New Kobo Aura HD eInk eReader 1440x1080

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

...though superior in every way to touchscreen-only controls. Especially if the Aura turns out to be like the Touch and regularly stop accepting touchscreen input ('til you power down and reboot).

So you had a defective device --- that doesn't mean touch screens are bad. Anyway, buttons are on the way out and they are not coming back. They cost more, they make the devices bigger, and they are a potential source of problems (they can break, get stuck, etc).

No doubt it is sometimes a good thing to have buttons -- but the market has spoken. You will have to adjust or keep using your old device. That is what I did since I wanted something bigger than 6" but smaller and lighter than my DX. I will be waiting for others to take the plunge, but the Aura is definitely on my list.

[MrDoug]

Buttons are like 1958 Edsel's.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

So you had a defective device --- that doesn't mean touch screens are bad.

HansTWN: Unfortunately the OP is right here; it has been an issue with Kobo where either a tap to turn a page is missed somehow and the next tap does a double page turn, OR the device stops accepting screen touches forcing you (on a Touch at least) to hit the button to head back to the Home screen, from where all you can do is the power off / on sequence.

I will say though I have seen a lot fewer of latter issue in the more recent firmware releases (in fact I'm not sure if I've seen any of those since the 2.4 series of code), but I still experience the former issue.

[MrDoug]

Originally Posted by PeterT

HansTWN: Unfortunately the OP is right here; it has been an issue with Kobo where either a tap to turn a page is missed somehow and the next tap does a double page turn, OR the device stops accepting screen touches forcing you (on a Touch at least) to hit the button to head back to the Home screen, from where all you can do is the power off / on sequence.

I will say though I have seen a lot fewer of latter issue in the more recent firmware releases (in fact I'm not sure if I've seen any of those since the 2.4 series of code), but I still experience the former issue.

I would say go back to paper books. lol

[PeterT]

Sigh; I've also experience uncut pages, missing portions of paper books, so I suppose I should in that case head back to stone tablets?

[MrDoug]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Sigh; I've also experience uncut pages, missing portions of paper books, so I suppose I should in that case head back to stone tablets?

Lol.. Nothing is perfect.. As long as you are reading and enjoying it, that is really what matters.. I can read a wrinkled up newspaper with enjoyment
Doug

[Thrasher]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I guess The people at Kobo have never used an ereader when they were eating. That is one of the times when I like the page turn buttons.

This is so true!

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I guess The people at Kobo have never used an ereader when they were eating. That is one of the times when I like the page turn buttons.

I use the knuckle of my pinky finger. Simple and much better than touching buttons while eating!

[MrDoug]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I use the knuckle of my pinky finger. Simple and much better than touching buttons while eating!

I let my finger nail on my right index finger grow to a point, and use that...

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by PeterT

HansTWN: Unfortunately the OP is right here; it has been an issue with Kobo where either a tap to turn a page is missed somehow and the next tap does a double page turn, OR the device stops accepting screen touches forcing you (on a Touch at least) to hit the button to head back to the Home screen, from where all you can do is the power off / on sequence.

I will say though I have seen a lot fewer of latter issue in the more recent firmware releases (in fact I'm not sure if I've seen any of those since the 2.4 series of code), but I still experience the former issue.

Various issues previous Kobo devices seem to be having (especially the firmware) are the reason I am not jumping to buy one immediately. An e-reader is not something I want to be tweaking.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Sigh; I've also experience uncut pages, missing portions of paper books, so I suppose I should in that case head back to stone tablets?

Try scrolls first. If that doesn't work then try stone tablets.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I guess The people at Kobo have never used an ereader when they were eating. That is one of the times when I like the page turn buttons.

Getting food particles in between the crevices of buttons is MUCH worse than just a bit on the glass which you can easily clean off. So that's not much of an argument for buttons.

But my pinkies always stay clean while eating, so I use those to swipe the glass, or use the knuckle of my pinky as Skydog does.

Or if what I'm eating is really that messy I touch my 350 in the upper left area and the auto-page turns is activated, turning a page every 10 seconds (another fantastic feature thanks to PRS+), so there's no touching and no mess involved at all.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Try scrolls first.

Those just keep rolling up on me. And one caught the cat when it tried to sleep on what I was reading.

If that doesn't work then try stone tablets.

That works so long as I wear the steel cap boots. But when I press on the text, it doesn't translate the word for me. Maybe I need one of those fancy stones from Rosetta.

[taming]

Originally Posted by joblack

I'm a concerned about Kobo's privacy policy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-lS...is6W8pOS6rgdrA

(from 1:15+)

At first that sounds half-innocent but it's none of their business what I read, how long I read and so on.

So is Kobo spying upon the user? Can I disable these privacy violations?

Kobo does that through Reading Life--it captures all sorts of things on Kobo's proprietary formatted books (kepubs) and phones home with it. You have had the option in earlier readers of enabling or disabling Reading Life. I expect that there is that option on the Aura as well. One click, that's all it takes.

My POV has been that they already know what I have purchased from them and I don't really care if they know how fast I read a particular book, if I finish it, etc.

If you ever do a clean install on the machine, you will notice that the number of books read (as indicated in Reading Life) will only reflect the info on the kepubs that sync with their server. You can go from 380 books read to zero if you are not reading kepubs. A great deal of information about sideloaded books is stored only on the reader and never transmitted to Kobo. They are subject to Canadian privacy protection laws which most people seem to think are far more stringent then those in the US.

People frequently ask for things like syncing across devices for non-kepub books. We've been told that the privacy protection legislation in Canada currently keep that from being possible. I expect that there could be a workaround, an opt in for example, for that, but it hasn't happened yet.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Not to mention that in the colder weather, I'm not about to buy a pair of $50 gloves to use my reader but doesn't keep my hands warm when it comes to capacitive.

I ended up cutting off the tip of the thumb of a cheap pair of gloves to be able to use my Kindle Paperwhite in the evenings. My hands get terribly cold this time of year when I'm reading, so it was either that or not read at all.

In fact, this was one of the major bonuses when I first switched to e-reading - with the Kindle 3 side buttons, I could keep my hands nice and warm under the blanket when reading in bed and turn the page through the blanket, which I couldn't do with a paper book. In this sense, a touchscreen is definitely a step back in usability as far as I'm concerned, but when I weighed that against the light, the light won out and I (somewhat reluctantly) switched to Paperwhite.

A device like the Aura with touchscreen and Kindle 3 page turn buttons (the best I've experienced) would be ideal. :-/

I'm really tempted by the Aura, but realistically, I'm fine with the 6'' screen and I have no complaints about the Paperwhite at all (other than the lack of page turn buttons, which getting the Aura wouldn't solve), so it's really just the "ooh shiny new thing" desire speaking. I am hoping that this larger HD eInk screen will make it to the next generation of readers, too, though - once I'm ready for a new reader, I really wouldn't mind a slightly larger one with even crisper text.