From 6 to 8-inch screen: what were your experiences?

[Steve H]

Originally Posted by foxQ

Hi guys, I’m about to replace my 5” reader and mulling whether to buy a 6” or 8”.

I have a 9.7” Ipad, which for my tastes feels too bulky for ebooks and articles.

To those of you that have moved from 6-to-8 inches, what were the greatest impressions, likes and dislikes?

Cheers and thanks!

Absolutely love the size and feel of the 8" Kobo Oasis. Allows use of fonts at slightly larger size. It is still fairly lightweight.
The 7" Kindle Oasis is also a big improvement over a 6" device. For my tastes 8" is a nice sweet spot.

[JSWolf]

If weight is an issue and you wat a larger screen, go for the Kobo Forma as it's a plastic backed screen and thus lighter then the Kobo Libra H2O at 7" with a glass backed screen.

The difference in weight between the 7" Kindle Oasis 3 and the 8" Kobo Forma is .31oz. with no case.

If weight is an issue and you do want a Kindle, do not get one with cell service as that does add weight.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Steve H

Absolutely love the size and feel of the 8" Kobo Oasis. Allows use of fonts at slightly larger size. It is still fairly lightweight.
The 7" Kindle Oasis is also a big improvement over a 6" device. For my tastes 8" is a nice sweet spot.

The 8" screen is the Kobo Forma. There is no Kobo Oasis.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by Bookstooge

The UK isn't Europe. I realize you are from Mass, but still, that is no excuse for making such an egregious error.

Famous historic headline from The Times (UK)
"Fog in the channel, Europe cut off"

But I must admit
1. We are not the centre of the universe that we thought we were
2.We will probably , stupidly, be leaving soon

My local uk library uses overdrive, I thought all UK libraries did?


(Wikipedia says the fog thing is apocryphal , but our tabloids have the best headlines. )

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If weight is an issue and you wat a larger screen, go for the Kobo Forma as it's a plastic backed screen and thus lighter then the Kobo Libra H2O at 7" with a glass backed screen.

Technically not lighter. Libra H2O is 192g and Kobo Forma is 197g. That's a very negligible weight difference though considering the size increase. The 8" Forma and 7" Libra are actually lighter than the 6" PW3 (205g).

[NoHolyGrail]

I currently read on a 6" Kindle Oasis (for fiction) and the 8" Kobo Forma (for non-fiction). I also have experience with the 7" Kindle Oasis. Here are my thoughts.

Screen size - I've always been fine with 6" screen for reading fiction. But for academic, technical reading, I find a larger screen helpful (not sure why, but I think it helps to have more recently read sentences hanging around in my field of vision longer). For this, I found 7" to be a huge improvement over 6", and I found 8" to be a huge improvement over 7".

Ergonomics - I think the Kobo Forma is by far the best of these three ergonomically. The spine/handle feels perfectly natural, unlike on the Oasis. Because of how the weight is distributed, the Forma actually feels lighter to me than the 7" Oasis even though technically the Forma does weigh slightly more. Meanwhile, the spine on the 6" Oasis is so thin that it's difficult for me to find a comfortable grip; I almost always keep the cover on to make it easier to hold. The 7" Oasis has a more serious spine, but still doesn't feel quite natural and it's also difficult to grip because it's smooth metal. I've accidentally dropped both versions of the Oasis while reading. I've never dropped the Forma.

PDFs - Personally, I still have to reformat PDFs to read them comfortably on any of these devices.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NoHolyGrail

DFs - Personally, I still have to reformat PDFs to read them comfortably on any of these devices.

I suggest installing KOReader on the Forma. It will give you a better PDF experience then any Kobo or Kindle. One thing you can do with PDF and KOReader is to have the margins removed for larger text.

[NoHolyGrail]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I suggest installing KOReader on the Forma. It will give you a better PDF experience then any Kobo or Kindle. One thing you can do with PDF and KOReader is to have the margins removed for larger text.

Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping to have some time soon to try this out. I've been using k2pdfopt to reformat before transferring to any of my devices. This lets me remove margins, but it looks like KOReader will still be a big improvement to the whole experience.

[foxQ]

Hi people,

A much belated thanks to those that offered advice. I ended up getting a Pocketbook Inkpad 3 that I’m very happy with.

I’m still learning how to customize it with different applications. One thing I wish was possible would be a different dictionary lookup to replace the tiny mailbox-formatted popup. With long dictionary entries like Oxford’s, it becomes frustrating to use.

I also saw it’s possible to root it, which I may look into.

Cheers and thanks to all, and for this lovely forum!

[mtreader]

Could you specify what you prefer about Kobo software/operation vs Inkpad 3?

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by mtreader

Could you specify what you prefer about Kobo software/operation vs Inkpad 3?

I like a couple of things better on the Kobo than on the Inkpad 3. I've had an Inkpad 3/Inkpad 3Pro between the end of October and last Friday. I thought I liked the form factor of a 7.8 inch device better than the Kobo Forma. in the end there were just some (probably minor for almost everyone else) things that made me go back to a Kobo and those are mostly software related.

Pocketbook has some very nice software features. It is highly costumizable, the library can be fine tuned to the t and the screen is a beauty! Lights are even but they are considerably dimmer (30%) than on Kobos and only half as bright as on an Oasis. They do contain the brightness so they can claim a longer battery life.

This was the first thing that drove me nuts. I thought I would get used to it in time, but I kept swiping up the screen in futile attempts to make it brighter. You see, I do read with the lights turned up to the max during the day. Most people don't do that so the maximum brightness might not be important for them but it is for me. I asked Pocketbooks help desk if there was some patch for me to crank it up but was told the brightness would be perfect as it is. Well, I like to be the judge of what is perfect for me, so I was a bit miffed by their answer.

Kobos can be patched. Not everything is possible, but there are a couple of very nice people around here that do write patches for us. Furthermore there are some of Kobo beta testers on the forums so word/wishes get back to Kobo, which is nice. They won't do everything we would like to have, but they seem to listen and consider stuff. At least this is the impression I got over the years. So Pocketbooks self-righteous answer didn't sit well with me.

The second thing was that I like to read the first two or so pages of a book to see if I wanna read it next. I read the synopsis and when I think this could be nice, I read the first page. This way I open up a couple of books that then are on the front page as marked "reading right now". On a Kobo is an option to set a book as "unread" so it isn't listed as "reading right now" anymore. When I asked a Pocketbook official that is very active in a German forum and answers stuff, if there was something similar I could do to set my books back to "unread" other than deleting them and reinstalling on the Pocketbook, I was told it was a Pocketbook and no Kobo. No suggestion how to achieve this in another way or anything, he was royally put off by my question and let me know in no uncertain terms.

The third thing was of more importance, at least for me. There is no possibilty to change the contrast. With Kobo you can just darken the font by changing the contrast. You can't with a Pocketbook.

Fourth they don't have justified text. You can make Calibre do it for you by converting epub to epub, but you have to make this with every book you send to your device. Which is a major bummer as I get all my books from the library. Although I know how to strip the DRM, it doesn't sit well with me to do this with library books.

Pocketbook software lets you sort your library in a gazillion ways, which is good if you read fanfic or something like this (I don't, Kobos sorting options are more than adequate for my needs), there are games on a Pocketbook, a calender, even a calculator but a basic stuff to enhance the reading experience - nada!

I don't need a calculator or a calendar on my ereader, I want my text to be justified, and dark on a brightly lit screen. So when I realized I won't get used to these things I got rid of the Pocketbook and bought a Kobo again.

If you don't need a screechingly bright screen, don't read justifyed and have an extensive library that needs to be managed in impossible ways the Pocketbook is a joy!

[mtreader]

Poppaea, Thanks so much for the clear explanation!

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by mtreader

Poppaea, Thanks so much for the clear explanation!

You are welcome!

The Pocketbook is a very fine reader. There are a lot of things you can costumize to your preference. They are one of the biggest players over here and dominate the reader market in Eastern Europe. The differences in the software aren't many AFAIK. You can see for yourself if you download the manuals and take a look at how things work.

I hope you find a reader that is to your liking!

[foxQ]

Initially I bought a Kobo Libra, that I returned.

I think you should give yourself the chance to try both and see how closely either fills your specific needs. Perhaps seek a store with a generous return policy?

My Inkpad 3 justifies text on epubs without problems. The firmware is the latest.

Cheers!

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by foxQ

Hi guys, I’m about to replace my 5” reader and mulling whether to buy a 6” or 8”.

I have a 9.7” Ipad, which for my tastes feels too bulky for ebooks and articles.

To those of you that have moved from 6-to-8 inches, what were the greatest impressions, likes and dislikes?

Cheers and thanks!

Why would you even want to jump from a 5" to an 8"... IF the iPad is too big then 8" will be too. I have a 10" Fire While I can read on it I don't. I also have a 7" Fire which I do read on from time to time. My 6" Clara is Perfect 90% of my reading is on it.
Besides size you also should consider the quality of the pixels. My Fires are Low while the Clara is 300 ppi... my older kobo aura is 6" also But its ppi is 212 All a Blur to me. I also have a 6" PW 4 I Hate that thing no matter the adjustment of the light my eyes Burn. With the Clara I can but a light blue background & read for Hours! So you see Size of screen not everything