Quote:
Originally Posted by Calenorn
Does anyone have the new Kobo Nia? Has anyone reviewed it here? Maybe I missed the thread.
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I have it. This is what I posted on Reddit.
Kobo Nia Review
I'm a crazed ereader collector, so without needing this at all I bought the Nia anyway. I've owned every Kobo model since the Glo and every Kindle model since the third generation. Here are my thoughts.
The tldr version:
Nia > Aura 2
Nia > Kindle 10
Nia < Clara HD
I will not compare the Nia to the ad-free PW4 or higher since that is a completely different price bracket.
Full review:
First you have to know that the Nia replaces the Aura 2. The Aura 2 was only $10 cheaper than the Glo HD and then the Clara for most of its life if you bought it from Kobo. But on Walmart (within the US) it regularly sold for $70 and would go on sale for $50. The Aura 2 had 212 ppi Carta screen and a frontlight with some mild flashlighting much like the Kobo Glo. It had one outstanding problem which is that the touch screen was miscalibrated so you would always have to push a bit left of where you want and you would have to go slowing too. It was very frustrasting to use. And when it launched everyone was angry at the time that Kobo had the audacity to charge so much when the Glo HD was obviously better.
Nia vs. Aura 2: The Aura 2 had a nice design and so does the Nia. Nearly everything is identical about it, but the Nia puts the power button on the bottom of the ereader (stupid) and the Aura 2 put the power button on the back (smart). The Nia has a precise touch screen unlike the Aura 2. It can mess up if you go too fast, but you don't have to type terribly slow either (the Wired review was just hyperbolic). The Nia has solved the outstanding problem the Aura 2 did, without introducing any other ones and was introduced at a lower price point than the Aura 2 was at launch.
Nia vs Kindle 10: Numbers are misleading. The Nia's 212 ppi resolution looks much better than the 167 ppi of the Kindle 10. They both suffer from excessive ghosting despite using Carta screens. Both can be fixed by adjusting the settings to full refresh the screen more often. The Nia has some subtle flashlighting, but the Kindle 10's flashlighting is painfully obvious as soon as you turn the light on. The Kindle has a more responsive touch screen than the Nia but it has a problem where routinely it will suddenly stop responding to touch, and the Nia does not. And I find that issue more frustrating than to type at slightly slower speed than I usually do. Overall the Nia is much better than the Kindle 10.
And now the million dollar question that will answer if the Nia is overpriced...
Nia vs Kobo Clara HD: The Clara has a 300 ppi screen, and so it looks slightly better than the Nia. Honestly it is hard to tell, the Nia's screen is pretty darned good. But the Clara's ghosting issues are much more subtle than the Nia. The Clara has better screen uniformity and you can adjust the color temperature of the light. The touch screen on the Clara is perfect. It is both precise and responsive. It is not 100% for the Clara however, because the plastic on the Nia looks much better in person than the Clara. Honestly the Clara looks ugly. The plastic looks so cheap that it looks entry level. The Nia's body has a course texture to it that makes it look and feel more premium than it is. I think that if you put the two in someone's hand and asked them which is the more expensive model they would guess the Nia. Frankly the Nia just looks better (aesthetics of the design not the screen) than any previous Kobo model ever has excepting the Glo.
Overall the Kobo Clara HD is much better than the Nia and worth the extra money. But when the Nia's price drops to Aura 2 levels ($70 regular, $50 on sale) the Nia will be a much easier sale and it would at that point be hard to argue for buying the Clara since the Nia is only a little bit worse. Especially if you don't care that much about adjusting color temperature.
Concluding thoughts: I know that many people are mad about having a Nia instead of a color eink reader or the next Forma, but Kobo needed to get back into the entry level market. The Kindle 10 is trash, it is just an awful reader. But people are buying it and then becoming set into the Amazon ecosystem. When they look at Nook and they look at Kobo they don't see sub-$100 competition. So there is not even a choice for them. I think Kobo's only mistake was the pricing. It should be $80. That would make it $40 less than the Clara and $10 less than the ad supported basic and leaves a bit more money on the table for Kobo unlike Walmart's very aggressive pricing. And if you wanted a new premium reader then just wait. Kobo has frequently launched two readers in the same year. I think there is a good chance that we will see a new premium Kobo by holiday season.