Touch response comaprisons..

aleuts · 06-23-2016, 11:18 AM

Hi,

I currently own a Kobo Glo and since day 1 ive noticed the tocuh screen was never that responsive. weather it was page turns, highlighting words, defintions or browsing my library it was always pretty much it its terms and it can be quite frustrating. I suspected because it was a resistive touch panel rather than capacitive but i have managed to live with it for the past 2 years. Now the device is really buggy despite numerous firmware restores plus the battery is on its last legs i decided its time for an upgrade.
My main concern is a smooth touch experience i am can not go back to a useless touch screen so my question is, does the new Kobo Glo HD has a better touch screen than the Previous Glo that i own? if not than what has better touch screen? i suspect the only real competitor is the kindle paperwhite 3.
I would have originally bought a Kindle but i own hundreds of epubs and it just seemed like so much pissing about to get them on the kindle as you have to email them. But if it has better touch responsiveness then it looks like i have no choice.

Thanks in advanced for the help.

AnemicOak · 06-23-2016, 11:44 AM

The Glo and Glo HD both use IR touch. The Kindle Paperwhite uses capacitive touch. In general a capacitive screen is more responsive and precise/accurate for things like highlighting. I've never really had a problem with selecting a word on my Aura HD, but rarely use the feature and never do any real highlighting. Are you running the latest firmware on your Glo? I've found Kobo's newer firmware (in the last year or so) much less buggy than it used to be.

You don't have to email your books to the Kindle (in fact you can't email ePub's). The easiest route would be to put the ePub's in Calibre and bulk convert them to AZW3/KF8 format and them copy them all (or the one's you wanted to have available) over to the Kindle via USB (either with or without Calibre).

You don't say where you are, so it's hard to recommend other alternatives, but there is the Nook (in the US, although it has it's own issues), and there are devices not tied to major stores such as those from Onyx, Pocketbook, Boyue and more. Not sure what type of touch all of their models use or the quality of responsiveness, dictionaries, etc.

jackie_w · 06-23-2016, 12:12 PM

Your other option for the Kobo is to use calibre to automatically send your epubs to the Kobo as kepubs using the calibre KoboTouchExtended plugin. kepubs have better touch response than standard epubs. However, epub vs kepub is very much a personal choice. They each have their pros and cons.

aleuts · 06-23-2016, 12:29 PM

Thanks for the reply @AnemicOak. I have updated it to the latest firmware and its made no real difference. even simple things as turning pages it some times goes backwards instead of forwards. Perhaps i have a lemon but its hard to know for sure. Its a shame because i love everything about the Glo, the size is perfect as is the dedicated light button and memory card slot.

I was researching about sideloading to the kindle and must have completely missed that, it changes things drastically. My only concern is the 2gb onboard memory but i guess ill have to clear out what i dont need on my device. Do you know you can upgrade it like you can with the Glo HD by removing the case and inserting a bigger sd card?

I am in the UK but i dont mind shipping from anywhere and im not bothered about major stores as i can convert formats etc. I also read manga on the ereaders in CBR format.

aleuts · 06-23-2016, 12:33 PM

Hi @Jackie_w i do remember debating if i should or shouldnt convert to Kepubs or not when the plugin was out but i dont remember why i decided to stick with epubs. I had no idea kepubs was more responsive so i will try and convert a couple and see how it goes. But the unresponsiveness is system wide, such as browsing the library, settings etc. But as i spend most of my time in a book maybe i can live with it if kepubs fixes things.

AnemicOak · 06-23-2016, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuts

I was researching about sideloading to the kindle and must have completely missed that, it changes things drastically. My only concern is the 2gb onboard memory but i guess ill have to clear out what i dont need on my device. Do you know you can upgrade it like you can with the Glo HD by removing the case and inserting a bigger sd card?

AFAIK all current model Kindle's have 4GB of storage, not 2, but no you can't upgrade it like most Kobo's as it's not a microSD card.

Quote:

I am in the UK but i dont mind shipping from anywhere and im not bothered about major stores as i can convert formats etc. I also read manga on the ereaders in CBR format.

For Manga the 6.8" readers like the Kobo Aura H20 or Onyx T68 (as opposed to 6") can be nice, but both use IR touch (not sure if the T68 is still a current model). Note that Kindle's don't support CBR, so those would need to be converted as well.

shalym · 06-23-2016, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

AFAIK all current model Kindle's have 4GB of storage, not 2, but no you can't upgrade it like most Kobo's as it's not a microSD card.

For Manga the 6.8" readers like the Kobo Aura H20 or Onyx T68 (as opposed to 6") can be nice, but both use IR touch (not sure if the T68 is still a current model). Note that Kindle's don't support CBR, so those would need to be converted as well.

The Onyx actually uses capacitive touch (or at least mine does...)but I don't believe you can buy it new anymore.

Shari

AnemicOak · 06-23-2016, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shalym

The Onyx actually uses capacitive touch (or at least mine does...)but I don't believe you can buy it new anymore.

Shari

Ahh, my bad. That's what I get for trying to "remember" instead of looking it up.

Dr. Drib · 06-23-2016, 08:25 PM

Send me a PM if you would like to have your title's spelling corrected.

Don
(Moderator)

meeera · 06-25-2016, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuts

Thanks for the reply @AnemicOak. I have updated it to the latest firmware and its made no real difference. even simple things as turning pages it some times goes backwards instead of forwards. Perhaps i have a lemon but its hard to know for sure.

This sort of bodgy touch response can also sometimes be because you're doing a tiny swipe instead of a tap, or because the edges/corners of your screen are messy. These should be easy things to try fixing.

rcentros · 06-25-2016, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuts

I currently own a Kobo Glo and since day 1 ive noticed the tocuh screen was never that responsive. weather it was page turns, highlighting words, defintions or browsing my library it was always pretty much it its terms and it can be quite frustrating.

Same experience as I've had on my Kobo Glo. I don't know how many times I've had to tap the screen once ... twice ... sometimes three times to get it to move to the next page. Maybe if I used the Glo exclusively I would get used to it and automatically apply the added pressure needed, but I don't have this issue on the Kindles, Nooks or on the Sony. My solution to the problem is to sell the Glo (my last Kobo device) and use my Sony T2 for my Kobo content. I don't think it's a hardware issue, so I don't understand why Kobo doesn't fix this.

meeera · 06-26-2016, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

Same experience as I've had on my Kobo Glo. I don't know how many times I've had to tap the screen once ... twice ... sometimes three times to get it to move to the next page. Maybe if I used the Glo exclusively I would get used to it and automatically apply the added pressure needed,

It's not about pressure at all - the device uses IR touch. You need to interrupt the beams in such a way that the device interprets it as a tap and not an accident or swipe or longpress or etc (this is why firmware upgrade can make a difference). How hard you press the screen makes no difference, except in that you might press for longer when you press harder, etc.

When things like cleaning the screen don't work, I usually recommend trying swiping instead of tapping for a while. Sometimes it can seem more consistent.

rcentros · 06-26-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

It's not about pressure at all - the device uses IR touch. You need to interrupt the beams in such a way that the device interprets it as a tap and not an accident or swipe or longpress or etc (this is why firmware upgrade can make a difference). How hard you press the screen makes no difference, except in that you might press for longer when you press harder, etc.

When things like cleaning the screen don't work, I usually recommend trying swiping instead of tapping for a while. Sometimes it can seem more consistent.

Okay, I get what you're saying. The press needs to be longer not harder -- I guess frustration kicks in and it just gets to be a harder press because I want it to DO something. And the thing is I don't have to think about it on my Sony, Nooks or Kindles. I tap and the page turns. (Actually the Sony requires a swipe, but I never use that feature because it has page turn buttons. So you can drop the Sony from the list.) As I mentioned in a past post, I would probably get used to the Kobo's sluggish behavior, if I didn't have other readers that aren't sluggish. Maybe with all the adjustments Kobo allows you to tweak, a shorter required IR sensor interruption would be a good addition.

HarryT · 06-27-2016, 04:58 AM

I've never had much luck with IR screens - I've found them to be less accurate than capacitive touchscreens, and frequently needing multiple taps to trigger a response. The worst device I ever had as far as touchscreens went was the original Kindle Touch - it's perhaps no coincidence that it was the last Kindle to have an IR touchscreen - all subsequent ones have been capacitive.

Blossom · 06-27-2016, 05:23 AM

My problem with IR Touch is mine is so sensitive that just blowing on it turns the page. I now use my knuckle to turn pages. I find it helps from it doing multiple page turning. Using the dictionary takes a couple tries because it turns the page before I can long press.

I own a Kobo Glo HD.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

06-23-2016, 11:18 AM	#1
aleuts Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2014 Device: kobo Glo	Touch response comaprisons.. Hi, I currently own a Kobo Glo and since day 1 ive noticed the tocuh screen was never that responsive. weather it was page turns, highlighting words, defintions or browsing my library it was always pretty much it its terms and it can be quite frustrating. I suspected because it was a resistive touch panel rather than capacitive but i have managed to live with it for the past 2 years. Now the device is really buggy despite numerous firmware restores plus the battery is on its last legs i decided its time for an upgrade. My main concern is a smooth touch experience i am can not go back to a useless touch screen so my question is, does the new Kobo Glo HD has a better touch screen than the Previous Glo that i own? if not than what has better touch screen? i suspect the only real competitor is the kindle paperwhite 3. I would have originally bought a Kindle but i own hundreds of epubs and it just seemed like so much pissing about to get them on the kindle as you have to email them. But if it has better touch responsiveness then it looks like i have no choice. Thanks in advanced for the help.

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06-23-2016, 11:44 AM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	The Glo and Glo HD both use IR touch. The Kindle Paperwhite uses capacitive touch. In general a capacitive screen is more responsive and precise/accurate for things like highlighting. I've never really had a problem with selecting a word on my Aura HD, but rarely use the feature and never do any real highlighting. Are you running the latest firmware on your Glo? I've found Kobo's newer firmware (in the last year or so) much less buggy than it used to be. You don't have to email your books to the Kindle (in fact you can't email ePub's). The easiest route would be to put the ePub's in Calibre and bulk convert them to AZW3/KF8 format and them copy them all (or the one's you wanted to have available) over to the Kindle via USB (either with or without Calibre). You don't say where you are, so it's hard to recommend other alternatives, but there is the Nook (in the US, although it has it's own issues), and there are devices not tied to major stores such as those from Onyx, Pocketbook, Boyue and more. Not sure what type of touch all of their models use or the quality of responsiveness, dictionaries, etc.

06-23-2016, 12:12 PM	#3
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,251 Karma: 16539642 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E, LibraCol, PBTouchHD3	Your other option for the Kobo is to use calibre to automatically send your epubs to the Kobo as kepubs using the calibre KoboTouchExtended plugin. kepubs have better touch response than standard epubs. However, epub vs kepub is very much a personal choice. They each have their pros and cons.

06-23-2016, 12:29 PM	#4
aleuts Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2014 Device: kobo Glo	Thanks for the reply @AnemicOak. I have updated it to the latest firmware and its made no real difference. even simple things as turning pages it some times goes backwards instead of forwards. Perhaps i have a lemon but its hard to know for sure. Its a shame because i love everything about the Glo, the size is perfect as is the dedicated light button and memory card slot. I was researching about sideloading to the kindle and must have completely missed that, it changes things drastically. My only concern is the 2gb onboard memory but i guess ill have to clear out what i dont need on my device. Do you know you can upgrade it like you can with the Glo HD by removing the case and inserting a bigger sd card? I am in the UK but i dont mind shipping from anywhere and im not bothered about major stores as i can convert formats etc. I also read manga on the ereaders in CBR format.

06-23-2016, 12:33 PM	#5
aleuts Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2014 Device: kobo Glo	Hi @Jackie_w i do remember debating if i should or shouldnt convert to Kepubs or not when the plugin was out but i dont remember why i decided to stick with epubs. I had no idea kepubs was more responsive so i will try and convert a couple and see how it goes. But the unresponsiveness is system wide, such as browsing the library, settings etc. But as i spend most of my time in a book maybe i can live with it if kepubs fixes things.

06-23-2016, 08:25 PM	#9
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,395 Karma: 59504381 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Send me a PM if you would like to have your title's spelling corrected. Don (Moderator)

06-27-2016, 04:58 AM	#14
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I've never had much luck with IR screens - I've found them to be less accurate than capacitive touchscreens, and frequently needing multiple taps to trigger a response. The worst device I ever had as far as touchscreens went was the original Kindle Touch - it's perhaps no coincidence that it was the last Kindle to have an IR touchscreen - all subsequent ones have been capacitive.

06-27-2016, 05:23 AM	#15
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	My problem with IR Touch is mine is so sensitive that just blowing on it turns the page. I now use my knuckle to turn pages. I find it helps from it doing multiple page turning. Using the dictionary takes a couple tries because it turns the page before I can long press. I own a Kobo Glo HD. Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

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