Libra 2 Kobo Libra 2 first impressions

[Almamida]

The factory reset did nothing, but the manual reset seems to have fixed my battery drain issues. Yay!

[Nirekeyaki]

Originally Posted by Strether

I had problems with mine draining overnight the first night. Just had one book on it. So I did a factory reset and it's cured the problem. After two days of reading, the battery's at 69%. You might try it.

Jim

After 24 hours, with 168 books and having read about 3 hours, my Libra 2 is at 90% battery life. With wifi off and automatic updates disabled.

I think it's pretty good for the first battery charge.

Thanks!

[redlob]

When I received the libra 2 on launch date the battery went down very fast the first night (about 60% when I was asleep). But after charging it again everything seemed fine. Until last night.

I've put 5 extra books on it, and starting reading the first one for about an hour. When I went to sleep, battery was 80%. Picked it up today around lunchtime and battery was down to 20%. Went out for a few hours, came back to see battery was at 10%... something definitely wrong here.

Might be some kind of indexing bug after adding books, but I've put more books on it last week and battery was fine then.

Edit: One thing worth mentioning is that I had my pocket account enabled. I always have WiFi off, and only enable it for syncing pocket. Could be pocket misbehaving when WiFi is off.

I've manually reset my device and did not configure WiFi/Pocket now. Only one book in the library. Let's see how this goes.

[polymerwitch]

Hi all, this is my first post on the forums as I'm just now diving back into the world of ereaders with the Libra 2.

I had one ereader that was an early kindle around 2010-ish. At some point it broke, and the hoops I had to jump through in Amazon's ecosystem really turned me off from it, so I went back to paper books. I've been craving after the PineNote, but I wanted something that would be single purpose for reading and I found out about the Libra 2. Anyways, it showed up today, and I love it!

Pros: It's a sleek and sturdy device. Yeah it's plastic, but it is well designed, feels solid, and I think I could drop it a meter without worrying about. The physical buttons are great. The front light is very even (I had heard from a few reviews that this was a concern but mine looks great). I can just pipe my books directly from Calibre and it works out of the box! The text is very clear on the screen. I just read a 60 page chapter and "staining" was very minimal before the 60 page refresh.

Cons: With the sleep cover it is a lil heavy. Maybe about the weight of a 300 page paperback. I wish the weight was a little more shifted toward the gripping side, but I can make it work one handed without really being conscious of it. As cool as e-ink is the "white" of the screen is a tint of greenish-gray-blue which bugs me, but it looks a bit better with the front-light and yellow-light turned up just a little bit.

All in all I'm super excited and enthusiastic to find a place like this forum. As a Linux user/admin for 20 years, some experience in developing C++ QT apps, and general tinkerer lady I eventually will probably hack this thing into my perfect reading device. I can't wait

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

general tinkerer lady I eventually will probably hack this thing into my perfect reading device. I can't wait

It is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that you may find here at MR one or two posts about hacking Kobos.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

and I think I could drop it a meter without worrying about.

Libra 2 is still using a glass substrate screen, so it's best not to drop it at all. Eink displays with glass substrate are very fragile. For some older devices it was possible to buy replacement screens from Aliexpress but even if you were able to procure a replacement part, it's difficult here since all the connectors have waterproofing seals on them.

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

As cool as e-ink is the "white" of the screen is a tint of greenish-gray-blue which bugs me, but it looks a bit better with the front-light and yellow-light turned up just a little bit.

Yeah, it's not meant to be used with the frontlight off unless you're out in the sun I guess.

My Aura H2O is "whiter" (but also lighter black so contrast might not be that different) but even on the H2O I always used the frontlight at around 5% or so. For the Libra 2 I'm closer to 10%-15% front light level - but due to different light characteristics that percentage can't be compared anyhow.

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

All in all I'm super excited and enthusiastic to find a place like this forum. As a Linux user/admin for 20 years, some experience in developing C++ QT apps, and general tinkerer lady I eventually will probably hack this thing into my perfect reading device. I can't wait

Happy hacking

[SusanReads]

I've tried several Kobo's over the years and I've always come to the conclusion that the Kindle screens are so much better, so I always ended up returning the Kobo's (or selling it after a while).

I ordered a Kobo Libra 2 and it just came in. I also got my new Kindle Paperwhite a few days ago and I mostly ordered the Libra to prove to myself that yes, Kindle still makes the best screens (totally my own opinion, the Kobo screens were always greenish and the lighting uneven to me).

But I'm completely blown way by how good the screen of the new Libra is! The text is so crisp. Way crisper than that of the PW5.

The screen is also more white instead of the yellow/cream the Kindle seems to go for these days. And the lighting is completely even in all conditons.

I have to admit, the screen of the Libra is better than that of any Kindle I've ever owned. The Voyage has a amazing contrast, but mine had pretty big lighting issues.
The screen of the Libra 2 looks like paper and the text is so close to the surface.

I'm a huge Kindle fan, so for me to say this is kind of like I've converted to a new religion (being an e-reader freak is a religion).

[Sirtel]

Eh. I couldn't resist and ordered the Libra 2 too, in addition to the Sage (which is traveling across Europe towards me at the moment). This time from Amazon.fr, where it's not in stock, but I can wait.

If the screen of the Libra 2 is really as good as people have said, I'll probably sell my Libra 1.

This gadget lust is just awful. MobileRead will be the death of my bank account.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Eh. I couldn't resist and ordered the Libra 2 too, in addition to the Sage (which is traveling across Europe towards me at the moment). This time from Amazon.fr, where it's not in stock, but I can wait.

If the screen of the Libra 2 is really as good as people have said, I'll probably sell my Libra 1.

This gadget lust is just awful. MobileRead will be the death of my bank account.

After my disasterous Sage experiance I am also looking at the Libra 2. Amazon UK don't have it yet, they did allows purchases without stock but the Add to Button is now gone. Its either them, Argos or John Lewis, whoever gets it first.

[Almamida]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Eh. I couldn't resist and ordered the Libra 2 too, in addition to the Sage (which is traveling across Europe towards me at the moment). This time from Amazon.fr, where it's not in stock, but I can wait.

If the screen of the Libra 2 is really as good as people have said, I'll probably sell my Libra 1.

This gadget lust is just awful. MobileRead will be the death of my bank account.

I can predict the future : You will sell your Libra H2O.



Edit : Thank you for helping France's economy during these hard times

[koboy]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Libra 2 is still using a glass substrate screen, so it's best not to drop it at all. Eink displays with glass substrate are very fragile. For some older devices it was possible to buy replacement screens from Aliexpress but even if you were able to procure a replacement part, it's difficult here since all the connectors have waterproofing seals on them.

if the 32GB micro SD card used for storage inside the Libra 2 gets corrupted/fails can it be replaced?

edit. my apologies your post (91) sadly answers my question.

best wishes koboy

[koboy]

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

Hi all, this is my first post on the forums as I'm just now diving back into the world of ereaders with the Libra 2.

I had one ereader that was an early kindle around 2010-ish. At some point it broke, and the hoops I had to jump through in Amazon's ecosystem really turned me off from it, so I went back to paper books. I've been craving after the PineNote, but I wanted something that would be single purpose for reading and I found out about the Libra 2. Anyways, it showed up today, and I love it!

Pros: It's a sleek and sturdy device. Yeah it's plastic, but it is well designed, feels solid, and I think I could drop it a meter without worrying about. The physical buttons are great. The front light is very even (I had heard from a few reviews that this was a concern but mine looks great). I can just pipe my books directly from Calibre and it works out of the box! The text is very clear on the screen. I just read a 60 page chapter and "staining" was very minimal before the 60 page refresh.

Cons: With the sleep cover it is a lil heavy. Maybe about the weight of a 300 page paperback. I wish the weight was a little more shifted toward the gripping side, but I can make it work one handed without really being conscious of it. As cool as e-ink is the "white" of the screen is a tint of greenish-gray-blue which bugs me, but it looks a bit better with the front-light and yellow-light turned up just a little bit.

All in all I'm super excited and enthusiastic to find a place like this forum. As a Linux user/admin for 20 years, some experience in developing C++ QT apps, and general tinkerer lady I eventually will probably hack this thing into my perfect reading device. I can't wait

when reading and the light is turned completely off is the screen greenish-gray-blue?

best wishes koboy

[polymerwitch]

Originally Posted by koboy

when reading and the light is turned completely off is the screen greenish-gray-blue?

This is my first ereader in a decade. So, I think the color is just the regular color of ereaders. I guess I would describe the color as "slate". It is just sort of the background undertone of the screen though. I really prefer the warmer tones of physical paper books that are not heavily bleached. I can get a close approximation of that with the front light turned to 10% and the warm light turned to 50%. It's not a huge defect in the product, but coming from paper books it's one area where I think e-ink screens can still improve.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by polymerwitch

This is my first ereader in a decade. So, I think the color is just the regular color of ereaders. I guess I would describe the color as "slate". It is just sort of the background undertone of the screen though. I really prefer the warmer tones of physical paper books that are not heavily bleached. I can get a close approximation of that with the front light turned to 10% and the warm light turned to 50%. It's not a huge defect in the product, but coming from paper books it's one area where I think e-ink screens can still improve.

thanks. white e-ink screens with the front light off seem to be a thing of the past. from what i've seen even the (so called) new Paperwhite 5 appears to be grey without the front light on.

best wishes koboy

[SCION]

Agreed.

My Libra 2 arrived today via Amazon. I've tossed my Oasis 3 to the side. The text is amazing. Don't know if it's a combination of the recessed screen and the Carta 1200, but whatever it is, looks better than any Kindle. Also, the feel in hand just works. Went with the white model. Glad I returned to Kobo. Wonderful improvements with the overall visual experience since I last used one.

Originally Posted by SusanReads

I've tried several Kobo's over the years and I've always come to the conclusion that the Kindle screens are so much better, so I always ended up returning the Kobo's (or selling it after a while).

I ordered a Kobo Libra 2 and it just came in. I also got my new Kindle Paperwhite a few days ago and I mostly ordered the Libra to prove to myself that yes, Kindle still makes the best screens (totally my own opinion, the Kobo screens were always greenish and the lighting uneven to me).

But I'm completely blown way by how good the screen of the new Libra is! The text is so crisp. Way crisper than that of the PW5.

The screen is also more white instead of the yellow/cream the Kindle seems to go for these days. And the lighting is completely even in all conditons.

I have to admit, the screen of the Libra is better than that of any Kindle I've ever owned. The Voyage has a amazing contrast, but mine had pretty big lighting issues.
The screen of the Libra 2 looks like paper and the text is so close to the surface.

I'm a huge Kindle fan, so for me to say this is kind of like I've converted to a new religion (being an e-reader freak is a religion).