Aura HD Kobo Aura HD - Page 27

ballfresno · 04-24-2013, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vxf

I love it. I have been waiting for a larger frontlit screen since switching from my PRS950 to a Paperwhite.
But no 3g, no deal for me. I seem to be in the minority here, but I love the convenience of 3g when travelling. And, for that price...

I know what you mean but I simply use my phone to provide a WiFi access point...

Jakkers · 04-24-2013, 04:51 PM

I've been interested in the Aura since it was announced, and have been following this thread carefully for news and updates - thanks everyone who has contributed. I finally tracked down a demo unit at an Indigo bookstore, and just made this account so I can give you my impressions.

First, the screen is really excellent. The extra .8 of an inch is noticeably bigger, in a very good way. It more closely matches the actual readable area of a trade paperback. The resolution increase is also noticeable, though less so. Putting the Aura next to a Glo, the text on the Aura was clearer and better defined (even at similar font size/sharpness/weight settings). The front-light is also very very nice - less blue-tinted than my Glo, and very even. The lowest setting appears to be very low indeed, lower than the lowest possible on the Glo, which should be nice for people who read in bed. The light settings are also measured in percent now, which is nice. The whole UI felt very zippy, significantly better than the Glo in that regard.

The back of the case is less extreme-feeling in the hand than you might expect from the new design. As described, holding it two-handed does give an impression of holding a real book. I share the complaints of others here and in several reviews, however, when it comes to the texture of the plastic used. Instead of the "soft" or "rubbery" plastic seen on the Glo and the PW, this plastic back is completely smooth. Although its a minor gripe, it makes the Aura feel cheaper. Furthermore, I don't know if this is unique to the demo unit I used, but when I squeezed the bezel against the back, there was some slight creaking. This again made the unit feel cheap, and made me question the build quality (can anyone with more experience with their own unit at home speak to this point?)

So its a bit of a mixed-bag. The screen is excellent in size, resolution, and lighting. The case housing the screen, however, leaves something to be desired. I'm still leaning towards upgrading my Glo to the Aura (the screen is, after all, the most important component of a reader), but I do wish the back wasn't so smooth and "plasticky" to the touch.

Breid · 04-24-2013, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

It might well be beyond their control; remember one suggestion has been that the supplier of the eInk screens had 300,000 become available, and Kobo acquired the entire batch.

Apparently the 300,000 screens acquired by Kobo because B&N dropped out is just a rumour. Someone from Kobo posted a comment on the Goodereader blog refuting the rumour, which I read two days ago, but strangely enough I cannot find it today. I originally found the link in this forum

PS apologies I if have made a dog's breakfast out of posting this link...I really need to investigate the help files.

allovertheglobe · 04-24-2013, 05:03 PM

What ultimately convinced me was the frontlight test in a video review (I think it my have been eReader's) The Glo was too bright for me at night even on the lowest setting, to the point where I rather read on my nook Glowlight despite the lower res and more uneven backlight (or 7" tablet with inverted screen) The Aura however seems to have much better frontlight in general, and more importantly can go much lower (on top of the other benefits)

Alas my experience with Kobo's -OS- has been pretty bad. I love the additional font controls, but it is the most unstable firmware of all the devices I've used (going back to the late 90's...) Recently it locked up while reading at night, trying to fall asleep, and I couldn't even turn the %#$@* thing off (and its light!) by holding the power button like on most devices. By the time I had gotten up, walked to my office desk to find a paperclip and reset the Glo, I was wide awake and ready to throw the thing in the trashcan...

I really hope they will stabilize the OS in general, but esp. on the Aura, and maybe I will finally be confident enough in their tech to invest in their ecosystem (rather than epubs from elsewhere, and it's not like I miss "kepub"-specific features as far as I can tell)... either way this will be last shot at it.

P.S.: Not a big fan of the glossy housing either, but some companies sell matte, grippier "skins" with various designs, which can be cut to size if necessary (i.e. no Aura template) and will even fit the uneven back since they are sticky & flexible.

llcj · 04-24-2013, 05:44 PM

The bezel and housing is smooth but not glossy - almost appears matte. The Kobo logo on the device is barely discernible which to my mind is better than on other Kobo models. It feels solid in my hand and I can feel no flexing, etc on my device.

ewphoenix123 · 04-24-2013, 05:50 PM

If it real is to smooth you can always try something like this. ^^

http://hemorrdroids.net/rubberising-...-battery-case/

Sharkey · 04-24-2013, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiminrussell

That book doesn't look great, it is scanned from a text book I take it is why the text looks so bad, it looks even worse on my computer though. Lines of text are curved at the beginning or end of the line depending on if the scanned paged is from the left or right hand page of the book, pages are slanted, some of the text is even cut off, really a bad job of scanning, but better than nothing I guess and it is free after all.

Your eyesight must be better than mine as I would soon have a headache reading text that small even if it was a good scan.

Yeah, the book isn't the greatest (it gets better into the actual text), but I still found it readable on the Aura HD. That says a lot for the Aura's screen quality. My PDF collection is mostly academic papers which should look even better, but I haven't tried any of them yet.

wizzard · 04-24-2013, 06:17 PM

Mine is on the way thanks to my wife.
She ordered the cover too and both are coming from Hong Kong. I was surprised as I thought that the Auras were shipping from Canada.

SouLThinking · 04-24-2013, 07:37 PM

I ordered my Kobo Aura HD on April 18th. I haven't received an email with tracking info as of yet. How long has it taken for any of you that have purchased it?

bookwurm70 · 04-24-2013, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouLThinking

I ordered my Kobo Aura HD on April 18th. I haven't received an email with tracking info as of yet. How long has it taken for any of you that have purchased it?

I ordered on the 18th and they charged me on the 19th. Still no shipping info. But technically they said that preorders wouldn't ship to the U.S. until the 25th, so I'm trying to be patient.

graycyn · 04-24-2013, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizzard

Mine is on the way thanks to my wife.
She ordered the cover too and both are coming from Hong Kong. I was surprised as I thought that the Auras were shipping from Canada.

I ordered cover and reader, mine are also shipping from Hong Kong.

alism · 04-24-2013, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouLThinking

I ordered my Kobo Aura HD on April 18th. I haven't received an email with tracking info as of yet. How long has it taken for any of you that have purchased it?

I ordered mine on the 17th. The charge went through on the 19th. I received the tracking info on the 23rd and received the Aura today (24th). Even though I received the tracking info on 23rd it was sent on the 20th so you might not receive the tracking info until days after it has been shipped.

Mikeyboards · 04-24-2013, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alism

I ordered mine on the 17th. The charge went through on the 19th. I received the tracking info on the 23rd and received the Aura today (24th). Even though I received the tracking info on 23rd it was sent on the 20th so you might not receive the tracking info until days after it has been shipped.

Alism, in what state in the US do you live (assuming that's where your Aura was delivered)? My tracking (in the USPS site) indicates it left IL today, and I'm wondering how long it's likely to take to get to California. It would be great if it only took a day, like yours! (Since in an earlier post you said your tracking indicated it left IL only yesterday, I think.)

alism · 04-24-2013, 09:19 PM

I live in Florida. Yeah it only took one day from IL to FL. Very happy when I checked this morning and it was at my local post office.

Tzar · 04-24-2013, 09:40 PM

I admire Kobo for their capacity to innovate and tackle their biggest competitors and Aura HD is a new proof of that. My first ereader was a Touch, and I'm now using a Glo.

That being said, I still think I am going to pass on the Aura HD...

And that is because I have become wary of the never-ending stream of bugs in the Kobo software and I have much less patience than I used to towards this state of affairs. It's beyond me how they can solve some bugs but "create" new ones that weren't there at almost every release. When I read about this minimum light bug with release 2.5.0, I was flabbergasted: for God's sake, with the number of people that are reading at minimum level in dark because it's just too bright otherwise, how could something like this be missed during testing? For the first time, I decided to simply skip on an update. Seems like 2.5.1. has solved that issue so I may consider upgrading. But there are bugs that remain unsolved since ages: I still cannot get annotations to work properly (they get erased, some aren't recorded) and bookmarks keep behaving weirdly.

Although I prefer Kobo's philosophy (open format reader, not trying to keep you captive of their ecosystem, etc), these software issues are bothering me more and more and I'm at a point that when Amazon will get out something similar to the Aura HD, I may very well be tempted to look if the grass is greener on the other side...

04-24-2013, 05:03 PM	#394
allovertheglobe Grumpy Old Man Posts: 267 Karma: 30194 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: L.A., Euro ex-pat Device: Kobo, Nook Classic,Color,ST/Glow, iRex DR1000, Sony 505, REB1100&1200	What ultimately convinced me was the frontlight test in a video review (I think it my have been eReader's) The Glo was too bright for me at night even on the lowest setting, to the point where I rather read on my nook Glowlight despite the lower res and more uneven backlight (or 7" tablet with inverted screen) The Aura however seems to have much better frontlight in general, and more importantly can go much lower (on top of the other benefits) Alas my experience with Kobo's -OS- has been pretty bad. I love the additional font controls, but it is the most unstable firmware of all the devices I've used (going back to the late 90's...) Recently it locked up while reading at night, trying to fall asleep, and I couldn't even turn the %#$@* thing off (and its light!) by holding the power button like on most devices. By the time I had gotten up, walked to my office desk to find a paperclip and reset the Glo, I was wide awake and ready to throw the thing in the trashcan... I really hope they will stabilize the OS in general, but esp. on the Aura, and maybe I will finally be confident enough in their tech to invest in their ecosystem (rather than epubs from elsewhere, and it's not like I miss "kepub"-specific features as far as I can tell)... either way this will be last shot at it. P.S.: Not a big fan of the glossy housing either, but some companies sell matte, grippier "skins" with various designs, which can be cut to size if necessary (i.e. no Aura template) and will even fit the uneven back since they are sticky & flexible. Last edited by allovertheglobe; 04-24-2013 at 05:08 PM. Reason: P.S. added

04-24-2013, 09:19 PM	#404
alism Connoisseur Posts: 57 Karma: 1055730 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Aura HD, Kindle 3, KPW,	I live in Florida. Yeah it only took one day from IL to FL. Very happy when I checked this morning and it was at my local post office. Last edited by alism; 04-24-2013 at 09:29 PM.

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04-24-2013, 04:51 PM	#392
Jakkers Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	I've been interested in the Aura since it was announced, and have been following this thread carefully for news and updates - thanks everyone who has contributed. I finally tracked down a demo unit at an Indigo bookstore, and just made this account so I can give you my impressions. First, the screen is really excellent. The extra .8 of an inch is noticeably bigger, in a very good way. It more closely matches the actual readable area of a trade paperback. The resolution increase is also noticeable, though less so. Putting the Aura next to a Glo, the text on the Aura was clearer and better defined (even at similar font size/sharpness/weight settings). The front-light is also very very nice - less blue-tinted than my Glo, and very even. The lowest setting appears to be very low indeed, lower than the lowest possible on the Glo, which should be nice for people who read in bed. The light settings are also measured in percent now, which is nice. The whole UI felt very zippy, significantly better than the Glo in that regard. The back of the case is less extreme-feeling in the hand than you might expect from the new design. As described, holding it two-handed does give an impression of holding a real book. I share the complaints of others here and in several reviews, however, when it comes to the texture of the plastic used. Instead of the "soft" or "rubbery" plastic seen on the Glo and the PW, this plastic back is completely smooth. Although its a minor gripe, it makes the Aura feel cheaper. Furthermore, I don't know if this is unique to the demo unit I used, but when I squeezed the bezel against the back, there was some slight creaking. This again made the unit feel cheap, and made me question the build quality (can anyone with more experience with their own unit at home speak to this point?) So its a bit of a mixed-bag. The screen is excellent in size, resolution, and lighting. The case housing the screen, however, leaves something to be desired. I'm still leaning towards upgrading my Glo to the Aura (the screen is, after all, the most important component of a reader), but I do wish the back wasn't so smooth and "plasticky" to the touch.

04-24-2013, 05:44 PM	#395
llcj Addict Posts: 250 Karma: 883854 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Canada Device: kobo touch	The bezel and housing is smooth but not glossy - almost appears matte. The Kobo logo on the device is barely discernible which to my mind is better than on other Kobo models. It feels solid in my hand and I can feel no flexing, etc on my device.

04-24-2013, 05:50 PM	#396
ewphoenix123 Addict Posts: 201 Karma: 42238 Join Date: Oct 2012 Device: Kobo: Glo, Aura , Aura H2O, Aura ONE, Forma, Elipsa	If it real is to smooth you can always try something like this. ^^ http://hemorrdroids.net/rubberising-...-battery-case/

04-24-2013, 06:17 PM	#398
wizzard The Reader Posts: 52 Karma: 10714 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA Device: Aura HD	Mine is on the way thanks to my wife. She ordered the cover too and both are coming from Hong Kong. I was surprised as I thought that the Auras were shipping from Canada.

04-24-2013, 07:37 PM	#399
SouLThinking Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 5460 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Nook Color	I ordered my Kobo Aura HD on April 18th. I haven't received an email with tracking info as of yet. How long has it taken for any of you that have purchased it?

04-24-2013, 09:40 PM	#405
Tzar World War II buff Posts: 55 Karma: 32130 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Montreal, Quebec Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kobo Aura One	I admire Kobo for their capacity to innovate and tackle their biggest competitors and Aura HD is a new proof of that. My first ereader was a Touch, and I'm now using a Glo. That being said, I still think I am going to pass on the Aura HD... And that is because I have become wary of the never-ending stream of bugs in the Kobo software and I have much less patience than I used to towards this state of affairs. It's beyond me how they can solve some bugs but "create" new ones that weren't there at almost every release. When I read about this minimum light bug with release 2.5.0, I was flabbergasted: for God's sake, with the number of people that are reading at minimum level in dark because it's just too bright otherwise, how could something like this be missed during testing? For the first time, I decided to simply skip on an update. Seems like 2.5.1. has solved that issue so I may consider upgrading. But there are bugs that remain unsolved since ages: I still cannot get annotations to work properly (they get erased, some aren't recorded) and bookmarks keep behaving weirdly. Although I prefer Kobo's philosophy (open format reader, not trying to keep you captive of their ecosystem, etc), these software issues are bothering me more and more and I'm at a point that when Amazon will get out something similar to the Aura HD, I may very well be tempted to look if the grass is greener on the other side...

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