Clara Next Kobo Model - Kobo Clara HD

[Dibbler]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That sounds like you haven't adjust the colour of the light to reduce the blue. And that make me curious about why you haven't.

And now I know what "blb" stands for, I'm glad to know it isn't really affecting the Clara HD. As it has a front light, it can't possible be affected by this problem. Or at least that's what the pedant in me says.

You can see here the screen differences between the Clara and the Glo....



....the above, after watching the video as well, might be more of a "taste" issue than a fault per se. I am forming an impression that the Kobo screens which use a comfort light have the hue over that of non comfort light screens, but I do not have enough experience or Kobo usage to know that for sure.

Placing both units in sleep mode and you can still see a difference in the screens....




The "BLB" might not be the appropriate technical term to use considering how the lights are applied in the Clara but it suffices for my description and also by user jlynton when they quoted to say that they too had the similar issue of "bleed" and returned the device the same day.

If you watch this video from the time stamp at 9mins you will see how the blue hue compares to the Amazon reader, similar results were seen for us on the Glo to the Clara comparison......



Coming back to the BLB. I have tried another device and that was the same. In this comment section.....

http://disq.us/p/1t2huyr

...you will note the use Karinatwork has tried a total of three Clara readers and each of those had problematic BLB.

As I have noted holding the Clara to see between the bezel and the screen the amount of light leakage from the white LED's, the Orange being less noticeable, is very noticeable. On the Glo HD, obviously no Orange LED's, the "leakage is confined to a small section at the bottom.

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by Dibbler

Sorry for that.... Back Light Bleed is what I meant when noting blb.

OK.

I admit there's a little 'flare' around the lights themselves. It's annoying but it doesn't, for me, merit a return.

I don't perceive any gap between the bezel and the screen. The flare I spoke of is coming from under the glass of the screen.

I don't feel like the build quality is less. Obviously the design is different and depending on taste you may feel like the Glo HD feels better in the hand.

With default settings during the day I'd say the Clara light is more blue. When I checked again just now it seemed only a little more blue, though when I look back at my photos earlier in this thread the camera picks it up much more. But of course I can reduce the blueness with the natural light setting.

[Dibbler]

Originally Posted by latepaul

OK.

I admit there's a little 'flare' around the lights themselves. It's annoying but it doesn't, for me, merit a return.

I don't perceive any gap between the bezel and the screen. The flare I spoke of is coming from under the glass of the screen.

I don't feel like the build quality is less. Obviously the design is different and depending on taste you may feel like the Glo HD feels better in the hand.

With default settings during the day I'd say the Clara light is more blue. When I checked again just now it seemed only a little more blue, though when I look back at my photos earlier in this thread the camera picks it up much more. But of course I can reduce the blueness with the natural light setting.

That is a good point that you make regarding the blb coming from under the glass of the screen than an actual gap. I tried several times to capture it by camera but due to the light and exposure etc I couldn't seem to do that.

Overall depending on what you have been used to and your expectations you might be very happy with the Clara, of course it also depends on the quality of the device you buy.
For me on the unit I had it was more than just a flare as it seemed in a darkened room to "bleed" into the edge of the screen fonts, and I do like to use a minimal margin. Changing the light with the Natural light settings did reduce that but then the readability was simply not what I liked.


I have now exchanged the Clara HD for a Aura One 7.8" reader. It is up and running and already has some of my books on it. My initial thoughts are pretty positive in terms of readability and the screen itself. A different reader to that of the Clara I know but I see zero issues of "bleed", I can always take my venerable 2GB Nook with me on holiday if I need a more portable device.
If a Glo HD should pop up on ebay tho.........

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Dibbler

You can see here the screen differences between the Clara and the Glo....

Attachment 164441 Attachment 164440

....the above, after watching the video as well, might be more of a "taste" issue than a fault per se. I am forming an impression that the Kobo screens which use a comfort light have the hue over that of non comfort light screens, but I do not have enough experience or Kobo usage to know that for sure.

Placing both units in sleep mode and you can still see a difference in the screens....

Attachment 164442

Sorry, I can't really use those photos to compare the screens. The lighting is to uneven. The difference in the lighting of the label above the ereader makes that obvious. Plus, you need to make sure the screens are in the same refresh state as each other. The first shot makes me think the device on top has just had a full refresh. Or that someone has been changed the weight of the font on one but not the other. For the last shot, I don't know which you think is better, or why.

It's possible the difference you are seeing in the last photo is caused by the capacitance layer for the touch. The Glo HD uses IR touch, so there is no extra layer. There has been a consistent complaint about this over the years, but I don't have enough experience with the capacitive touch devices to comment. I didn't notice it with the Aura ONE, but I also haven't really compared them as directly as you are.

The "BLB" might not be the appropriate technical term to use considering how the lights are applied in the Clara but it suffices for my description and also by user jlynton when they quoted to say that they too had the similar issue of "bleed" and returned the device the same day.

The problem is that if you use the wrong terms, it is extremely easy to completely discount you. And jlynton agreed with the effect, not necessarily the term.

If you watch this video from the time stamp at 9mins you will see how the blue hue compares to the Amazon reader, similar results were seen for us on the Glo to the Clara comparison......

And if you keep watching, it shows how to adjust the screen of the Clara HD to a completely different colour. It is possible that Kobo needed to choose bluer LEDs to achieve the overall affect as the colour is adjusted.

Coming back to the BLB. I have tried another device and that was the same. In this comment section.....

And most of the references are just to "light bleed". More than one person calling it by the wrong name doesn't make your term correct.

http://disq.us/p/1t2huyr

...you will note the use Karinatwork has tried a total of three Clara readers and each of those had problematic BLB.

Very unfortunate. But, without photos of them, we don't know exactly how bad it is. And as you seem to to think it is a big problem, I find it strange that you didn't post photos of yours. I will note that in the review above, there is no apparent light bleed in the Kobo device and the reviewer didn't comment on it. I don't think I have seen a photo that demonstrates this well and it will be probably be a few months before I get the opportunity to see for myself.

As I have noted holding the Clara to see between the bezel and the screen the amount of light leakage from the white LED's, the Orange being less noticeable, is very noticeable. On the Glo HD, obviously no Orange LED's, the "leakage is confined to a small section at the bottom.

I'm not sure what you are saying in this. It feels like you are saying that you have to hold the device in a way that is unnatural for reading to see the light bleed.

[Ricky D'Angelo]

One of the reasons I have hesitated on buying a "lighted" ereader is that I'll obsess over the light. Most of my reading is done on my desk with a lamp. If I need to read in the dark I'll use a tablet for a short amount of time. However, I have been thinking about purchasing this new kobo ereader but am wondering which store provides the easiest return policy in case I need to return it?

[datanoise]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It is possible that Kobo needed to choose bluer LEDs to achieve the overall affect as the colour is adjusted.

I doubt it, the PocketBook ereaders have similar behavior (ability to have a yellow / closer to "natural light" lightning) but their "normal" lighting isn't blue.

It's strange that such a big company is having trouble with some models. After uneven lightning on the Aura One, we could think they had fixed all the problems. Seems like that's not the case.

[haydnfan]

To answer your question Dibbler, yes my Kobo has bleed on the bottom. So did several posters on the Ereader Blog (not goodereader but blog.ereader) also note it with their Kobos. It is a design defect not panel lottery. If it bugs you just return it.

I didn't mention it before because I mostly read outside (where you can't see it) or with the frontlight off or low. I only noticed the bleed yesterday.

If it is just the "blue hue" as you put it that bothers you, adjust the natural light setting. Just a little bit will make it white instead.

[Dibbler]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

To answer your question Dibbler, yes my Kobo has bleed on the bottom. So did several posters on the Ereader Blog (not goodereader but blog.ereader) also note it with their Kobos. It is a design defect not panel lottery. If it bugs you just return it.

I didn't mention it before because I mostly read outside (where you can't see it) or with the frontlight off or low. I only noticed the bleed yesterday.

If it is just the "blue hue" as you put it that bothers you, adjust the natural light setting. Just a little bit will make it white instead.

Thanks for that, most appreciated. I have now read the thread over at blog.ereader.

At the start I was more concerned with what I was seeing with the Clara as being typical of its design, it is fairly new on the market, or had I just got unlucky with what I bought.

Knowing that it isn't a panel lottery situation at least helped me to make a decision which was right for my needs.
Hence the change of ereader.

Thanks again to all who responded to my ramblings

[J_K]

Originally Posted by Dibbler

You can see here the screen differences between the Clara and the Glo....

Attachment 164441 Attachment 164440

....the above, after watching the video as well, might be more of a "taste" issue than a fault per se. I am forming an impression that the Kobo screens which use a comfort light have the hue over that of non comfort light screens, but I do not have enough experience or Kobo usage to know that for sure.

Placing both units in sleep mode and you can still see a difference in the screens....

Attachment 164442

Useful photos. Thanks for posting.

It's disappointing to see that some important aspects of screen quality are not improving with eInk. The Clara HD looks to have a noticeably darker background than the Glo. Presumably due to the capacitive layer. .

It's the same with the H2O Edition 2 compared to the Aura Edition 2. With the light off or in bright natural light, the H2O E2 has a slightly darker background and slightly worse contrast than the Aura E2.

I'd be interested to see how the Clara HD compares to the Aura E2 in terms of screen whiteness and contrast. I'd be disappointed if it isn't as good.

On the plus side, the Clara HD looks to have noticeably darker text than the Glo.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by J_K

Useful photos. Thanks for posting.

It's disappointing to see that some important aspects of screen quality are not improving with eInk. The Clara HD looks to have a noticeably darker background than the Glo. Presumably due to the capacitive layer.

I'm still wondering why Kobo went with a capacitive touch screen on this one. Is it cheaper to manufacture now?

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It is possible that Kobo needed to choose bluer LEDs to achieve the overall affect as the colour is adjusted.

Originally Posted by datanoise

I doubt it, the PocketBook ereaders have similar behavior (ability to have a yellow / closer to "natural light" lightning) but their "normal" lighting isn't blue.

Or, maybe it was on purpose. Like the description says if you read the information behind "Learn more" in the front light menu, blue light is actually good for you(r biological clock) during the day.

Originally Posted by J_K

The Clara HD looks to have a noticeably darker background than the Glo. Presumably due to the capacitive layer. [...]
On the plus side, the Clara HD looks to have noticeably darker text than the Glo.

No, comparing my Glo and Clara HD, Clara has a much higher contrast both by lighter background and yes, darker text.

[J_K]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

No, comparing my Glo and Clara HD, Clara has a much higher contrast both by lighter background and yes, darker text.

That's good to hear.

[koboy]

i know the KA1 had some blotchy light issues but i don't recall any light bleed/screen problems with the Kobo H2O Edition 2 i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong.

regarding the Kobo Clara HD what is and isn't acceptable will obviously differ from one user to the next. hopefully the light bleed that some have seen will be the exception and not the rule.

time will tell it always does.

best wishes koboy

[hamers]

Originally Posted by radbaddude

Would like to see the clara compared to the aura one side by side

Did anyone ever answer this? Apologies if so, I'm new here and trying to navigate the 50+ pages for this thread.

I'm also interested in the Clara. Here is my use case: I take the Kobo Aura (6") with me camping, on my bike, in bed, treat it relatively roughly - for me to use an ereader, philosophically, is to imagine it *almost* like a book.. If i had to be super gentle with it I'd probably switch back to books.

I love the size of the Aura.. but I hate how slow it is, how the lighting on it is kind of crapular. And I would looove waterproofing if possible, but its not a must. Is the Clara HD for me? Is there a different reader of that size/weight (any larger seems to be out of the picture for me, I really do take it backpacking into the woods).

I use Calibre for books and hate the Amazon ecosystem (and frankly, the business practices of the Amazon corporation, but thats another thread) and so staying within the Kobo realm seems to me the best option.

Would welcome any thoughts from you super intelligent people, and again, apologies if my kind of questions have been answered directly, I really did sift through many of the thread pages.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by hamers

Did anyone ever answer this? Apologies if so, I'm new here and trying to navigate the 50+ pages for this thread.

I'm also interested in the Clara. Here is my use case: I take the Kobo Aura (6") with me camping, on my bike, in bed, treat it relatively roughly - for me to use an ereader, philosophically, is to imagine it *almost* like a book.. If i had to be super gentle with it I'd probably switch back to books.

I love the size of the Aura.. but I hate how slow it is, how the lighting on it is kind of crapular. And I would looove waterproofing if possible, but its not a must. Is the Clara HD for me? Is there a different reader of that size/weight (any larger seems to be out of the picture for me, I really do take it backpacking into the woods).

I use Calibre for books and hate the Amazon ecosystem (and frankly, the business practices of the Amazon corporation, but thats another thread) and so staying within the Kobo realm seems to me the best option.

Would welcome any thoughts from you super intelligent people, and again, apologies if my kind of questions have been answered directly, I really did sift through many of the thread pages.

this ereader is similar in size/weight to the Kobo Clara HD. perhaps you might find the comparison favourable.

https://www.pocketbook-int.com/us/pr...-2#description

best wishes koboy