Did you buy one of the new Kobos (or do you plan to)?

[Sirtel]

I like bezels too. And I think the metal back of the Oasis was a bad idea (I know not everyone agrees with me on this). I put my Oasis in a nicely grippable and lightweight coverless case, else I was not able to read on it comfortably. All my other readers I use without covers, as they add too much weight.

My biggest concern with the Sage was that it might be too heavy and uncomfortable to hold. I don't have particularly strong hands. But luckily it proved not so. I can hold the Sage with one hand for a while, before I have to switch hands. And Kobo has been wise enough not to put a metal back on any of their readers.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The Sage looks interesting, but the "orange" (piss yellow) light is not orange enough. Showstopper for me. And anyway, I'm not in the market at the moment. I have a perfectly functional 7.8" Onyx with a more orange light.

I've never used a Reader with the "orange" light. So for me, it would be plenty bright enough. I've been using my H2O for almost 7 years without an "orange" light.

[hobnail]

I selected "bought one of the new ones" because I bought an Elipsa. But I still use the Forma for when I'm out and about which is rare these days. At my age catching covid is a big risk so when I'm not out I'm hiding under the bed yet again since the delta variant is much worse. The Elipsa is too big outside home, on the train, etc. but at home it's perfect. If I hadn't bought the Elipsa I would have bought the Sage.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

What you say is undoubtedly true. But then I have had that happen zero times.

Also, the same argument is true of most cell phones and many laptops

i've seen plenty of image requests for different Kobo e-readers on here and i'm relatively sure some of them have been because the SD card needed replacing. time will tell if the Libra 2 gets/needs adding to that list.

best wishes koboy

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've never used a Reader with the "orange" light. So for me, it would be plenty bright enough. I've been using my H2O for almost 7 years without an "orange" light.

I also find the warm light of the Sage suitable enough for my purposes. But then none of my ereaders have a truly orange light, they all are yellow. Even so I never use the warm light at its yellowest on any of them.

I like the Sage more and more with each day. It's fast becoming my new favorite.

[jasius]

I'm on the fence about the Libra 2, I was between the new Paperwhite and the Libra 2, but after sideloading a few books on my g/fs Paperwhite and seeing the sad lack of option and how hard it is to get KO Reader on a Paperwhite, I'm leaning towards the Libra 2.

I'm only worried about Libra 2 having bad battery life.

Are there any 3rd party Libra 2 covers out right now?

[polymerwitch]

Originally Posted by jasius

I'm only worried about Libra 2 having bad battery life.

Are there any 3rd party Libra 2 covers out right now?

I've read about three books on the Libra 2 now. Each one brought the battery life down about 15% after 5hrs of reading (30% front light; WiFi off). In sleep mode over night it drains about 1-2%. My biggest concern battery wise is that it recharges most of the way in the 15 minutes I plug it into my computer to transfer news and more books. To be kinder to the battery I setup the wireless connect in KOReader so I can actually cycle the battery properly.

I haven't seen 3rd party covers yet. I got the official sleep cover, and it's a bit too heavy for me. I'm thinking about just making my own.

[graycyn]

Currently in the "current readers are fine" camp.

But, I do like the white color on Libra 2. But no flush screen, no Dropbox, sigh.

Sage sounds like it might be on the heavy side for me and other worries are whether the front light will be bright enough and battery life might also be a concern.

My Forma's front light is considerably dimmer than my KA1, I can set the KA1 at 50%, Forma needs to be at 78% to match. Mostly I read in the 35-45% range, but on some days, I need more. And if Sage is dimmer than Forma, I might literally have to go with 75-100% sometimes and not sure how that would impact the battery? I read a lot, so I never get great battery life, but Sage could bring it to the point of charging every other day or even daily.

I have no need for a new reader, so I plan to kick back, enjoy my beautiful Forma, wait and see what people's longer term experiences with their Sage are and maybe pick one up in a year or so on sale. Or, maybe ride it out until Kobo replaces the Sage.

[TheMadBrewer]

I am a jinx on eReader models.

I really liked my Kindle Voyage -- so much that when I left it on a plane in Amsterdam, I paid KLM $100 to ship it back to me (luckily they had found it). Of course, Amazon went in a different direction with the Oasis. I tried my brother's -- he hated it and I did to.

So when the Voyage started acting flaky, I bought a Kobo Aura ONE Limited Edition. It took me a while to get used tapping the screen rather than the haptic "hot spots" on the Voyage, but once I got used to it I loved the One LE. So of course, Kobo as too gone in a different direction

So I'll hang on to my One LE until it dies or becomes too flakey to use. Then I'll survey the market and buy something that I probably won't be happy with

I do really like my Remarkable 2 but I find it a bit too unwieldy for e-reading

[mezzanine]

Not overly interested in the new models. I was fairly sure I wouldn't be from the moment they were announced and voiced my disappointment at the time.

They're both 2.0 revisions of the previous generation rather than ground-up new designs like previous high-end Kobos. In the case of the Sage, a good argument can be made that they actually moved backward.

I'd been waiting for the new releases because I was planning to upgrade as soon as they dropped. Instead, I was more impressed with the value of the new Paperwhite and was planning to get one, but ultimately decided I wanted an 8 inch device.

I bought a used KA1 and in a year or so when the used price of the Forma drops into the $100 range I'll pick up one of those until there's a new 8 inch device that actually feels like a meaningful upgrade over what's already available in the market.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

Not overly interested in the new models. I was fairly sure I wouldn't be from the moment they were announced and voiced my disappointment at the time.

They're both 2.0 revisions of the previous generation rather than ground-up new designs like previous high-end Kobos. In the case of the Sage, a good argument can be made that they actually moved backward.

I'm not at all interested in such a large device, but aside from the plastic backed screen, I don't see how the Sage could be considered a step backwards. And I'm fairly sure they dropped the Mobius screen for good reasons.

[Almamida]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I also find the warm light of the Sage suitable enough for my purposes. But then none of my ereaders have a truly orange light, they all are yellow. Even so I never use the warm light at its yellowest on any of them.

I like the Sage more and more with each day. It's fast becoming my new favorite.

I totally agree, the Sage is becoming my favorite device, to the point I might not switch back to Kindle next year.

My only complaint could be the battery, but I will order the sleepcover. It's a great thing they went with a magnetic attachment. I will be able to pop it in and out like I do with the Voyage and its Origami case.

Even for the Libra2, the new screen changes my perception of the device : better contrast, blacks, front light and touch responsiveness.

We have a really good batch of new readers this year.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I'm not at all interested in such a large device, but aside from the plastic backed screen, I don't see how the Sage could be considered a step backwards. And I'm fairly sure they dropped the Mobius screen for good reasons.

Over 20% heavier for a device many hold in one hand for hours at a time is a major difference. There have been many comments by people who would otherwise have considered the Sage that decided against it for precisely that reason.

Most people care about the core functionality of an e-reader and something like weight is much higher on their priority list than having access to Kobo's proprietary audiobook functionality.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

Over 20% heavier for a device many hold in one hand for hours at a time is a major difference. There have been many comments by people who would otherwise have considered the Sage that decided against it for precisely that reason.

Most people care about the core functionality of an e-reader and something like weight is much higher on their priority list than having access to Kobo's proprietary audiobook functionality.

Oddly enough, those who have said this mostly have never held a Sage in their hand. Most reviews say the weight isn't actually that bad, and as someone who owns the Sage I can confirm it's not bad.

Is it heavier than the Forma? Sure. Is it hard to hold single handed? No, it's actually comparable to a previous Kobo device, which people had no issue holding single handed.

The weight is also largely tied to the mobius substrate Zod mentioned.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Oddly enough, those who have said this mostly have never held a Sage in their hand. Most reviews say the weight isn't actually that bad, and as someone who owns the Sage I can confirm it's not bad.

Yeah. I too was disappointed when the news first came out, and afraid of the weight before I got my Sage. It may seem pretty heavy on paper, but it's not that hard to singlehand, actually. And I don't have particularly big or strong hands.

Seems to be quite well balanced.