Kobo Glo HD

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

For me yes, definately.

Are the page turn button and the light sensor worth having color shifts when using the front light vs the Glo HD not having a light sensor and page turn buttons and NO COLOR SHIFT when using the font light?

[pssquirrel]

I'm kind of dying here. I really wanted a 6" 300 dpi epub reader with light last year. I ended up going with the Kindle Voyage because the H2O was too big and the Aura 6" wasn't sharp enough (oh, and I wanted landscape mode). And now there's this fabulous Glo HD and Kobo is finally getting its act together re: direct downloads for epub3, yay!

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my Kindle Voyage and I am happier with the transition to Amazon than I thought I'd be. So now, please, will some kind persons please convince me that I really don't have to pre-order the Glo HD right this minute like I sooooo want to do?

P.S.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The 300dpi is good, but the glass backplane still means I'm not going to be getting one.

What does this mean: "glass backplane"? and why is it not good?

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

P.S.

What does this mean: "glass backplane"? and why is it not good?

Read about E Ink in our wiki. Nearly all of the E Ink screens have a glass backplane. It is the base layer that every other element is sitting on top of. The only exception is the mobius model which is a flexible backplane. Generally you will not notice the backplane unless you break it!

Dale

[mr_nihilism]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

They had the eBook on the Glo HD setup so it looked worse. It's like they wanted the Voyage to look better.

Not comparing the front lighting was a very bad omission. But then I think they did that because Kobo does a better job and they didn't want to give something so important to the Glo HD.

If history is anything to go on, Kobo will once again prove to have the better lighting. And maybe it's just my imagination but doesn't good-e-reader always make sure the text on a Kobo device look less than ideal? Oh well. There is no credibility at all.

A fair and subjective review is just too much to ask.

[mr_nihilism]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

So now, please, will some kind persons please convince me that I really don't have to pre-order the Glo HD right this minute like I sooooo want to do?

Maybe it`s best to hold off until the user-reviews start rolling in. Better safe than sorry.

There. I tried.

[ryuji35]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

So now, please, will some kind persons please convince me that I really don't have to pre-order the Glo HD right this minute like I sooooo want to do?

I am in the same state right now. But I will hold off. Just think about what other stuff you could buy with your $130. Kindle Voyage is a very good device. It's Amazon's best offering to date. I suggest maximize it first, depreciate it wisely, then when you are ready for a new e-reader, imagine what Kobo will offer then :P Sounds like the Voyage and the Glo HD is virtually the same anyway, so buying the Glo HD when it's the same specs with the Voyage will just do more damage on your wallet than good. Voyage is a pricey model, better utilize it first (unless you really need to have epub support, but Calibre can solve that problem easily)

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by mathil

The Glo HD looks pretty fast with PDFs, I wonder if it's mounting a firmware version that hasn't been released yet?

The review demonstrated a glitch in the Kobo's intial rendering of the pdf. It was small and in the top left corner. A couple of clicks fixed it, and it wouldn't bother me as long as I only had to do it when I open the book, but it's clumsy and looks bad. Is the glitch they showed accurate?

I was impressed with the zoom on both devices, but they should have displayed pdfs on both devices in landscape. That's the only practical way to read an a4 pdf on a 6" screen.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by pssquirrel

So now, please, will some kind persons please convince me that I really don't have to pre-order the Glo HD right this minute like I sooooo want to do?

If you don't order one now -- right now -- they'll probably all be sold out for months and months and you won't be able to get one until after well after Christmas.

Always happy to help.

[Mercador]

I wonder if it could be a nice upgrade to my Kobo Aura...

My wife is still using her Kobo Mini so I could give her my Aura and switch to the new Glo HD. I could bring the mini to the office, that would be nice.

I wonder why they made a deep screen again ? I got used to have a flat screen on my Aura, might be a turn-off for me. I don't need SD extra card, 4gb is more than enough for me, never used the extra card and I'm a kobo fan since the Touch.

Decisions...

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Mercador

I wonder why they made a deep screen again ? I got used to have a flat screen on my Aura, might be a turn-off for me.

If you like the Aura's screen better, the Aura is currently on sale for $130 -- and supposedly, according to an email they sent me, they're throwing in a Classic Cover for free. But I don't see any mention of the free cover when I follow the link.

I'm guessing -- maybe assuming too much -- that a higher resolution Aura HD might also be on the way.

[Ripplinger]

I vote that you give your wife the Glo HD, you keep your flat Aura and use the Mini at work. Still win/win.

And I'm really tempted to pre-order as well, but I'll wait to see if there are any initial production issues (like the PW had with its rainbow screen colors). I don't expect there to be any though. I really don't need another reader or even a new reader, my Glos have been perfect. But it's a new toy that I'm sure I'll like... it's hard to resist just on that basis!

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I can say that after having used a nook STR, the Kobo software just makes the any eInk nook look like a Fisher Price toy. I do think you'd really enjoy the Glo HD over any nook.

You never rooted your Nook ST. The rooted Nook ST makes all these e-readers look like dumb terminals

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by ryuji35

I understand, but are these really worth $70 more?

It depends how much you want them. I like the buttons and flush bevel (but not if I can't remove margins), but I wouldn't pay extra for the light sensor.

Amazon may not *need* to respond to the Kobo offering, but I'm 95% sure they will. But it's a bit of a conundrum. If they lower the Voyage price, the PW becomes less relevant. If they add the new screen to the PW, it makes the Voyage less distinct. Maybe we'll see an across the table Kindle price drop. Not a bad thing.

Another point is that the Kobo cover is $10 less than the PW and Voyage case. That's yet another $10 less, and it's (relatively) saner pricing for a case.

I do think the knowledgeable e-reader buyer will be not quite so eager to buy a Voyage at the current price because of the Glo HD pricing. It just makes the Voyage...less premium. It makes the Voyage worse value.

I look forward to seeing Amazon's response.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem (for Amazon) would have been what the heck do they do with the PW2? The Glo HD is $129.99 and the PW2 without special offers and just WiFi is $139. So in order to match the Glo HD in price, the PW2 would have to have the price dropped to about that of the Kindle and the Kindle would have to not exist. This would lose significant money for Amazon

Plus the Kobo Glo HD case is $10 less than the Amazon PW case.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Are the page turn button and the light sensor worth having color shifts when using the front light vs the Glo HD not having a light sensor and page turn buttons and NO COLOR SHIFT when using the font light?

It's possible that the Glo HD light might have initial teething problems, but the Kobo lighting tech has so far proved superior to Amazon's. We won't know until they start shipping.