Quote:
Originally Posted by gribley
hey folks,
I just bought a couple more old Kindles from Woot (thanks to rcentros for the tip!), including a K3 / Kindle Keyboard ($15!). I had a K3 (now long dead) a few years ago; since then I've had a Paperwhite (great), a Koko HD (dead), and a few others. I recently bought a Kobo H2O (1st gen) in an attempt to break out of the Kindle ecosystem and try a larger screen (6.8").
The K3 arrived last night, and WOW -- I had forgotten how amazingly cool is. It is a beautiful and well-designed piece of tech. Playing with it, comparing it with my new-to-me Kobo H2O, the screen of the K3 is definitely murkier and less contrasty -- but I think I like it much more. I've finally identified a couple of possible reasons.
1. The frontlighting of the H2O is fantastic, but it makes me feel like I am looking at a lit screen (which I am) instead of a passively reflective surface. I really have to turn the brightness down to a few percent before it doesn't feel like a tablet screen.
2. The H2O screen feels further away. The K3 e-ink looks like it's just about on the surface (as in a book) and it's just sitting there. I'm thinking that the combination of the touch and light layers in the H2O means that the e-ink really is further from the top of the screen, and I am somehow seeing this.
3. The recessed bezel, ugh! The K3 has a bezel but it's recessed very little. The H2O bezel is significantly further down. It feels much more like a tablet than a flat page.
The combination of factors makes me feel like the H2O reading experience is more like a tablet and feels less like a book. The K3 screen is more murky but feels simpler and more bookish.
So now I have several questions. First, am I crazy? Do others have this experience? Is the solution a flush screen? I hadn't thought that was important before, but now it feels to me that that would really change the experience. Does it?
So now I'm eager to try some possible alternatives. A used Kobo Aura (1st ed) with a flush screen is ~$50 on ebay. I missed the chance at a refurb Voyage for $119 from Amazon over Black Friday, because it's a bit out of my price range, but I would like the "physical" page keys as well. However, I think it would be insane (for me) to spend more than $100 on another e-readers, so the Oasis and Aura One are out.
I'd be interested in hearing from others about the reading experience, especially with respect to a flush screen, fewer layers, and a more paperlike feel.
thanks!
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To my eyes, the Aura screen doesn't 'feel' flush. It feels like the e-ink is a few layers down as you describe. I don't remember feeling that with my Nook STwG. Maybe because of IR vs. Capacitive that requires another layer?
The Nook Glowlight 3 just came out with an IR screen and reviews noted the text is a tiny bit sharper than the Paperwhite or Glowlight Plus.
I have heard the Voyage feels like the text is on the screen, even with the light and capacitive layer. The supposition there is that the glass screen is clearer than plastic.
Having said all that, the Aura is a nice little reader. It is nicely designed and very small. Worth your $50.00.