Did you buy one of the new Kobos (or do you plan to)?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ryuji35

I ordered the Libra 2, however I asked the CS to cancel it as I wanted a Sage since the primary reason for buying this ereader is for my Manga needs (and ePub) but now I am torn with all the reviews about how bad the device is. Should I just go for an Onyx Boox Air? I will add a couple of bucks yes but at least less issues. I don't know what to do now.

What reviews? The Sage is by no means a bad device. Of course it has its faults, so does every other device out there and I'm sure Onyx readers have their share.

Yes, the battery life could be better. That's the biggest issue with the Sage IMO. But I'm not sure an Android device like Onyx readers has much better battery life.

[Uncle Robin]

[QUOTE=mezzanine;4172810

And no one ever rationalizes the weaknesses of a product after they've purchased it to self-justify their decision making. We are all perfectly rational and logical at all times and any suggestion otherwise is a personal insult. [/QUOTE]


Again, your disconnect with the reality of MR is breath-taking. Reviews of new devices here are anything but blind paeans. Instead, the vast majority of them have detailed at some length the things the purchaser DOESN'T like about their purchase, even when overall they are happy with it. But of course, that doesn't fit with your "only people who don't actually own one can be trusted to know what they're talking about" mantra.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Again, your disconnect with the reality of MR is breath-taking. Reviews of new devices here are anything but blind paeans. Instead, the vast majority of them have detailed at some length the things the purchaser DOESN'T like about their purchase, even when overall they are happy with it. But of course, that doesn't fit with your "only people who don't actually own one can be trusted to know what they're talking about" mantra.

Don't be silly, you touched the device therefore you're now terribly biased toward it and will do naught else but sing its praises.

I mean we all know a spec sheet is the be all end all of every device. It will inform us how the device is balanced, and how it feels in our hands.

I dunno why they offer test drives for cars, one need only look at the specifications for it to know exactly how it will handle.

It's a good thing mezzanine came along to tell us all that everyone here who has bought a device is incapable of being objective, and that they supply actual evidence of all their claims, even the ludicrous ones which are literally dismissible literally just by looking at the spec sheets they put so much stock in.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Don't be silly, you touched the device therefore you're now terribly biased toward it and will do naught else but sing its praises.

Busted! I described myself as "happy enough with my Sage" and said its battery life was "VERY disappointing". I'm now deeply ashamed of such rabid uncritical effusiveness and wish MR had censored my OTT shill.

[dmapr]

Originally Posted by martinot

I used to have the Aura One and it is a great device, but I changed it for a Forma. I really prefer the Forma for the physical buttons and the better grip with the wedge. But if you have tried it, and it is not for you, keep the A1. It is a great reader!

Haven't tried Forma. I do miss the physical buttons of my old Sony PRS readers, but I've learned to live without them. What I do prefer about A1 though is that it fits into my pants pocket, while Forma won't. But the main reason I haven't upgraded is I don't see anything in the new readers that is worth $200+ over A1 at this point for me.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's actually true, unless you know exactly how much is too much for you. For example, I know that over 250g might be too heavy and over 300g is certainly too heavy for me. But anything less than 300g depends on personal experience. i.e. how it feels in my hand.

As to subjectivity, all humans are subjective on all subjects. Else we would be robots. That doesn't lessen the value of learning about other people's experiences and considering how much of that is applicable to you personally.

And I haven't noticed much purchase justifying going on here on MR. Many members talk about various faults of their purchased devices and even return them. When someone is content with their purchase and mentions good things about it, that doesn't necessarily mean they justify and rationalize. What, no one can ever be satisfied with their purchase without rationalizing?

As to the independent reviewers you praise, I've noticed they tend to be much less critical of the devices they review than MR posters who buy them.

There's a lot of self-justification and ego validation on any social media forum devoted to consumer products. I don't follow this forum outside of product releases I'm interested in, but I've observed posters be accused of having an irritational pro-Kobo bias (JSWolf) and an anti-Kobo bias (koboy).

I don't assume people aren't capable of being honest in their feedback about a product they own, unless they start to use flawed reasoning when dismissing criticism, like in the case of the Sage's weight. Note that I didn't suggest that dismissing the Sage's weight is flawed, but the reasoning used to do it.

Using your reasoning for pure subjectivity, I could suggest that the speed of the first generation kindle is similar to the speed of the new Paperwhite because I don't subjectively notice much difference in the way I use the device, despite the objectively measurable difference in the speed of the CPU used. Does it make sense why that could be misleading to someone trying to make a purchasing decision by reading what the "experts" think on a forum?

You can usually get a sense of whether someone is operating within their ego when they become defensive and emotional when their reasoning is challenged and avoid actually addressing the substance of the criticism with reasoning and logic.

[Calenorn]

Play nicely, children.

[ryuji35]

I ended up getting a Libra 2. It might not be 8" screen but I really hope the contrast will be worth it for my Manga needs.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

Using your reasoning for pure subjectivity, I could suggest that the speed of the first generation kindle is similar to the speed of the new Paperwhite because I don't subjectively notice much difference in the way I use the device, despite the objectively measurable difference in the speed of the CPU used. Does it make sense why that could be misleading to someone trying to make a purchasing decision by reading what the "experts" think on a forum?

I'm certainly more interested in real-life experiences of actual buyers than in the numbers on the spec sheet. If enough people say they don't notice any difference in speed, I might decide not to buy, and it doesn't matter how great the specs are. Because a device is not just a sum of its parts; those parts must be optimized to work smoothly together, or the actual user experience is going to suffer. And no spec sheet will tell you how it feels to use the device in real life. If it did, there would be no point in reviewing anything.

[FireFrog]

Originally Posted by ryuji35

I ended up getting a Libra 2. It might not be 8" screen but I really hope the contrast will be worth it for my Manga needs.

The contrast looks pretty good to me. Slight spoilers if you are reading Fire Force. This from Vol. 23.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I'm certainly more interested in real-life experiences of actual buyers than in the numbers on the spec sheet. If enough people say they don't notice any difference in speed, I might decide not to buy, and it doesn't matter how great the specs are. Because a device is not just a sum of its parts; those parts must be optimized to work smoothly together, or the actual user experience is going to suffer. And no spec sheet will tell you how it feels to use the device in real life. If it did, there would be no point in reviewing anything.

You don't see how your argument is subject to reductio ad absurdum.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

You don't see how your argument is subject to reductio ad absurdum.

I'm pragmatic and speak about how things in real life are. Not making an argument for the sake of the discussion.

And I don't really understand what your argument is. Do you never seek out other people's opinions on anything? You make your purchase decisions based solely on the specs and product descriptions? If so, we don't really have anything to discuss, because we're never going to see eye to eye in this. I value the experiences and opinions (yes, naturally totally subjective) of others; my decision might be based on them or not, but usually I want to know them, at least to an extent (I don't consult everyone's viewpoint before buying milk or other small stuff, of course).

And I'm also perfectly capable of ignoring other opinions if I feel they're not relevant to me and my situation. Again, I like to know those opinions before deciding to ignore them.

[guti]

I bought the Kobo Sage to replace my Kobo Forma, but I reluctantly returned it.
The screen has a better light and has a better contrast.
Excellent build quality, although I would have preferred it lighter like the Forma (The official cover of the Sage is also much heavier than the official cover of the Forma).
I'm not interested in taking notes, so I didn't buy the pen and didn't get to test it from that point of view.
I returned it due to the ridiculously low battery life. I think the problem is due to the combination of a too small battery with an inadequately optimized software (vs power saving) for the new processor and the pen support.
I will re-evaluate the purchase if this aspect will improve with future firmware updates.

[Ksquared]

I selected "my current readers are fine..."
I have had an original 6" Aura, and an Aura HD that I gave away recently after buying a Libra H2O. I used to switch between the Aura and Aura HD, but now that I have the Libra H2O, I'm finding it fits my needs and the Aura may become a travel only device.

I bought the Libra H2O about a month prior to the Libra 2 being announced - I was excited that I was buying a current device rather than an outdated one! I am not inclined to update further. I am really happy with the weight and the screen. And especially the Overdrive Library support.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

You don't see how your argument is subject to reductio ad absurdum.

Wouldn’t this be more applicable to your own argument which favors spec sheets over reviews by people despite the obvious fact that a spec sheet can’t tell you how the sum of the parts feels and operates.

Yes obviously people are biased. But people are also capable of distilling good information out of any review worth its salt. And peoples biases become clear the more they say, such as is the case with JSWOLF and koboy.

You continue to ignore questions posed to you though. Which only serves to further diminish your opinions to me and I’m sure anyone else who has cared to follow this discussion.

Instead you make glib remarks trying to dismiss anyone else who disagrees with you.