Anybody review the Nia?

[Calenorn]

Does anyone have the new Kobo Nia? Has anyone reviewed it here? Maybe I missed the thread.

[Mercador]

I don't expect any Nia reviews in this board, it's a low level Kobo and I think this is more a enthusiast Kobo fans that come here. I think it's pretty safe to tell you that if you want the Nia, pay 10-15$ more and get the Clara HD instead.

[JAC70]

Originally Posted by Mercador

I don't expect any Nia reviews in this board, it's a low level Kobo and I think this is more a enthusiast Kobo fans that come here. I think it's pretty safe to tell you that if you want the Nia, pay 10-15$ more and get the Clara HD instead.

Or wait until the Libra H20 is on sale for $179 and pay $30 more than the Clara.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Mercador
I don't expect any Nia reviews in this board, it's a low level Kobo and I think this is more a enthusiast Kobo fans that come here. I think it's pretty safe to tell you that if you want the Nia, pay 10-15$ more and get the Clara HD instead.

Originally Posted by JAC70

Or wait until the Libra H20 is on sale for $179 and pay $30 more than the Clara.

The OP didn't specify where they are, so talk of prices and currencies may not be of much use to them. There are markets where the Clara is $30US more than the Nia and where the Libra is 40% more expensive than the Clara and never discounted.

[davidfor]

And there were threads discussing the Nia. There were links to external reviews of the device. I'm not sure which is the best thread to look at, the one here or the one in the New forum.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Does anyone have the new Kobo Nia? Has anyone reviewed it here? Maybe I missed the thread.

I think it's basically a Kobo Aura 2 with 8 GBs of RAM instead of 4 GBs and the on/off switch on the bottom (like a Clara) instead of on the back.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think it's basically a Kobo Aura 2 with 8 GBs of RAM instead of 4 GBs and the on/off switch on the bottom (like a Clara) instead of on the back.

I do wish/hope that in the future, the power button is moved to the side or top rather than the bottom. I have accidentally turned of my Clara a couple of times.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I I have accidentally turned of my Clara a couple of times.

Simple solution; enable the option to have the power button take a screen shot. No more turning off by mistake (or on purpose).

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Simple solution; enable the option to have the power button take a screen shot. No more turning off by mistake (or on purpose).

In which case my quote would be:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I do wish/hope that in the future, the power button is moved to the side or top rather than the bottom. I have accidentally taken a screenshot a couple of times.

At any rate: Move the power button.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Simple solution; enable the option to have the power button take a screen shot. No more turning off by mistake (or on purpose).

Not even if I hold the power button down for 10 seconds?

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JAC70

Or wait until the Libra H20 is on sale for $179 and pay $30 more than the Clara.

Or just wait until a new Libra H20 comes out and probably pay less than the current model.

[haydnfan]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

Does anyone have the new Kobo Nia? Has anyone reviewed it here? Maybe I missed the thread.

I have it. This is what I posted on Reddit.

Kobo Nia Review
I'm a crazed ereader collector, so without needing this at all I bought the Nia anyway. I've owned every Kobo model since the Glo and every Kindle model since the third generation. Here are my thoughts.

The tldr version:

Nia > Aura 2

Nia > Kindle 10

Nia < Clara HD

I will not compare the Nia to the ad-free PW4 or higher since that is a completely different price bracket.

Full review:

First you have to know that the Nia replaces the Aura 2. The Aura 2 was only $10 cheaper than the Glo HD and then the Clara for most of its life if you bought it from Kobo. But on Walmart (within the US) it regularly sold for $70 and would go on sale for $50. The Aura 2 had 212 ppi Carta screen and a frontlight with some mild flashlighting much like the Kobo Glo. It had one outstanding problem which is that the touch screen was miscalibrated so you would always have to push a bit left of where you want and you would have to go slowing too. It was very frustrasting to use. And when it launched everyone was angry at the time that Kobo had the audacity to charge so much when the Glo HD was obviously better.

Nia vs. Aura 2: The Aura 2 had a nice design and so does the Nia. Nearly everything is identical about it, but the Nia puts the power button on the bottom of the ereader (stupid) and the Aura 2 put the power button on the back (smart). The Nia has a precise touch screen unlike the Aura 2. It can mess up if you go too fast, but you don't have to type terribly slow either (the Wired review was just hyperbolic). The Nia has solved the outstanding problem the Aura 2 did, without introducing any other ones and was introduced at a lower price point than the Aura 2 was at launch.

Nia vs Kindle 10: Numbers are misleading. The Nia's 212 ppi resolution looks much better than the 167 ppi of the Kindle 10. They both suffer from excessive ghosting despite using Carta screens. Both can be fixed by adjusting the settings to full refresh the screen more often. The Nia has some subtle flashlighting, but the Kindle 10's flashlighting is painfully obvious as soon as you turn the light on. The Kindle has a more responsive touch screen than the Nia but it has a problem where routinely it will suddenly stop responding to touch, and the Nia does not. And I find that issue more frustrating than to type at slightly slower speed than I usually do. Overall the Nia is much better than the Kindle 10.

And now the million dollar question that will answer if the Nia is overpriced...

Nia vs Kobo Clara HD: The Clara has a 300 ppi screen, and so it looks slightly better than the Nia. Honestly it is hard to tell, the Nia's screen is pretty darned good. But the Clara's ghosting issues are much more subtle than the Nia. The Clara has better screen uniformity and you can adjust the color temperature of the light. The touch screen on the Clara is perfect. It is both precise and responsive. It is not 100% for the Clara however, because the plastic on the Nia looks much better in person than the Clara. Honestly the Clara looks ugly. The plastic looks so cheap that it looks entry level. The Nia's body has a course texture to it that makes it look and feel more premium than it is. I think that if you put the two in someone's hand and asked them which is the more expensive model they would guess the Nia. Frankly the Nia just looks better (aesthetics of the design not the screen) than any previous Kobo model ever has excepting the Glo.

Overall the Kobo Clara HD is much better than the Nia and worth the extra money. But when the Nia's price drops to Aura 2 levels ($70 regular, $50 on sale) the Nia will be a much easier sale and it would at that point be hard to argue for buying the Clara since the Nia is only a little bit worse. Especially if you don't care that much about adjusting color temperature.

Concluding thoughts: I know that many people are mad about having a Nia instead of a color eink reader or the next Forma, but Kobo needed to get back into the entry level market. The Kindle 10 is trash, it is just an awful reader. But people are buying it and then becoming set into the Amazon ecosystem. When they look at Nook and they look at Kobo they don't see sub-$100 competition. So there is not even a choice for them. I think Kobo's only mistake was the pricing. It should be $80. That would make it $40 less than the Clara and $10 less than the ad supported basic and leaves a bit more money on the table for Kobo unlike Walmart's very aggressive pricing. And if you wanted a new premium reader then just wait. Kobo has frequently launched two readers in the same year. I think there is a good chance that we will see a new premium Kobo by holiday season.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

$40 less than the Clara

In some markets it is more or less exactly $40US less than the Clara.

This was an interesting review, albeit very US-centric (as is usual) and very subjective. Aesthetics and the whole "premium feel" thing that all reviewers seem to feel obliged to mention are both very much personal and subjective reactions. This former Clara owner never thought it looked cheap or ugly, my reaction to buying it was that it looked largely indistinguishable from the PW3 it replaced.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

This was an interesting review, albeit very US-centric (as is usual) and very subjective. Aesthetics and the whole "premium feel" thing that all reviewers seem to feel obliged to mention are both very much personal and subjective reactions. This former Clara owner never thought it looked cheap or ugly, my reaction to buying it was that it looked largely indistinguishable from the PW3 it replaced.

A review, somebody giving their personal opinion, that is subjective I'm shocked!

I think it was a good review. Though 'flashlighting' threw me. I'd change that to 'front lighting' or just 'lighting'

As for the aesthetics, I have a Clara and a 2015 Glowlight Plus and comparing the hardware of the two, the Clara does feel cheap. Cheaper than the 6" Kobo Aura that it replaced.

[Katsunami]

Doesn't "Nia" mean "Non-Interesting Addition" ?

As far as I can see, it's just a 6 inch e-reader with a front-light, 8GB RAM, running the latest Kobo firmware. The only people for whom the Nia would be an upgrade, are those who are now using a 6 inch Kobo without a front-light and less storage, and want to upgrade one or the other, or both.

For all others, the Nia is just another e-reader; an iteration where the front-light and 8GB storage has trickled down to the cheapest Kobo models. I don't expect it to be special, or to have any serious flaws.