A new Kobo reader

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by shanghaichica

Review video


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RnC...e_gdata_player

Best watched on mute.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Best watched on mute.

I have to agree. There's something about those guys that really bugs me and makes me not want to watch their videos.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have to agree. There's something about those guys that really bugs me and makes me not want to watch their videos.

Well for one thing half of what their spouting is incorrect.

[mr_nihilism]

And now there is a recent video comparison between the Aura & Glo. For whatever inexplicable reason, the Glo is shown with old firmware so the differences are that much more pronounced.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by buffaloseven

Really like some of the UI changes coming in the new firmware; looks like the "Back" button is coming back and the reading stats are being moved off to their own button on the right side of the footer (good move). Overall the Aura looks like a really slick product with some pretty substantial improvements.

Yes the "back" button is back, which is something I am very happy about. The percent read has been moved to the title bar when the menus are displayed.

More and more, especially with some of the new features coming, as long as Kobo can iron out the bugs in the firmware, I think that they're offering by far the best product out on the market.

The Pocket integration is interesting. I haven't looked at something like that for a while, but if it works, it is a good idea.

Originally Posted by 93terp

Thanks for posting, good & thorough review. One interesting change I noticed in the UI is that "Shelves" have been renamed "Kobo Collections".

"Shelves" have been renamed "My collections". I think I prefer "Shelves", but I can understand the change.

"Kobo collections" is something else. I don't think I have seen exactly what it is yet.

[tlaine]

Not my cup of tea but:

http://cafe.kobo.com/blog/kobo-aura

As you delve deeper into individual stories, the Kobo Aura enhances your journey with Beyond the Book, letting you click on highlighted words to explore related articles, multimedia, and online discussions as well as Kobo Collections – curated and editorialized content from Kobo’s own staff, authors, and other influencers about their passions.

[DStyle]

Originally Posted by tlaine

I placed an order with Kobo at 12:20 and had an email receipt at 12:21. I dunno why this is so hit and miss with them. I'm using the Canadian site.

I did receive two notifications, one is the purchase order and the other is the invoice. Not sure why but I found them in my junk mail. Strange.

[meeera]

With that better look at it in video, it does look like a semi-matte screen, quite nice to my eyes from here. The only thing about the flush screen is that I wonder whether gripping fingers/thumb will more easily wander over into the screen area, inadvertently triggering page turns? Time will tell.

I like the more texturised back plastic, and the two-finger brightness swipe is terrific. It's hard to see if there's any significant ghosting with the reduced refresh. I think that'll need a hands-on to assess.

It's nice to see that pinch & zoom works really well in PDF now. A reflow option would be better, though; panning well does NOT replace reflow. (I wonder if images in epubs will be pinch-zoomable?)

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Well for one thing half of what their spouting is incorrect.

It all got a bit confused around the light management part - at first one bloke said that you can turn it on and off via the slider, then the other bloke said that you can't, you need to use the button. Whatever, it's not a big deal, but it would be useful if they researched and rehearsed just a touch more - though I've noticed they're not as bad as they used to be in that regard. BUT: "I once dated a girl who looked like that when she got angry" - re a hideous critter in the Monster Manual. Bleagh, guys, really?

[bartveld]

What they don't mention is the capacitive touch and glare on the screen in sunlight and those are two things I wonder about. We see them touching the screen a lot and it seems reasonably responsive most of the time, but still... Also, they only show zoom in PDFs. Does it also work on illustrations in an epub?
For the rest I like it very much.

[psv]

Originally Posted by bartveld

What they don't mention is the capacitive touch and glare on the screen in sunlight and those are two things I wonder about.

I think their video shows that the glare of the new aura and of the old aura hd is the same. I wouldn't worry about it. Kindle paperwhite has also a capacitive touchscreen and nobody mentioned increased glare.

[shanghaichica]

Comparison to the glo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJxD...e_gdata_player

[shanghaichica]

Comparison to the Aura

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMu1...e_gdata_player

[Anak]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have to agree. There's something about those guys that really bugs me and makes me not want to watch their videos.

I agree, to me their reviews sound more like advertorials.
But imo that is a problem for many blogs that do 'reviews'.
If they are to critical manufacturers probably won't send them new hardware.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have to agree. There's something about those guys that really bugs me and makes me not want to watch their videos.

For me it's their voices. Michael sounds like he talks while someone is holding his nose closed.

Actually they both have very "nasaly" and high-pitched voices to me, both of which I find annoying in reviews.

And after listening to the review anyway, doesn't the Kindle Paperwhite have capacitive touch? They go on praising that the Kobo Aura is the very first capacitive touch e-ink screen.

And all I see still is a lot of wasted space in the text.

There's really nothing about the new Aura that tempts me in the least. Especially the bit shinier finish which gives more glare.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

For me it's their voices. Michael sounds like he talks while someone is holding his nose closed.

Actually they both have very "nasaly" and high-pitched voices to me, both of which I find annoying in reviews.

Their voices are definitely part of it, but...

And after listening to the review anyway, doesn't the Kindle Paperwhite have capacitive touch? They go on praising that the Kobo Aura is the very first capacitive touch e-ink screen.

errors like this are a lot of it as well.

And all I see still is a lot of wasted space in the text.

There's really nothing about the new Aura that tempts me in the least. Especially the bit shinier finish which gives more glare.

The Paperwhite they show had as much glare as the Aura. And the other Kobo wasn't that much better. But yes, apart from "new toy" syndrome, it doesn't tempt me much. But, if I didn't already have a Glo...