Forma New Kobo reader: The Forma/Shape

[pickyaxe]

Regarding the plastic-backed screen: the Aura One is glass-backed, correct? Because my unit breaking was my only gripe with it. If this one's more durable, it's even for me.

[patrik]

Yes, all other Kobos use glass substrate.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

Regarding the plastic-backed screen: the Aura One is glass-backed, correct? Because my unit breaking was my only gripe with it. If this one's more durable, it's even for me.

Originally Posted by patrik

Yes, all other Kobos use glass substrate.

Isn't the Forma the first reader from any of the big guys (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo) to use a plastic substrate?

I won't buy a Forma. The screen is too big for my preferences. But I am happy to see Kobo being the first.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Isn't the Forma the first reader from any of the big guys (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo) to use a plastic substrate?

I won't buy a Forma. The screen is too big for my preferences. But I am happy to see Kobo being the first.

Depends on who you call big. Every big ereader (the 10.3" and 13.3") from Sony has the plastic substrate.

[pickyaxe]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Depends on who you call big. Every big ereader (the 10.3" and 13.3") from Sony has the plastic substrate.

In practice, are they actually less fragile? According to subjective user reports, at least.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

In practice, are they actually less fragile? According to subjective user reports, at least.

Yes. Google images for "broken eink screen" and most all of that could have been prevented by a flexible substrate.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Depends on who you call big.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo

Every big ereader (the 10.3" and 13.3") from Sony has the plastic substrate.

Sony exited the ereader market. They make niche e-ink tablets that you can use to read.

But good to know about the plastic substrate on them I guess.

[Ken Maltby]

Since a larger display would be more susceptible to torque damage, than a smaller device, I would expect any portable large screen to have a somewhat flexible substrata.

Luck;
Ken

[Readirect]

[QUOTE=llcj;3757274]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

This might be due to Canadian government protection of a Canadian company. I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised.


Are you saying that the Government of Canada is placing tariffs on Amazon products to protect Kobo? You do realise that Kobo is owned by Rakutan, a Japanese company.

The issue is actually the exchange rate. Currently, the Canadian dollar is 23% less than the US dollar and makes everything priced in USD more expensive by 23%.

Conversely, of course, anything purchased in USD from Canada -- Chapters Indigo's website, for instance -- is 23% cheaper excluding taxes.

It's got nothing to do with tariffs.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Readirect

The issue is actually the exchange rate. Currently, the Canadian dollar is 23% less than the US dollar and makes everything priced in USD more expensive by 23%.

Conversely, of course, anything purchased in USD from Canada -- Chapters Indigo's website, for instance -- is 23% cheaper excluding taxes.

Not quite. Canadian dollar prices are 23% less in US dollars, but US dollar prices are 30% more when translated to Canadian dollars.

[ottdmk]

What I find most interesting about the Forma is the Mobius screen. I hadn't heard that eInk had managed to make a Mobius screen with that high a PPI.

Should anything unfortunate ever happen to my H2Ov1, I shall be hard pressed to decided between the H2Ov2 and the Forma...

[llcj]

Originally Posted by Readirect

The issue is actually the exchange rate. Currently, the Canadian dollar is 23% less than the US dollar and makes everything priced in USD more expensive by 23%.

Conversely, of course, anything purchased in USD from Canada -- Chapters Indigo's website, for instance -- is 23% cheaper excluding taxes.

It's got nothing to do with tariffs.

When the exchange rate is taken into account, the Oasis 2 is still $70.00CAD more at Amazon.ca than at Amazon.com. I think this is why the speculation about tariffs.

[DNSB]

[QUOTE=llcj;3757576]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

The premium price on the Oasis would have to be the result of a tariff selectively applied to it as other electronics are competitively priced with U.S. prices once the exchange rate is factored in. This makes no sense.

A quick query at Revenue Canada says there is no special tariff on the Oasis 2. OTOH, I have to wonder why the Oasis 2 8GB does not have the cellular option while the 32GB does (and in Canada, that is the only option for the 32GB version).

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by BadBilly

which would be like having two four-inch readers side-by-side, no? Can't see much value in that. The landscape seems more useful for comics and PDFs, as well as the visually impaired. New code is new bugs, so leaving it out is probably smarter.

No, it is like having two 5.77 inch screens side by side, so almost the same as two of the old (still current?) standard 6 inch screens side by side. 8" screen is 4.8" x 6.4". In landscape, this can be laid out as two 3.2" x 4.8" screens. sqrt(3.2*3.2 + 4.8*4.8) = 5.769

The calculations might be easier to follow if we pretend the Forma has a 10" screen and
is 8" wide and 6" tall in landscape. That would be two 4"x 6"screens, or 7.2" diagonal.

The motivation is seeing as much text as possible between page turns without really wide lines.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by DNSB

A quick query at Revenue Canada says there is no special tariff on the Oasis 2.

Perhaps the Oasis is higher priced to make up a little bit for eating the exchange rate on the Paperwhite.