The Aura One is dead, long live the Libra 2!

[gmw]

My wife has been using an Aura One for almost six years and really liked it. But it had always had a slightly dodgy USB port, and for the last few months it had been getting harder and harder to get the cable to sit exactly right to take a charge or sideload new books. I was hoping we had more time, because I don't really like either of the 8" options from Kobo at the moment ... but it was not to be. Just over a week ago it absolutely refused to connect with any of the cables we have. (I have since pulled it apart and found the PCB had cracked around the USB mounting.)

After some discussion we decided on the Libra 2 as the replacement, and exactly one week later it arrived. I found the set up a bit frustrating: it auto-updated but not to the latest, that had to be done later - and the process ended up pushing me through the initialisation sequence multiple times. Being forced to create an account is annoying (I didn't want this linked with the main book purchasing account because I prefer to manage the reader via Calibre), but it was not unexpected. And all worth it...

My wife is very happy with the Libra 2: clear, comfortable and well balanced. Neither of us were keen on having buttons, but didn't want to step down to a 6" screen either, however the buttons turn out to be a non-problem: just turn the screen so they're away the from hand and every proceeds as normal.


Which leaves me using an older reader now. The USB port on my H20 is not perfect either, but so far it's holding up, and I'm hoping the next generation of 8" readers from Kobo will arrive before it dies. And I do hope the USB-C ports on these newer Kobo readers will be better than the micro-USB ports were on the old - certainly the cable feels more secure on the Libra 2.

[meeera]

I keep seeing people calling it the "Libre". Is it called this in some countries?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by meeera

I keep seeing people calling it the "Libre". Is it called this in some countries?

No, that's just French and Spanish for free (or sometimes as in free and freedom, hence Libre Office).

Libra is from Latin for scales and is the name of a star-sign (lunar months, not just astrology), a constellation of stars when viewed from the Solar System and a model of Kobo ereader. A few Kobos end in "a":
Aura, Nia, Libra, Elipsa.
Some don't such as Touch, Mini and Sage.
The original H2O was actually an Aura HD H2O.
The original Libra was a Libra H2O, but replaced by Libra 2.

You also get Calibre software incorrectly spelled Caliber as that's USA spelling for a gun barrel size. OED reflects usage. Webster from the start was prescriptive and deliberately changed -re to -er, -our to -or and -ll- to l, though in some USA places the English/French spelling would have been more common.

People tend to use the spelling they are familiar with.

[Dr. Drib]

We can call the Libra 2 whatever we want to call it.

Personally, I call mine Frank.

I've always liked that name.

It's a nice name.

[ADDED: I often take my libro electronica with me when I'm out and about.]

[Quoth]

We call our ereaders the Kobo. But the pair of us upgraded from original Libra models to Sage models. I do have a Libra and Libra 2 for testing.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by meeera

I keep seeing people calling it the "Libre". Is it called this in some countries?

It's the Libra 2 worldwide.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by gmw

My wife has been using an Aura One for almost six years and really liked it. <SNIP> I was hoping we had more time, because I don't really like either of the 8" options from Kobo at the moment ...

Sigh. This is me, too. I don’t mind buttons per se, but I prefer the oblong shape of the buttonless reader.

The USB port on my H20 is not perfect either, but so far it's holding up, and I'm hoping the next generation of 8" readers from Kobo will arrive before it dies.

My H2O is also chugging along and I still use it, although the Aura One’s my workhorse. I really like that extra inch. However, if the Aura One goes I’ll probably make do with the H2O if there’s no update to the Sage — although my plans for the H2O are to turn it into my book repository, a job currently done by my Glo. As long as the H2O’s an active reader, I prefer to keep a curated (some 200 books ) library on it.

But even though I like the H2O well enough, I don’t see the Libra 2 as a successor to my Aura One.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by issybird

[...] But even though I like the H2O well enough, I don’t see the Libra 2 as a successor to my Aura One.

No, I guess I don't - or didn't - either. Not really.

I originally bought the Aura One for myself, but it turned out to be just the reader to convince my wife ereaders were good, and I never got it back . So then I bought the H2Ov2; I can't remember now why I didn't get a second Aura One - availability perhaps, or maybe just curiosity.

When we decided on the Libra 2 this time around, I figured it might it be an interim measure for my wife until a good 8" model arrives, but she is liking it enough that it may turn out to be permanent. I might get to keep the next 8" reader we buy. (Or maybe we'll end up with two and keep the Libra 2 as a spare, this having to revert to paper books while waiting for the replacement ereader is trial .)

[Dr. Drib]

The question is this:

How many people on this forum still use the Kobo Oreo One?

The newest Kobo under discussion - listed under various names! - has such a beautiful screen. Whenever I'm tempted to pick up my Oreo One, I think about the beauty of the Kobo Libra 2's screen. Both, for me, feel comfortable to hold. But that screen on the Libra 2 is soooooo smooth and clear. Ummmm!

[JSWolf]

I would by a Kobo Aura H2O 8".

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The question is this:

How many people on this forum still use the Kobo Oreo One?

The newest Kobo under discussion - listed under various names! - has such a beautiful screen. Whenever I'm tempted to pick up my Oreo One, I think about the beauty of the Kobo Libra 2's screen. Both, for me, feel comfortable to hold. But that screen on the Libra 2 is soooooo smooth and clear. Ummmm!

I can't say that the difference seemed that dramatic to me. Admittedly my wife was the one using the Aura One most, but I use the H20v2 which is much the same generation, but a slightly lower resolution, and when I was setting up the Libra 2 the difference was not that marked to my eye. I think it is clearer, yes, but I was not persuaded to instantly discard my H20v2 in favour of it. Maybe you have much better vision than I.

Plus I liked the flush screen of the Aura One. It's all very well that my H2O (and now the Libra 2) are water proof, but they're not crumb proof! So you can read while taking a bath, but you can't read a comedy while eating toast.

[rashkae]

Originally Posted by gmw

I can't say that the difference seemed that dramatic to me. Admittedly my wife was the one using the Aura One most, but I use the H20v2 which is much the same generation, but a slightly lower resolution, and when I was setting up the Libre 2 the difference was not that marked to my eye. I think it is clearer, yes, but I was not persuaded to instantly discard my H20v2 in favour of it. Maybe you have much better vision than I.

You weren't replying to me, but I feel as though it would apply. Actually, I probably have much *worse* vision than you. I'm fairly nearsighted, and like to read with my glasses off, so I hold books/readers very close to my face. With a small font size, the difference is *very* noticeable.

I also have to set all e-ink readers to refresh every page. That's very noticeable as well.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by rashkae

You weren't replying to me, but I feel as though it would apply. Actually, I probably have much *worse* vision than you. I'm fairly nearsighted, and like to read with my glasses off, so I hold books/readers very close to my face. With a small font size, the difference is *very* noticeable.

I also have to set all e-ink readers to refresh every page. That's very noticeable as well.

I guess it depends on how you define better and worse. I couldn't read with the reader up close to my face - glasses or no glasses (I normally wear multifocals). Close-up vision is one of the things I really miss from my youth. With vision like I used to have I might even have been able to repair the Aura One! (Well, maybe not, vision wouldn't make me any more skilled with a soldering iron and I never was that good. )

Still, it's interesting that you can see such a noticeable difference.

I just got out a magnifying glass and still have trouble picking it. Side-by-side I can see there is a difference, I can see that the Libra 2 doesn't need so much brightness to achieve the same level of contrast, but it's not obvious when the readers are apart.

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The question is this:

How many people on this forum still use the Kobo Oreo One?

The newest Kobo under discussion - listed under various names! - has such a beautiful screen. Whenever I'm tempted to pick up my Oreo One, I think about the beauty of the Kobo Libra 2's screen. Both, for me, feel comfortable to hold. But that screen on the Libra 2 is soooooo smooth and clear. Ummmm!

If you are referring to the Aura One, then yes I do, and I have no intention of replacing it anytime soon.

From what I have read here the current Kobo replacements (Libra 2 and Sage) both have their issues, whereas my simple Aura One just works.

The screens on the newer models may well be superior, but my Aura never crashes (possibly because I never update the firmware). I always side-load books so there is never a reason to connect it to the Kobo app, just connect to my PC and drag the books across.

Even if I have to end up charging it every other day I can't see myself wanting to replace it. I just want a simple ereader without all the bells-and-whistles of page turn buttons, rotating screens etc., and that does not seem to be available from Kobo any more.

[JSWolf]

How easy is it to open the Aura One and how easy is it to find a battery for it (maybe one with more power)? The Aura One can last a lot onger as long as the battery can be replaced.