Possible new Sony ereader with Glo

[hwlester]

If it has an HD screen as mentioned, I very well may consider upgrading my T1 even without a light (although I'll be disappointed about the lack of a light). Not that the non-HD screen hurts my eyes...

[uboot]

Beware of GAS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Gr...ition_Syndrome

[soulfuldog]

I was counting on them to maybe give me an option of a lighted reader with page turn buttons I wouldn't put it past Sony to release a non-lighted reader, but it'd still be a bit of surprise....

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by uboot

Beware of GAS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Gr...ition_Syndrome

Phew! I'm safe, that article doesn't mention computer/tablet/geek gear.

[VelvetElvis]

No light?
No thanks.

I've been patiently waiting for news of a front-lit Sony, as I've been coveting my S.O.'s Kobo Glo. I'm not a fan of the Kobo firmware, but the Kobo's light (IMO) is gorgeous, and clamp-on lights suck.

I for one don't care what touch screen technology Sony uses, as I'm happy as Hell with my T1 in most regards. But I want a light so badly that I'm willing to put up with the Kobo firmware shortcomings.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by VelvetElvis

... But I want a light so badly that I'm willing to put up with the Kobo firmware shortcomings.

That's what I thought too and I still use the Kobo Glo, but my aggravation over it grows daily and it's been over 4 months now that I've been using it. The worst of my issues with it is that a combination of WinXP + AMD processors + Calibre just doesn't play nice with the Kobo Glo. It always disconnects during sending or deleting books using Calibre and pops up errors. I have a pokey netbook with Windows 7 that doesn't have the problem, but I use it only for travel, so pulling it out of the closet and updating my Calibre library to it everytime I want to swap books to the reader is getting tiresome real fast for me and I'm to the point that it's just not worth it.

The light is very very nice on it though, I'll give it that.

[manfred63]

The day has come! It's out!! The PRS-T3 is unveiled!!!

[Man Eating Duck]

Originally Posted by manfred63

The day has come! It's out!! The PRS-T3 is unveiled!!!

And, as I feared, no frontlight: http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...h-release-date. I really don't understand why they didn't offer a model with that feature.

Oh well, seems like my Sony Reader days are over

[manfred63]

Originally Posted by Man Eating Duck

Oh well, seems like my Sony Reader days are over

And mine will begin now!!

[Gilmartin]

I can see absolutely no reason for ditching my T1 in favour of this new model.
Hopefully Amazon or Kobo will release something more tempting in the next few months. And hopefully my T1, which has begun to lock up too often for my liking, will last that long. If not the Kobo Aura is getting more and more attractive.

[soulfuldog]

While it might disappoint many, I suppose you can look at it as Sony just trying to do something different. The technology has improved an awful lot, but the light guide does slightly diminish the clarity of the screen, and there is room for debate about whether or not the inbuilt light detracts from the easy on the eye paper-like quality of e-ink.

On the other hand, you don't need the light to be on all the time, and I've seen very little to suggest that an external clip on light (immaterial of it being part of a case) is as good, or better than the in-built lighting. So it might be better in one respect, but it's not in another. So where is the selling point?

I'd be interested to see a Kobo Aura with it's light turned off placed next to a T1/T2, is there really a marked difference between the two, or is it just minimal?

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by l_macd

I'd be interested to see a Kobo Aura with it's light turned off placed next to a T1/T2, is there really a marked difference between the two, or is it just minimal?

I have a T1, Kobo Glo and Kobo Aura. With light off the screens of both Kobos are slightly lighter and creamier than the T1. Although I don't have one, I suspect the T2 is similarly lighter than the T1.

What really gives both Kobos the visual edge (IMO) over the T1 is the on-device ability to adjust fonts to be darker. Plus the better screen resolutions, of course. Once you switch the lights on, even at a fairly low level, the background of the Kobos becomes much lighter - then it becomes no contest (again IMO).

[Kaitou Ace]

Originally Posted by l_macd

I'd be interested to see a Kobo Aura with it's light turned off placed next to a T1/T2, is there really a marked difference between the two, or is it just minimal?

I have a kobo Glo and a T1, and in use, there isn't much difference. Putting them side by side, the kobo has a whiter background, but slightly less contrast in the font darkness. That might be fixed by tweaking the font options, but really, I don't usually read in that font (Amassis), so it's default on the kobo.

Second image shows the font I usually use on the kobo, Caecilia.

[soulfuldog]

Thanks for those pictures. I've compared non-lit Kobo's and Kindle's with the Glo/Paperwhite, but not the Sony. Those pictures seem to show that the differences between the non-lit and lighted models is broadly the same for them all - there is a slight degrading of clarity/contrast, but that is about it. I'm surprised at how good the background looks on the Kobo in comparison to the Sony, I know the T2 is a little better but thought the T1 was actually pretty good.

So do you find any kind of strain on your eyes at all when using the light compared with your reading using the T1 or other non-lighted reader? I wonder if some people might be sensitive to the light, but generally most will have no issues at all.

The fonts looking slightly washed out can be improved by choosing certain fonts and increasing the weight of them though, isn't that correct? I know the Glo/Aura are better than the Paperwhite in terms of customising fonts, but can you still increase the weight of the font if for example the book you are reading doesn't allow the default to be changed?

[Kaitou Ace]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Thanks for those pictures. I've compared non-lit Kobo's and Kindle's with the Glo/Paperwhite, but not the Sony. Those pictures seem to show that the differences between the non-lit and lighted models is broadly the same for them all - there is a slight degrading of clarity/contrast, but that is about it. I'm surprised at how good the background looks on the Kobo in comparison to the Sony, I know the T2 is a little better but thought the T1 was actually pretty good.

So do you find any kind of strain on your eyes at all when using the light compared with your reading using the T1 or other non-lighted reader? I wonder if some people might be sensitive to the light, but generally most will have no issues at all.

The fonts looking slightly washed out can be improved by choosing certain fonts and increasing the weight of them though, isn't that correct? I know the Glo/Aura are better than the Paperwhite in terms of customising fonts, but can you still increase the weight of the font if for example the book you are reading doesn't allow the default to be changed?

No problem!

And exactly so, and in actual use, there is no real difference, and tweaking with the fonts can make even that immaterial. In my first shot, the Sony is a bit better, but in the second one, I think the kobo is, and that's just from switching fonts and adjusting the font weight a bit.

For me, I have no strain of any kind with the light, and often the opposite, on low setting it only improves contrast, and lightens the background, so I find it reduces strain on the eye.

And I have yet to run into a book where I can't adjust the font weight, but I remove DRM from everything I buy.

I'll be honest though, my absolute, ideal reader would be the PRS-650 with a modern high-res eink screen and a light.