Buy kobo glow?

[njess]

I am thinking about replacing my prs350 with kobo glo. You who havet see n both.Do you think that would b e a9 good idea?

[Cdesja5]

I just got a Mini (not the Glo) for my commute; it's just the right size for my purse. The Glo's that I saw at Indigo on display looked very good! Having just gotten a new light and case for my T1, I just couldn't justify buying a Glo though...
The Glo works on the same software as the Mini and I must say that so far I like the reading experience on my Mini very much! Have read 2 books on it in the 3 days since I got it!

[feenix1363]

I've updated from a T1 to a Glo. Not picked up the T1 since the Glo arrived.

[Quexos]

I'm also in all likelihood going to move from my 650 to the Glo
I like Sony but if they wanna shoot themselves in the foot, I don't have to stay around to watch ...
Just waiting for the Glo to hit stores over here

[Lyn2012]

I've also been looking to update my 650 - even though it is working perfectly, I just like new gadgets.

Today I took the 650 into a Sony store and compared it with three T2's. Under the same lighting conditions, similar fonts and sizes, my screen is just as white as the T2's which really surprised me. Also, when opening a book from the home screen, my 650 with 200 books on took the same amount of time as the T2 with only 6 books loaded, which again really surprised me. Of course I left the store without buying anything. My experience totally contradicts the advertising surrounding the T2, unless the THREE T2's on display all had bad screens while my 650 has a good screen - seems rather unlikely to me - but I couldn't deny what I was seeing for myself.

I then went to WH Smith to compare the Kobo Glo and the 650. Even with the light switched off (yes you can do this on the Glo by a button on the top of the unit), the screen was noticeably whiter, but not by an enormous amount, and opening a book from the home screen was quite a bit faster. The Glo's screen with the light on looked evenly lit to me although with in-store lighting it is difficult to tell what it would be like in a dim room. I was also impressed with the font size variability in the Glo, a slider which seemed to have far more (usable) options than the T2. IMHO the T2, like the 350 and 650 had a large size difference between the smaller sizes which mean I can never get the optimum size for me. With the Glo, I found it very easy to find a good size and weight of font.

Anyway, I think I have finally come to a decision - just cancelled my order for the Kindle Paperwhite and will get the Kobo Glo instead. I wish Sony had come up with something new and exciting this year, but the T2 (or even the T1) just don't work for me.

Anybody who loves their 650 and would like a spare in mint condition, please see my advert in the classified section.

[adbosch]

I ordered the 6" Onyx Firefy (http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox...oft-touch.html). Can't wait. I prefer a reader that is not linked to a bookstore, so no Kindle or Kobo for me.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by adbosch

I ordered the 6" Onyx Firefy (http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox...oft-touch.html). Can't wait. I prefer a reader that is not linked to a bookstore, so no Kindle or Kobo for me.

Color me jealous! 8 GB storage+SD card? HD+ a light? Sweet! Do let us know how you like the screen when it arrives.

[Pomtroll]

Originally Posted by adbosch

I ordered the 6" Onyx Firefy (http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox...oft-touch.html). Can't wait. I prefer a reader that is not linked to a bookstore, so no Kindle or Kobo for me.

Wow that sounds like one nice ereader. Please let us know what you think of it....I wish we could get it here in the USA.

[Lyn2012]

Originally Posted by adbosch

I ordered the 6" Onyx Firefy (http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox...oft-touch.html). Can't wait. I prefer a reader that is not linked to a bookstore, so no Kindle or Kobo for me.

I never tie myself to any bookstore and always buy my books via computer, strip DRM and side load to my reader so Kindle, Kobo, Sony or other doesn't make much difference to me.

The Onyx Firefly isn't for me though, IMO it looks ugly with that wide frame.....and expensive too.

[Ripplinger]

While I'll agree with Lyn2012 that the Onyx reader isn't exactly pretty, I find it interesting because it claims to be able to handle such a wide assortment of formats. I'd be interested too in hearing how you like it once you get it.

[janet88]

I am already replaced my prs350, haha..

[Lyn2012]

Well I bought the Kobo Glo and it arrived on Saturday - today, Monday I returned it!

I was in two minds whether to keep it or not as I really like so much about it - tap to page turn, no buttons (so smaller size), plenty of fonts and easy to add more, widely adjustable font sizes, adjustable line spacing and probably more I can't remember right now. Side loading books was easy and setting up Shelves (Collections) using Calibre was easy. Some of my side loaded reformatted ePubs were showing with no side margin but I understand that is an easy automated Calibre fix too - I just didn't get around to doing it.

Why did I return it? Firstly, I bought it to read in a dimly lit room without a separate clip on light. For me, the light was too bright even on the lowest setting. It also made my eyes ache, they felt tired and gritty just like when using a backlit screen. The light itself was fairly even, no coloured spots or bright/dark pixels, but on a very low setting it was slightly brighter around the sides of the page, nothing really bad though. The speed of operation of the 1GHz processor was good, as was the responsiveness of the touch screen. Maybe slightly faster and more responsive than the 650, but not obviously so.

Over the two days I used the Glo I read 1.5 books so gave it a good test run for the purpose for which I bought it. (I didn't test wifi or buying books from the device as this is something I never do. I prefer to buy from different places, download to my computer, strip DRM and then side load onto the reader.) I found myself reading with the light off most of the time and when I compared the screen with my 650, I couldn't see any noticeable difference with regard to whiteness of the screen. It did freeze twice during the two days, but I was playing around alot (like going from smallest size to largest) font size, line spacing and different fonts at the same time - while I was reading and generally moving between screens, it behaved perfectly. My opinion is that the Sony rarely freezes because there isn't much you can do to change things, keeping it simple and playing it safe makes for a stable user experience. Personally, I would rather have the option to tweak the fonts and lines to suit myself and risk the occasional crash. Of course there was an obvious difference in overall quality of the device when holding it - after all the 650 new cost twice as much as the Glo - but I would be prepared to give up the (cold in winter) metal casing for a lighter and smaller device.

However, overall, I couldn't justify paying the £99 just for the option of tweaking a few settings, although I was very tempted. My wish list for my next reader is as small and light as possible while keeping a 6" screen, higher resolution, plenty of fonts, font sizes and line spacing options, fast processor speeds, not black plastic, low price, open to all stores/file types. I suppose if I could source different parts from existing readers, I could come up with a device I would find worthwhile upgrading to, but none of the currently available devices fit my requirements. My next move? To get access to a PC so I can install PRS+ on my faithful 650.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

but I would be prepared to give up the (cold in winter) metal casing for a lighter and smaller device.

The cold in winter never bothered me as much since I always have gloves on, even in the fall, my hands just get too cold! (Pretty sure my fingers and toes being so susceptible to cold are a result of daily ice skating when I was a kid, and never ever going inside to warm up until my fingers and toes felt like they were literally going to break off if I touched them. So now I get frostbite very quickly.)

But reading out in the sun in the summertime is my problem, it does hurt my fingers to touch the metal. Having my reader always in the Sony cover helps, I can hold it by the cover mostly.

But the best cure has been applying a skin to the reader. While it will still feel warm, it's nothing like it was before and never feels uncomfortable to touch. It helped the cold as well, I could feel it sometimes even through gloves, but no more.

[Latinandgreek]

I found that the Kobo Glo screen looked very similar in contrast and resolution to my 350 when I looked at it with the Glo light off. I would love to be able to compare reading with the Glo light compared to reading the 350 with my Sony lighted cover. I will hold off a bit on purchasing the Glo, though, as I am still quite happy with my 350 and T1. I may get one for my husband at some point, perhaps as a Christmas or Valentine's day present; I think that he would enjoy the built in lighting more than I would.

[Blue2u]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Well I bought the Kobo Glo and it arrived on Saturday - today, Monday I returned it!

I was in two minds whether to keep it or not as I really like so much about it - tap to page turn, no buttons (so smaller size), plenty of fonts and easy to add more, widely adjustable font sizes, adjustable line spacing and probably more I can't remember right now. Side loading books was easy and setting up Shelves (Collections) using Calibre was easy. Some of my side loaded reformatted ePubs were showing with no side margin but I understand that is an easy automated Calibre fix too - I just didn't get around to doing it.

Why did I return it? Firstly, I bought it to read in a dimly lit room without a separate clip on light. For me, the light was too bright even on the lowest setting. It also made my eyes ache, they felt tired and gritty just like when using a backlit screen. The light itself was fairly even, no coloured spots or bright/dark pixels, but on a very low setting it was slightly brighter around the sides of the page, nothing really bad though. The speed of operation of the 1GHz processor was good, as was the responsiveness of the touch screen. Maybe slightly faster and more responsive than the 650, but not obviously so.

Over the two days I used the Glo I read 1.5 books so gave it a good test run for the purpose for which I bought it. (I didn't test wifi or buying books from the device as this is something I never do. I prefer to buy from different places, download to my computer, strip DRM and then side load onto the reader.) I found myself reading with the light off most of the time and when I compared the screen with my 650, I couldn't see any noticeable difference with regard to whiteness of the screen. It did freeze twice during the two days, but I was playing around alot (like going from smallest size to largest) font size, line spacing and different fonts at the same time - while I was reading and generally moving between screens, it behaved perfectly. My opinion is that the Sony rarely freezes because there isn't much you can do to change things, keeping it simple and playing it safe makes for a stable user experience. Personally, I would rather have the option to tweak the fonts and lines to suit myself and risk the occasional crash. Of course there was an obvious difference in overall quality of the device when holding it - after all the 650 new cost twice as much as the Glo - but I would be prepared to give up the (cold in winter) metal casing for a lighter and smaller device.

However, overall, I couldn't justify paying the £99 just for the option of tweaking a few settings, although I was very tempted. My wish list for my next reader is as small and light as possible while keeping a 6" screen, higher resolution, plenty of fonts, font sizes and line spacing options, fast processor speeds, not black plastic, low price, open to all stores/file types. I suppose if I could source different parts from existing readers, I could come up with a device I would find worthwhile upgrading to, but none of the currently available devices fit my requirements. My next move? To get access to a PC so I can install PRS+ on my faithful 650.

Thank you so much for your detailed review. Your 'wants' seem to echo my own, as well as how you manage your library [buy from many stores, use Calibre to strip/sort and sideload to reader]. I had seriously considered the Glo strictly because of the light, but my fear of another Kobo product [had horrible problems with Kobo Touch], my budget [or lack thereof], and my happiness with my T1 stopped me. I'm SO glad I read your review. My eyes get very tired easily, and seriously wondered about the lighted screen causing fatigue. So many people said that wasn't/wouldn't be the case.

Guess I'll stick with my T1 and see what new technology comes out next year. Maybe Sony will build the 'ultimate' ereader I've been waiting for then!