Glo Upgrade from Glo to Glo HD

[Crusader]

Would it be worth upgrading from a Kobo Glo to a Kobo Glo HD? My Glo is still working perfectly fine, but I see an online retailer over here now stocks the Kobo Glo HD and I'm considering a possible upgrade. Would it be worth upgrading or should I wait until my Glo actually gives up the ghost before getting a Glo HD?

[mathil]

My answer in short is yes -- the Glo HD is noticeably better than the Glo in many ways (sharpness of the screen, frontlight quality, smaller, lighter) and its production has been halted recently, which means that it will be harder to find as time goes on. Keep in mind though that the Glo HD lacks an external microSD card slot, but opening it and substituting the internal microSD card for a larger one, if you wish, is quite easy and doesn't take much time (you can find the procedure here on the forum).

I would also advise against buying the recently released Aura 2nd edition (the Glo HD's "substitute") if you have the choice between the two -- it has the same resolution screen as the old Glo, and as far as I know it's impossible to substitute the internal microSD should you wish to do so.

[Crusader]

My new Glo HD arrived today. Not as big of an upgrade over the Glo as I would've thought and it looks like I've got a stuck "pixel" just above the "L" in Library on the home screen. Not sure if that warrants a return.

Is it normal for the Glo HD screens to look like this (link to large pic)

It almost looks like specks of dust, but they stay in the same spot and aren't dust. Should I return the reader?

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Crusader

My new Glo HD arrived today. Not as big of an upgrade over the Glo as I would've thought and it looks like I've got a stuck "pixel" just above the "L" in Library on the home screen. Not sure if that warrants a return.

Is it normal for the Glo HD screens to look like this (link to large pic)

It almost looks like specks of dust, but they stay in the same spot and aren't dust. Should I return the reader?

You haven't included the "Library" bit in your image, so I'm not sure what exactly you're concerned about. If you're talking about the tiny dark specks, which form an almost paper-like "grain", that's normal. If there is a persistent bright spot when the light is on, that may be a light guide defect or damage. No such things as a stuck pixel on an eink screen.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by meeera

You haven't included the "Library" bit in your image, so I'm not sure what exactly you're concerned about. If you're talking about the tiny dark specks, which form an almost paper-like "grain", that's normal. If there is a persistent bright spot when the light is on, that may be a light guide defect or damage. No such things as a stuck pixel on an eink screen.

I used the term "pixel" because I'm not sure what the correct term would be. Speckle perhaps? There are a couple of dark speckles that stay that way.
Here are some pics with them marked - Pic1 and pic2. The second image shows the one that's close to the L on the home screen. It's pretty tough to get decent photos of them.

[LucyOne]

I would return it because of the defect pixel.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Crusader

I used the term "pixel" because I'm not sure what the correct term would be. Speckle perhaps? There are a couple of dark speckles that stay that way.
Here are some pics with them marked - Pic1 and pic2. The second image shows the one that's close to the L on the home screen. It's pretty tough to get decent photos of them.

I'm not sure if you've uploaded the right images - second looks like a smaller version of the first.

Are they bothering you a lot during regular reading at a normal distance? All eink screens have speckles scattered throughout.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by meeera

I'm not sure if you've uploaded the right images - second looks like a smaller version of the first.

Are they bothering you a lot during regular reading at a normal distance? All eink screens have speckles scattered throughout.

I fixed the images. At normal reading distance I can't really say that they are bothering me all that much. I sent the images to Kobo support and according to them this is pretty much normal.

I'm just afraid that if I return it I might end up with a unit with worse problems (like bright spots which will annoy me way more).

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Crusader

I fixed the images. At normal reading distance I can't really say that they are bothering me all that much. I sent the images to Kobo support and according to them this is pretty much normal.

I'm just afraid that if I return it I might end up with a unit with worse problems (like bright spots which will annoy me way more).

It's always a bit harder to tell in photos that IRL... if they're not obtrusive, it might be a good idea to keep it. Maybe have a close look at your old Glo to see how different they are? I have to agree that bright spots are WAY worse!

[John F]

Originally Posted by meeera

...

Are they bothering you a lot during regular reading at a normal distance? All eink screens have speckles scattered throughout.

There are two different cases...

Case 1: there are speckles sprinkled throught the display, that move around (or disappear) after a full page (black/white flash) refresh. This case is normal/expected and part of the nature of eink.

Case 2: the speckles never move or disappear after a full page refresh. This is probably a "stuck" pixel (similar to an LCD stuck pixel). This is more of a defect.

IMO.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by John F

There are two different cases...

Case 1: there are speckles sprinkled throught the display, that move around (or disappear) after a full page (black/white flash) refresh. This case is normal/expected and part of the nature of eink.

Case 2: the speckles never move or disappear after a full page refresh. This is probably a "stuck" pixel (similar to an LCD stuck pixel). This is more of a defect.

IMO.

If you have excellent eyesight (or near-sightedness), the screen is covered in small speckles when you look up close, even straight after a full refresh. This is the nature of eink. People who have some presbyopia probably can't see these at all, they just blend into the 'grain'.

[John F]

Originally Posted by meeera

If you have excellent eyesight (or near-sightedness), the screen is covered in small speckles when you look up close, even straight after a full refresh. This is the nature of eink. People who have some presbyopia probably can't see these at all, they just blend into the 'grain'.

If those speckles move around, that is case 1 of my above posts. People have also reported "stuck pixels" (case 2).

Case 1 is to be expected. Case 2 is probably not supposed to happen, but may happen. For example, the speckle above the L in library (from Crusaders post) is probably a stuck pixel.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by John F

If those speckles move around, that is case 1 of my above posts. People have also reported "stuck pixels" (case 2).

Case 1 is to be expected. Case 2 is probably not supposed to happen, but may happen. For example, the speckle above the L in library (from Crusaders post) is probably a stuck pixel.

Eink screens don't really have stuck pixels, because eink screens don't have pixels in the same way that LCD screens have. When eink screens develop a large dark splotch, it may be a burst eink capsule. This post has a pretty good example of one:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...76&postcount=1

But the tiny speckles, the ones I usually can't see well on my H2O unless I take off my glasses (I'm myopic) and put my eyes up close, they do not move with refreshes. At least with the 7 or 8 refreshes I did to check it out.

The image with the blank screen I'm harding it find to say anything about, because with nothing else on the screen there's no scale. Whether to return it or not, only the OP can say I reckon - they're the one whose reading is or isn't being disrupted.

[John F]

Originally Posted by meeera

Eink screens don't really have stuck pixels, because eink screens don't have pixels in the same way that LCD screens have. When eink screens develop a large dark splotch, it may be a burst eink capsule. This post has a pretty good example of one:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...76&postcount=1

But the tiny speckles, the ones I usually can't see well on my H2O unless I take off my glasses (I'm myopic) and put my eyes up close, they do not move with refreshes. At least with the 7 or 8 refreshes I did to check it out.

The image with the blank screen I'm harding it find to say anything about, because with nothing else on the screen there's no scale. Whether to return it or not, only the OP can say I reckon - they're the one whose reading is or isn't being disrupted.

Meera, thanks for the clarification/explanation.

Looking at my Glo HD (with a jeweler's loop), I do see some small speckles that do not ever move; I cannot see them with my naked eye (although I do wear glasses).

Looking at pic1 from Crusader, my speckles do not appear to be as pronounced; I can easily see the highlighted speckles in the picture with my naked eye.

[Crusader]

These are definitely speckles that don't change with page refreshes. At normal reading distance I can't really notice them except for the one in the lower right screen and that's a tiny spec. Only up close (hand's width away) they become noticeable.