Replacement for well used PRS-950

ScalyFreak · 05-12-2015, 06:00 PM

My beloved PRS-950 is not aging as well I as I wish it would. It is depressingly slow (takes 10-15 minutes to boot, and several minutes to open a book), and not quite as stable as it used to be, and no longer has nearly the battery life it used to have.

I am attempting to be pro-active and research replacements before I desperately need them.

The following features are must-haves:

e-ink screen
Light weight
Similar screen size to the PRS-950
Ability to create collections on the device
Long battery life
epub compatible, since my entire library is epub
Must be able to handle library books from OverDrive
Must work with Calibre

Things I can live happily without:

An eBook store attached to the device (like Kindle or Kobo), since I get all my eBooks from independent stores anyway
WiFi or 3G connectivity. Would be nice, but I have lived without it for years on almost all my eReaders
Color screen - All I plan to do with this device is read books on it
Outrageous price tag

JSWolf · 05-12-2015, 06:21 PM

As a long time Sony user, I can highly recommend the Kobo Aura H2O. The H2O fills all of your must-haves.

The H2O has an eInk Carta screen. It's has much better contrast and significantly higher resolution. Very nice.
It's lighter than the 950.
It's actually a larger screen at 6.8" because of having a proper aspect instead of just stretched.
Using Calibre, you can have collections made when eBooks are sent to the H2O.
The battery life is very good.
It has a much newer version of RMDSK (ADE) than the 950 for ePub compatibility.
You can read ePub from Overdrive with the H2O.
It works very well with Calibre.
The front light is very nice to have instead of a light cover that adds extra weight.

meeera · 05-13-2015, 02:39 AM

I googled - the PRS-950 has a seven inch display, e-ink pearl, 600 × 1024. So I have to agree that the Kobo Aura H2O would be a great replacement and a nice upgrade, given your other requirements. Even better than creating collections on the device, you can create and manage them with Calibre, meaning it's easier to deal with larger collections, and your collections are fully backed up in case of a factory reset or replacement device.

If it's too expensive for you and you're happy with a six inch screen, a Glo HD or similar would be nice.

ScalyFreak · 05-13-2015, 12:31 PM

Does the Kobo store on their readers work similarly to the Android app? I ask because it is by far the least useful ebook app I have ever come across. It is so bad, that I download my Kobo books to my PC and put them in the Mantano Reader cloud, then sync them to my smart phone, because that works better than trying to get sort and access my books in the Kobo app.

In the event that I do buy the Kobo H2O, would I be able to entirely avoid using their store to download new books and manage existing ones? Being forced to use the Kobo store to manage my Kobo books could actually be a deal breaker for me, that is how lacking in functions their android app is. At least as far as functions I need and use heavily on a daily basis.

Abtacha · 05-13-2015, 03:46 PM

You don't need to use the Kobo store with any of the Kobo readers. The reader will ask you to login to or create a Kobo account during first setup but you can either use a dummy account just for that device or skip registration entirely by editing a file. The Kobos work great with Calibre (collection management can be set up as for the Sony readers).

ScalyFreak · 05-13-2015, 05:09 PM

Sweet!

Thank you everyone. I will research the Kobo H2O and learn more about it.

DaleDe · 05-14-2015, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Sweet!

Thank you everyone. I will research the Kobo H2O and learn more about it.

You can start in our wiki Kobo Aura H2O. For a comparison see EBook Reader Matrix#Large_Devices

Dale

dordale · 05-15-2015, 05:30 PM

I have a Kobo Aura HD--when I got it, I turned on wi-fi and registered it. Immediately after that, I turned wi-fi back off and it hasn't been on since. I use Calibre exclusively to sideload books to my Aura HD and have never installed the Kobo desktop software on my computer. Love my Aura HD. (Would love an H2O, but can't really justify it, as my Aura HD works perfectly...)

05-12-2015, 06:00 PM	#1
ScalyFreak Sith Wannabe Posts: 2,034 Karma: 8017430 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark. Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre	Replacement for well used PRS-950 My beloved PRS-950 is not aging as well I as I wish it would. It is depressingly slow (takes 10-15 minutes to boot, and several minutes to open a book), and not quite as stable as it used to be, and no longer has nearly the battery life it used to have. I am attempting to be pro-active and research replacements before I desperately need them. The following features are must-haves: e-ink screen Light weight Similar screen size to the PRS-950 Ability to create collections on the device Long battery life epub compatible, since my entire library is epub Must be able to handle library books from OverDrive Must work with Calibre Things I can live happily without: An eBook store attached to the device (like Kindle or Kobo), since I get all my eBooks from independent stores anyway WiFi or 3G connectivity. Would be nice, but I have lived without it for years on almost all my eReaders Color screen - All I plan to do with this device is read books on it Outrageous price tag

05-12-2015, 06:21 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,745 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	As a long time Sony user, I can highly recommend the Kobo Aura H2O. The H2O fills all of your must-haves. The H2O has an eInk Carta screen. It's has much better contrast and significantly higher resolution. Very nice. It's lighter than the 950. It's actually a larger screen at 6.8" because of having a proper aspect instead of just stretched. Using Calibre, you can have collections made when eBooks are sent to the H2O. The battery life is very good. It has a much newer version of RMDSK (ADE) than the 950 for ePub compatibility. You can read ePub from Overdrive with the H2O. It works very well with Calibre. The front light is very nice to have instead of a light cover that adds extra weight.

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05-13-2015, 02:39 AM	#3
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I googled - the PRS-950 has a seven inch display, e-ink pearl, 600 × 1024. So I have to agree that the Kobo Aura H2O would be a great replacement and a nice upgrade, given your other requirements. Even better than creating collections on the device, you can create and manage them with Calibre, meaning it's easier to deal with larger collections, and your collections are fully backed up in case of a factory reset or replacement device. If it's too expensive for you and you're happy with a six inch screen, a Glo HD or similar would be nice.

05-13-2015, 12:31 PM	#4
ScalyFreak Sith Wannabe Posts: 2,034 Karma: 8017430 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark. Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre	Does the Kobo store on their readers work similarly to the Android app? I ask because it is by far the least useful ebook app I have ever come across. It is so bad, that I download my Kobo books to my PC and put them in the Mantano Reader cloud, then sync them to my smart phone, because that works better than trying to get sort and access my books in the Kobo app. In the event that I do buy the Kobo H2O, would I be able to entirely avoid using their store to download new books and manage existing ones? Being forced to use the Kobo store to manage my Kobo books could actually be a deal breaker for me, that is how lacking in functions their android app is. At least as far as functions I need and use heavily on a daily basis.

05-13-2015, 03:46 PM	#5
Abtacha Addict Posts: 333 Karma: 6220000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Germany Device: Kobo Aura HD	You don't need to use the Kobo store with any of the Kobo readers. The reader will ask you to login to or create a Kobo account during first setup but you can either use a dummy account just for that device or skip registration entirely by editing a file. The Kobos work great with Calibre (collection management can be set up as for the Sony readers).

05-13-2015, 05:09 PM	#6
ScalyFreak Sith Wannabe Posts: 2,034 Karma: 8017430 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: I'm not sure... it's kind of dark. Device: Galaxy Note 4, Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Fire HD, Aluratek Libre	Sweet! Thank you everyone. I will research the Kobo H2O and learn more about it.

05-15-2015, 05:30 PM	#8
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	I have a Kobo Aura HD--when I got it, I turned on wi-fi and registered it. Immediately after that, I turned wi-fi back off and it hasn't been on since. I use Calibre exclusively to sideload books to my Aura HD and have never installed the Kobo desktop software on my computer. Love my Aura HD. (Would love an H2O, but can't really justify it, as my Aura HD works perfectly...)

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