Kobo Glo HD

[Barty]

Also of note is the kindle price is with ads. The non ad version is $20 more, which is more than shipping cost to U.S.

(The ads are not a big deal, but it means every time you wake up the device, you have to do a swipe. If you have a nice flip cover, it's extra annoying not being able to start reading right away when you open the cover like a book. I suspect this is the main reason people pay to get rid of the ads.)

[murg]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Amazon may not *need* to respond to the Kobo offering, but I'm 95% sure they will. But it's a bit of a conundrum. If they lower the Voyage price, the PW becomes less relevant. If they add the new screen to the PW, it makes the Voyage less distinct. Maybe we'll see an across the table Kindle price drop. Not a bad thing.

Maybe Amazon will do an experiment to see if they can move in to Apple's territory: new overpriced tech sold to fanboys every year.

[murg]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Also why aren't they putting in faster processors? I'm not talking about the speed of pages turns, but the delay in doing anything else from changing fonts to browsing your library and opening books. After using my iPhone, the H2O is ridiculously slow doing anything other than turning a page.

The eReader doesn't really need to be fast. Anything you do with it other than reading doesn't happen very often. So page turning really is the main valid criteria of speed.

Of concern with the HDs is that the processor is now having to do more work to render a page (all those extra pixels) with the same speed processor. However, this can be counter-balanced with improvements in the firmware, mainly pre-rendering the next page while you are reading the current page (after all, 95% of the screen activity is moving to the next page.

The processor speeds being the same also means that Kobo's cost per unit has been dropping. Also, at some point, Kobo's cost per processor for a faster processor may drop to be the same as the slower processor, at which point they'll start using the faster processor. Unless, of course, there are timing considerations in the firmware which would make this difficult.

And, finally, this also means that next year, they can come out with the Aura/Glo SX, which will have a faster processor, and is sold on speed.

[pssquirrel]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

If you're sideloading from calibre there's no need to use kepubs at all if you don't want to.

Actually, I don't use Calibre to sideload. My preference is uploading/downloading via Dropbox. But it sounds like that would work with epubs, too???

I must admit, this whole epub v kepub thing confuses me, and whenever I read the epub v kepub threads I get overwhelmed.

The Kobo Patcher runs on Windows/Mac/Linux these days. See here for details of the latest version. Detailed help always available in the relevant thread.

Thanks! I suppose I could deal with this if I ended up getting a Glo HD, though it's somewhat less appealing now.

... not that I'm trying to tempt you, of course. Perish the thought

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

In most of the world the biggest difference between the Amazon and Kobo ecosystems is that the Kobo ecosystem includes the public library. In New Zealand for example the public library system has ebooks from all of the big publishers except Hachette, but epub only.

Ask for advice at my local library about what ereader to buy and the response is "anything except a Kindle."

In the US Kindle does support the Library system as American Libraries switched from the earlier mobi support to AZW support.

Dale

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I'm in the US so I'm unable to directly access the London Public Library, but the overdrive the LPL has them at 4,600 some odd fiction titles. I imagine libraries here in the states are similarly limited, with major metropolitan libraries having larger selections than their smaller town counterparts.

I would say you are right but the State Capital will often work for the entire state. At least it does in California. One trip is needed to the capital to get a library card.

Dale

[pssquirrel]

Originally Posted by Skew

I am worried about the gloss band inside the bezel. It is reflecting a fair amount of the light from the camera or whichever light source is in this video ... 

I noticed that, too, and find it worrisome as well. I'm surprised they would use such high gloss when the rest of the ereader appears matte.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

I noticed that, too, and find it worrisome as well. I'm surprised they would use such high gloss when the rest of the ereader appears matte.

I looks to me like the same gasket/seal that is on the H2O. When I first saw that, I thought it was going to be water proof too but it's not. I've never been bothered my the high gloss seal on the H2O.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Skew

I am worried about the gloss band inside the bezel. It is reflecting a fair amount of the light from the camera or whichever light source is in this video, so if you're using the unit outside, I could imagine you could easily have sunlight reflected into your eyes according to which angle you hold the unit.

I've checked out other videos where it's even much more noticeable than the one you linked, and it's a concern for me as well. I have painfully sensitive eyes where I even wince at the TV when a brighter light comes on and I think it might really be the deal breaker for me. I'll have to try and get my hands on one though, I definitely won't be ordering without seeing one.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Rizla

The review demonstrated a glitch in the Kobo's intial rendering of the pdf. It was small and in the top left corner. A couple of clicks fixed it, and it wouldn't bother me as long as I only had to do it when I open the book, but it's clumsy and looks bad. Is the glitch they showed accurate?

I have never seen the glitch they talk about. The first time I open a PDF, it is always full screen. The next time can be different. The zoom level is remembered for each book when it is closed and this is supposed to be used when the book is reopened. My playing on the weekend show some problems. Testing with FW3.12.1 and a, um, more recent one, gave different results.

With both firmware, there were no problems if the I closed with no zoom. With FW3.12.1, exactly what happened depended on the zoom level and I think layout of the book. I think that a landscape book worked differently than a portrait layout, but, I didn't do that much testing. The newer firmware handled this better. There was an error but it is an obvious one and I have reported it to Kobo.

There is another problem with PDFs that might be related to what they are seeing. The PDF reader uses the first page to decide how to layout all the pages. If there are different page sizes, or some are portrait and some are landscape, the way they are displayed isn't correct. As when they opened the book in the review it was partway in, it's possible that this plus the zoom level is giving the weird effect they are seeing. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a PDF that is suitable to test this.

One problem with this discussion is we don't know what firmware the review devices are running. It might be 3.12.1 or 3.13.1, but it is probably an unreleased version.

[robko]

Originally Posted by booklover6

For your (dis)pleasure, a comparison full of misinformation is here. Interestingly, they claim the Kobo Glo HD has a capacitative touch screen. Considering the source, I don't know if that's true, or not.

Take that with several trainloads of salt. 99% sure the Glo HD is IR. Being IR does NOT mean it can't have pinch to zoom unlike what this pair claims.

Must admit that while I don't typically like to use negative terms (twit, idiot etc) in posts, these two make it very difficult to not let it sneak in.

[pssquirrel]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

... I'll have to try and get my hands on one though, I definitely won't be ordering without seeing one.

It's really too bad Kobo isn't interested in the U.S. market -- or has conceded the U.S. to Amazon?

I ended up buying my Sony's because I was curious enough to go to a store "just to look," and then couldn't resist buying one. This happened 3 years in a row!

I'm pretty sure if I could go play with a Kobo I'd end up walking out with one. But I'm hesitant to buy one without seeing it in person first, especially given Kobo's hit-or-miss customer service and an iffy return policy. I actually did order the Kindle Voyage sight unseen, but that's because I knew that if I didn't like it, I could return it no questions asked.

Does anyone know why Kobo doesn't sell in more U.S. stores? Are the big chains (Best Buy, etc.) not interested? Is it somehow too expensive for Kobo to make it worth their while? Do they not make enough ereaders to supply the U.S. market so are focusing on the rest of the world? Or have they really conceded the U.S. to Amazon?

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Lyn2012

Also why aren't they putting in faster processors?

Faster processor=less battery life.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

Actually, I don't use Calibre to sideload. My preference is uploading/downloading via Dropbox. But it sounds like that would work with epubs, too???

I must admit, this whole epub v kepub thing confuses me, and whenever I read the epub v kepub threads I get overwhelmed.



Thanks! I suppose I could deal with this if I ended up getting a Glo HD, though it's somewhat less appealing now.

It's really straight forward. Kobo uses separate programs to render books in .epub (e.g., It.epub) and .kepub (It.kepub). The extension instructs the reader which program to use. All you need to do to change the rendering program is change the extension: FROM It.epub TO It.epub.kepub. Internally the text that makes up the actual book is the same for both.

You don't need Calibre or anything else except Finder on your Mac: change the extension and save the file to Dropbox and it will download as a kepub, or leave it .epub and Kobo will use the universal standard.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I would say you are right but the State Capital will often work for the entire state. At least it does in California. One trip is needed to the capital to get a library card.

Dale

Actually in California, I don't think it has anything to do with the state capital. Most (not all) California libraries offer free library cards to California residents. I live in Sacramento, but have valid library cards for the San Francisco Public Library and Los Angeles Public Library--both of which have much bigger selections than Sacramento. Currently, San Francisco has 59,411 Epub books in their OverDrive collection, Los Angeles has 100,153 and Sacramento has 23,102. I did have to visit a local library in both SF and LA to get cards--but all I needed was proof of CA residency.