Question on selecting a model - Page 3

dow · 01-22-2014, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

The Kobo Mini has been discontinued.)

Hmm... With that information, maybe I'll start looking around for sales. If they get cheap enough, I might get one to carry with me. Hadn't thought of a second one until now (pretty ridiculous of me at this point, as the HD isn't even here yet.

).

booklover6 · 01-22-2014, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dow

Hmm... With that information, maybe I'll start looking around for sales. If they get cheap enough, I might get one to carry with me. Hadn't thought of a second one until now (pretty ridiculous of me at this point, as the HD isn't even here yet.

).

If you can find one for $40, get it. (Or less, of course). It is an amazing device. Every time I think maybe I don't need the Mini, I change my mind as soon as I start reading on it.

dow · 01-22-2014, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booklover6

If you can find one for $40, get it. (Or less, of course). It is an amazing device. Every time I think maybe I don't need the Mini, I change my mind as soon as I start reading on it.

I'll keep that in mind. Off topic, but that's a fine looking grey that you've got as your avatar. I've got a timneh grey who's 14.

RobertJSawyer · 01-22-2014, 03:04 PM

The black Kobo Mini is sold out, but you can still get the white Kobo Mini from the Canadian Kobo store for $49: http://www.kobo.com/kobo-mini.html

booklover6 · 01-22-2014, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dow

I'll keep that in mind. Off topic, but that's a fine looking grey that you've got as your avatar. I've got a timneh grey who's 14.

Thanks! That's my big grey, Napoleon, who is @ 29. I also have a Timneh grey, Timmy, who is @ 26. I got them both in 1993 or 94

Joeldmtl · 01-23-2014, 09:27 PM

Dow/Booklover6,

I once had a grey parrot. Got bored of the color so I went to Home Depot to buy some paint to pint the bird another color.

The clerk at the store told me that if I painted the bird it would die.

A few weeks later I was back at the store, when the same clerk came up to me and asked how my bird was.

I said "It died".

He said " I told you that if you painted it, it would die".

To which I replied "Oh it wasn't when I was painting it that it died, it was when I was sanding it down".

Sorry couldn't resist,
JoeldMtl

anacreon · 01-26-2014, 03:39 AM

To return to the original subject: after much vacillation, I finally bought the aura yesterday. Admittedly, my experience with the aura is limited but here are my first impressions.

In the shop, it didn't look too bad compared to my hd. With the antitheft apparatus, it was difficult to compare weight feel, and impossible to check cover fit, but I did notice that the red back seemed as slippery as my hd's before I added a skin, so I chose the black grainy one, though I'd have liked a different colour from the others I have.

At home, after loading a third of my books, adding fonts and dictionaries, modifying affiliates and parameters, I started to read.

"Naked" it is definitely more pleasant to hold: the hd is 41% heavier (though the reading surface is only 28% bigger), much bulkier. I was afraid that my holding fingers would tend to overstep the narrow borders but it was not a problem, and the size is more of a fit for my small hands. The surface seems even more prone than the hd's to show up finger traces. I wonder whether I can clean it with a slightly wet cloth like the glass hd's - where I even use a drop of dishwashing liquid now and then.

The official sleeping cover though is even worse than the glo's: both seem made for their preceding, bulkier model, which means they are uncomfortable to hold, open or closed, and are too heavy for a reader whose main advantage is its moderate weight, while the HD's cover fits perfectly: with cover, the HD is only 28% heavier than the aura, and much more pleasant to hold: it folds back flush, with a pleasant feel surface, contrary to the aura. And the aura covers's spine is wide and stiff, with unpleasant holding surfaces.

As others said, it is pleasant to adjust the light level with two fingers, but this is an occasional need, and for reading, the aura is something of a disappointment: the lighted screen is better than the glo's, no question (with no light it is slightly yellower), but lighted (and I mostly read with the light on), it is yellower and characters and images are less crisp. I don't know how much of that is due to the lower dpi, and how much to the additional plastic layer.

Also, it makes sense that on the smaller aura the header and footer should be slightly closer to the edges, but it doesn't that the text itself is the same distance from the edge, which makes for a wide unused space. I know there is a patch somewhere, but I'm uncomfortable using it.

So, I will vote for the hd, but the aura will replace the glo as my backup - with the same storage I can keep both synced (thanks to the wonderful kobo utilities plugin). It should be good as the lightweight reader I wanted for public transport once I find the right cover: found the thread, ordered it

And if Kobo is reading this: I'm sure there would be a market for a 6" very high definition lightweight reader, with the glo matte front/quilted back holding surfaces, and a really fitted, comfortable to hold folded, lightweight cover. I vote for IR: crisper text and images, whiter screen, easier to clean, and good with gloves while waiting for a bus or a train outside. And I would also buy a 6.8" improved model (lighter, better surfaces).

Tazor · 01-26-2014, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Sadly, the Kobo Mini turned out to be their worst-selling device in the 2013 line-up; it's too bad, because it filled another underexploited niche -- of major players, only Sony had also offered a 5-inch E Ink device -- and I think the Mini is fabulous; I have two of them. The Kobo Mini has been discontinued.)

Actually there's also Pocketbook 515 Mini with the same screen as Kobo Mini but with 1Ghz CPU and 4GB ram.

booklover6 · 01-26-2014, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazor

Actually there's also Pocketbook 515 Mini with the same screen as Kobo Mini but with 1Ghz CPU and 4GB ram.

That has no touch screen. I wouldn't get it just because of that! (Not that I could get one here in the US, anyway.)

RobertJSawyer · 01-26-2014, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazor

Actually there's also Pocketbook 515 Mini with the same screen as Kobo Mini but with 1Ghz CPU and 4GB ram.

I did say MAJOR players, Tazor.

Tazor · 01-28-2014, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I did say MAJOR players, Tazor.

In Central and Eastern Europe Pocketbook actually IS a major player

I haven't owned any of their devices but they have strong market presence here.

View Poll Results: If you had to choose ONE model Kobo reader, which would it be?
Glo	19	20.21%
Aura	21	22.34%
Aura HD	54	57.45%
Voters: 94. You may not vote on this poll

01-26-2014, 03:39 AM	#37
anacreon Guru Posts: 976 Karma: 3475832 Join Date: May 2012 Location: France Device: Elipsa, Sage, Libra 2	To return to the original subject: after much vacillation, I finally bought the aura yesterday. Admittedly, my experience with the aura is limited but here are my first impressions. In the shop, it didn't look too bad compared to my hd. With the antitheft apparatus, it was difficult to compare weight feel, and impossible to check cover fit, but I did notice that the red back seemed as slippery as my hd's before I added a skin, so I chose the black grainy one, though I'd have liked a different colour from the others I have. At home, after loading a third of my books, adding fonts and dictionaries, modifying affiliates and parameters, I started to read. "Naked" it is definitely more pleasant to hold: the hd is 41% heavier (though the reading surface is only 28% bigger), much bulkier. I was afraid that my holding fingers would tend to overstep the narrow borders but it was not a problem, and the size is more of a fit for my small hands. The surface seems even more prone than the hd's to show up finger traces. I wonder whether I can clean it with a slightly wet cloth like the glass hd's - where I even use a drop of dishwashing liquid now and then. The official sleeping cover though is even worse than the glo's: both seem made for their preceding, bulkier model, which means they are uncomfortable to hold, open or closed, and are too heavy for a reader whose main advantage is its moderate weight, while the HD's cover fits perfectly: with cover, the HD is only 28% heavier than the aura, and much more pleasant to hold: it folds back flush, with a pleasant feel surface, contrary to the aura. And the aura covers's spine is wide and stiff, with unpleasant holding surfaces. As others said, it is pleasant to adjust the light level with two fingers, but this is an occasional need, and for reading, the aura is something of a disappointment: the lighted screen is better than the glo's, no question (with no light it is slightly yellower), but lighted (and I mostly read with the light on), it is yellower and characters and images are less crisp. I don't know how much of that is due to the lower dpi, and how much to the additional plastic layer. Also, it makes sense that on the smaller aura the header and footer should be slightly closer to the edges, but it doesn't that the text itself is the same distance from the edge, which makes for a wide unused space. I know there is a patch somewhere, but I'm uncomfortable using it. So, I will vote for the hd, but the aura will replace the glo as my backup - with the same storage I can keep both synced (thanks to the wonderful kobo utilities plugin). It should be good as the lightweight reader I wanted for public transport once I find the right cover: found the thread, ordered it And if Kobo is reading this: I'm sure there would be a market for a 6" very high definition lightweight reader, with the glo matte front/quilted back holding surfaces, and a really fitted, comfortable to hold folded, lightweight cover. I vote for IR: crisper text and images, whiter screen, easier to clean, and good with gloves while waiting for a bus or a train outside. And I would also buy a 6.8" improved model (lighter, better surfaces). Last edited by anacreon; 01-26-2014 at 07:20 AM.

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01-22-2014, 03:04 PM	#34
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 737 Karma: 4306712 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	The black Kobo Mini is sold out, but you can still get the white Kobo Mini from the Canadian Kobo store for $49: http://www.kobo.com/kobo-mini.html

01-23-2014, 09:27 PM	#36
Joeldmtl Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 12716 Join Date: Jan 2014 Device: Kobo Touch	Dow/Booklover6, I once had a grey parrot. Got bored of the color so I went to Home Depot to buy some paint to pint the bird another color. The clerk at the store told me that if I painted the bird it would die. A few weeks later I was back at the store, when the same clerk came up to me and asked how my bird was. I said "It died". He said " I told you that if you painted it, it would die". To which I replied "Oh it wasn't when I was painting it that it died, it was when I was sanding it down". Sorry couldn't resist, JoeldMtl