Looking to upgrade from my Kobo Libra 2, want B&W - options please?

[forster01]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The Elipsa does do everything other Kobos do but I found it too heavy for prolonged reading compared to a Sage. I never went back to using the Libra or Libra 2 after I got the Sage...

Thank you very much. You told me everything i need to know.

Sage it is...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by forster01

Hi all,
I have Kobo One which needs to be upgraded, as the battery is somewhat dead.
As i'm a kobo user since 2010. i'm thinking of buying Kobo once again.
Which one would you please recommend?
Im using it just for epub or kepub books, not very interested in color display but i need a screen of about 7"+

Im thinkig of:
1. Kobo Sage
2. Kobo libra 2 (i dont care much about buttons)
3(?). Kobo elipsa - not so sure about this one but if it is sutable for reading ebooks (no PDF's) may be...

Thhank you in advance!

The Kobo Libra 2 is for the most part gone. Kobo has not replaced it with another BW Reader. The next up is the Kobo Sage with an 8" scree but a poor (IMHO) battery.

[Quoth]

Poorer battery on Sage, but still excellent if you don't use front light.
Note 8" is nearly twice the screen area of 6" so same brightness of front light will use twice the battery.

[pypeke]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Poorer battery on Sage, but still excellent if you don't use front light.
Note 8" is nearly twice the screen area of 6" so same brightness of front light will use twice the battery.

I am thinking about getting a Sage. I could deal with Libra Color if I had to, but prefer a B&W.

On Kobo's website, I saw that only the 3 newest Kobos are DIY repairable. Fix-It, or something like that, has videos.

Do you know if the Sage's battery can changed? Even if Kobo comes up with a Sage 2, and a larger battery, the bigger battery will not work in the original Sage. Am I right?

[Aleron Ives]

It's possible, but you need to work carefully to remove the glue blobs used for waterproofing before you can unplug the battery.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pypeke

Do you know if the Sage's battery can changed? Even if Kobo comes up with a Sage 2, and a larger battery, the bigger battery will not work in the original Sage. Am I right?

A friend of mine who is very talented at killing batteries mostly due to a bad habit of tossing devices on to a charger in between uses and I replaced the battery in their Sage. Due to the size of the battery area, the only batteries we could find that fitted were all 1200mAH.

As a comparison for the effect of the user on battery usage, we both have iPhone 14 Pro phones. His battery has a reported maximum capacity of 82% while mine has a reported maximum capacity of 96% though mine is about 2 months older than his.

[Aleron Ives]

How hard is it to deal with the waterproofing so you can actually get the battery unplugged, and is it possible to add your own waterproofing coat to the new battery's connector?

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

How hard is it to deal with the waterproofing so you can actually get the battery unplugged, and is it possible to add your own waterproofing coat to the new battery's connector?

I'm sure that any adhesive near the battery connector is not for waterproofing but to mechanically secure the connector. The actual waterproofing has to be on the case.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

How hard is it to deal with the waterproofing so you can actually get the battery unplugged, and is it possible to add your own waterproofing coat to the new battery's connector?

Trivial.
Yes.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Renate

I'm sure that any adhesive near the battery connector is not for waterproofing but to mechanically secure the connector. The actual waterproofing has to be on the case.

The only Kobo ereader that had a waterproof case was the Kobo Aura H2O (the one with the protective cover over the USB and µSD card ports). All other Kobo water resistant models use a HZO coating on the electronics

[Renate]

Originally Posted by DNSB

All other Kobo water resistant models use a HZO coating on the electronics

Oh, I've run into that. I consider that anti-moisture, not water resistant. Besides, do you want water sloshing around inside the case?

[macnoodle]

Have you checked out anything from Pocketbook? I absolutely *love my InkPad 4, and it's the most "unlocked" e-reader that I've ever owned - you don't have to even be logged into a Pocketbook account to use it. Side-loading is a breeze, too. The best part is that Pocketbook e-readers are just that - e-readers! No OS bloat and excessive battery drain like with Android devices. Pocketbook e-readers run a custom Linux OS. Worth a look, IMO!

Originally Posted by CosmicRay

Hi everyone!

I've been using eInk readers since the Kindle 2 came out in 2009. I use Calibre heavily and am comfortable moving between ecosystems.

I switched from my Kindle Oasis to the Kobo Libra 2 in 2022. The Libra 2 is showing signs of age and an upgrade is in order. The problem is: to what?

I tried the Libra Colour, and absolutely hated the reduced contrast ratio of the screen. It felt like going back to 2009. I rarely need color, and returned the Libra Colour.

I don't want to go any smaller than the 7" Libra 2 screen. I would like to see something faster and more generally responsive. Important features are:

• Calibre compatibility
• Front light with adjustable color temperature
• Long battery life
• Some sort of stand; integrated into a cover is fine
• 300DPI Carta 1200 or better screen

Nice-to-haves would include:

• Better PDF support than the Libra 2 (I've used KOReader on it, which helps)
• Waterproofing of some sort
• Physical page-turning buttons

Here's what I've looked into and my thoughts on the reviews:

• The Kobo Sage. The main drawback seems to be worse battery life. Bigger screen, faster CPU, and smaller battery than the Libra 2. One post also says that the flush screens aren't as clear as the recessed ones, though few mention that.
• The Kobo Elipsa 2E. The screen is only 227 DPI, and the cover doesn't have a stand. I'm also concerned about it being too heavy to use for extended periods of time. I don't see myself using the note-taking features much. I don't often read PDFs, but a screen that size might possibly change my mind - that has some appeal, but overall I am leery about a decrease in screen quality. I'm also a little leery of something that's tablet-size; if I'm going to take something that size, maybe I should just take a tablet. Also there are some concerns about battery life, but not as much as with the Sage.
• There are a dizzying set of options from Boox. I'm quite comfortable with Android, including adb, but I really just want something to read books. It seems many of them aren't waterproof, maybe don't have as good a presentation of text as the Kobo, etc. I can't find much about covers/stands. I've read conflicting stories about battery life. Comments here seem positive on the Boox Page (TechRadar does too), and the Boox Nova Air 2 also looks interesting but lacks the page-turn buttons of the Page.

It seems I must be missing something. I'd be interested in people's thoughts!

[pypeke]

Originally Posted by DNSB

A friend of mine who is very talented at killing batteries mostly due to a bad habit of tossing devices on to a charger in between uses and I replaced the battery in their Sage. Due to the size of the battery area, the only batteries we could find that fitted were all 1200mAH.

As a comparison for the effect of the user on battery usage, we both have iPhone 14 Pro phones. His battery has a reported maximum capacity of 82% while mine has a reported maximum capacity of 96% though mine is about 2 months older than his.

Oops! I do the same thing as your friend does. My batteries say 100% once I unplug them. So I am screwing up the battery?

Should I wait until the battery gets a certain percentage before I charge it?

[Aleron Ives]

Your battery will last longer if you unplug the device when it reaches 80%, rather than charging it to 100% each time.

[DNSB]

The major problem with my friend was that instead of waiting till his devices drop to 20% or so, he plugs them in whenever not using them so charging from 80/90% range to 100%. That is Not A Good Idea though quite a few newer devices have workarounds to keep the battery from getting damaged as much (one of my devices won't start charging till it drops below 30% unless I double click the power button to override that behaviour. It also fast charges to 80% and then slow charges until I remove it from the charger.