New pocket device

[Owl_]

I meant to buy a new portable kobo. It must have the best performance amongst the kobos (I often read big-size ebubs full of links, and sometimes PDF). It doesn't matter if is an old model.

I've put an eye on the the kobo touch 2.0 hardware and looks very promising.

Every opinion is welcome

[davidfor]

While the Touch 2 is a fine device, you would be better with the Aura Edition 2 or Clara HD. The higher resolution of either screen, and the light make them much more usable. As you have an Aura ONE and a Paperwhite, I think you would be disappointed by the Touch 2.

[mobama]

I'd recommend an H2O for the bigger screen. When dealing with PDF files, I cannot imagine anymore going back down to a 6" screen.

That said, a 300 ppi 6" screen is not an impossibility and, in the end, a microSD slot might prove decisive over screen size.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Owl_

I've put an eye on the the kobo touch 2.0 hardware and looks very promising.

The Touch has a 6" Pearl screen without a front light, so it will definitely be a big step down from your other readers. But I'm guessing you want something light and small that you won't have to worry about when traveling -- and the Touch 2.0 definitely looks good for that. My brother wanted a reader he could use with Walmart's (Kobo's) eBook store so he just bought a Touch 2.0 off of eBay. (Unfortunately he doesn't have it yet, so I can't do a hands review for you.)

[Owl_]

Originally Posted by rcentros

The Touch has a 6" Pearl screen without a front light, so it will definitely be a big step down from your other readers. But I'm guessing you want something light and small that you won't have to worry about when traveling -- and the Touch 2.0 definitely looks good for that. My brother wanted a reader he could use with Walmart's (Kobo's) eBook store so he just bought a Touch 2.0 off of eBay. (Unfortunately he doesn't have it yet, so I can't do a hands review for you.)

Exactly, you understood. In the travel and work use I'm interessed only to the portability and performance, and not to the screen quality. I thought the touch 2.0 because it has the same hardware of the KA1 but with less demanding screen, so it should emprove the performances.
So the present choices look to be:

1)touch 2.0 (looks fast and responsive)
2)Aura (is it as above o worst?)
3)Aura HD (many say it is the best and fast kobo ever made. Drowback: 6.8")
4)kobo mini (seems a little slow)

Thanks for your answer. I would be glad to listen also to the others experts opinion.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Owl_

1)touch 2.0 (looks fast and responsive)
2)Aura (is it as above o worst?)
3)Aura HD (many say it is the best and fast kobo ever made. Drowback: 6.8")
4)kobo mini (seems a little slow)

You might want to add the Kobo Glo HD to the list. It's the same size, same 6th generation (basically the same case) as the Touch 2.0 (which, I think, has the same CPU specs) and comes with a front light and a 300 ppi E-Carta screen. I don't know how easy these are to find in Italy. In the U.S. Rakuten is selling them refurbished on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kobo-Glo-HD...ahfL7#shpCntId

Unfortunately, it looks like they only ship to the U.S.

Looks like they're also listed on Italy's eBay ...

https://www.ebay.it/itm/Kobo-Glo-HD-....c100033.m2042

I should also add ... I have a Mini. I like it fine, but I don't use it with huge books and I don't think it would compare well with your newer eReaders in performance. The original Aura is well-loved by some folks here. It's small, has 212 ppx "flush" screen with capacitive touch (like the Tolino Visions), though I think it's smaller than the Vision. Even though it has a 6" screen, it's not much bigger than the Mini, though about an ounce and a quarter heavier (Mini 134 grams, Aura 174g, Glo HD 180g, Touch 2.0 185g). The original Aura is a 5th generation Kobo.

[mobama]

So for you it's the size that makes the device portable? For me it's all about the pockets.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z4ryQyw1e...0/IMG_0188.JPG

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by mobama

So for you it's the size that makes the device portable? For me it's all about the pockets.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z4ryQyw1e...0/IMG_0188.JPG

->

[issybird]

The Mini is quite bulky for its 5" screen size; devices with a 6" screen are very little bigger.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by issybird

The Mini is quite bulky for its 5" screen size; devices with a 6" screen are very little bigger.

I've noticed that. Now I can see why, despite "inside information" from goodereads, there will never be a new 5" Kobo Mini — or any new 5" reader. I didn't realize how small some of these 6" devices had gotten until I looked at the cover of the Aura 2 at Walmart — they still hadn't had the actual Aura on display yet.

[Owl_]

Has enyone tried to expand the memory of the kobo mini with an high speed micro SD? Has it any emprovement on the performance? And on battery life?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Owl_

Has enyone tried to expand the memory of the kobo mini with an high speed micro SD? Has it any emprovement on the performance? And on battery life?

According to posts in these threads ...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=212243

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=200703

... yes it's been done. And no, no improvement in speed. (I didn't notice anyone one mentioning battery life -- but I just scanned the threads, so I could easily have missed it.)

[Ladyrixx]

Originally Posted by Owl_

Has enyone tried to expand the memory of the kobo mini with an high speed micro SD? Has it any emprovement on the performance? And on battery life?

I changed mine out with a 16GB card (if I remember correctly) Didn't do anything for speed. I loved the size, but I hated the touchscreen, and the lack of light. As I recall, it was even fine reading manga .cbrs, and those are 10+mb.

[azayn]

Originally Posted by Owl_

Exactly, you understood. In the travel and work use I'm interessed only to the portability and performance, and not to the screen quality. I thought the touch 2.0 because it has the same hardware of the KA1 but with less demanding screen, so it should emprove the performances.
So the present choices look to be:

1)touch 2.0 (looks fast and responsive)
2)Aura (is it as above o worst?)
3)Aura HD (many say it is the best and fast kobo ever made. Drowback: 6.8")
4)kobo mini (seems a little slow)

Thanks for your answer. I would be glad to listen also to the others experts opinion.

I bought a refurb Kobo Mini off eBay a couple of months ago primarily for portability and I can affirm that it delivers in that respect. It's the only reader out there that can actually fit in my pocket. And because of it's ultra compact size I'm able to bring it everywhere which provides me with abundant reading opportunities.

But the downside is performance is noticeably lacking. It's slow, has ghosting issues, and isn't as responsive as my Oasis or even my old Nook ST. The dictionary isn't great (true for Kobo in general) and Kobo hasn't issued an update for it in ages. Forget about trying to open a PDF or do any extensive highlighting/annotations. It just isn't suited for such advanced tasks.

My Oasis is an all-around superior piece of hardware. I think it provides the best eInk experience of any device out there. However I find myself using my Mini more often because I can take it with me everywhere I go.

[DaleDe]

For a small 6" device you might want to look at the PocketBook Touch Lux 4 described in our wiki. It is only a quarter inch wider than the mini and very light weight.