Aura NEW Kobo Aura Impressions Thread! - Page 48

booklover6 · 05-31-2014, 07:20 AM

Ok, I was wrong. The SD card is NOT flush on the Glo. Sorry for my mistake. I guess I never noticed it.

In fact, I discovered that the snap-in case I was using presses against the card, which is probably why I was getting a card error notice from windows when I plugged it in.

It's now in a different case, more protection from my 16 yo son who uses it once a day.

samosa · 05-31-2014, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booklover6

I opened up my 2 Kobo Minis yesterday and they both had 4gb cards in them, instead of 2. So I copied the image of one and wrote it to a 16gb card. The other one, I used software to extend the partition to use the whole card. Since then, I've been adding books to both. I just love the Mini. But the Aura is still the favorite, due to the light and the fact I can buy a slim snap on case.

I'm removing books from my Nook HD. I've gone back to preferring to read on Eink. I've got a Nook ST on the way to root and turn into a little eink tablet. I like to play with my toys

I like what you did. As I did exactly the same thing!

I am a greedy person so I put in 32GB cards into mine. Of the three I opened up two had 2GB cards and only one had 4GB card. The one with 4GB card has a whiter (sharper) screen. Where I am there is no slim case to buy. I could order some over Rakuten but I'm too stingy. Really love my minis too as they are the only ones that fit into pockets.

I am not brave enough (yet) to root the Nook ST... I think I will just keep it the way it came.

booklover6 · 05-31-2014, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samosa

I like what you did. As I did exactly the same thing!

I am a greedy person so I put in 32GB cards into mine. Of the three I opened up two had 2GB cards and only one had 4GB card. The one with 4GB card has a whiter (sharper) screen. Where I am there is no slim case to buy. I could order some over Rakuten but I'm too stingy. Really love my minis too as they are the only ones that fit into pockets.

I am not brave enough (yet) to root the Nook ST... I think I will just keep it the way it came.

I only had a class 10 32gb card on hand, and I thought it best to stick with class 4 cards, so I used my 16gb, on the one. I found it harder to get the back back on, then to get it off. One of mine is still not right, but it's fine.

Rooting the Nook ST with NookManager is very easy. When I did it last year, I found that returning to stock was difficult. (I was selling that one. This one I am keeping). With Cool Reader and my favorite font, it's a very nice machine, and much faster than my kindle Paperwhite 1.

Of course none of those is better than my Kobo(s), as I am sure you agree.

corroonb · 06-01-2014, 06:05 PM

I should probably update my initial somewhat harsh impressions of the Aura after after a few weeks use. I complained that the screen contrast wasn't great and that the screen was yellow. I started using the light and I can see that it's designed to be used with the light on. I really love that flush bezel but I find the touch screen sometimes faila to register an input. I switched to swiping due to this and this works a little better. Other than the single pin-prick screen defect and the sometimes unresponsive touch screen, I'm quite impressed with the Aura.

I've also had a strange issue with a book that won't work on the Aura but works fine on my android tablet. I bought this book in America so I don't really feel I can complain about it. When I try to change between chapters, I get an Oops, this book cannot be opened error. I assume the book is defective since I've redownloaded it a number of times with the same result. The books is the Warrior anthology edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois which isn't available in my local Kobo store.

speakingtohe · 06-01-2014, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corroonb

I should probably update my initial somewhat harsh impressions of the Aura after after a few weeks use. I complained that the screen contrast wasn't great and that the screen was yellow. I started using the light and I can see that it's designed to be used with the light on. I really love that flush bezel but I find the touch screen sometimes faila to register an input. I switched to swiping due to this and this works a little better. Other than the single pin-prick screen defect and the sometimes unresponsive touch screen, I'm quite impressed with the Aura.

I've also had a strange issue with a book that won't work on the Aura but works fine on my android tablet. I bought this book in America so I don't really feel I can complain about it. When I try to change between chapters, I get an Oops, this book cannot be opened error. I assume the book is defective since I've redownloaded it a number of times with the same result. The books is the Warrior anthology edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois which isn't available in my local Kobo store.

I have had a lot of success converting books to mobi and then back to epub when they wouldn't work on the Aura HD or mini. Barnes and Noble books and some older lrf books seemed to require this. Others as well.

Helen

melovesflying · 06-26-2014, 03:08 AM

What's the latest software version? I've been reading that it's already 3.3.0 but mine is on 3.1.0 and I don't get updates whenever I leave wifi on and sync. Pocket is also missing.

davidfor · 06-26-2014, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melovesflying

What's the latest software version? I've been reading that it's already 3.3.0 but mine is on 3.1.0 and I don't get updates whenever I leave wifi on and sync. Pocket is also missing.

It should be 3.3.0, but it can depend on the affiliate the device came from. I believe that Kobo do not send the updates out if they don't have permission from the affiliate for the device. Same goes for Pocket. What is in the affiliate.conf file that is in the .kobo directory?

melovesflying · 06-26-2014, 04:49 AM

It says RakutenBooks.

davidfor · 06-26-2014, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melovesflying

It says RakutenBooks.

I'm pretty sure that someone has said that Rakuten is behind in the firmware and doesn't have Pocket. And that they changed it to "Kobo" (without the quotes) to do the update and get Pocket.

melovesflying · 06-26-2014, 06:59 AM

Are there any advantages of updating to 3.3.0 over staying at 3.1.0? I'm a bit scared to change the affiliate. I read the thread you are referring to but it hasn't been updated for some time so I wonder if the risk is worth it, especially the supposed side effect of covers not showing when on sleep mode or power off. I'm partial to that feature.

davidfor · 06-26-2014, 07:19 AM

"Kobo" is probably the default affiliate. It doesn't disable any function. Or at least none I can find. That is the affiliate I have and the cover images are shown during sleep. And if you find there is a problem, delete the file and it will be recreated at the next restart.

Snow Sciles · 06-28-2014, 11:05 AM

When do you guys think this device will be updated? Sometime later this year?

the.Mtn.Man · 07-08-2014, 09:03 AM

I recently received my Kobo Aura in the mail. I've been using the Kobo Touch for the past few years but really wanted a lighted ereader. As I've been generally happy with Kobo and wanted to stick with the brand, I first considered the Glo but was put off by reports of an overly bright low setting, and so I looked at the Aura. Everything I read from reviewers and users was mostly positive, and so I decided that it would be my next ereader.

I have to say I am very happy with my choice. The Aura is a little smaller and weighs a little less than the Touch, which is nice, although the Touch itself isn't exactly a boat anchor. I really like the bevel-free design and clean lines of the Aura, and the capacitative touchscreen is extremely responsive, requiring only a light touch. In fact, it doesn't feel much different than the infrared screen on the Touch, and the Aura in general seems to be very fast and responsive. The text to my eye looks as dark and crisp as the Touch even though the grey background appears slightly darker on the Aura, at least under indoor lighting (probably because less light is getting to the e-ink surface due to the extra layers of material), but you could always use the Kindle Paperwhite trick of leaving the frontlight on all the time to lighten it up. There is a good selection of fonts, but it seems that Kobo replaced Rockwell, which I really liked, with Kobo Nickel which I find to be an inferior substitute (and unfortunately, Rockwell is a proprietary font and can't be acquired for free, at least not legally). So I've started using Caecilia, which seems decent enough, and I was able to thicken it up a bit by adjusting the weighting.

Page turns without a full refresh seems to work as advertised without introducing distracting artifacts, although it doesn't seem to refresh at every chapter break like I was expecting (a shortcoming of the Aura's interaction with epubs, perhaps?). I've looked at the display under bright lighting and haven't noticed any of the diamond patterning or "scratches" that people mentioned earlier in the thread, although I haven't had a chance to view it in direct sunlight. [Edit: And now that I have had the opportunity to look at the screen in direct sunlight, I see no evidence of blemishes whatsoever. It's just as clear and bright as the Touch, so the Aura is truly an e-ink reader for any lighting conditions.] The frontlighting is great, mostly even with no "pin pricks" or other blemishes, and very easy on the eyes even in a completely darkened room. I especially like the two-finger swipe to change brightness levels, although it seems a bit tricky to make fine adjustments. The internal lighting does seem to reduce the contrast of the text slightly, but it is still very readable, and I read several chapters last night without experiencing any eyestrain or fatigue.

I also bought the Kobo Sleepcover. At first I was worried about the design because the Aura is held at two points on the sides rather than at the corners like other covers, but the Sleepcover holds the Aura like a vise with absolutely no danger of the reader slipping out, and I really like the convenience of being able to power the device on and off simply by opening and closing the cover.

Setup was quick and easy, and props to Kobo for allowing us to do it over WiFi instead of having to use their desktop software (great for people like me who use Linux). I have around 650 books in my collection, and they transferred very quickly using Calibre, although it took about two-hours for the Aura to process them all.

U2Bono269 · 07-21-2014, 12:02 PM

As a user of Nook products since their inception (Nook 1E, Simple Touch), I wanted to chime in with my own impressions of the Kobo Aura. I'm generally really impressed so far. I love the smaller size and weight. The UI is much cleaner and easier to use than Nook's. Perhaps my favorite thing about it is that it displays the book cover when sleeping...no more slightly-caricatured sketches of authors for me.

I did find a single pinprick issue with the light turned on. I don't mind it enough to go through returns or whatever. Considering I bought it direct from Kobo at a $40 discount, it's just not worth it. There are no retailers around me. Besides, the blemish is on the margins, and if I set the light at a setting I would use, it's hardly noticeable.

The onboard storage is enough for me. I've heard complaints about the microSD slot, but I don't anticipate needing to use it. I just read fiction, so I can fit a lot.

Overall, the device is fantastic, and I'm really kind of disappointed they're not more prevalent in the US.

Mattskp · 07-21-2014, 03:49 PM

I just picked up a kobo aura on sale at 109$ , set it up with firmware update to 3.30 . For some reason it shows that the on-board storage on this aura is at 101mb used out of 247mb . Can somebody tell me if this is normal to only see 247mb of storage on the device information page . i would welcome info on if this is the correct storage without an sd card.
Thank you ,

07-08-2014, 09:03 AM	#718
the.Mtn.Man Guru Posts: 710 Karma: 2483502 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kobo Aura	I recently received my Kobo Aura in the mail. I've been using the Kobo Touch for the past few years but really wanted a lighted ereader. As I've been generally happy with Kobo and wanted to stick with the brand, I first considered the Glo but was put off by reports of an overly bright low setting, and so I looked at the Aura. Everything I read from reviewers and users was mostly positive, and so I decided that it would be my next ereader. I have to say I am very happy with my choice. The Aura is a little smaller and weighs a little less than the Touch, which is nice, although the Touch itself isn't exactly a boat anchor. I really like the bevel-free design and clean lines of the Aura, and the capacitative touchscreen is extremely responsive, requiring only a light touch. In fact, it doesn't feel much different than the infrared screen on the Touch, and the Aura in general seems to be very fast and responsive. The text to my eye looks as dark and crisp as the Touch even though the grey background appears slightly darker on the Aura, at least under indoor lighting (probably because less light is getting to the e-ink surface due to the extra layers of material), but you could always use the Kindle Paperwhite trick of leaving the frontlight on all the time to lighten it up. There is a good selection of fonts, but it seems that Kobo replaced Rockwell, which I really liked, with Kobo Nickel which I find to be an inferior substitute (and unfortunately, Rockwell is a proprietary font and can't be acquired for free, at least not legally). So I've started using Caecilia, which seems decent enough, and I was able to thicken it up a bit by adjusting the weighting. Page turns without a full refresh seems to work as advertised without introducing distracting artifacts, although it doesn't seem to refresh at every chapter break like I was expecting (a shortcoming of the Aura's interaction with epubs, perhaps?). I've looked at the display under bright lighting and haven't noticed any of the diamond patterning or "scratches" that people mentioned earlier in the thread, although I haven't had a chance to view it in direct sunlight. [Edit: And now that I have had the opportunity to look at the screen in direct sunlight, I see no evidence of blemishes whatsoever. It's just as clear and bright as the Touch, so the Aura is truly an e-ink reader for any lighting conditions.] The frontlighting is great, mostly even with no "pin pricks" or other blemishes, and very easy on the eyes even in a completely darkened room. I especially like the two-finger swipe to change brightness levels, although it seems a bit tricky to make fine adjustments. The internal lighting does seem to reduce the contrast of the text slightly, but it is still very readable, and I read several chapters last night without experiencing any eyestrain or fatigue. I also bought the Kobo Sleepcover. At first I was worried about the design because the Aura is held at two points on the sides rather than at the corners like other covers, but the Sleepcover holds the Aura like a vise with absolutely no danger of the reader slipping out, and I really like the convenience of being able to power the device on and off simply by opening and closing the cover. Setup was quick and easy, and props to Kobo for allowing us to do it over WiFi instead of having to use their desktop software (great for people like me who use Linux). I have around 650 books in my collection, and they transferred very quickly using Calibre, although it took about two-hours for the Aura to process them all. Last edited by the.Mtn.Man; 07-09-2014 at 09:09 AM.

07-21-2014, 03:49 PM	#720
Mattskp Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: kobo aura	kobo aura I just picked up a kobo aura on sale at 109$ , set it up with firmware update to 3.30 . For some reason it shows that the on-board storage on this aura is at 101mb used out of 247mb . Can somebody tell me if this is normal to only see 247mb of storage on the device information page . i would welcome info on if this is the correct storage without an sd card. Thank you ,

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05-31-2014, 07:20 AM	#706
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,545 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre 1, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle, Kobo Libre Colour	Ok, I was wrong. The SD card is NOT flush on the Glo. Sorry for my mistake. I guess I never noticed it. In fact, I discovered that the snap-in case I was using presses against the card, which is probably why I was getting a card error notice from windows when I plugged it in. It's now in a different case, more protection from my 16 yo son who uses it once a day.

06-01-2014, 06:05 PM	#709
corroonb Addict Posts: 317 Karma: 1232685 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Aura, Nexus 9	I should probably update my initial somewhat harsh impressions of the Aura after after a few weeks use. I complained that the screen contrast wasn't great and that the screen was yellow. I started using the light and I can see that it's designed to be used with the light on. I really love that flush bezel but I find the touch screen sometimes faila to register an input. I switched to swiping due to this and this works a little better. Other than the single pin-prick screen defect and the sometimes unresponsive touch screen, I'm quite impressed with the Aura. I've also had a strange issue with a book that won't work on the Aura but works fine on my android tablet. I bought this book in America so I don't really feel I can complain about it. When I try to change between chapters, I get an Oops, this book cannot be opened error. I assume the book is defective since I've redownloaded it a number of times with the same result. The books is the Warrior anthology edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois which isn't available in my local Kobo store.

06-26-2014, 03:08 AM	#711
melovesflying Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 13138 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3, Kobo Aura, Kobo Glo HD	What's the latest software version? I've been reading that it's already 3.3.0 but mine is on 3.1.0 and I don't get updates whenever I leave wifi on and sync. Pocket is also missing.

06-26-2014, 04:49 AM	#713
melovesflying Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 13138 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3, Kobo Aura, Kobo Glo HD	It says RakutenBooks.

06-26-2014, 06:59 AM	#715
melovesflying Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 13138 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3, Kobo Aura, Kobo Glo HD	Are there any advantages of updating to 3.3.0 over staying at 3.1.0? I'm a bit scared to change the affiliate. I read the thread you are referring to but it hasn't been updated for some time so I wonder if the risk is worth it, especially the supposed side effect of covers not showing when on sleep mode or power off. I'm partial to that feature.

06-26-2014, 07:19 AM	#716
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	"Kobo" is probably the default affiliate. It doesn't disable any function. Or at least none I can find. That is the affiliate I have and the cover images are shown during sleep. And if you find there is a problem, delete the file and it will be recreated at the next restart.

06-28-2014, 11:05 AM	#717
Snow Sciles Connoisseur Posts: 65 Karma: 400010 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: London Device: Nook STG, PW2	When do you guys think this device will be updated? Sometime later this year?

07-21-2014, 12:02 PM	#719
U2Bono269 Connoisseur Posts: 65 Karma: 13110 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, iPad Air 2	As a user of Nook products since their inception (Nook 1E, Simple Touch), I wanted to chime in with my own impressions of the Kobo Aura. I'm generally really impressed so far. I love the smaller size and weight. The UI is much cleaner and easier to use than Nook's. Perhaps my favorite thing about it is that it displays the book cover when sleeping...no more slightly-caricatured sketches of authors for me. I did find a single pinprick issue with the light turned on. I don't mind it enough to go through returns or whatever. Considering I bought it direct from Kobo at a $40 discount, it's just not worth it. There are no retailers around me. Besides, the blemish is on the margins, and if I set the light at a setting I would use, it's hardly noticeable. The onboard storage is enough for me. I've heard complaints about the microSD slot, but I don't anticipate needing to use it. I just read fiction, so I can fit a lot. Overall, the device is fantastic, and I'm really kind of disappointed they're not more prevalent in the US.