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Kobo announces color e-readers

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Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#31

Post by carlosjobim »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #21
tiltowait wrote: post #14

I've wanted a color Kobo for years, but I'm a bit disappointed. The main benefit of a color eReader is for (some) PDFs, comics, etc., all of which benefit hugely from a larger screen than the Libra's 7" display. I hoped Kobo's first color reader would be at least 8", and preferably 10.3". Carrying all my RPG PDFs on a color eInk display would be super cool, as I find reading on such a device much easier on my eyes th…

Color PDFs and comics almost always assume good, full gamut color reproduction. e-ink can't do that. It can only do a few pastel colors well. The typical books usage is much more in-line with the capabilities of the display. Highlighting is substantially improved with even a little color, as are interstitial art and cover icons.

The E-Ink Spectra 6 displays [1] released last year has full color gamut, thus beating any other display technology in an outdoors scenario. The problem is that they take something like 12 seconds to refresh and I haven't seen any consumer devices using them.

In the near future I think spectra displays will be excellent for readers when they manage to get the refresh a bit more speedy, while ironically the B&W displays with color filters will be the E-Ink technology suited for tablets and phones in general.

[1] https://youtu.be/U7V2EFAcbtU

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#32

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #21
tiltowait wrote: post #14

I've wanted a color Kobo for years, but I'm a bit disappointed. The main benefit of a color eReader is for (some) PDFs, comics, etc., all of which benefit hugely from a larger screen than the Libra's 7" display. I hoped Kobo's first color reader would be at least 8", and preferably 10.3". Carrying all my RPG PDFs on a color eInk display would be super cool, as I find reading on such a device much easier on my eyes th…

Color PDFs and comics almost always assume good, full gamut color reproduction. e-ink can't do that. It can only do a few pastel colors well. The typical books usage is much more in-line with the capabilities of the display. Highlighting is substantially improved with even a little color, as are interstitial art and cover icons.

Will it be good enough for, say, graphs? A lot of scientific papers and news articles have illegible figures when reproduced in black and white, because you can't tell the lines apart.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#33

Post by mcpherrinm »

dustincoates wrote: post #25

I have very little to add about the color aspect, but I can say that I love my Kobo. I've had three Kindles before buying the Kobo, which I got because it has a "better" integration with my local library (better in quotes, because I still have to do with the Adobe DRM, which is so bad on Linux that I borrow my wife's computer just to transfer). The Pocket integration is fantastic, as are the physical page turn button…

Just to join in the kobo love thread:

One reason that I love my Kobo is perhaps very tech-specific in a way this audience may appreciate.

It's great for plain text files. In particular, it's pretty good at reading plain RFCs. I have to choose a font size so the hard-wrapped RFCs fit right, and it doesn't ship with a monospaced font (but you can install and use your own fonts, so that's a minor speed bump).

Reading very dry and technical documents like RFCs can be challenging, so having a distraction-free ereader that handles them can be very helpful.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#34

Post by hgyjnbdet »

ravetcofx wrote: post #15
hgyjnbdet wrote: post #11

I still have the kobo mini, the pinnacle of ereaders IMO, perfect size for reading fiction. I haven't seen anything more compelling since kobo discontinued it. That being said I wonder if the color eink display would be useful for displays instead of LCD.

I'm with you on that, I got mine back in 2013(?) on sale for $30 CAD. still works, but battery is a bit weak. They were also neat cause you could telnet into the modified debian os to add you own homebrew apps

I didn't know you could do that! I've only been using it as intended.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#35

Post by jwells89 »

ashton314 wrote: post #18

I've had a kindle for years now. A while back I jailbroke it and stuck KOReader which has been so awesome. (Custom fonts? Yes please! Gestures for going to the TOC or bookmarks or back in history? Absolutely!) Problem: it was a lot of work getting my kindle to this state. I'm terrified to turn on WiFi for fear Amazon will send an OTA update and nuke KOReader from orbit. So, when this kindle dies, I am thinking I'd li…

I’ve been happy enough with my Kobo Aura One in its stock state that I’ve never toyed with KOReader or similar. Plug it in, it mounts as USB mass storage, I drop in ePubs, PDFs, etc and it reads them perfectly. No third party software required, “just works”.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#36

Post by [deleted] »

gnicholas wrote: post #26
teroshan wrote: post #4

Know that while useful in some scenarios, I'd avoid buying a color e-ink display if you're still going to primarily be using it for B&W colors. To quote the eBook Reader Blog [1]: > The main drawback with color E Ink screens is they look darker than regular B&W screens because of a color filter layer that is applied over the top of the screen, which makes the contrast appear lower. Kaleido color screens are really ju…

It's true that the contrast is not as good, and IIRC the color resolution is also a bit lower (but is not bad overall). But people who plan to read B/W documents could still benefit from a device like this because it makes highlighting much better, and it enables color-based reading enhancements like BeeLine Reader (which improves focus while reading). I'm certainly biased (I created BeeLine), but IMO the color scree…

[deleted]

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#37

Post by flkiwi »

ashton314 wrote: post #18

I've had a kindle for years now. A while back I jailbroke it and stuck KOReader which has been so awesome. (Custom fonts? Yes please! Gestures for going to the TOC or bookmarks or back in history? Absolutely!) Problem: it was a lot of work getting my kindle to this state. I'm terrified to turn on WiFi for fear Amazon will send an OTA update and nuke KOReader from orbit. So, when this kindle dies, I am thinking I'd li…

I have a Boox note. I can’t help the feeling that it’s not entirely legit, but it’s Android, connects to any service I want (including a Calibre library), has a great display, is great for notes, and is all around fantastic. It’s not a tablet replacement but it IS a replacement for the stuff I do most often with a tablet (read and write). I thought the 10.3 inch display would make for a hefty reader, but it’s perfectly fine.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#38

Post by kstrauser »

dustincoates wrote: post #25

I have very little to add about the color aspect, but I can say that I love my Kobo. I've had three Kindles before buying the Kobo, which I got because it has a "better" integration with my local library (better in quotes, because I still have to do with the Adobe DRM, which is so bad on Linux that I borrow my wife's computer just to transfer). The Pocket integration is fantastic, as are the physical page turn button…

I have a Libra 2 for personal reading and an Elipsa 2E for journals. A couple of minor nits like you mentioned aside, I love them. They can read almost any format I throw at them, I can fetch books directly from my library, and if I add an article to Pocket on my laptop then it shows up on my Kobo next time I pick it up.

I also read way more now that I've gotten the Libra, largely because it's so light and ergonomic for laying in bed at night and flipping pages. I added a popsocket to the back for easier 1-hand holding.

The Elipsa is better for reading large content like Communications of the ACM or similar, where the Libra was simply too small to be readable. I hardly use the pen for either highlighting or notes, but it's there if I want it.

If/when either of those die, I'll look at the color versions as potential replacements. It highly depends on how much of an effect the lower resolution has on readability. If it's less pleasant to read at night, or if PDF journal articles are a little fuzzier, I'd rather stick with B/W. If the only downside is that the screen is a bit darker so I have to turn the backlight up, then only get 2 weeks between charging instead of 4, I might consider it.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#39

Post by [deleted] »

teroshan wrote: post #4

Know that while useful in some scenarios, I'd avoid buying a color e-ink display if you're still going to primarily be using it for B&W colors. To quote the eBook Reader Blog [1]: > The main drawback with color E Ink screens is they look darker than regular B&W screens because of a color filter layer that is applied over the top of the screen, which makes the contrast appear lower. Kaleido color screens are really ju…

[deleted]

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#40

Post by [deleted] »

ashton314 wrote: post #18

I've had a kindle for years now. A while back I jailbroke it and stuck KOReader which has been so awesome. (Custom fonts? Yes please! Gestures for going to the TOC or bookmarks or back in history? Absolutely!) Problem: it was a lot of work getting my kindle to this state. I'm terrified to turn on WiFi for fear Amazon will send an OTA update and nuke KOReader from orbit. So, when this kindle dies, I am thinking I'd li…

[deleted]
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