(Libra/Clara) Basic touchscreen question

[mantidfly]

I'm looking to get a new eReader and currently the two main contenders are the Libra H20 or Clara HD. I'm not entirely set on this and I might make a post in the 'Which one should I buy?' forum at some point, but anyways, I have a pretty basic question about these Kobos. The Libra's on sale right now, and I need some way to keep myself occupied during an upcoming family road trip, so this seems like a good time to ask.

I feel like I might already know the answer, but I want to make sure, since I've never used a touchscreen eReader before. Essentially what I want to know is if the touchscreen responds to anything other than the touch of fingers; more specifically, if dragging something plasticky down the screen would trigger it (assuming I don't touch the screen with my hand while doing so). I use those guided reading strips (or a plastic bookmark, or whatever else of a similar size/shape happens to be on hand) to underline/highlight each line while I'm reading. It's not absolutely necessary, but I lose my place a lot otherwise and it's the best solution I've found. I'm guessing (and hoping) that this won't trigger the touchscreen, but I'm not fully confident in that assumption, so as I said I just want to know for sure, because this is a potential dealbreaker for me.

Obviously this isn't really specific to the Libra/Clara and I'd imagine the answer applies to most (if not all) other Kobos or even most touchscreen eReaders in general, but I figured it'd still be best to specify the models I'm looking at. Better safe than sorry. I've learned not to baselessly trust my assumptions when it comes to things like this!

[rashkae]

The Libra H2O and ClaraHD use capacitive touch screens, so no, plastic will not interact with it. But keeping your fingers so close to the screen all the time will likely lead to many accidental presses regardless. Have you considered or experimented in increasing font size / line hight on an e-reader? Since number of pages for a book is more or less moot now.. you should be able to render the text in such a way you would no longer need or benefit from a guide.

Edit: many older models of Kobo used Infra Red touch screens. Those would be affected by plastic. So if you see conflicting information, it's probably from one of those older devices.

[meeera]

I tried this with a H20 Edition 2 and a wooden ruler. Neither the Clara nor the Libra have flush screens either, I believe, so it would work the same so long as your straightedge is wide enough to touch the bezel on both sides, and rigid enough to not be bowing down touching the screen itself. I had no trouble at all with accidental touches.

I also tried it with a thin cardboard bookmark (Book Depository style). With my fingers overlying the screen, I got touches detected through the bookmark. The only way to use that type of bookmark was to keep my hands to the side of the display (pressing lightly through the bookmark onto the bezel). Just the bookmark grazing the screen (without my hands behind it) didn't set off any touch detection.

[mantidfly]

Thank you both for your replies!

Originally Posted by rashkae

Have you considered or experimented in increasing font size / line hight on an e-reader?

I mostly read on an iPad and so I've already played around quite a bit with line height and other CSS tweaks, but thank you for the suggestion. It's true that it can help a lot. I love having the ability to adjust so many things and occasionally I do read without a guide, but overall using the guide/bookmark still seems to work best for me. It can obviously be a bit inconvenient but I'm not too worried about finding an alternative; I've been doing it for such a long time that it feels natural and it rarely causes problems for me.

Originally Posted by meeera

I tried this with a H20 Edition 2 and a wooden ruler. Neither the Clara nor the Libra have flush screens either, I believe, so it would work the same so long as your straightedge is wide enough to touch the bezel on both sides, and rigid enough to not be bowing down touching the screen itself. I had no trouble at all with accidental touches.

Thanks so much for trying it out; that gives me a lot of useful information! I'll admit I hadn't even considered bezels, simply because the guides and bookmarks that I use are flimsy enough to bow and touch the screen. I'm not opposed to using something rigid, though, and it might be the best option in this case, so I'm glad you brought it up.

Originally Posted by meeera

With my fingers overlying the screen, I got touches detected through the bookmark.

I sometimes have the same issue when I read on my iPad, so I'm used to working around that. This is still good to know, though. Seems like a good reason to consider something more rigid.


Again, thanks for the responses; you've helped to assuage my concerns and while I haven't made any decisions about purchasing yet, it will be much easier to do so now that I have the info I need.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by mantidfly

Again, thanks for the responses; you've helped to assuage my concerns and while I haven't made any decisions about purchasing yet, it will be much easier to do so now that I have the info I need.

Happy reading!