Nxtpaper 60 XE / Nxtpaper 11 Plus vs Kobo Forma

[tayseidel]

Hi,


I wanted to provide a brief and concise write up of my experiences reading epub ebooks served from my Calibre library via the content server to my devices.


I have the following Nxtpaper devices:


Nxtpaper 60 XE
Nxtpaper 11 Plus


and the e-ink device:


Kobo Forma




Yes, the Kobo Forma is old, and yes, I do plan to replace it but right now, it is good.


What app I use for reading: Koreader, set to night mode.

What I found:


Of the Nxtpaper devices, the Nxtpaper 60 XE has the best display by far. The blacks are much richer on the Nxtpaper 60 XE than on the Nxtpaper 11 Plus, which has washed out blacks. The backlighting on the Nxtpaper 11 Plus is somewhat uneven, and this affects the blacks I need for reading.


I tried all modes from color, color e-ink, bw ink, max ink, etc etc. The best mode for reading is the regular mode on all Nxtpaper Devices with Koreader set to night mode.


In this sense, the ability to switch ink modes is indeed a gimmick as regular mode is best for reading, UNLESS, one uses max-ink mode on the Nxtpaper 60 XE to extend battery life. Using Koreader, there is no difference in how the display looks.


Now, how do the Nxtpaper devices stack up against the Kobo Forma?


They don't. E-ink still reigns supreme for reading. I prefer the form factor of the Koba Forma, and that alone puts the Kobo Forma squarely #1 for me.


I use Koreader on the Kobo Forma as well, so the reading experience is exactly the same across all devices.


There is, however, , a caveat.


The Kobo Forma suffers from terrible contrast with the frontlight on. I think most e-ink devices with front lights that use a screen to disperse light across the screen probably suffer from this. I prefer night mode in Koreader. The front light tends to destroy the contrast between the black background and white text.


So I prefer to read on my Kobo Forma with a clip on booklight with that set to amber. That gives me my rich black background that contrasts nicely with the white text.


But for doctors appts, or in situations where I'm waiting in a lobby, reading on the Nxtpaper XE 60 is a joy.


I use Koreader progress sync BTW, with that set to sync based on file name.


Hope this helps. I would not be buying Nxtpaper devices to serve as my primary reading device.


I'm considering the AiWoods paper for my next ereader. The lack of a front light isn't a deal breaker for me. I plan to use two column reading in Koreader on it.

[John F]

Originally Posted by tayseidel

...

The Kobo Forma suffers from terrible contrast with the frontlight on. I think most e-ink devices with front lights that use a screen to disperse light across the screen probably suffer from this. I prefer night mode in Koreader. The front light tends to destroy the contrast between the black background and white text.


...

Personally, I think the opposite: for my frontlit readers, the contrast looks better with the front light on, and I wouldn't describe it as terrible. I did a quick check on a Forma and Clara 2E. I'm not sure if the measured contrast is better, but I prefer the "contrast" with the front light on.

[tayseidel]

Just went back and checked.

Contrast is fine with frontlight on when in regular mode.

But in night mode (black on white) it's terrible.


But yeah, if you like to read black on white, which I don't, it's fine. I prefer white on black since that is easy on my eyes.

[brehon]

Some Nxtpaper devices have color/lightning uniformity issues. This is case-specific issue, ie. two identical devices set side by side can have different issues. If it's severe and you're still within time limit, I would return device or ask for replacement (check out "panel lottery").