CNET AU thumbs up the Kobo Aura

Alexander Turcic · 09-10-2013, 09:19 AM

As Kobo's newest e-reader proceeds down the review gauntlet, it appears CNET Australia is the latest to be impressed by the Kobo Aura, between its "sleek" and "lightweight" form factor, the built-in front light, the 6-inch 1014x758 pixels display, and long battery life.

Quote:

We had a few issues with the Kobo Glo in terms of bugginess and response time, and we're overjoyed to report that the Aura seems to have ironed those issues out. What we found with the Glo was that it was laggy, slow to respond to taps, sometimes not responding at all.

The Aura couldn't be more different. Even an image-heavy MOBI file responded smartly to page turns, and resizing a PDF using pinch to zoom was about as smooth as we've seen on an E Ink display. Input is also pretty snappy; in fact, it responds a little faster than the screen, so playing chess and Sudoku, as well as entering search terms or other text, is a lot better than the Glo. [...]

The Kobo Aura does have some very minor foibles. However, the work Kobo has done to the software has improved it substantially on last year's Kobo Glo. Also, once you factor in that if you want a light for Sony's upcoming PRS-T3, you'll have to pay extra beyond its AU$149 SRP, the Aura comes in at a pretty competitive price.

Link to the review: here

Related: Kobo Reader

Mycropht · 09-10-2013, 11:09 AM

The note about PDFs is very interesting. I was under impression that Kobo Aura PDF support is not exactly stellar but maybe I got a wrong idea or the PDF support has been improved by FW patches. From the the-ebook-reader.com review (May): "Despite the larger screen size, it does not make for a good PDF reader."

A question for Aura owners: would you recommend an Aura for both general reading and browsing of technical PDFs (e.g. service manuals)? Does the latest FW supports PDF pinch-to-zoom, text reflow and removing of margins?

Edit: I did not catch immediately that this is about the new Kobo Aura.

Ripplinger · 09-10-2013, 11:58 AM

Is that an error about "Even an image-heavy MOBI file responded smartly to page turns," or can the Kobo Aura actually read Kindle .mobi files?

AnemicOak · 09-10-2013, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Is that an error about "Even an image-heavy MOBI file responded smartly to page turns," or can the Kobo Aura actually read Kindle .mobi files?

Kobo firmware has support for DRM-Free Mobi books. It's not the greatest support however so doesn't always work as well as taking a few seconds to convert to ePub or kePub.

robko · 09-10-2013, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mycropht

From the the-ebook-reader.com review (May): "Despite the larger screen size, it does not make for a good PDF reader."

A question for Aura owners: would you recommend an Aura for both general reading and browsing of technical PDFs (e.g. service manuals)? Does the latest FW supports PDF pinch-to-zoom, text reflow and removing of margins?

Your review quote was for the Aura HD. The current review is for the new 6" Aura (totally different beast). The Aura 6" has pinch-to-zoom but I doubt it will have reflow or automatic margin removal.

Tony1988 · 09-10-2013, 12:29 PM

Hmm with every review this new Aura is looking better and better. I wanted to get the Prs T3 (even though it didn't have a light, because I don't think it is a necessity) but the price of the T3 is just too much. The aura seems to have more going for it software wise and its a pretty slick looking device all for a cheaper price. I want to replace my 350 and this may fit the bill.

09-10-2013, 11:09 AM	#2
Mycropht Optimist Posts: 77 Karma: 378 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	PDF Support The note about PDFs is very interesting. I was under impression that Kobo Aura PDF support is not exactly stellar but maybe I got a wrong idea or the PDF support has been improved by FW patches. From the the-ebook-reader.com review (May): "Despite the larger screen size, it does not make for a good PDF reader." A question for Aura owners: would you recommend an Aura for both general reading and browsing of technical PDFs (e.g. service manuals)? Does the latest FW supports PDF pinch-to-zoom, text reflow and removing of margins? Edit: I did not catch immediately that this is about the new Kobo Aura. Last edited by Mycropht; 09-10-2013 at 05:56 PM. Reason: Additional info

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09-10-2013, 11:58 AM	#3
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,587 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Is that an error about "Even an image-heavy MOBI file responded smartly to page turns," or can the Kobo Aura actually read Kindle .mobi files?

09-10-2013, 12:29 PM	#6
Tony1988 Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 4033862 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: sony prs-350	Hmm with every review this new Aura is looking better and better. I wanted to get the Prs T3 (even though it didn't have a light, because I don't think it is a necessity) but the price of the T3 is just too much. The aura seems to have more going for it software wise and its a pretty slick looking device all for a cheaper price. I want to replace my 350 and this may fit the bill.