Aren't Kobo eReader designs a little boring?

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sony Readers never had the ability to increase the weight of fonts. This was never part of the firmware. The 350 was no different than the 650 in that respect.

It might have been considered better contrast back then, but from within a book, click the Options buttons (far right side), select "Adjust View" and that brought up options at the bottom to tick for Original, Saturated, Details, Brighter, Darker, or Custom. Using Custom was great, you could the background lighter and the text as dark as you wanted. And to the eye that setting definitely gives me the appearance of thicker text or thinner depending on how you set it. Which looks the same as Kobo's feature of font weight to me.

[sadkingbilly]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I disagree. Creative designs help in marketing the device.

Sorry but have to disagree on this. I don't care about creative design in my ereader, I care about function, battery life, weight and "easy on the eyes" reading. Actually, I would say more boring would be better. I own the Aura One and it's simple, black, no buttons on the front, has a good resolution and I like the light function. Of course it has its problems (the software SUCKS) but it does what I bought it for; no bells & whistles needed.

Only point I think needs work is the extreme high pricing, low pixel count and small size (mostly between 5-7") of the screens. Building a 9" 3000x2400 pixel screen for $200 is absolutely possible.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by sadkingbilly

Only point I think needs work is the extreme high pricing, low pixel count and small size (mostly between 5-7") of the screens. Building a 9" 3000x2400 pixel screen for $200 is absolutely possible.

Based on what data? You have to remember, e-readers move in much smaller volume than tablets do.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

I agree that black bezels were best back in the day as they did appear to heighten contrast, but now with Carta screens and a resolution of 300 ppi, I think I'd prefer a white bezel. I have the text go edge to edge on my devices and a white bezel would be less intrusive as more or less matching the page tone. I know I could buy white skins, but I think skins are insanely expensive for what they are and I certainly don't need them.

You could try a Glowlight Plus. They have very nice screens and a white bezel.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Not KOBO in general but I would like to see all ereader makers add more color choices.

Kobo tried that. The Aura that I own was available in black and what they called magenta (but everyone else calls pink).

There's also the Bookeen Saga/Nolim that is available in a whole passel of colors and kinda reminds me of the colorful iPhone 5C.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by darryl

I don't particularly care. I want to read on my devices, not look at them. Whatever gives a good reading experience is fine by me.

That's kind of where I'm at. For the book I'm currently reading, I'm alternating between a Kobo Wireless and a Sony PRS-950. I like both, even though they're completely different readers. The feature most important to me is font darkness (screen contrast) and clarity (font rendering). Both the Sony PRS-950 and Kobo Wireless clearly and boldly display my Constantia font. The Kobo Wireless seems to have a better screen than the Kobo Touch (and definitely better than the Kobo Mini). I also like mechanical page turn buttons, and both of these Readers have them. I'm actually surprised at how much I like the Kobo Wireless.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sony Readers never had the ability to increase the weight of fonts. This was never part of the firmware. The 350 was no different than the 650 in that respect.

Nope, but both rendered your embedded (via Calibre) fonts beautifully.

EDIT: I forgot about the Adjust View feature (mentioned by Ripplinger – above). The Saturated setting definitely makes the font darker. I haven't done much with the Custom setting, as I'm happy with the weight of the Constantia font "as is."

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon tried something different with the Oasis 1 & 2 and they failed. Both have a terrible design.

In your "opinion." I've never held an untethered Oasis, so I don't really know how well they'll balance in my hand. But to say they're a "failure" seems a little silly.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by issybird

I agree that black bezels were best back in the day as they did appear to heighten contrast, but now with Carta screens and a resolution of 300 ppi, I think I'd prefer a white bezel. I have the text go edge to edge on my devices and a white bezel would be less intrusive as more or less matching the page tone. I know I could buy white skins, but I think skins are insanely expensive for what they are and I certainly don't need them.

Those are excellent points! I hadn't thought of a white bezel working as a page margin if you push the text to the edges.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Not KOBO in general but I would like to see all ereader makers add more color choices.


I would love to see Apple make an ereader with a body casing like an ipad but with eink display, 7 or 8 inches in rose gold. No bells or whistles just eink like a kindle but with a sweet tablet like body in rose gold

This is along the lines of what I'm talking about. People aren't wrong for prioritizing function over form, but there's nothing wrong with innovative or creative model designs either. This doesn't have to be an either or situation. Kobo could innovate both software and product design. Apple use to be the industry leader in design back in the days of Jobs, but Apple has become rather staid under Cook's reign. Although a metallic option might be nice for the newer Kobo, I don't think color is the only way that eReader companies can innovate. My KA1 is nicer in my hands than my Paperwhite, but all that texture and style is lost in the back.

I wonder if they could innovate on the back texture, make the molding and texture more ergonomic, but then employ an iPad like smart case which would protect the front, but leave the back free. They could even offer metallic front bezels of varying color. The colors don't have to be bright or garish. Just some thoughts…

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Kobo tried that. The Aura that I own was available in black and what they called magenta (but everyone else calls pink).

There's also the Bookeen Saga/Nolim that is available in a whole passel of colors and kinda reminds me of the colorful iPhone 5C.

I wasn't paying attention to Kobo when the Aura came out. Magenta isn't a favorite color of mine, but I'd have to see it. Got a link to a pic of it? My searches only yield magenta covers.

I hadn't heard of the Bookeen Nolim before. That looks like the sort of innovation in design I was talking about. It's still a bezel around a screen design, but the built-in protective sleep cover, appealing color choices, and smaller size might make for a good impulse buy at a Walmart. (Not an impulse buy price, though, even though case is included). If Kobo makes the Clara look like something that appeals to the Walmart shopper (Not prosumers like this group) at a sub $100 price, they could make headway against the other eReaders.

I like the turquoise one—often called sea foam by other designers. That's a bit twee, but red, orange, and light grey are solid color names. Anthracite made me laugh. It's just a fancy way of saying charcoal gray.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Cootey

This is along the lines of what I'm talking about. People aren't wrong for prioritizing function over form, but there's nothing wrong with innovative or creative model designs either. This doesn't have to be an either or situation. Kobo could innovate both software and product design. Apple use to be the industry leader in design back in the days of Jobs, but Apple has become rather staid under Cook's reign. Although a metallic option might be nice for the newer Kobo, I don't think color is the only way that eReader companies can innovate. My KA1 is nicer in my hands than my Paperwhite, but all that texture and style is lost in the back.

I wonder if they could innovate on the back texture, make the molding and texture more ergonomic, but then employ an iPad like smart case which would protect the front, but leave the back free. They could even offer metallic front bezels of varying color. The colors don't have to be bright or garish. Just some thoughts…

Apart from the very recognizable home button, iPad design is mostly just the back chassis, too. Front is pretty much flat glass with either black or white bezel.

Plenty of complaints on MacForums regarding the iPad being boring and looking pretty much the same as it did when first released. Most of the changes on the front have to do with reducing bezel size. Only other visual change on the front thus far was the switch to TouchID.

That said, I think the physical design for iPads and older iPhone models are quite classic and timeless. They don't look out of place regardless of decor.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I wasn't paying attention to Kobo when the Aura came out. Magenta isn't a favorite color of mine, but I'd have to see it. Got a link to a pic of it? My searches only yield magenta covers.

Here's a pic of the back. (The front is the same black bezel a regular Aura has.)

Originally Posted by Cootey

I hadn't heard of the Bookeen Nolim before. That looks like the sort of innovation in design I was talking about. It's still a bezel around a screen design, but the built-in protective sleep cover, appealing color choices, and smaller size might make for a good impulse buy at a Walmart. (Not an impulse buy price, though, even though case is included). If Kobo makes the Clara look like something that appeals to the Walmart shopper (Not prosumers like this group) at a sub $100 price, they could make headway against the other eReaders.

I like the turquoise one—often called sea foam by other designers. That's a bit twee, but red, orange, and light grey are solid color names. Anthracite made me laugh. It's just a fancy way of saying charcoal gray.

Yeah, I think if they could have marketed those in Walmart for $80-100 they would have had something.

[ZodWallop]

Incidentally, I would love if Kobo (or any manufacturer) would rip-off the metallic designs of the old Sony readers. Those babies were beautifully designed.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Incidentally, I would love if Kobo (or any manufacturer) would rip-off the metallic designs of the old Sony readers. Those babies were beautifully designed.

The pink one was gorgeous :P