New Kobo coming? Which?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by chrisridd

I don't know how the HZO coating works - is it on the whole assembled internals, or on subassemblies that get joined together? The HZO website does mention subassemblies, but that may not apply to Kobo's devices.

It's a coating on the final fully assembled board. Seems to be just a modern version of the late 1930s (or maybe early 1940s) lacquer or varnish coating called tropicalization. Later the actual bare PCBs often had a "procoat" (protective coating) screen printed on that covered the tracks but not the solder pads (common since 1960s, though PCBs date from 1950s). The HzO like all tropicalization is an additional coating after soldering and assembly so gives the effect as if cables (and SD card if there is one) are glue in. The USB connector contacts are masked during application and usually gold plated anyway. Tropicalization, procoats and conformal coatings are synonyms and may be applied by a spray or dip.

Interestingly, car spray paints (including clear top coats) are slightly porous so zinc plating of the steel is needed. Boats and ships are in a hazardous environment so yacht "varnish" is polyurethane. The two part version or single can version will DIY waterproof better than HZO but takes ages to dry/set so is never used for consumer electronics. The switches and internal connections have to be inherently waterproof. External connections need to be suitably plated (gold isn't the only option).

Two part epoxy paint is used in some cases, especially if polyurethane would peel.


https://www.yokogawa.com/us/library/...opicalization/
https://www.ifotec.com/en/tropicaliz...tronic-boards/

HZO is just one of many companies selling protective coatings for electronicss. Nothing unique or new.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HZO

Nanotech is misleading. You maight as well call traditional lacquer known as shellac (literally made from the secretions of the Lac insect) a nanotechnology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerria_lacca Also provides a red dye.

It isn't true waterproofing as salt water, solvents, bath salts and detergents will degrade it. Hence a few minutes of very shallow immersion in anything other than pure water, and the need to rinse well afterwards.

There are cheap consumer products with real waterproofing. They will have rubbery bungs or covers for any connectors, or sealing rings on battery hatches.

Edit:
Nail polish remover (acetone) softens and dissolves the thick HZO coating at the internal SD card. It needs quickly rinsed off or it will dissolve other stuff. Alcohol (Meths or IPA*) seems too slow.

(* Not India Pale Ale, but the iso-propranolol used in electronics PCB cleaning).

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's a coating on the final fully assembled board. Seems to be just a modern version of the late 1930s (or maybe early 1940s) lacquer or varnish coating called tropicalization. Later the actual bare PCBs often had a "procoat" (protective coating) screen printed on that covered the tracks but not the solder pads (common since 1960s, though PCBs date from 1950s). The HzO like all tropicalization is an additional coating after soldering and assembly so gives the effect as if cables (and SD card if there is one) are glue in. The USB connector contacts are masked during application and usually gold plated anyway. Tropicalization, procoats and conformal coatings are synonyms and may be applied by a spray or dip.

Thanks for the info. The HZO site does say this though, which might allow Kobo to have coated subassemblies as spares:

The materials used in our Spectrum of Protection™ are formulated as part of a specific recipe, bringing together the ideal process to meet the most demanding requirements, successfully life proofing your device, assembly, sub-assembly, or circuitry.

(Spectrum of Protection™)

But realistically how many subassemblies could there be in an ereader? Battery, main board, screen, buttons, er...

[Gone]

Originally Posted by xyclonei

There is yet another post on Reddit (credit: Negative-Salt7559) on 3 upcoming models.

• N428 - Libra Colour (CAD 250, Kaleido 3)
• N367 - Clara Colour (CAD 180, Kaleido 3)
• N365 - Clara BW (CAD 160, Carta 1300)

It seems that the emphasis is on repairability this time around. I think they might ditch the slicone coating based waterproofing and move to rubber sealing instead.

Clara Colour is looking at me...

I will wait for tests and video reviews.

Not sure about the quality, clarity, contrast of the colour screen. And the effect on black and white reading.


PS : I just realized that I had set this topic to "ignore" a while ago, as nothing new was really coming up. Now, I'm a bit excited.

[LDB]

Originally Posted by John F

A single charge on the eReader lasts up to 53 days, based on 30 minutes of reading per day with the front light at 10% brightness and WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology off.

Nice.*

*for those who don't like charging every night.

53 days? Who reads only 30 minutes per day? Who sets light at only 10%? Ok, maybe some keep both WiFi and Bluetooth off all the time. But seems like a couple of weeks would be a more reliable benchmark.

[Searching]

I am not interested in a color Kobo. I really wish they were releasing an updated Forma or Sage.

[xyclonei]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

Clara Colour is looking at me...

I will wait for tests and video reviews.

Not sure about the quality, clarity, contrast of the colour screen. And the effect on black and white reading.


PS : I just realized that I had set this topic to "ignore" a while ago, as nothing new was really coming up. Now, I'm a bit excited.

While the colour display is tempting, from what I read online, Kaleido 3 is not the best if you're going to be consuming mostly text.

The grey background makes having increased frontlight brightness a necessity, which then eats into the battery.

The Carta 1300 on the other hand seems to have better contrast on paper, due to the much more lighter background.

I guess it would ultimately boil down to whether you would want to read books or magazines/comics.

And by repairability, if they mean an SD card with easy removal, the move from Clara HD to Clara BW is going to be really difficult to resist.

[Gone]

Originally Posted by xyclonei

While the colour display is tempting, from what I read online, Kaleido 3 is not the best if you're going to be consuming mostly text.

The grey background makes having increased frontlight brightness a necessity, which then eats into the battery.

The Carta 1300 on the other hand seems to have better contrast on paper, due to the much more lighter background.

I guess it would ultimately boil down to whether you would want to read books or magazines/comics.

And by repairability, if they mean an SD card with easy removal, the move from Clara HD to Clara BW is going to be really difficult to resist.

Yeah...

I just read more and saw a video comparison between Carta 1200 and Kaleido 3. Not a fan of Kaleido, not at all. Many people may return their Clara Colour...

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by xyclonei

The grey background makes having increased frontlight brightness a necessity, which then eats into the battery.

Hopefully offset by a lower power SOC, and/or a larger battery. We'll need to wait for someone to take one apart (repairable means it'll be easier to open), or for the FCC to publish the internal photos.

[John F]

Originally Posted by LDB

53 days? Who reads only 30 minutes per day? Who sets light at only 10%? Ok, maybe some keep both WiFi and Bluetooth off all the time. But seems like a couple of weeks would be a more reliable benchmark.

I think that the quoted battery life is better then previous models? And at night I(and I believe others) have the light at fewer (hello Izzybird) then10%. Although I normally read longer then 30 minutes per day.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by LDB

53 days? Who reads only 30 minutes per day? Who sets light at only 10%? Ok, maybe some keep both WiFi and Bluetooth off all the time. But seems like a couple of weeks would be a more reliable benchmark.

While I certainly read more than 30 minutes per day (usually), I do keep both wifi and bluetooth always off and when I read in a dimly lit room (99% of my reading in winter, about 50% in summer) the frontlight is at 9%.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by LDB

53 days? Who reads only 30 minutes per day? Who sets light at only 10%? Ok, maybe some keep both WiFi and Bluetooth off all the time. But seems like a couple of weeks would be a more reliable benchmark.

When I do use the light in bed, I set the light at 3% on my Libra 2.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by LDB

Who sets light at only 10%? Ok, maybe some keep both WiFi and Bluetooth off all the time.

I always have WiFi and Bluetooth disabled, and the frontlight is either at 0% or 3%, depending on lighting conditions in the room.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by xyclonei

It seems that the emphasis is on repairability this time around.

IIRC the EU has new "right to repair" laws going into effect soon, so many companies are preparing for that by launching new models. Ratta's SuperNote A6X2 is also highly modular.

It's a bit strange to me that the Clara is getting a new model already, even though the Clara 2E is newer than the Libra 2. Maybe the Libra 2 is so popular that Kobo just doesn't want to replace it yet.

[Apollyon202]

Since they are in sideloaded mode and I use only kepubify to convert books for my kobos, I don't have to use the radio anymore. After that I use the Covergen to make the covers grayscale on the books, so in theory my reading experience is crisper, I can see it - or maybe just placebo. Anyway, no more wireless, and probably the battery lasts longer.

Instead of the new colour Kobos, I would have been happier with an upgraded Sage or Forma, with replaceable battery. That would be more useful. Although I suppose that a device which lasts for 10+ years in their customers' hands is the manufacturer's worst nightmare ever.

[DrChiper]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

IIRC the EU has new "right to repair" laws going into effect soon, so many companies are preparing for that by launching new models.

"We" already had several years a warranty for 2 years for devices to be fixed or refunded on failure. In the 2 times I returned a defective Kobo device (Kobo Clara HD, Koba Libra) to be repaired they just did a refund (with which a immediately bought a replacement device) So I guess "repairing" might actually be an overstatement in most cases.