Glo Model Number

[Crusader]

I just got a Kobo Glo and I'm wondering if there's a way to tell which version of the Glo I have (older version with bluer light or the newer version. The model number on the box says N613-KBO-B.

It's still charging and busy updating so haven't had time to play around with it yet.

[booklover6]

Congratulations on you new Glo!

I believe the brightness issue was resolved with a firmware update, so you shouldn't have to worry since you are updating it.

[Crusader]

Thanks. I'm more interested to know if it's an older model. The light seems a tad uneven in the bottom 1/3 or so which I find a bit disappointing.

[treadlightly]

I have a "white" older one and a "yellow" newer one. The model numbers are the same as in your first post. The serial numbers are different (obviously) the white one starting with 613A and the yellow starting with 613B. I don't know if that's significant.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

I have a "white" older one and a "yellow" newer one. The model numbers are the same as in your first post. The serial numbers are different (obviously) the white one starting with 613A and the yellow starting with 613B. I don't know if that's significant.

Thanks. This is definitely one of the older ones since this one also stars with 613A.

[Ripplinger]

My Glo's serial number starts with 613A so I guess it's an older one, but the light is perfectly even across and looks pretty white, no yellow or blue tint at all. In spite of firmware issues, the hardware itself including the light on the Glo is still I think one of the best there is.

I have noticed different firmware does affect the lighting quite a bit as bookover6 said. I keep my light set around 25% and I never have to change it, it's perfect for reading in the dark and in the daylight it makes the background look much whiter instead of the usual gray. After I had to do a factory reset and it upgraded to 2.10, to get the same level of brightness I had to set it at 71%. I'm currently using 2.4.0 and sticking with it for other reasons as well as the light issue.

[Crusader]

My main problem is that mine has a lot of shadowing in the bottom corners where the lights are located. The rest of the light is a pretty even white, it's just the bottom 1/4 that looks strange, especially at certain angles.

This image shows the shadowing (think that's what it's called). The discoloration is due to my cellphone camera. I don't see that visually at all.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Crusader

My main problem is that mine has a lot of shadowing in the bottom corners where the lights are located. The rest of the light is a pretty even white, it's just the bottom 1/4 that looks strange, especially at certain angles.

This image shows the shadowing (think that's what it's called). The discoloration is due to my cellphone camera. I don't see that visually at all.

The LED headlamping used to be covered by the optional black footer bar at the bottom of the screen. Unfortunately, around the time when the newer more even readers came on the market, Kobo decided that we should no longer have that option.

The bit of unevenness is in an area not extending into body text in my device (and I suspect in yours? Hard to tell with that photo), but I still find it very mildly irritating that it's there - I preferred the black bar, since my device bezel is black and it just blended in.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by meeera

The bit of unevenness is in an area not extending into body text in my device (and I suspect in yours? Hard to tell with that photo), but I still find it very mildly irritating that it's there - I preferred the black bar, since my device bezel is black and it just blended in.

The dark shadowing doesn't extend into the text, although at certain angles there are some odd light cones that reach up to the bottom third of the screen which is about 5 or so lines of text.

From reports on how good the Glo is I didn't quite expect that to be a problem.

[Ripplinger]

Those cones are a result of the LEDs that are located in the bottom of the reader, and they all have them to some extent. I don't even notice mine, the lighting is pretty even, and I prefer the clear bottom, not the fat black border.

Yours doesn't look bad to me at all, although a bit darker at the bottom than mine appears, but that could be the light level differences we're using. But even with the slightly darker area at the very bottom, it's still much more evenly lit than if you were to use an external clip-on light, not to mention the bulk and battery use for a clip-on.

[Joques]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Congratulations on you new Glo!

I believe the brightness issue was resolved with a firmware update, so you shouldn't have to worry since you are updating it.

I have to interject. There may well have been a FW adjustment to the frontlight, but there is also a big hardware difference between early and late model Glos. I had my old model and my girlfriend's new model side by side, same FW, and the difference in brightness was very noticeable.