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StephenCM · 09-06-2019, 09:18 PM

I dropped my 2009 hand-me-down Kindle3 and it broke so I bought a Kobo Clara wanted to like it, but to be honest, I've been really disappointed.

This post isn't a troll, it's just a way to vent a bit of my honest disappointment.

The reasons I got a Kobo were these:

A good opportunity to get away from the Amazon hegemony
I'd additionally be able to borrow books from the library. (Which you can't do on a Kindle outside of the USA.)
The thing would actually show the book cover on the off screen.
Backlighting. (Not unique to Kobos, but not present on my old Kindle.)

I was so excited. I wanted so much to like the Kobo. But to be honest, I now long for the nine-year-old Kindle.

The Clara so far has had so many limitations...

Awkward to hold. When holding in one hand, it often slips and I worry I'm going to damage the screen as my nail digs in to it when it slips.
No portrait mode. Related to the above point, portrait mode might make it easier to hold in some situations, but does not exist.
Page-turning swipes and taps seem unreliable.
Slow page turn. (Sometimes resulting in double-turns if I tap again after I don't think the first one worked.)
Dictionary is atrocious. (I know, there are hacks where I could install a new dictionary. I've even downloaded a bootlegged Websters that I now need to convert to Kobo format. But that's a lot of work required on my part to make up for Ratuken's failings.)
Navigation in a book (if for instance you want to keep referring to end-notes) is awkward and unpredictable, even if you keep setting bookmarks.
Logging in to Overdrive and reserving books through my library seemed a bit of a black art. In the end it seemed easier to do most of it on the PC and then once that was all handled, just tell the Kobo to sync with already-borrowed materials.
The menus/UI all feels slow and laggy. Surprising for a much newer device.

Even the library ability is, to be honest, only of limited utility to me it turns out. This is not really Kobo's fault, it's that my library only pays for so many copies of ebooks so I never get a book right away, I get on a waitlist and wait and wait and then at an inconvenient time I get an email saying drop everything and finish this book in three weeks.

I just figured that something that was a decade newer than my old Kindle (an eternity in Moore's law electronics) would be infinitely better, but other than the backlighting it is in no way that I found better.

09-06-2019, 09:18 PM	#1
StephenCM Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2019 Device: Kobo Clara	Kobo Clara Impressions I dropped my 2009 hand-me-down Kindle3 and it broke so I bought a Kobo Clara wanted to like it, but to be honest, I've been really disappointed. This post isn't a troll, it's just a way to vent a bit of my honest disappointment. The reasons I got a Kobo were these: A good opportunity to get away from the Amazon hegemony I'd additionally be able to borrow books from the library. (Which you can't do on a Kindle outside of the USA.) The thing would actually show the book cover on the off screen. Backlighting. (Not unique to Kobos, but not present on my old Kindle.) I was so excited. I wanted so much to like the Kobo. But to be honest, I now long for the nine-year-old Kindle. The Clara so far has had so many limitations... Awkward to hold. When holding in one hand, it often slips and I worry I'm going to damage the screen as my nail digs in to it when it slips. No portrait mode. Related to the above point, portrait mode might make it easier to hold in some situations, but does not exist. Page-turning swipes and taps seem unreliable. Slow page turn. (Sometimes resulting in double-turns if I tap again after I don't think the first one worked.) Dictionary is atrocious. (I know, there are hacks where I could install a new dictionary. I've even downloaded a bootlegged Websters that I now need to convert to Kobo format. But that's a lot of work required on my part to make up for Ratuken's failings.) Navigation in a book (if for instance you want to keep referring to end-notes) is awkward and unpredictable, even if you keep setting bookmarks. Logging in to Overdrive and reserving books through my library seemed a bit of a black art. In the end it seemed easier to do most of it on the PC and then once that was all handled, just tell the Kobo to sync with already-borrowed materials. The menus/UI all feels slow and laggy. Surprising for a much newer device. Even the library ability is, to be honest, only of limited utility to me it turns out. This is not really Kobo's fault, it's that my library only pays for so many copies of ebooks so I never get a book right away, I get on a waitlist and wait and wait and then at an inconvenient time I get an email saying drop everything and finish this book in three weeks. I just figured that something that was a decade newer than my old Kindle (an eternity in Moore's law electronics) would be infinitely better, but other than the backlighting it is in no way that I found better.