Libra 2 Kobo Libra 2 first impressions

[John F]

Originally Posted by davidfor

...

Personally, I don't like Dark mode. But, I am surprised this is something that someone would turn on and of frequently enough for it to need to be more accessible. Honestly, I thought it was a set-and-forget choice.

I would think that for those who use dark mode, it is fairly common that it gets used at leadt twice a daynce in the evening to turn it on, and once in the morning toturn it off. At least that is how often I use it. I appreciate that NickleMenu helps to reduce the number of clicks to disable/enable it.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Considering Amazon FR has already shipped the Libra 2 I’m a bit peed off that Amazon UK estimate between Dec and Jan for the White and no idea for the Black

It may come soon, nevertheless. It was out of stock with no estimate in Amazon FR as well, then suddenly they had an estimate as the end of November and then, in one day, it was changed twice, and was in stock the next day.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It may come soon, nevertheless. It was out of stock with no estimate in Amazon FR as well, then suddenly they had an estimate as the end of November and then, in one day, it was changed twice, and was in stock the next day.

Thanks. Thats what I keep hoping. I shouldn't be so impatient, its not like I don't have multiple ereaders to use, includng a new Oasis!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Thanks. Thats what I keep hoping. I shouldn't be so impatient, its not like I don't have multiple ereaders to use, includng a new Oasis!

Oh, I know very well how that feels...

I'm tracking my Libra 2 several times a day (it's in Poland right now). While reading on the Sage and ofc I also have the Oasis 3, the Nook, the Libra 1 etc. Having other ereaders doesn't help AT ALL.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by John F

I would think that for those who use dark mode, it is fairly common that it gets used at leadt twice a daynce in the evening to turn it on, and once in the morning toturn it off. At least that is how often I use it. I appreciate that NickleMenu helps to reduce the number of clicks to disable/enable it.

Right. I use it even more often. During the day I turn it on whenever I'm in the room with fewer windows and turn it off when I'm in the bright room.

Would you share your nicklemenu entry for toggling dark mode? Thanks

[John F]

Originally Posted by Barty

Right. I use it even more often. During the day I turn it on whenever I'm in the room with fewer windows and turn it off when I'm in the bright room.

Would you share your nicklemenu entry for toggling dark mode? Thanks

Note that I am currently using a Forma.

   menu_item :reader   :Toggle Dark Mode     :nickel_setting     :toggle :dark_mode
      chain_success :nickel_open :library:library

So, while I'm reading I:

1. Tap on the bottom center to bring up all the menus
2. tap on "..." (in the top right)
3. Tap on "Toggle Dark Mode"
This toggles dark mode and bring up My Books
4. Tap on the book I am currently reading

I then change the brightness.

[Krios]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Oh, I know very well how that feels...

I'm tracking my Libra 2 several times a day (it's in Poland right now). While reading on the Sage and ofc I also have the Oasis 3, the Nook, the Libra 1 etc. Having other ereaders doesn't help AT ALL.

I would be great if Amazon used only dhl express for international shipping, i ordered headphones from amazon.de yesterday, they were shipped same evening from Barcelona, this morning they were in in my country (Croatia).

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I love how GoodEReader is complimenting the screen of the Libra 2 vs.the PW5.

And it seems that the flush screen is not nearly as good as the slightly sunken screen.

For me that is a trade-off. I prefer a flush screen, it’s easier to wipe down, and am willing to give back some clarity for that convenience, and for it being more damage resistant than Voyage (damage resistance was beyond scope of the review; you’d probably need to be prepared to destroy several of each to make any determination).

It seems to me there are shadows cast by the sunken screen as well; they seem about the same in the video, but the lighting for a video is not ‘real world’ lighting, so it’s inconclusive. A question I would have is whether Libra 2 is less damage resistant if it has a thinner top layer on top of the actual display.

Amazon has confirmed it has Carta 1200.

Note the PW5 in the review is not running the latest firmware, so a number of the UI observations are invalid. And for some reason, Amazon has pre-announced some forthcoming changes, which we can only speculate about. (The existing design changes have not been universally welcomed by some Kindle users, but people who don’t like some change or other are disproportionately vocal: it’s a human thing)

PW5 does not have ‘fast page turns’ (except for manga) but it does have Page Flip (for most Kindle ebooks), which lets you preview 9 pages at a time, and then you can move 9 pages at a time, which is pretty fast even on PW4, and should be significantly faster on PW5. And this includes buttons to navigate to next/previous chapter without having to time when you lift your finger off the screen or going to TOC. Of course it would be nice to have both ways to navigate. Amazon has it for manga, why not add it for other formats?

All this aside, most people will be predisposed to one or the other, for many reasons. “Which is better” isn’t really a question they are asking themselves. But I thought the review was reasonably fair.

[Deobulakenyo]

Libra 2 vs PW5

[Sirtel]

My Libra 2 arrived today.

First impressions:

• The frontlight is very nice, more even than the Libra 1 and the Sage, also brighter and warmer than the latter (this goes for both the ordinary and the warm light - no weak pissy yellow here, and no greenish tint I could see. I really wish the Sage had a similar frontlight).
  
• The contrast is certainly much better than the Libra 1 and seems very slightly better than the Sage, but it's not easy to notice the difference between the last two. They seem very similar contrast-wise.
  
• The front bezel is matte, not glossy like the Sage. Yay!
  
• The buttons aren't as stiff as the Sage buttons.

Ergonomics are not that different from the Libra 1, the Libra 2 is slightly heavier.

I'm very satisfied with the Libra 2, it's really a very nice reader. I'm not yet sure if I put epubs or kepubs on it. Probably epubs, as kepubs almost certainly won't look so good as they do on a 8'' screen of the Sage (I use fully justified text and disable hyphenation). But I'll have to try both before deciding.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by tomsem

For me that is a trade-off. I prefer a flush screen, it’s easier to wipe down, and am willing to give back some clarity for that convenience, and for it being more damage resistant than Voyage (damage resistance was beyond scope of the review; you’d probably need to be prepared to destroy several of each to make any determination).

It's not only flush vs sunken; the Libra 2 (sunken) and the Sage (flush) have very similar contrast, and both are apparently better than the PW5 (according to comments from another review).

OTOH, going back to the previous generation of eink, the flush Oasis has clearly better contrast than the sunken Libra 1.

So frankly, I have no idea where those differences come from.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

My Libra 2 arrived today.



I'm not yet sure if I put epubs or kepubs on it. Probably epubs, as kepubs almost certainly won't look so good as they do on a 8'' screen of the Sage (I use fully justified text and disable hyphenation). But I'll have to try both before deciding.

I'm new to Kobo. I was under the impression that kepub is best. You're saying (if I'm reading it right) that with justified text and no hyphen epub looks better. Why would that be?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Barty

I'm new to Kobo. I was under the impression that kepub is best. You're saying (if I'm reading it right) that with justified text and no hyphen epub looks better. Why would that be?

Kepub is faster, has reading stats and image zoom. Epub has better typography (kerning, ligatures - which I personally don't really care about) and looks nicer with justified text (letter and word spacing are implemented better). The reason for this difference is that epub and kepub use different reading engines. Kepub uses Access and epub uses Adobe RMSDK.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Barty

I'm new to Kobo. I was under the impression that kepub is best. You're saying (if I'm reading it right) that with justified text and no hyphen epub looks better. Why would that be?

Partly that epub on a Kobo using the Adobe RMSDK renderer does a better job with font features such as ligatures. Unless I have an ebook with large illustrations that benefit from the kepub renderer being able to zoom them, I use epub. But then, typography has been an interest of mine for decades.

Again, my personal preference. I've seen quite a few posts from people who prefer kepub.

[Pjama]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's not only flush vs sunken; the Libra 2 (sunken) and the Sage (flush) have very similar contrast, and both are apparently better than the PW5 (according to comments from another review).

OTOH, going back to the previous generation of eink, the flush Oasis has clearly better contrast than the sunken Libra 1.

So frankly, I have no idea where those differences come from.

The glass screen on the Oasis definitely makes a difference wrt clarity. It is much crisper looking than the PW4 (which my other half has), and, I assume, than the PW5. IMO the plastic top layer prevents the PW5 being a premium device.

My Oasis screen looks almost as good (crisp, clear) as the Voyage I used to have.

My Libra 1 screen also looks great, although the front light is a little uneven, most of the time I can adjust the brightness and add just a hint of amber to make it look balanced.

Both of which mean no new Libra 2 for me! I can’t justify buying something I have three of (Oasis, Libra and Basic white), all of which are excellent in their own way, and which work perfectly.