Aura ONE Kobo Aura One owners thread

[twenty5th_night]

I ended up exchanging mine for a different one; the greenish tinge when the natural light was below 50% and the brightness was around 5% was starting to grate on me, in addition to having the ereader select items about a centimeter to the right of my finger-tap.

That being said, I have high (high-ish) hopes for the replacement, and look forward to playing with it on Saturday! I did enjoy the one I had; one thing that I'm slightly (only slightly) disappointed about with the new one is that the gap around the edges is a bit larger than the previous one.

[thordk]

Hi Forum
I got mine yesterday and this is my first ereader.
Was wondering if the shades in the buttom of the screen is normal on the Aura One ?
Im very happy for the device but wanted to make sure this is not a faulty screen.

[anacreon]

@thordk: It is difficult to say from a photo: so much depends on the camera, the ambient light and the kobo light. Looking at mine with bare eyes, my shadows are fainter (but it is very sunny in Paris today). Do the shadows between the light cones look as strong to your bare eyes as on the photo? Was the light at 100% on the device?
Anyway, all screens are different and some have much more horrible defects. If your cones don't bother you when reading and the rest of the screen is good, it might be prudent to hold on to your One.

[thordk]

Hi Anacreon.
Thanks for the quick reply
Yes the light was 100 % and i can see the shades as clearly as the picture.
This is my first ereader so was not sure this is how its suposed to be ?.
Its especially visible when in dark room or night time.
Just wanted to make sure its not a defect otherwise i would be going back to Fnac tomorrow to get a new one before heading back to my home country.
Regards

[dnastase]

Originally Posted by thordk

Hi Forum
I got mine yesterday and this is my first ereader.
Was wondering if the shades in the buttom of the screen is normal on the Aura One ?
Im very happy for the device but wanted to make sure this is not a faulty screen.

[Image violates Posting Guidelines for size - MODERATOR]

Sorry to say but it looks defective to me.
I've just tried mine.
No matter what the screen brightness is set to I don't see anything even remotely resembling those shadows on my screen.
I have seen them in the past on shitty/cheap readers though ...

[thordk]

Hi dnastase
I will take it back to the store tomorrow and see what they say.
Was not sure this was the way it was supposed to be or not
Regards

[Dr. Drib]

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[dordale]

My opinion--adjust the lighting to where you normally would set it and if you can see the cones and they are distracting then look at returning it. All e-ink readers will have the "coning" effect to a various degree because of how the LCD lights are positioned. I have an Aura HD and don't notice the cones at my normal lighting setting, which in a dark room is somewhere around 25% for me. If I turn the lighting to 100% then I certainly can see the cones, but would never read this way as my reader would be way to bright to look at comfortably!

[thordk]

Hi Dordale.
I tried to use it on 25 % backlight in a dark room as you mentioned.
There im still able to see the black shades.
Furthermore when pressing gently on the chassis under the screen i hear like a small cracking sounds so guess i will be returning it today at Fnac and asking for a new one.
It was bought saturday and has just been unpacked.
Thanks a lot for all your replies.
Regards

Update :
Was switched today at Fnac without any problems and so far not a single problem and screen is looking great, Thanks for the help :-)

[astromark]

I gave in and returned mine. It was in fact the second one - my first had an obvious (and irritating) bright spot on the screen.

The one I returned was terrible in battery performance. As I wrote in the other thread, I found it was draining very quickly.

After doing a factory reset it happened twice more, and the last straw came when I came to use it on a train last week. The previous night it was at something like 70%. When I came to use it next day it was warning of low battery (10%) and I got a few minutes reading before it died. It wasn't convenient to get to my bag to get something else to read so I sat like a lemon for an hour.

So I've taken it back and got a refund. Sorry Kobo, it has a lovely large screen, but if it's going to drain 3 or 4 times in a couple of weeks I want nothing to do with it. I have tablets that last longer in standby. (Plus you nicked sudoku!)

I'm not using this any differently to my Glo HD: wifi on that is always on, it syncs to a Pocket account, and I have the temerity to play the odd game.

I may come back to one if they appear to improve but I think the battery is too anaemic anyway. The whole point of ereaders is weeks - months? - of reading. Having to charge a "nominal" Aura One once a week would (did) grate.

And I also discovered why Kindles don't actually let you turn the backlight totally off. For some reason my Aura would turn the backlight all the way off - in a darkened room, when I wasn't meaning to do that. And once you've done that, the only way to see what is on the screen is... to turn a light on. At least Amazon figured that one out early!

This may be a harsh assessment but it seems to me that Kobo's software isn't up to that of the Kindle and nor at the moment is the hardware - do they actually want to compete? I've owned one Kindle and three (now two) Kobos. If you're reading, please Kobo, don't force me to make it 2-2.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by astromark

And I also discovered why Kindles don't actually let you turn the backlight totally off. For some reason my Aura would turn the backlight all the way off - in a darkened room, when I wasn't meaning to do that. And once you've done that, the only way to see what is on the screen is... to turn a light on. At least Amazon figured that one out early!

If you're going to rant at least get your facts right. As with all modern Kobos, if you accidentally turn off the Kobo light in a darkened room, a simple swipe of the finger up the left edge of the screen will turn it back on again. You don't need to turn a light on to do that, do you? Or do I have a rare talent?

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

If you're going to rant at least get your facts right. As with all modern Kobos, if you accidentally turn off the Kobo light in a darkened room, a simple swipe of the finger up the left edge of the screen will turn it back on again. You don't need to turn a light on to do that, do you? Or do I have a rare talent?

Oh, snap.

But you are correct, and the help guide included with the device firmware specifically notes this feature.

Also, the battery drain issues have been fixed in firmware version 4.1.7729. Mine required a factory reset and clean installation of this version to resolve the problem (I suspect either a bad setting or corrupt database somewhere that didn't get fixed with a simple install). It's been just peachy ever since.

And you know what? If current and future generations of Kindles have lights that can't be turned off? I'm never buying another Kindle (never mind that I doubt Amazon will produce another large format device so I have no reason to get one anyway). One of the major points of electronic paper is that it's supposed to be like paper. It doesn't need to be self-illuminated. And I don't want it to be self-illuminated.

[Sweetpea]

I still haven't done the firmware update and haven't been using my One for at least two weeks (been listening to audiobooks atm). When I checked the battery yesterday evening, it was almost empty (at the last bar). Didn't check the actual percentage. It was not turned off, only sleeping. I think I can safely say I don't have any sleeping battery issues

[Katsunami]

The KA1 does drain about 2-3% every 24 hours when sleeping, even with Wifi off. That means it'll be empty in about 30-50 days (45 on average, or 6 weeks), which is a faster drain than my KPW1.

Normally I don't leave the reader lying around that long though, but I haven't been using it the last three weeks. Nothing wrong with the reader, but I have just found that I *really* don't like to use such a thin and large device without a cover. I've been using my KPW1.

I'm awaiting the Noreve cover I've ordered. It has been sent last Monday, so I expect it to arrive somewhere at the end of this week.

I do use my 10 inch tablet without a cover but that is because it's 5 years old. It's thick (9.5mm or so), heavy (620 grams), and it has Gorilla glass. That thing feels more like a small computer screen instead of a tablet.

Most people complain that a cover adds bulk and weight, but that is what I'm actually counting on. I want my KA1 to be a lot thicker and heavier. Now I'm not confident in using it. (No, I'm not clumsy, but I'm just used to a reader that feels like a small, hardcover bound book that has the strange ability to be folded back )

[astromark]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

If you're going to rant at least get your facts right. As with all modern Kobos, if you accidentally turn off the Kobo light in a darkened room, a simple swipe of the finger up the left edge of the screen will turn it back on again. You don't need to turn a light on to do that, do you? Or do I have a rare talent?

Apologies if it came across as a rant, it was more a sad reflection of my experiences.

I did of course try to turn the light up with the swipe of the finger - that was how I turned it down in the first place. It didn't work, multiple times. I'm not a total noob!

I also did have the latest version of the firmware installed. Didn't help, even after a reset.

If I'd thought my experience was unique I'd put it down to my unit, but it seems to be indicative of a common issue.

As it is I'm happy again with my Glo HD, and I've saved £180 in the process. Might come back to the One when they've matured the manufacturing.

Originally Posted by ratinox

And you know what? If current and future generations of Kindles have lights that can't be turned off? I'm never buying another Kindle (never mind that I doubt Amazon will produce another large format device so I have no reason to get one anyway). One of the major points of electronic paper is that it's supposed to be like paper. It doesn't need to be self-illuminated. And I don't want it to be self-illuminated.

My experience is limited as I don't own such a Kindle but IIRC that's their behaviour. It's always on with a very low brightness level, you wouldn't see it apart from in a totally dark room. That seems to be quite a smart bit of design if you ask me.