Libra Kobo Libra H2O - first reviews

[MGlitch]

The Forma and Libra use the same screen at different sizes. I’d be surprised if one was actually sharper than the other

[disconnected]

I was almost 100% sure I was going to order a Libra but I’m waffling now. I wanted to buy it from Walmart for ease of returning but they don’t have it in white (I already have many, many black ereaders so I thought a change would be nice – and something like my incredible raspberry red Sony PRS-650 is obviously too much to expect). Reading about the usual variation in screen lighting reminds me of why I hesitate to order directly from Kobo, although I’ve been reasonably lucky in the past.

I have a Forma and I love it but it’s just a bit too big to fit into any everyday purse that I have. The Libra should just about work.

Could anyone who has handled both a Forma and a Libra comment about the difference in how they feel? Of all the ereaders I’ve ever had the Forma is by far the easiest for me to hold, even though it’s also the largest. The light weight (for its size) and rubbery coating, and the size, shape, and angle of the side bit with the buttons, all make it balance easily in my hand (in stark contrast to the Oasis 2 of similar weight that I had briefly, which I found to be heavy, slippery, sharp, unbalanced, and unwieldy – weakling that I am).

The Libra’s proportions, especially the relative thicknesses of the screen and button sections and the size to weight ratio, are somewhat different (and there also seems to be a difference of opinion in this thread on whether the Libra plastic is hard or rubbery) so I’d like to know if people find it more difficult to hold than the Forma.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

[Lima7]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

The Forma and Libra use the same screen at different sizes. I’d be surprised if one was actually sharper than the other

I’m just saying what I saw when I put them side to side

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Lima7

You know sometimes when you don’t press your screen hard enough, or at the right place, or etc, and then it’s full of finger prints... that’s all gone with the buttons! For me, it’s way more user friendly.

Well, it's called a touch-screen. Not a press-screen. Modern touchscreens should register touches without applying any kind of force. Pressing harder shouldn't do anything, pressing too much may cause harm to the device... (eink with glass substrate is fragile, best to avoid any kind of stress)

Have fun with the device, reading all these messages, I almost want to order one too. :---)

[Lima7]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Well, it's called a touch-screen. Not a press-screen. Modern touchscreens should register touches without applying any kind of force. Pressing harder shouldn't do anything, pressing too much may cause harm to the device... (eink with glass substrate is fragile, best to avoid any kind of stress)

Have fun with the device, reading all these messages, I almost want to order one too. :---)

Haha fair enough. But I just find that the screen on Kobos isn’t as responsive as an iPad or something. Anyway. I prefer the buttons.

[tomtin]

I have had and used a first generation h20 for about 5 years now. Still works great and actually is more snappy since I installed the last update!

But the libra and forma looks so good and I miss actual buttons. I think it's time to upgrade...

[SusanReads]

Originally Posted by disconnected

I was almost 100% sure I was going to order a Libra but I’m waffling now. I wanted to buy it from Walmart for ease of returning but they don’t have it in white (I already have many, many black ereaders so I thought a change would be nice – and something like my incredible raspberry red Sony PRS-650 is obviously too much to expect). Reading about the usual variation in screen lighting reminds me of why I hesitate to order directly from Kobo, although I’ve been reasonably lucky in the past.

I have a Forma and I love it but it’s just a bit too big to fit into any everyday purse that I have. The Libra should just about work.

Could anyone who has handled both a Forma and a Libra comment about the difference in how they feel? Of all the ereaders I’ve ever had the Forma is by far the easiest for me to hold, even though it’s also the largest. The light weight (for its size) and rubbery coating, and the size, shape, and angle of the side bit with the buttons, all make it balance easily in my hand (in stark contrast to the Oasis 2 of similar weight that I had briefly, which I found to be heavy, slippery, sharp, unbalanced, and unwieldy – weakling that I am).

The Libra’s proportions, especially the relative thicknesses of the screen and button sections and the size to weight ratio, are somewhat different (and there also seems to be a difference of opinion in this thread on whether the Libra plastic is hard or rubbery) so I’d like to know if people find it more difficult to hold than the Forma.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

Sorry I can't comment on any comparison to the Forma since I've never held one. But The Libra is definitely hard plastic, and that's just fine with me. The rubbery ones always leave so many fingerprints. I'm very happy with the plastic.

I can agree on what you said about the Oasis. Cold, sharp, doesn't feel nice. The Libra is not that different in size and weight, but it doesn't feel (or look) cold like the Oasis.

[Michal Jancik]

- Today I got a new KOBO Libra H2O and I'm really disappointed.
Right at the beginning, I had to restart the reader 5x because the touch screen stopped responding.

- Product quality is also very poor, for example, compared to Kobo Clara HD, which I would say that it has a slightly better display.
- Kobo Clara HD has a lighter background. Kobo Libra H2O has a gray base color too dark.

Spoiler:

- "Kobo Clara HD" has even better backlight, more cold. When I enter the Comfortlight at 100%, "Kobo Clara HD" is more orange than "Kobo Libra H2O", which is only yellow (as a virgin piss / i'm not sure if they write it like that :-))
Comfortlight PRO
[Orange Light]:

Spoiler:

[White Light] :

Spoiler:

* Kobo Clara HD has a 100% pretty cool image when set to white, Libra shows a bizarre yellowish color. The yellow diodes are OFF.

- After enlarging the font (5x zoom), Kobo Clara HD has a clearer font, it may make a brighter background, but Libra is certainly not better in this direction.
Kobo Clara HD 5x Zoom font LEFT, Libra 5x Zoom RIGHT:

Spoiler:

- Overall, I must say I'm disappointed. I was expecting a better screen, better contrast and normal backlight. Taking into account the Kobo Libra H2O price, the previous model Kobo H2O v2 has a sharper font and significantly better backlight and contrast.

Unfortunately I have to say for myself, do not expect a better screen like Kobo Clara HD. In the previous model H2O (2017) I personally think that was significantly better screen and even backlight, sharpness of the font.


Kobo Libra H2O for its price is really very average.

[tourneur]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

- Kobo Clara HD has a lighter background. Kobo Libra H2O has a gray base color too dark.[/B]

You are comparing a white Libra with a black Clara. As stated before there is an optical illusion at play. I took a photo (a few posts earlier) of a black Libra and a black Clara next to each other and there is no difference in the darkness of the screen.

[SusanReads]

I'm always so surprised when people mention the amazing screen of the Clara HD. I had a Clara HD and the screen was just awful. Color of the screen all over the place, not the best contrast, extreme light bleed at the bottom. Overall I hated it.

My Libra's screen is way better than what I remember of the Clara HD. I did ended up ordering 3 devices because the screen colour really differs per device. But the screen of the one I kept is a good white...

[Michal Jancik]

This problem was reflected in the first version of Kobo Clara HD. This problem was fixed in later models that were released later.

I had the same problem (Kobo Clara purchased right after release). Another Kobo Clara HD model (purchased March 2019) has already been fixed / fixed

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by tourneur

You are comparing a white Libra with a black Clara. As stated before there is an optical illusion at play. I took a photo (a few posts earlier) of a black Libra and a black Clara next to each other and there is no difference in the darkness of the screen.

In the dark you can not see whether the reader is white or black. In the attached photo you can clearly see that Clara HD has a more orange color.

[tourneur]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

In the dark you can not see whether the reader is white or black. In the attached photo you can clearly see that Clara HD has a more orange color.

I'm talking about the screen with the front light turned off.

[mathil]

@Michal Jancik: As others told you and as has been discussed at length in the thread, white bezels can give the impression that the screen is darker when compared to a model with black bezels, it's an optical illusion (I'm referring to the devices with the lighting turned off). The zoomed letter on the Libra also looks sharper to me compared to the Clara, though to be fair the picture quality is quite poor, so it can be difficult to tell.
If you don't like the lighting however, considering that there can be variation between devices, you might be better off returning it and getting a new one. As long as the lighting is even, differences in color between different models can definitely be expected. But you also mentioned that the screen stopped responding and you had to reboot 5 times: even better reason to return it IMO. You might have a faulty device.

[SusanReads]

I only ever see pics or video reviews where the brightness is turned up to 100%. But that's the worst way to test the frontlight imo.

When I turn up my screens to 100%, the lighting looks amazingly even, while they all have a slight discoloring somewhere on the screen when I turn the brightness down to 15% (that's the brightness I read by during the day).