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Katsunami · 07-20-2019, 01:40 PM

To some extent, I can relate.

I've owned a Kobo Aura ONE since (almost) the day it was released in the Netherlands. I jumped on it because it was the first and only e-reader (at least at that time) that had an (almost) 8 inch screen, which I think is the perfect size in between too small (6 inch) and too large (9.7 / 10.1 inch).

The first 6 months it spent in the closet, because I got fed up with all the bugs and all the of the stuff that either didn't work right, or got fixed and broken multiple times (stats). It also had issues with _many_ third party sleep covers, so I finally bought the original cover.

Build quality of the KA1 is poor. The screen is glued into the device, but the left edge has a wider gap than the right edge; in the left edge, you can see the glue. It's a dust magnet. Dust and grit gets stuck in that gap. (To the right as well, but to a lesser degree). A year ago, I noticed a hairline crack just to the right of the USB-port. The reader has never been bumped, dropped, or hit, and it has been in a case since day one. Two weeks ago, suddenly a corner was just broken off from the original case (the reader itself was undamaged), and the corner on the other side was cracked; still, the reader has never been bumped, dropped, or hit.

I removed the cover and replaced it with a Gecko Deluxe cover. It's not slimfit, and it covers the bezels. I have a similar cover (of a different manufacturer) for my Kindle Paperwhite. Even so, the KPW-cover has an advantage: it has a flap over the opening where you slide the e-reader into the cover, and it sticks to the cover with velcro. (You wrap it around the reader, between the back of the reader and the back of the cover.) The Gecko doesn't have this, so the reader will, at some point, slip free of the cover if it should get looser or more play. I've resolved that by sticking two strips of super strong double sided tape behind the Kobo (behind the top and bottom bezel), slipping it into the case, and then pressing. Now it's impossible to get it out of the cover without first sliding a thin long knife behind the e-reader's back.

It doesn't need to come out of the cover though.

Because I *really* dislike the Kindle Oasis and Kobo Forma formfactor, and the KA1 works as it should now (and it even, finally, officially, got the option to remove the headers and footers), I can see me using this reader until the battery dies. Non-replaceable batteries in expensive products is a personal pet peeve of mine, and if possible, I avoid such products.

The one thing I still notice is how much _FASTER_ my KPW from 2012 is, compared to the KA1.

07-20-2019, 01:40 PM	#27
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	To some extent, I can relate. I've owned a Kobo Aura ONE since (almost) the day it was released in the Netherlands. I jumped on it because it was the first and only e-reader (at least at that time) that had an (almost) 8 inch screen, which I think is the perfect size in between too small (6 inch) and too large (9.7 / 10.1 inch). The first 6 months it spent in the closet, because I got fed up with all the bugs and all the of the stuff that either didn't work right, or got fixed and broken multiple times (stats). It also had issues with _many_ third party sleep covers, so I finally bought the original cover. Build quality of the KA1 is poor. The screen is glued into the device, but the left edge has a wider gap than the right edge; in the left edge, you can see the glue. It's a dust magnet. Dust and grit gets stuck in that gap. (To the right as well, but to a lesser degree). A year ago, I noticed a hairline crack just to the right of the USB-port. The reader has never been bumped, dropped, or hit, and it has been in a case since day one. Two weeks ago, suddenly a corner was just broken off from the original case (the reader itself was undamaged), and the corner on the other side was cracked; still, the reader has never been bumped, dropped, or hit. I removed the cover and replaced it with a Gecko Deluxe cover. It's not slimfit, and it covers the bezels. I have a similar cover (of a different manufacturer) for my Kindle Paperwhite. Even so, the KPW-cover has an advantage: it has a flap over the opening where you slide the e-reader into the cover, and it sticks to the cover with velcro. (You wrap it around the reader, between the back of the reader and the back of the cover.) The Gecko doesn't have this, so the reader will, at some point, slip free of the cover if it should get looser or more play. I've resolved that by sticking two strips of super strong double sided tape behind the Kobo (behind the top and bottom bezel), slipping it into the case, and then pressing. Now it's impossible to get it out of the cover without first sliding a thin long knife behind the e-reader's back. It doesn't need to come out of the cover though. Because I really dislike the Kindle Oasis and Kobo Forma formfactor, and the KA1 works as it should now (and it even, finally, officially, got the option to remove the headers and footers), I can see me using this reader until the battery dies. Non-replaceable batteries in expensive products is a personal pet peeve of mine, and if possible, I avoid such products. The one thing I still notice is how much _FASTER_ my KPW from 2012 is, compared to the KA1.