Libra Kobo Libra H2O - first reviews

[anacreon]

With a few books in I started dipping into a few books.

First, a big disappointment: the plastic at the back of the Libra is hard and slippery, not at all like the slightly rubbery back of the Forma, so much less comfortable to hold. I was thinking perhaps a skin (not the first time I had a slippery Kobo), but then the recessed on/off button would make it complicated, and it is long and expensive to import to France, just for a bit of plastic, preferably invisible.

Second, the screen is beautiful and the book pages look very well, crisper than my Forma I don't know why.

I haven't had a white reader for years. The tint of the device compared to the screen changes according to outside light and the levels of screen light and comfort light. I will play with it at night too.

Third, I like the "recessed screen", and the fact that what is a black border all around on the screen in the Forma becomes a continuation of the plastic border with an angle up from the buttons, so there is no risk of my thumb slipping onto the screen.

[mathil]

Thanks for the reviews, guys - I'll swing by the bookstore tomorrow and see if they already have the Libra, as soon as I get it I'll report here as well. I'm glad to hear there doesn't seem to be any extra layer on the screen.

[SusanReads]

The crispness of the screen is definitely better than I expected.
I'm still not sure if I should go for the black or the white.... I keep switching and there are pros and cons with both colors.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by SusanReads

The crispness of the screen is definitely better than I expected.
I'm still not sure if I should go for the black or the white.... I keep switching and there are pros and cons with both colors.

Most ereaders I've used (Nook ST, Kobo Aura, Kobo Clara, Nook Glowlight 3) have a black bezel. One (Nook Glowlight Plus 2015) has a white bezel. What I've discovered is when I'm reading I forget there is a bezel.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

same here , except my 6.8" is an Aura HD.
I'd like to see comparisons between these older 6.8" and the new 7 inch though , in case there's anything there that may tempt me more than getting an extra 0.2"

There's Carta screen with better contrast and faster response. There is the comfortlight in case you find the font light too blueish. It's lighter and thinner. It supports Overdrive. It has page turn buttons. It's not a standard shape. It's kind of a wedge shape (thanks Amazon for that ). Memory is not an SD card. It's fully waterproof.

Those are the major differences. If I've left any out, someone else may be able to day.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by robko

Yes. Kobo has typically kept all the devices (except the oldest) on the same firmware. There have been some minor exceptions to this (on-device library borrowing for example), but generally the firmware will be very similar

Only the Mini is kept on a rather old firmware. But others have run the newer firmware on the mini no problem. So really, all Kobo Readers can run the new 4.17.x firmware. It's just with the Mini, you have to manually update.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by tourneur

14 minute review of the Libra. In French, but the best look yet.

He really needs to cut his nails and get rid of that ghastly ring. His unkempt nails and ungainly ring make the video very hard to watch.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

Back in the days of gray-on-gray lesser resolution and no frontlight, I preferred a black surround as it heightened contrast. Now, I'd love a white bezel as seamlessly extending the look of the page.

However, my devices are more than good enough that I can't justify any upgrades absent breakage. Begone, gadget lust!

Personally, I'd like one in the same shade of red as Sony used on the T1. One thing you do get with a non-black bezel is that you can have smaller L/R margin and it will still look good.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by TongueTied

Looks like it is the same physical size as the Oasis, correct?

Yes. And it doesn't have the obnoxious bump on the bottom like the Oasis.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by tourneur

Size comparison (from IG).

What we need is also a Kob Aura H20 in the comparison.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bonnerable

Was toying around MS Office recolor tool to see what skin sticker color might look like. Here are some of the colors I find nice. For comparison, the white one is the original color.

Can you try some real colors (nothing pastel)? I like the red that Sony used on the T1. And blue might be nice as well if it wasn't one of those pastel colors.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SusanReads

I've seen the comparison video between the Libra and the Oasis 3 and on that you can see that the text is clearer on the Oasis.
Since it's been commented on by other people that the Voyage has a sharper screen than the Oasis 3 I think the Libra won't be as crisp as my Voyage.

They are not using the exact same fonts. The only way to do that is to embed the fonts in the eBook that's being used. But if you notice the graphics, the graphics on the Libra have more contrast and more definition. The Oasis is brighter and more washed out with less detail. Just look at the baseball players uniform. It looks awful on the Oasis.[/quote]

But as been said before, the crispness of the screen does not have to be the most important thing. I'm going to try to stop comparing everything with my Voyage because it looks like that will forever be a unicorn. (Even though I'm not a fan of the flushed screen and the top of my screen is slightly yellow in one place).
But I'll let you guys know on Tuesday when I receive the Libra.

Look forward to reading what you think of the Libra.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

He really needs to cut his nails and get rid of that ghastly ring. His unkempt nails and ungainly ring make the video very hard to watch.

He? Sounds female to me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's promising! It seems like the Libra might really become my first Kobo reader.

And once you go Kobo, whatever Kindles you have will be your last Kindles.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And once you go Kobo, whatever Kindles you have will be your last Kindles.

Kindles have their advantages. Way better dictionary and X-ray.

These aren't features I use. I agree with you that Kobos suit me better. But you couldn't say Kobo blows Kindle out of the water.