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

[Deobulakenyo]

My love affair with kobo is a bit complicated:

Early september, I purchased a Libra H2O via amazon at a discounted/sale price of 145$.

Then kobo announced two new models. I immediately thought of getting the Sage as it has a larger screen a bit bigger than my likebook P78.

I was able to sell my Libra H2O at about 165$ so no regrets there, and also i am not too happy with the libra's screen. It is not uniformed for my taste.

So I ordered the Sage... but reviews on dismal battery life, screen uniformity issues, and cost made me think twice, so I cancelled my order... and made an order for a Libra 2.

I am now waiting for it to arrive to the Philippines.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

My love affair with kobo is a bit complicated:

Early september, I purchased a Libra H2O via amazon at a discounted/sale price of 145$.

Then kobo announced two new models. I immediately thought of getting the Sage as it has a larger screen a bit bigger than my likebook P78.

I was able to sell my Libra H2O at about 165$ so no regrets there, and also i am not too happy with the libra's screen. It is not uniformed for my taste.

So I ordered the Sage... but reviews on dismal battery life, screen uniformity issues, and cost made me think twice, so I cancelled my order... and made an order for a Libra 2.

I am now waiting for it to arrive to the Philippines.

I get why you looked into the Sage issues so much but keep in mind you’re going to see more problem posts than you will everything works as intended posts simply because if there’s an issue people complain but when things work people tend to just use the device.

Most people here, and the reviews I’ve seen have had no big screen issues.

I’ll grant the battery life could be concerning though. Though as I’ve said before I’d really wonder how many people are outlasting the battery.

I hope you enjoy the Libra 2 though

[ZodWallop]

I'd been looking at the Libra H2O and the Libra 2 looks like a very nice improvement to me. But really, my current readers are fine. Between my Clara and my 2015 Nook Glowlight Plus, I have everything I need, even if I am switching devices. And I've started playing with my old Nook ST with Glowlight and just received another one (thank you rcentros!) and just really don't need to buy a new device.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by disconnected

As far as I’m concerned the Forma is nearly perfect but instead of building on that Kobo is rushing off in other directions and probably abandoning the Forma line altogether – it doesn’t even show up in the dropdown list of ereaders on the first page of the website.

Isn't the Sage essentially the Forma 2? What does the Forma have that the Sage does not, aside from the Mobius plastic screen?

(I'm not really interested in ereaders over 7", so this is a real question. I may not know what I am talking about here.)

After all the fanfare about the new light weight, less fragile screen, suddenly they don’t seem to think it’s a valuable feature anymore.

About that Mobius screen, I got the impression that maybe it wasn't ready for prime time. That's why so few other ereaders have used it.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

About that Mobius screen, I got the impression that maybe it wasn't ready for prime time. That's why so few other ereaders have used it.

it's either as you say not ready for prime time or another possibility could be, from a marketing point of view it's more profitably for e-reader manufacturers to stick with a glass substrate.

best wishes koboy

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Isn't the Sage essentially the Forma 2? What does the Forma have that the Sage does not, aside from the Mobius plastic screen?

(I'm not really interested in ereaders over 7", so this is a real question. I may not know what I am talking about here.)



About that Mobius screen, I got the impression that maybe it wasn't ready for prime time. That's why so few other ereaders have used it.

I recall when the Forma launched people complained it didn’t feel “premium” citing the weight among other things. Which was odd to me then because my Forma felt like a nicely designed device.

You’re right though the Sage is the Forma 2, everything the Forma does the Sage does. And even the general design is very similar, obviously the Sage is a bit thicker, and doesn’t taper off nearly as much as the Forma, but it does still have a slight tapering on the non button side.

As to why they ditched mobius, I’d guess because the cost/benefits for going to Carta 1200 outweighed it, this assumes they couldn’t use mobius with Carta 1200 of course.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I get why you looked into the Sage issues so much but keep in mind you’re going to see more problem posts than you will everything works as intended posts simply because if there’s an issue people complain but when things work people tend to just use the device.

Most people here, and the reviews I’ve seen have had no big screen issues.

I’ll grant the battery life could be concerning though. Though as I’ve said before I’d really wonder how many people are outlasting the battery.

I hope you enjoy the Libra 2 though

I get your point, but my rationale was: If i was unhappy with the Libra H2O screen i might be disappointed again with the Sage's screen (plus the battery life).

My eyes for some reason is very sensitive to this. even from pictures of the Sage I can tel that the buttons side of the screen has brighter spots than the other sides. My h2O doesn't register that on pictures and in videos and yet i can see them during actual use, so yes, that convinced me that there is high probablity that i will not be enjoying the sage if it has that same issue. I do not want to gamble with the Sage because it costs more.

At least with the Libra 2, there has been no complaints yet that I read about the screen. I am not looking for a perfect one but at least i try to minimize the risk of getting a bad one by choosing the model with a higher batting percentage.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I'd been looking at the Libra H2O and the Libra 2 looks like a very nice improvement to me.

like you at first i thought the Libra 2 looked like it was a worthy upgrade to the Libra H2O. that was until seeing comments/posts on here saying that the 32GB SD card is glued in.

if the SD card gets corrupted/fails and it can't be replaced without causing damage, then it's sadly going to be bye bye e-reader. personally speaking i wouldn't buy one for what a consider to be a very good reason.

best wishes koboy

[disconnected]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Isn't the Sage essentially the Forma 2? What does the Forma have that the Sage does not, aside from the Mobius plastic screen?

(I'm not really interested in ereaders over 7", so this is a real question. I may not know what I am talking about here.)



About that Mobius screen, I got the impression that maybe it wasn't ready for prime time. That's why so few other ereaders have used it.

I've not seen a Sage in real life, so I may be assuming too much but what defines the Forma for me is the ergonomics -- the amazing combination of light weight, balance (most of the weight is directly above the holding hand), the groove in the perfect place for my thumb, and the non-slip texture of both front and back. The Sage is heavier, the weight is spread differently, the spot for the thumb looks to be less defined, and the texture is reportedly more slippery. I have small, rather weak hands with little grip strength so all those factors are very important to me.

I'm less sensitive to differences in screen color, evenness and contrast. I do require a lot of light to read but I've been happy with almost all of my lighted ereaders, even my first Paperwhite with pink and green blotches. Oddly, the only exception was my Voyage. I've come to believe mine was just defective; the inner? screen appears to be slanted such that text near the top of the screen seems to be further away from the surface than the text near the bottom.

I also don't care much about processing speed. I've never been conscious of waiting for page turns. Even buttons, while nice, aren't overly important to me.

[John Hopper]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

As the new Kobos have generated lots of interest on MR, I'd like to make a poll about how many of our members have bought one or are planning to buy in the future.



It's just for fun, so please don't take it too seriously.

I bought the Sage and am loving it. It clearly is the successor to the Forma, which was my favourite e reader ever prior to the Sage. The screen is glorious and the whole feel very premium. Yes, the battery life could be better, but I actually don't think it's noticeably worse than the Forma's. I have the light setting low, around 20-25% by choice, and WiFi and BT off. I've got used to the 8 inch screen now and I would struggle to go smaller, though in an ideal world I would prefer a more squarish design.

Prior to getting the Sage, I wanted to hold out for the power cover, but I actually really love the sage coloured sleep cover. It also feels luxurious, has the stand function and the magnetic attachment. The power cover looks like it comes only in black and is very wide to allow for the grove for the stylus, which I will almost certainly not get. Plus it seems like it will not have the stand feature which is quite important to me as I read a lot while eating.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[John F]

I picked "I'm not interested in them".

I did just buy a Forma yesterday (a replacement for my mother's Forma, the battery is getting rather bad.)

[Odyssee]

My Kobo Forma is 3 years old and still works fine. The best E-reader I had so far.
If I have to consider to replace the Forma, I don't see any worthy successor.
The Sage seems to be an enhanced Forma but I don't have any use for notetaking and the supposedly poor battery is a real showstopper.
The Libra 2 is doubtless a fine e-reader but I got accustomed to the 8" display of the Forma. So all things considered, no I will not buy one of the new Kobo's. Either I buy a new Forma as a backup or I wait for un upgrade of the Sage battery.

[disconnected]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I recall when the Forma launched people complained it didn’t feel “premium” citing the weight among other things.

I can kind of understand that reaction. I've had several pocket pcs, phones, and tablets over the years -- and they've all given the impression of being good, solid, well-made, "serious" electronic devices, becoming ever "sleeker" (a favorite word among reviewers) through the years.

Ereaders seem to have taken a more circuitous route. We've had klunky (early Kindles), glitzy (raspberry-red metal-flake Sony), grippable (soft-edged Nooks), multi-purpose (Elipsa, Sage), with sizes from compact (first Oasis and first Aura) to large (current state of affairs).

The Oasis, to me, really took a big step along that "serious" or "premium-seeming" road when it went from the small sized model to the bigger size. Possibly the design/marketing teams thought their market had been skewing old and/or female and they wanted to attract a new demographic (yes, this might be just my overactive imagination). Unfortunately, to me the larger Oasis felt like a heavy, unwieldy, sharp-edged, cold, slippery brick. I hated it.

The Forma was a revelation. It did feel like a toy when I first picked it up. Or a piece of sheet music. I could easily hold it in one hand and wave it around. And giggle. Which I did. I loved it immediately, first for its apparent lack of seriousness, and then for its quite amazing and very real ergonomic benefits. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by disconnected

I can kind of understand that reaction. I've had several pocket pcs, phones, and tablets over the years -- and they've all given the impression of being good, solid, well-made, "serious" electronic devices, becoming ever "sleeker" (a favorite word among reviewers) through the years.

Reviewers seem to have it in for bezels and I just don't understand that. All of my Nooks have chunky bezels and reviewers love to mention it. But it makes them easy to hold. The Clara has slim bezels, but the sunken screen helps.

The new Paperwhite with its thin bezels and flush screen just seems set up to pick up errant touches. The fact you can turn off the touch screen seems to indicate they know the bezels are getting too thin.

Ereaders seem to have taken a more circuitous route. We've had klunky (early Kindles), glitzy (raspberry-red metal-flake Sony), grippable (soft-edged Nooks), multi-purpose (Elipsa, Sage), with sizes from compact (first Oasis and first Aura) to large (current state of affairs).

I think it's funny how buttons have gone from being old tech to premium features.

The Oasis, to me, really took a big step along that "serious" or "premium-seeming" road when it went from the small sized model to the bigger size.

I think the Voyage was the big step for Kindles into premium territory. I never bought one but just looking at the design, it looked much nicer than other ereaders.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by koboy

like you at first i thought the Libra 2 looked like it was a worthy upgrade to the Libra H2O. that was until seeing comments/posts on here saying that the 32GB SD card is glued in.

if the SD card gets corrupted/fails and it can't be replaced without causing damage, then it's sadly going to be bye bye e-reader. personally speaking i wouldn't buy one for what a consider to be a very good reason.

What you say is undoubtedly true. But then I have had that happen zero times.

Also, the same argument is true of most cell phones and many laptops