Libra 2 Kobo Libra 2 first impressions

[koboy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I like the 'one screen=one page' behavior of kepubs.

best wishes koboy

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by SusanReads

Yes, I use kepubs. I don't know if it's the settings, but epubs look way worse than kepubs on my Kobo. I haven't tried an epub in a while so I don't have a screenshot ready but I remember it looking different from kepubs.

But even with the changing page numbers, I still love my Libra 2.

You need patches for epubs.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I've found I don't need or want page numbers, percentages or time left at all. The progress bar is all I have displayed. The rest takes too much of the screen real estate, even with patching. I'd rather have the text there.

I need to have some indication of how much longer it will take me to finish a chapter. So if I'm at piano lessons with the kid and there's about fifteen minutes left, I know if there's enough time to read another chapter or not.

I did use page numbers on my Kindles, but there they didn't waste any space.

How did Kindles display page numbers without 'wasting space'?

On the Nook, when you tap the center of the screen, a slider comes up that tells you how many pages are left in the chapter. You can also turn the footer off completely, though it does not give the space back to add another line of text, unfortunately.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I need to have some indication of how much longer it will take me to finish a chapter. So if I'm at piano lessons with the kid and there's about fifteen minutes left, I know if there's enough time to read another chapter or not.

I can leave off in the middle of a paragraph if need be and continue later from there. And usually do. It's pretty rare I can be bothered with chapters ending and beginning.

How did Kindles display page numbers without 'wasting space'?

Showing it in the lower left corner, under the last line. Of course the margins on a Kindle are a bit larger than they can be on a Kobo. And there's no progress bar on modern Kindles.

If you leave the reading progress blank, you won't gain a line on a Kindle either. But still, it takes little space compared to Nooks and Kobos.

[BiliBug]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

...And there's no progress bar on modern Kindles...

I miss the original progress bar from my Kindle 3. Not only did it show progress in the book, but it also showed the chapter breaks. You could easily tell if the next chapter was going to be short or long, and how many chapters were left in the book.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I like the 'one screen=one page' behavior of kepubs. But isn't there a setting to use ePub page numbers on kepubs? I don't have my Kobo handy to check. But I thought that was in the reader settings.

You could never use "ePub page numbers" on kepubs. They did have a reading settings independent page numbering system for a while, but, it was not the same as the RMSDK method used for epubs. Kobo used a simple 320 words per page (from memory that was the number used). Which, from memory, usually worked out to at least 25% more pages than for the equivalent epub.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by SusanReads

Yes, I use kepubs. I don't know if it's the settings, but epubs look way worse than kepubs on my Kobo. I haven't tried an epub in a while so I don't have a screenshot ready but I remember it looking different from kepubs.

My guess is the reason it looked worse is that the epub renderer respected the widows and orphans in the stylesheet or used a value of 2 if they were not set. That means there can be extra empty space at the end of the page. Changing that in the book solves it. Or, more recent firmware have a hidden option to set it.

Otherwise, many people think the rendering of epubs is better because the fonts are handled better and the RMSDK uses things like ligatures. Of course, many people don't care about this and don't see the difference.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Showing it in the lower left corner, under the last line. Of course the margins on a Kindle are a bit larger than they can be on a Kobo. And there's no progress bar on modern Kindles.

If you leave the reading progress blank, you won't gain a line on a Kindle either. But still, it takes little space compared to Nooks and Kobos.

I don't know. That looks pretty similar to my Nook. Granted, I'm using a smaller screen and maybe a larger font than you. But the footer looks like it takes the same amount of space.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know. That looks pretty similar to my Nook. Granted, I'm using a smaller screen and maybe a larger font than you. But the footer looks like it takes the same amount of space.

On my 7.8 Nook, the footer is larger, and the header as well. I tried with the size 4 Georgia and with my custom embedded font, but they're larger in both cases. Not by much, but still. If I could turn the header off, I would be ok with the footer, but together they take too much space.

[Barty]

I vote for page turn left in chapter. That is more useful to me than estimated time which I find annoying (it's been 1 minute left in chapter for like 3 minutes!) or "book" page in chapter which doesn't really map to my current activity

Now for the whole book, I like the "book" page count because that gives me a rough idea of how long the book is.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by anacreon

Exactly, that's why I can't read many paper books, hardback or not. I have small very arthritic hands, and arthritis all over, which is why I am also sensitive to the number of coins in my purse. You always seem to think that everybody is like you. Luckily we are diverse.

With the origami cover, you can prop up the Kobo and not have to hold it to read.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Barty

You don't hold up a hard back book one handed to read, do you?

Nope. But that's due to the design. If it was a Reader with the exact same weight, I could hold it in one hand.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by Barty

I vote for page turn left in chapter.

best wishes koboy

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

On my 7.8 Nook, the footer is larger, and the header as well. I tried with the size 4 Georgia and with my custom embedded font, but they're larger in both cases. Not by much, but still.

Have you updated your Nook? The footer shrank in one of the recent updates, when they introduced more functionality.

I went Googling for images of Nooks because I didn't like how my camera fish-eyed the image. All the Nook images I found online do have a larger footer that only displays page count (92 of 427).

If I could turn the header off, I would be ok with the footer, but together they take too much space.

I wonder if that is coming? I don't mind the header. But it would be nice to have the option to turn it off and display more text.

Going back to Kobo, one thing I wish they would pick up from the Nook is tapping on the footer cycles through the options. On my Clara, you have to access settings. With Kobo it may be harder though, as they have to account for the progress bar. Touching the footer could accidentally make your book jump to a different page.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Have you updated your Nook? The footer shrank in one of the recent updates, when they introduced more functionality.

Yes, it has the latest update. The footer is the same as on your picture, only a bit larger.