first thing you need to know is to take anything you read or hear on Goodereader with a pinch of salt. The Glo HD has IR touch. The only capacitive touch Kobo eink reader is the Aura. You also can't tell much about comparative screen colour or lighting (or anything else, really) in GeR reviews, because they make little or no effort to keep settings the same when comparing devices.

When it comes to colour temperature, if you are sensitive to this, there is significant variation between individual devices. There have also been a few more reports of colour gradations within a given screen in the Kindles, though a whole lot of people don't experience or can't perceive this at all. I would recommend seeing your individual device before buying if at all possible, though as you say that is difficult for you with Kobo. (Where in the USA? Maybe you have a nearby Mobileread member, or one of the very few bookshops with stock?) I find my H2O to be pleasantly neutral-to-warm, but mileage may vary.

Background whiteness/contrast depends more on whether you have a Carta eink device than on which brand it is. Perceived contrast improves with a black bezel rather than white, and with bolder fonts (there's more control on the Kobo for that, as you know).

When it comes to news reading - to be honest, I use my iPad Mini and Flipboard, because I much prefer that experience. Pocket I use (and love) for short stories.

If fingerprints are a big issue for you, there are decal skins.

I know nothing about how the backs of my devices feel, because I always use (and strongly recommend) a case.

Possibly the killer features of Kobo for me are the font/layout management and Calibre collections management. The waterproofing is great too, and it's also a platform compatible with library borrowing in my country (yours has Kindle borrowing). And I agree with you on the home screen side of things.

I've had little to no trouble with DRM and conversion, so long as I stay away from iBooks and B&N. There was a brief period where Kobo was annoyingly selling a few kepub-only books (I prefer the epub renderer), but obok took care of that.

01-16-2016, 04:03 AM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,828 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	The first thing you need to know is to take anything you read or hear on Goodereader with a pinch of salt. The Glo HD has IR touch. The only capacitive touch Kobo eink reader is the Aura. You also can't tell much about comparative screen colour or lighting (or anything else, really) in GeR reviews, because they make little or no effort to keep settings the same when comparing devices. When it comes to colour temperature, if you are sensitive to this, there is significant variation between individual devices. There have also been a few more reports of colour gradations within a given screen in the Kindles, though a whole lot of people don't experience or can't perceive this at all. I would recommend seeing your individual device before buying if at all possible, though as you say that is difficult for you with Kobo. (Where in the USA? Maybe you have a nearby Mobileread member, or one of the very few bookshops with stock?) I find my H2O to be pleasantly neutral-to-warm, but mileage may vary. Background whiteness/contrast depends more on whether you have a Carta eink device than on which brand it is. Perceived contrast improves with a black bezel rather than white, and with bolder fonts (there's more control on the Kobo for that, as you know). When it comes to news reading - to be honest, I use my iPad Mini and Flipboard, because I much prefer that experience. Pocket I use (and love) for short stories. If fingerprints are a big issue for you, there are decal skins. I know nothing about how the backs of my devices feel, because I always use (and strongly recommend) a case. Possibly the killer features of Kobo for me are the font/layout management and Calibre collections management. The waterproofing is great too, and it's also a platform compatible with library borrowing in my country (yours has Kindle borrowing). And I agree with you on the home screen side of things. I've had little to no trouble with DRM and conversion, so long as I stay away from iBooks and B&N. There was a brief period where Kobo was annoyingly selling a few kepub-only books (I prefer the epub renderer), but obok took care of that. Last edited by meeera; 01-16-2016 at 04:09 AM.