Aura HD Kobo Aura HD Impressions Thread

[Mikeyboards]

Originally Posted by drew2720

Mikeyboards...my library had Overdrive but changed (due to cost conflict) to something else but I can't recall what...they now have it all under what they are calling 'the magic wall' when you get into their e-book section. They are using Blio for the kindle books, which isn't the greatest, and you click on epub for everything else, which downloads to adobe. Haven't tried the reset yet as I am going to finish the book I started first. Let you know if it works. Thanks again for your help!

Ah, that's Axis360 (the mediator/interface between Blio and libraries). My library also has that option (besides Overdrive), so I'll try it out and report back, as to whether Blio's eBooks, when downloaded in ePub format and transferred (via ADE) to the Aura, tend to lose the cover art. I've been meaning to try it anyway, as the Blio collection seems to have more of the newer, in-demand titles than Overdrive. And there tend to be far fewer holds (reserves) on the Blio titles, since fewer of our library patrons discover and use Blio (as it's more complicated than Overdrive in some ways). Will let you know my results!

[ewphoenix123]

Originally Posted by 93terp

What's the advantage of longer time between screen refreshes?

You no longer have the "black flash" effect on turning pages, it was used to clean text remnants from the screen in earlier eink devices.
Over the years the drivers for eink screens got much better, and the full page refresh is no longer necessary for every turn, which is why most newer readers offer an option to flash every 3-6 pages.
I for my part find that I don't need this big refresh at all, the normal font rendering on page turns cleans the screen up properly so far.
On both the Glo and the Aura.

[evanft]

I have another thing I don't like about the aura. The plastic could be better. It feels kinda cheap. It would be nice if the back was the same as my standard Kindle or my nexus 7. This is kind of a small complaint, though. I imagine someone here will find a suitable skin that adds sufficient texture to the back.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

I can't think of any company I've ever ordered from that has had a worse shipping time or customer service than kobo. Most americans are waiting at least a week to get their item shipped, and it's more than a few screw ups on kobo's part.

I could have sent amazon a first class letter and gotten a pw shipped faster than my kobo with my aura.

Umm... as a Canadian, I can give one company that has lousy shipping to Canada -- Amazon. Last item I ordered (origami paper) was delivered in 3 weeks which is a bit longer than the 5 business days predicted. I could blame the US and Canadian post offices and a stop in Canada Customs but so much easier to blame Amazon.

I could have ordered from Amazon.ca but they didn't have that item. Perhaps Canadians weren't into purchasing 20cm origami paper at that time?

In some ways, I get a laugh out of the complaints from American purchasers of the Kobo Aura -- Americans are being treated to the second rate customer service that non-Americans have been used to from American firms for decades.

Regards,
David

[Nil Einne]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I am no fan of KOBO but you are not making an accurate comparison. The $139 Kindle PW is the no-ads version and it lacks an SD slot. There is only a $30 difference between it and an Aura.

In addition, I would point out that even if you don't care about ads, Amazon US will not ship the version with ads to other countries. I believe it may be offered in some other countries either via their local Amazon stores or Amazon partners, and some parallel importers also sell the version with ads, but then the cost comparison gets more complicated. Also while the OP taking in to comparison the $20 discount they received may be fair for their specific case, they should remember that as they said it's only for 'select users' so probably only a tiny proportion of people does such a comparison apply. I'm also a bit confused by the tax thing. Why were they taxed in the Kobo but not the PW? I can only presume this is something to do with the weird sales tax system for states in the US where the store doesn't have to charge tax unless they have a local partner/nexus in the state but no one can really decide what that means and some sellers seem to charge tax even though it's not clear they have to and states are continuous trying to find ways to force companies to charge the tax, and there is congressional action to try and force it but the whole thing seems a mess. Although my understanding is technically in most states people are supposed to be paying use tax if they weren't charged sales tax anyway, it's just that most don't do so (and in some cases they can use an estimated system which goes by income rather than how many items they actually buy without sales tax).

I also agree with others. There may be some legitimate complaints about the occasional screw up (e.g. invoice not received), lack of updates and poor information coming out of Kobo. (Although I wonder how bad Kobo really is compared to other vendors, Google were likely dealing with a much larger number of orders for the Nexus 4 and perhaps had slightly better info but we had similar problems.) But getting back on topic, complaints about the time taken for orders at this stage seem a little unfair, even Amazon had backlogs and long order times for the PW just after it launched, presuming you lived in the US (or had a US address) so were allowed to buy it.

[guitarizt]

Originally Posted by DNSB

In some ways, I get a laugh out of the complaints from American purchasers of the Kobo Aura -- Americans are being treated to the second rate customer service that non-Americans have been used to from American firms for decades.

Regards,
David

If almost half the world lives on $2 or less a day it doesn't mean we should accept lousy customer service from any company here. I can't control what goes on in the rest of the world, but here we have many choices of competent companies that act in an honest manner.

You're experience with slow shipping times is in no way Amazon's fault if they shipped the package in a timely manner. If anything you should be angry with Canada's customs system. I'm still waiting for my Aura to ship after 10 days.

I'm trying to cancel my Kobo order, but they won't even let me do that without a hassle. It has been escalated to tier 2 who don't work until Monday. I'm concerned they won't get back to me until about Thursday and they'll ship the Aura before then. The entire thing is a borderline scam. A company has to be a special kind of incompetent to make people have to wait an unknown amount of time before someone else can get back to them to cancel an order. It's either a dishonest business practice or they're extremely incompetent.

At least the other companies mentioned, both Google and Amazon, are reputable and allow the customer to cancel their order in a timely manner. They also shipped out people's orders on a first come first serve basis. There's already multiple cases of people getting their Auras before other people who ordered on an earlier date. I mean look at terp93 who got two extra Auras because of a mistake with Kobo. They could have shipped those to people who actually needed them.

RE: skydog PW vs Aura price comparison

I bought the PW with case and one day shipping for $110. The PW and Aura are different ereaders, but it's not even about technical comparisons anymore. I'm sick of using a front light ereader. I want to have a backlit one by next Wednesday at the latest. If I bought the PW for $100 and was waiting for it to ship still, but I could have the Aura for $184 by next Wednesday, then I would opt for the Aura.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Nil Einne

In addition, I would point out that even if you don't care about ads, Amazon US will not ship the version with ads to other countries. I believe it may be offered in some other countries either via their local Amazon stores or Amazon partners, and some parallel importers also sell the version with ads, but then the cost comparison gets more complicated. Also while the OP taking in to comparison the $20 discount they received may be fair for their specific case, they should remember that as they said it's only for 'select users' so probably only a tiny proportion of people does such a comparison apply. I'm also a bit confused by the tax thing. Why were they taxed in the Kobo but not the PW? I can only presume this is something to do with the weird sales tax system for states in the US where the store doesn't have to charge tax unless they have a local partner/nexus in the state but no one can really decide what that means and some sellers seem to charge tax even though it's not clear they have to and states are continuous trying to find ways to force companies to charge the tax, and there is congressional action to try and force it but the whole thing seems a mess. Although my understanding is technically in most states people are supposed to be paying use tax if they weren't charged sales tax anyway, it's just that most don't do so (and in some cases they can use an estimated system which goes by income rather than how many items they actually buy without sales tax).

I also agree with others. There may be some legitimate complaints about the occasional screw up (e.g. invoice not received), lack of updates and poor information coming out of Kobo. (Although I wonder how bad Kobo really is compared to other vendors, Google were likely dealing with a much larger number of orders for the Nexus 4 and perhaps had slightly better info but we had similar problems.) But getting back on topic, complaints about the time taken for orders at this stage seem a little unfair, even Amazon had backlogs and long order times for the PW just after it launched, presuming you lived in the US (or had a US address) so were allowed to buy it.

It's not just the Aura ordering debacle, it's the complete lack of good customer service and overall incompetence in e-commerce for a company that has been around a few years now. In contrast, Amazon knows customer service is as important, if not more important, as the price and availability of the products they sell. In my experience, they have never quoted an estimated arrival date or ship date that was not accurate. In fact, it is many times earlier than quoted. One minute online or via phone cancels an order. Done. Tracking the status of one's order online is simple and quick. Other than books, Kobo customers have no evidence of any orders in their account whatsoever. Inexcusable for a company operating in e-commerce today. Kobo is just as lousy handling problems of incomplete or blank books which is why the last book I purchased from them was in 2010.

And any comparison from others posters between Canadian customers' frustration with Amazon/U.S. and what U.S. customers are now experiencing with the Aura mess can be attributed to Canadian commerce.

[evanft]

This is just hilarious to watch at this point.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've seen several people mentioning Amazon having the Aura but I can't find it. Could someone provide a link?

[chilady1]

See other reply

[chilady1]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I've seen several people mentioning Amazon having the Aura but I can't find it. Could someone provide a link?

I did a search on Kobo Aura in Amazon, did not find the actual device (no surprises there) but the search did yield a number of accessories like screen protectors, cases, etc.

I would be completely taken aback if Amazon was to actual sell a competitors' device. But hey, never say never.

[evanft]

You can actually buy nooks and Sony readers on Amazon, but they're sold by third party sellers, not amazon itself

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

RE: skydog PW vs Aura price comparison

I bought the PW with case and one day shipping for $110. The PW and Aura are different ereaders, but it's not even about technical comparisons anymore. I'm sick of using a front light ereader. I want to have a backlit one by next Wednesday at the latest. If I bought the PW for $100 and was waiting for it to ship still, but I could have the Aura for $184 by next Wednesday, then I would opt for the Aura.

Uh, you do realize that the Aura's ComfortLight = front-light? From Kobo's site:

ComfortLight is a breakthrough front-light that's perfect for reading in any lighting condition. The revolutionary ComfortLight is incredibly even and adjustable for a beautifully lit nighttime reading experience. And because ComfortLight illuminates the page, rather than emitting light outward toward your eyes, you'll enjoy a truly comfortable read. Curl up in bed, on the plane, or in your favourite chair without overhead lights. That's the pleasure of reading on the most evenly front-lit eReader on the market.

If you are looking for a back-lit reader I highly recommend the Nexus 7.

[evanft]

Originally Posted by Skydog

Uh, you do realize that the Aura's ComfortLight = front-light? From Kobo's site:

ComfortLight is a breakthrough front-light that's perfect for reading in any lighting condition. The revolutionary ComfortLight is incredibly even and adjustable for a beautifully lit nighttime reading experience. And because ComfortLight illuminates the page, rather than emitting light outward toward your eyes, you'll enjoy a truly comfortable read. Curl up in bed, on the plane, or in your favourite chair without overhead lights. That's the pleasure of reading on the most evenly front-lit eReader on the market.

If you are looking for a back-lit reader I highly recommend the Nexus 7.

I own a nexus 7. It's a great tablet, but not a reader, IMO. The screen's refresh rate and backlight make reading books on it uncomfortable for many people, myself included. I actually bought my kindle because reading on the nexus caused such bad eye strain for me.

The kpw uses a similar lighting technology to the Aura, but with much worse results, in my humble opinion.

[david_e]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

... The page turn thing is huge. If I read about 1400 pages a month then I have to wait about an extra 20 minutes a month for page turns with something that should be on par with everything else because it is the next gen ereader.

Would you be willing to curtail your internet use to recoup this precious twenty minutes? Perhaps the time spent at one particular site?