Does Anyone Have both a Forma and a Libra?

[rogerinnyc]

I've read through the Libra review thread, but I'm particularly interested in comparisons folks have between the two readers for those who have both. My Forma recently stopped holding a charge well (I reset and everything else -- none worked -- sadly, I think I "overtested" the waterproofing) and I'm debating between replacing it with the same device or switching to the Libra.

I have totally loved my Forma, but I'm tempted by the smaller footprint and the power button placement of the Libra, while being somewhat put off by the recessed screen.

I've had an H2O (now residing with my son) and an Aura One (which I still like, but the front lighting flickers on and off and, in any event, I have now come to rely on the page turn buttons of the Forma).

Obviously, reasons for likes and dislikes are very personal, but I'd appreciate further comparisons/impressions between the Forma and the Libra, including screen clarity and responsiveness (recognizing that those two are among the most subjective of attributes!).

Thanks!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rogerinnyc

I've read through the Libra review thread, but I'm particularly interested in comparisons folks have between the two readers for those who have both. My Forma recently stopped holding a charge well (I reset and everything else -- none worked -- sadly, I think I "overtested" the waterproofing) and I'm debating between replacing it with the same device or switching to the Libra.

I have totally loved my Forma, but I'm tempted by the smaller footprint and the power button placement of the Libra, while being somewhat put off by the recessed screen.

I've had an H2O (now residing with my son) and an Aura One (which I still like, but the front lighting flickers on and off and, in any event, I have now come to rely on the page turn buttons of the Forma).

Obviously, reasons for likes and dislikes are very personal, but I'd appreciate further comparisons/impressions between the Forma and the Libra, including screen clarity and responsiveness (recognizing that those two are among the most subjective of attributes!).

Thanks!

Personally, I prefer the Forma however my wife traded the Forma back to me for my new Libra. She is happy with the 7" screen, liked the colour and the smaller size fits her purse/backpacks better. The screen and responsiveness seems much the same and I was lucky enough to get a Forma where the shadow bar is unnoticeable unless I play with the brightness and look for it.

[Strether]

I've had a Forma for a while, but a couple of weeks ago it froze on me and when I got it working again, it had completely dumped a sizable library of books.

It seems to be working fine now, but I no longer trust it to hold a lot of books, and I've hated the power button from day one, so I ordered a Kobo Libra and had it delivered last Tuesday.

I charged it up when i got it and have used it heavily since, just needing to recharge this afternoon.

I love the placement and feel of the power button and the page turn buttons feel good as well. They make a slight noise, which doesn't bother me.

The screen is a bit darker than that of the Forma, but you can compensate for this by turning the lights up a bit. I ran the Forma at 20% illumination and I use 40% on the Libra.

I actually like the recessed screen better than the flush one, because it seemed that I was always triggering some menu on the Forma because of the way I held it. I do think the screen on the Forma is a little more sensitive to the touch than the Libra, but not so much that it's a problem. I don't notice any difference in the clarity of the words, but I have very old eyes, so maybe I wouldn't notice that.

I thought I would regret the loss of the real estate, but it's not bothersome at all.

Jim

[haydnfan]

I prefer the Libra.

1. The Libra comes in white!
2. 7 inch is the perfect size for me.
3. I can't see the gradient on the Libra's light unless I look for it, but I can see the bar on the Forma even if I don't.
4. The power button on the Forma is annoyingly stiff.

btw I can pocket the Clara HD but I can't pocket the Libra nor the Forma so I don't consider the Libra to be more portable.

Also the Forma is not heavier (in fact it might even be slightly lighter) so it is not any harder to hold than the Libra.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

Also the Forma is not heavier (in fact it might even be slightly lighter) so it is not any harder to hold than the Libra.

The naked Forma weighs 197g while the naked Libra weighs 192g. The cover adds more weight to the Forma by ~21g.

[rogerinnyc]

Just want to thank folks who have responded. So far, it's tipping me towards the Libra. Will report back here if I go down that path. But if there are other owners of both who have yet to weigh in, I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again.

[bookwurm70]

Originally Posted by rogerinnyc

Just want to thank folks who have responded. So far, it's tipping me towards the Libra. Will report back here if I go down that path. But if there are other owners of both who have yet to weigh in, I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again.

I’m deciding which to buy. Which did you get? Good choice?

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by bookwurm70

I’m deciding which to buy. Which did you get? Good choice?

Looking at the devices listed in rogerinnyc's profile next to his comment, it seems he went with the Forma in the end.

[DevonHess]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

1. The Libra comes in white!.

This is the opposite of a feature. I want everything I own to be black; white will always eventually start to look dirty or yellowed.

Originally Posted by haydnfan

2. 7 inch is the perfect size for me.

I prefer 8".

[bookwurm70]

Originally Posted by DevonHess

This is the opposite of a feature. I want everything I own to be black; white will always eventually start to look dirty or yellowed.

I prefer 8".

Ditto! My first ereader was White, and I hated it. The white seemed glaring while trying to read.

And I prefer a larger screen as well.

[Skydog]

White Libra and a Forma. Win-win. The white is a very subtle pearl white, quite nice.

[rogerinnyc]

Apologies -- I never came back to report. I ended up ordering the Libra, but ultimately returned it. TL;DR -- both the Libra and the Forma are excellent, and I think it comes down to personal preference about different features. I ended up sticking with Forma primarily because I valued the extra screen size, but I so hate its stiff power button that I almost kept the Libra solely for that reason (it has a great button on the rear, like the Aura One, except round).

Oh, right. Screen appearance. If I didn't put them both side by side, each was excellent. In direct comparison, the Forma gets brighter at lower percentages, i.e., 60% lighting on Forma is about 80% on Libra. Disregarding the comfort light, the Libra appeared to me to be slightly yellower/warmer vs. a slightly bluer/colder look for the Forma. I liked both and wouldn't have noticed it without the side-by-side.

I thought the Forma type was slightly sharper/cleaner, but without the comparison I thought the Libra type was superb too. At times, I thought I preferred it. Call it a toss-up.

I thought the Libra's recessed screen would bug me. It didn't.

I found the Forma fit my hand a bit better. My thumb naturally fell on the top page turn button (which, thanks to Geek101's hacks, I can have both the top button and the bottom button advance the page forward). With the Libra, my thumb fell a bit higher and needed to move down to hit the button.

I did not hear any clicks with the Libra page turn, but the button seems a touch firmer than the Forma, which has a bit more give to it.

I like how the Forma tapers to a thinner edge on the side away from the buttons. The Libra is more uniform in width. The result is that even though the Forma is larger, it sort of feels lighter (though both are very light and pretty close in actual weight).

I didn't compare battery lives in any measured fashion, but the Libra seemed very good.

In all, the Libra is a delightful device. If it's the screen size you prefer, I wouldn't hesitate recommending it.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by rogerinnyc

...I so hate its stiff power button that I almost kept the Libra solely for that reason (it has a great button on the rear, like the Aura One, except round).

My first Forma's power button was EXTREMELY stiff to the point where I couldn't even turn the unit on. I sent it back to Kobo and exchanged it for another Forma, and voila! The 2nd Forma is about as close to perfect a reader, with the exception of the Kindle Voyage (my all-time favorite e-reader!), as I have found. It's now my primary reader.