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Kobo announces color e-readers

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Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#51

Post by chme »

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 owned a Kobo Glo and Pocketbook Touch, and I preferred the Pocketbook, because it allows to install koreader as a application into the stock firmware, while on Kobo you need to quasi dual-boot your system into koreader or stock firmware via a menu.

In my experience koreader integrates much better with calibre and allows managing my library with a filestructure. So that is a requirement for me.

Also the stock firmware on the Pocketbook was able to deal with my huge epub archive, because it didn't require indexing the library on the device, which Kobo struggled with.

From that experience I would pick a Pocketbook over a Kobo.

But maybe I should give Kobo another look.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#52

Post by ornornor »

kstrauser wrote: post #38
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…

FWIW, we bought an arm to hold the kobo up while we’re reading (one of those smartphone holder things, they’re a dime a dozen) and a little device that clips onto the kobo. It comes with a remote, and you can turn the pages with it by making the kobo think you’ve touched the display with your finger. Best 50$ I ever spent (arm + clicker). Now I can turn pages while in bed without holding the kobo and with both hands under the cover. It’s the little things :)

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#53

Post by ornornor »

hgyjnbdet wrote: post #34
ravetcofx wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

On most (all?) kobos, you can also upgrade the storage to whatever you want because it’s a microsd card slotted into the board. Just copy the system partition over to the new sd, expand, done. Mind you, I never needed to do it because 4 or 8GB is a ton of ebooks. I’ll probably never need that much space anyway. But if you’re reading larger files, might be handy.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#54

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

Kobo enthusiast, and I'm excited to see that they are the first to market among the Amazon/B&N/Kobo crowd to get a color e-reader to market.

I don't see myself getting one, though, at least not immediately. I'm perfectly happy with my Kobo Sage. While I'd like to one day have a color e-ink device, the color reproduction just isn't good enough for my use case. Reading comics on my AMOLED tablet is a joy, and I don't see e-ink getting to that level for at least another couple years.

Plus, I don't want to take the hit of worse PPI for B&W text just so I can have a book cover or some highlighted text in color.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#55

Post by Brian_K_White »

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 very happy with koreader on my Aura H2O since... 2014? Wow. So that's a yes.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#56

Post by christkv »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #54

Kobo enthusiast, and I'm excited to see that they are the first to market among the Amazon/B&N/Kobo crowd to get a color e-reader to market. I don't see myself getting one, though, at least not immediately. I'm perfectly happy with my Kobo Sage. While I'd like to one day have a color e-ink device, the color reproduction just isn't good enough for my use case. Reading comics on my AMOLED tablet is a joy, and I don't s…

My main reason for thinking about getting one is because i like to sit on the terrace with a lot of indirect sunlight and eink is just so much better in that situation. However prices are still way too high and it’s impossible to find a place to see them in person before buying.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#57

Post by kstrauser »

ornornor wrote: post #52
kstrauser wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

FWIW, we bought an arm to hold the kobo up while we’re reading (one of those smartphone holder things, they’re a dime a dozen) and a little device that clips onto the kobo. It comes with a remote, and you can turn the pages with it by making the kobo think you’ve touched the display with your finger. Best 50$ I ever spent (arm + clicker). Now I can turn pages while in bed without holding the kobo and with both hands…

That. Is. Amazing. I know what I’m ordering today!

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#58

Post by amelius »

Give me high refresh rates before giving me color. What I don't get is that people say that e-readers are easy on the eyes, but you still get this epilepsy-inducing flicker all the time when changing pages.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#59

Post by selykg »

kstrauser wrote: post #45
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 love my Kobos (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39993062 ). When they die, I'll replace them with another Kobo. It's so easy to get things onto them. For my Libra, plug it into a computer (or iPad) with a USB cable and it shows up as a drive I can drag files onto. The Elipsa supports Dropbox and Google Drive so I can add files those ways, too. It also has built-in Libby integration that lets me reserve and…

I have an Oasis 2 (2017 or so timeframe). What would be a good option that's similar to it? I love the screen size, the flush screen (I understand the Oasis is glass rather than plastic), and the page turn buttons are all pretty important to me.

KOReader sounds interesting and the built in Libby support is kind of rad sounding.

Re: Kobo announces color e-readers

#60

Post by seanmceligot »

flkiwi wrote: post #37
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 perfect…

I love the black and white boox as a low tech device. I do a lot more reading and a log less mindless scrolling on my boox tablet. There's also grayscale chrome and firefox plugins if you want to see what it's like.
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