Kobo Glo vs Paperwhite?

[Trauma Doll]

I'm not at all familiar with Kobo, but I *am* dissatisfied with my two Paperwhites (blotchy/multicolored screen, lots of info on this in Kindle forum and on Amazon reviews). I'm not clear on whether there are any countries in which both devices have been released. Has anyone been able to examine both in person?

I don't care about the light source visuals (i.e, I'm not complaining about the LED on the Paperwhite), I want to know if the rest of the screen is a consistent color. I don't care if it's 'cool' or has a blue cast or doesn't look 'white'; I just want something that doesn't have pink and blue blobs.

I don't really care about file formats either as I am adept with calibre and DRM removal.

[Haesslich]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...95&postcount=5

Did you read the thread a few posts down titled 'Is this normal on the Glo'? There's a photo of the screen as it's lit up right there - I haven't had any evenness issues myself, although there are a few people reporting bright spots, at least for people who bought it in Eastern Canada and one or two in the U.K.

I'm wondering how many of those are actual defects, versus people seeing the shadows at the very bottom and thinking 'OMG! I've got a bright spot!'. No complaints about discoloration in the forums about the Glo, though.

[robko]

There are a few photo's posted here as the last post said. My experience with the Glo is that it's very even. Slightly bright right at the top of the screen and a bit of a grey bar at the bottom where the lights are (versus the triangles I've seen in the Paperwhite pictures). Haven't done a direct comparison with Paperwhite though.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

If you check on YouTube you can see a comparison of the lights of Kobo and Nook Glow. I think it's done by Good reader
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT1k...e_gdata_player

[Trauma Doll]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...95&postcount=5

Did you read the thread a few posts down titled 'Is this normal on the Glo'? There's a photo of the screen as it's lit up right there - I haven't had any evenness issues myself, although there are a few people reporting bright spots, at least for people who bought it in Eastern Canada and one or two in the U.K.

I'm wondering how many of those are actual defects, versus people seeing the shadows at the very bottom and thinking 'OMG! I've got a bright spot!'. No complaints about discoloration in the forums about the Glo, though.

I did see that thread, thanks--it's safe to say I'm probably not going to be a person freaked out by the light sources (I know a lot are, including a lot of the Paperwhite complaints). I know a lot of it also comes from people not understanding the tech (i.e., that e-ink is not LCD). Some of the Paperwhite screens are really screwy, though, specifically the color blob/blue & pink cloud effect.

[buffaloseven]

My Kobo Glo is extremely even in brightness, save for a very slight brighter line at the top and the shadows at the bottom (which Kobo hides by default with a black bar at the bottom of the screen when the light is on, very clever). Color is completely uniform. If there has ever seemed to be any unevenness, a quick clean of the screen with a dry microfiber cloth fixes it.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by buffaloseven

My Kobo Glo is extremely even in brightness, save for a very slight brighter line at the top and the shadows at the bottom (which Kobo hides by default with a black bar at the bottom of the screen when the light is on, very clever).

Ditto. It seems that the proportion of people complaining about the Glo is less than the proportion complaining about the PW. I wonder how much of that is a quality control problem on Amazon's part, and how much is Kobo smartly finding a way to hide the slight shadowing at the bottom of the screen.

Though people with PWs have also reported indistinct text problems, I haven't experienced (or even heard about) any such problems with the Glo yet.

[Haesslich]

Originally Posted by Trauma Doll

I did see that thread, thanks--it's safe to say I'm probably not going to be a person freaked out by the light sources (I know a lot are, including a lot of the Paperwhite complaints). I know a lot of it also comes from people not understanding the tech (i.e., that e-ink is not LCD). Some of the Paperwhite screens are really screwy, though, specifically the color blob/blue & pink cloud effect.

I'm just glad the Glo hasn't had the same issues as the PW, although they seem to have a similar technology in use for the diffuser. I'd suggest checking it out if you can - I certainly have no complaints with it. A step up from the Kindle Touch, for certain... and unlike the Paperwhite, it's available outside the U.S.

I don't think you'll be disappointed - not after the Paperwhite.

[AndyBurns]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

Did you read the thread a few posts down titled 'Is this normal on the Glo'? There's a photo of the screen as it's lit up right there - I haven't had any evenness issues myself, although there are a few people reporting bright spots, at least for people who bought it in Eastern Canada and one or two in the U.K.

Although I'm pleased with mine, it does have a single pinprick of bright light (thankfully only visible at an angle I wouldn't normally view the screen from), I have a grey shadow in the bottom 3mm, you can hide this by turning on the black bar, but I find it easy to ignore the shadow which is below the chapter heading and page count. At lower LED settings there is a less noticeable blotchy grey area in the next 7mm up or so, the area of the screen with the actual book content is very evenly lit and at the top there is a bright 2mm stripe.

[pagepack]

If anyone buys a Glo online in the UK you have seven days under the distance selling regulations to send it back whether it has a defect or not. As well as the usual one year (UK) manufacturer guarantee, which the retailer has to honour, not the manufacturer. There is also an EU directive (Directive 1999/44/EC) giving consumers a two year guarantee against defective products, of which few people are aware.

[soulfuldog]

Someone who has bought both posted a quick review in the "Which one should I buy" forum (direct link to the individual post), and they suggest there is very little to choose between the two. Hopefully he'll come back with a bit more detail and photos, but I think the little they did post was a good, balanced view.

I'd hazard a guess to say that there have been a lot more Kindle PW's sold than Glo's, and that the Kindle users seemed to have pretty high expectations, so more complaints aren't too surprising, but Amazon's quality control definitely looks very shabby in comparison to Kobo's.

If you are not happy with your Paperwhite, there doesn't seem to be any reason why the Glo shouldn't be a good alternative - going by what people have posted you might need to check you don't have any bright spots on the screen (as AndyBurns mentions) but there is far less chance of a blotchy screen.

If it was me, I'd return the PW, and give the Glo a try, just make sure you let Amazon know you aren't happy and tell them you are going to ditch it for a Kobo Glo. That'll kick them where it hurts