Sage Kobo Sage opinions

[anacreon]

Here are a few photos taken under an indirect dim led light.
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_middle.jpg
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_libra1.jpghttp://ipparis.fr
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_sage.jpg
http://ipparis.fr/documents/sleep.jpg

It is difficult to photograph a lighted object, and the grayscale was useful, and used, for the sleep photo only .

To the naked eye, the lighted Sage screen color is much better than Libra 1's, and the text is better too (the font is my favorite, Isidore). With the light off (sleep), Libra 1's screen is whiter but Sage has better definition. Add the extra inch, and I think I will retire the Libra 1 to spare wheel. I have been very annoyed with my Libra 1's yellowish screen for months now, even after exchanging it, so I won't regret it. Yes, Sage is heavier, but compared to all those paper books I can't hold any more...

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the light was at 43% for Libra 1, 30% for Sage, the natural light 3 steps up for Libra 1, only 1 for Sage.
EDIT2: I still love Elipsa, and it remains the best for most PDFs and books with maps and tables and graphs, or those German books where you need to see the verb at the end of a long sentence to understand said sentence, or some poetry where only on Elipsa can indented lines be rare (Leaves of Grass, typically).

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by anacreon

Here are a few photos taken under an indirect dim led light.
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_middle.jpg
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_libra1.jpghttp://ipparis.fr
http://ipparis.fr/documents/centered_sage.jpg
http://ipparis.fr/documents/sleep.jpg

It is difficult to photograph a lighted object, and the grayscale was useful, and used, for the sleep photo only .

To the naked eye, the lighted Sage screen color is much better than Libra 1's, and the text is better too (my favorite, Isidore). With the light off (sleep), Libra 1's screen is whiter but Sage has better definition. Add the extra inch, and I think I will retire the Libra 1 to spare wheel. I have been very annoyed with my Libra 1's yellowish screen for months now, even after exchanging it, so I won't regret it. Yes Sage is heavier, but compared to all those paper books I can't hold any more...

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the light was at 43% for Libra 1, 30% for Sage, the natural light 3 steps up for Libra 1, only 1 for Sage.

An ineresting report, thank you. TBH, I can't tell that much difference, but the Sage does seem to have the edge a bit. I think your "spare wheel" idea is a good one. As I only use my Libra cover when out and about, I could relegate it to the car in its case and use a Sage as my naked home reader.

[Joh4n]

Originally Posted by anacreon

(the font is my favorite, Isidore).

Thank you, this is the font I've been wanting!

[svkelley]

Originally Posted by Citation4444

I received my Sage from Kobo yesterday. I'm very pleased with it.
What I like:
Light uniformity. Virtually perfect. No complaints.
Size. Larger than my Libra H2O.
Dark Mode
Sharpness
Audio book feature

Received my Sage on Monday. I too own a Libra H20. Your likes exactly match mine.

What I dislike:
Having page buttons on an 8in display is awkward in one hand. And I'm not sure I have a solution either. They've centered them, but kept them closer to the edge.
The user experience of setting it up was somewhat buggy.

I'm not sure yet on battery life because I know there is some burn in time and indexing a large library will use it up. So will wait until it's completely empty, then recharge fully and test with normal reading usage.

[Skydog]

The display is beautiful, uniform and flawless to my eyes. Color temperature is better and more natural than the Forma. Excellent contrast. Form factor pleasing to hold, improved button function and placement.

Setup was quick and easy, Pocket articles synced quickly. Simple setup with other accounts. Content import noticeably faster.

New firmware is an improvement, eliminating the need for some of my previously used patches. Page-turns are smooth and noticeably quicker. Kobo stylus is very responsive.

Overall, I am very happy with the device. 👍👍

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by Skydog

The display is beautiful, uniform and flawless to my eyes. Color temperature is better and more natural than the Forma. Excellent contrast. Form factor pleasing to hold, improved button function and placement.

Setup was quick and easy, Pocket articles synced quickly. Simple setup with other accounts. Content import noticeably faster.

New firmware is an improvement, eliminating the need for some of my previously used patches. Page-turns are smooth and noticeably quicker. Kobo stylus is very responsive.

Overall, I am very happy with the device. 👍👍

Which patches are eliminated?

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

Which patches are eliminated?

I elected to skip the following as the new firmware has rendered them unnecessary (for me):

• Custom font sizes

• My 10 line spacing values

• Custom left & right margins

If I change my mind later, I'll apply them.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

A new Sage and Libra video review:

https://youtu.be/xAb64deT1tw

The reviewer weighed the Sage with the official case and it is 394 grams

The Libra with the case is 328 grams

"Can you single-hand this device?"

Asking this about a 7 inch e-reader @ 328 grams including the cover feels weird to me. I've been "single-handing" every e-reader and tablet I ever owned, _including_ my 12.9 inch iPad Pro.

I basically make a "three fingers" shape like this, and set the tablet behind my thumb and support it with two fingers in the back. (Using my left hand.) Then I use my right index finger for touching.

For the KA1, I make a shape more like this one, but at a 45 degree angle, pointing towards the upper right. I have held the reader like this for hours on end. I can also hold it using my right hand, where the lower right corner sits in the palm of my hand. Also not an issue for hours at a time.

Essentially, if a device + cover is below something like 500 grams, I don't worry about it. Every device ever from now on will probably be lighter than my current iPad 12.9 Pro.

But maybe I'm the weird one out

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

But maybe I'm the weird one out

Yes. I couldn't singlehand a 400-500 g device, let alone something heavier. Well, not for more than 10-20 minutes, anyway.

250 g is the upper llmit I'm willing to consider in case of an ereader. And I always read without a cover

[anacreon]

Originally Posted by anacreon

Just checked, it is at 78% and I've read as said a couple of hours yesterday, and perhaps 2 hours today. Not outstanding, but doesn't mean anything until I've calibrated it, for which I have no time right now.

After I already once read until the reader stopped, I read for a while. To begin with, the battery charge seemed to lower normally enough, but after the first 1/3 it seemed to accelerate. The reader started to ask me to reload it when it reached 6%, but I went on to read for many hours with the battery at 1%, let it sleep for a night and it still worked until it didn't. I reloaded it and when I came back after 75 minutes it was at 100%. I hope the % will be more reliable, but will run at least one more cycle through to reinforce it.

[petercreasey]

Can you swipe the Sage for page turns?

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

Can you swipe the Sage for page turns?

Yes, you can.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

Can you swipe the Sage for page turns?

why would you cross post a question you had to have known the answer to?

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes. I couldn't singlehand a 400-500 g device, let alone something heavier. Well, not for more than 10-20 minutes, anyway.

250 g is the upper llmit I'm willing to consider in case of an ereader. And I always read without a cover

Maybe it's because I've been used to this since I was a child. My eye-sight is very poor (extreme near-sightedness), and I've always read without glasses. I can't put a book in my lap and read it; so I've been lifting and holding books as big as a small hardcover or trade paperback since I was 10 years old.

The only reason why I don't such a hardcover single-handed is because it's too big, too wide, and too thick, not because it's too heavy. If the book would be rigid (like a 13 inch tablet), I would hold it in the same way as I described for a tablet, for sure.

[rogerinnyc]

I have been very happy with my Forma, but after the Sage came out I managed, truly accidentally , to gouge the screen on my Forma -- so, of course, I ordered the Sage.

Arrived today, and here are my first impressions:

1. The screen is lovely. The font is deep black, clear and has excellent contrast. Side by side to the Forma, it's a definite, albeit marginal, step up, but if you weren't looking at them both at the same time, the Forma is still lovely.

2. There is a TINY bit of white emphasis on the button side of the screen. Way less, and way less defined than the "stripe" on the Forma. Not distracting at all (but I wasn't particularly bothered by it on the Forma either). Frankly, the Sage screen is about as good as one could expect (with apologies to JosieB).

3. The background is a touch darker/greyer than the Forma -- but very pleasant. Not sure which I prefer.

4. So glad to be rid of the fiddly power button on side of the Forma. Ideally, though, I would have liked Sage's power button on the back in the upper right side (same side as the buttons), as was the case for the KA1 (still the perfect machine in my book). Muscle memory, however, still has me going to the side of the device to turn it on/off!

5. I got the Kobo case, too, and it's a magnetic snap in -- much nicer than the way you had to press down the Forma into it's case and then peel it off (which is still the way the Libra 2 works with its cover). Not quite as easy as the Kindle Voyage with it's origami magnetic cover, but very close.

6. I'm on the fence about not having the rubber separation around the buttons that existed on the Forma. I kind of liked its feel. On the other hand, the Sage, with a single piece of glass, looks more premium (but does pick up a fair number of prints near the buttons).

7. Ditto being on the fence about the new buttons. I've had a few times pressing them and not registering. Quite clicky -- not as spongy as the Forma buttons, and I may prefer those a tiny bit. But, again, the new style looks more premium.

8. USB-C for charging and syncing on the Sage. Major improvement over micro-USB of the Forma.

9. Ah, the weight. A big issue on first impression, but I'll live with it a bit and see how much it matters. The Sage clocks in at 8.5 oz or 239 grams. The Forma was 7.0 oz or 197 grams. For reference, the KA1 is 8.1 oz. There was something magical about the lightness of the Forma, and I may end up missing that more than I want.

10. Finally, battery life. It arrived at about 60% and, of course, I immediately began playing with it, installing the patches (all seem to work fine), etc. and it ran down VERY quickly. Too soon to tell -- I'll let it run out, then fully recharge and then observe. But I'm concerned battery life may be an Achilles heel.

Initial conclusion? If you have a Forma in good condition/working shape, I'm not sure it's worth the upgrade -- unless you absolutely have to have USB-C or it doesn't particularly stress your disposable income.

I bought from Kobo so, even though it's a PITA to work through them, I presumably can return it and exchange it for a new Forma if I decide that the weight difference is important or if turns out that the Sage battery life is subpar.

I do, however, wish Kobo would revamp and reissue the KA1!