New Kobo Aura HD eInk eReader 1440x1080

[joblack]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Yes. The physical button on the top turns the light off or on, the brightness is controlled theough the touchscreen interface.

Awesome - that's how it's done the right way Amazon!

Arg what a temptation. I already have a few ebook readers but, well, another one wouldn't be that bad.

And I don't smoke anymore so it should finance itself.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I have used that rationalisation in the past. Until one day my wife asked why she always got the second-hand device.

My husband asks me that all the time, and my answer is always "because I will use the device more than you would"

I really think I might preorder the device today... I'm feeling guilty about it already, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it. I think I'll get the brown coloured version.

[David Munch]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

The various reports on the Aura's announcement are saying it's a Freescale and we know it's 1GHz - and the Glo's a 1GHz Freescale (the Touch is a Freescale, as well, though I can't remember if it's 600MHz or 800MHz).

Freescale makes *many* different CPU's, so again you are assuming it is the same one.

So, unless it's a newer generation of Freescale CPU that gets more work out of each clock cycle, it should perform a bit worse than the Glo due to the higher resolution and larger screen size.

For discussions sake, lets say it is the same CPU subfamily. Then I would assume it uses newer technology since it is 6 months younger. Of course, that is just my assumption, since the Aura has to push twice as many pixels as the Glo, and a 25% increase in CPU clock speed probably wouldn't result in 'faster page turns'.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by joblack

And I don't smoke anymore so it should finance itself.

Haha, I've been saying that for the past 7 years, I wonder how much longer I can get away with it!

[luqmaninbmore]

Will the screen have a glass or plastic substrate?

[Chi Cygni]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

i might have to risk the wife's wrath to get one of these...

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

Husband says I gotta wait another generation or two before I upgrade, having just gotten my Paperwhite a few months ago. *sigh* He's probably right.

we married wrong people my husband also keeps an eye on what I get gadget-wise. Or maybe all the better, otherwise the house would be full to the roof?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

Will the screen have a glass or plastic substrate?

If it was a plastic substrate, the shatterproof nature of the screen would be a major point. Since it's not mentioned, I'm certain it's still glass.

[tubemonkey]

Nice specs; now to see what the competition has up its sleeves. If I was interested in a device this size, I'd wait to see what the other big players bring forth.

[AnemicOak]

Do the customization options only work on kePub's or do they work on sideloaded ePub's as well. If I were to get one I'd likely only ever use regular ePub's on it.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by David Munch

Freescale makes *many* different CPU's, so again you are assuming it is the same one.

For discussions sake, lets say it is the same CPU subfamily. Then I would assume it uses newer technology since it is 6 months younger. Of course, that is just my assumption, since the Aura has to push twice as many pixels as the Glo, and a 25% increase in CPU clock speed probably wouldn't result in 'faster page turns'.

The engadget review says "1GHz Freescale i.MX507 processor". I thought the Glo had the same, but google found another engadget review that states "Freescale, Solo 6 1GHZ Processor". I have no idea how those are related.

[Fourl29]

It's great to see we are edging towards an ereader with decent ppi and contrasts. It's taken such a long time for the technology to mature. And I am excited of course with this new device, and I am thinking of quite possibly purchasing one.

Having said that, I opted for the kindle paperwhite instead of the kobo glo, and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. I was so glad I didn't get mislead once again, after a few readers from other minor players, and I opted to go with a brand name. Everything has worked almost seamlessly so far in the paperwhite, the software is excellent, my notes sync, the browser while still glitchy is perfectly usable, the touch screen is extremely responsive, and everything just works great together. Had I opted for the kobo glo for the perceived advantage of epub and extra storage I am sure I would have run into the numerous software bugs and inconsistencies reported here and elsewhere.

In addition, and after having compared both devices myself, the difference in text quality is considerable (one is paperwhite, the other is blue), one has a touchscreen that works, the other has a touchscreen that works when it wants to. And of course amazon's support compared to the kindle's is night and day.

As far as I 've read here and elsewhere, it doesn't seem as kobo have got their act together software wise, and they are still using the same touchscreen technology (infrared is it? if I remember correctly).

So, while I am finding it hard to resist the urge to go for what seems like a lovely high ppi screen with a decent size (one of my qualms about kindles but one that has started bothering me less and less), and while I might not ultimately end up resisting the urge after all , I 'd rather not again be speding half my time using the device debugging it in forums, I 'd rather not have to face poor software, a poor touch screen, blue glow, poor dictionaries, etc. etc.

This device has a great screen (the eink not the front light), but I am sure everything else will once again be subpar.

But like I said, I might still buy it, as I love my reading so much, love my kpw, and it will be hard to resist the temptation of a larger high ppi screen.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by latepaul

Question for anyone else in the UK: am I reading the WHSmith website correctly? They only deliver to the credit card billing address on the standard delivery. So to get them to deliver to my work address I have to pay for 'courier delivery'.

WH Smiths will only send "High Value" items to your credit card address, they won't courier it to your work either - I had to physically go to a shop, with other people there and everything

[ebsebs]

Originally Posted by RZetlin

The tech specs states:
eBooks: EPUB, PDF, and MOBI

Is Mobi support back? Because Mobi support was absent from the Glo.

I noticed that too (on the Tech Specs page); however, the FAQ & Support page doesn't include MOBI:

6. What file formats does Kobo Aura HD support?
EPUB, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT (RTF?), CBZ, and CBR.

I sent an e-mail to their Customer Care asking for clarification. I'll post their answer, if I get one.

Eric

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The engadget review says "1GHz Freescale i.MX507 processor". I thought the Glo had the same, but google found another engadget review that states "Freescale, Solo 6 1GHZ Processor". I have no idea how those are related.

The i.MX507 is an ARM Cortex A8, and the Solo 6 is Cortex A9-based. At the same speed, the Solo 6 is faster ('Cortex-A9 is available as a single processor solution offering an overall performance enhancement of well above 50% compared to ARM Cortex-A8 solutions' according to ARM)

YMMV with code quality and things like that, but from a hardware point of view, the Glo has the superior CPU.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Do the customization options only work on kePub's or do they work on sideloaded ePub's as well. If I were to get one I'd likely only ever use regular ePub's on it.

On Kobo's current readers adjustments to font style, size, weight, sharpness, and to line spacing, margin size, text justifiation all work on both kepubs and sideloaded epubs. Some epubs are formatted in a way that prevents some things working (such as forcing a fixed line spacing), but if necessary that can be fixed by tweaking the .css stylesheet before sideloading the book.