An abundance of Claras, a derth of Libra(s)

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The reason for the hate is discontinuation of the b/w Libra 2 (one of the best eink screens currently in existence) with nothing to replace it but the Libra Colour, which is a poorer experience when reading b/w novels.

Not everyone wants a Sage (which while 8" has stupid magnets for a dumb power cover and not a big enough battery, though I find it OK).
The 10.3″ is too big to read novels. A 7″ is a good size for people that want bigger than 6″. A Sage is good for notes (better than 10.3" I think), but a tablet with digitiser is better. The Sage is also more expensive.

It seems crazy to discontinue the B&W Libra (Libra 2) as the Libra Colour is a lot worse for people that read novels, which is the main reason to get an eink. My collection of PD novels was less than 100 in the 15 years of downloading them before I got eink. Now I have over 6000 PD novels and 600 bought ebooks over the last 11 years since getting eink. I read several novels a week. If I was a more occasional reader I'd just use the phone now (6″ plus with 512G storage vs 3.5" with a few 100 MBytes nearly 20 years ago).

[Quoth]

Also the Kobo is absolute best for subtitle, collections, series and exporting annotations with Calibre management.

Android isn't great, but Android on eink seems worse.

I've had or tested 8 models of Kindle. I still have 3. I'd never go back to Kindle eink. If deDRM fails and an ebook I want is only on Amazon, I'd sooner read it on a Kindle App than get I Kindle. I nearly got a Scribe for PDFs, but when I realised Amazon only wants you to have KFX versions of PDFs I abandoned that idea. Nebo on an Android Tablet is better. I'd used a reMarkable and also an Elipsa. I could easily afford a Libra Colour, but I can't see the point of it.

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It seems crazy to discontinue the B&W Libra (Libra 2) as the Libra Colour is a lot worse for people that read novels, which is the main reason to get an eink.

I fully admit to having never seen a Libra 2 “in the silicon”, so perhaps my mind would be blown away by how much clearer it is than the Libra Colour. My only point of comparison is my Oasis, and subjectively, my Libra Colour is not a lot worse than my Oasis for reading novels. It is a bit worse. The technical details of the difference between color and b/w eInk panels are no doubt important, and I absolutely agree that there is place for both technologies in the market, however from personal experience using the color device, the tradeoff in real life usage is really not that bad, and I think it is a disservice to the people in the market for a new eInk device to make it sound like a bigger deal than it is.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There would be a lot less hate if Kobo had kept the b/w Libra, like they kept the b/w Clara. Why they didn't is a total mystery to me and many others, and yes, a disappointment. Hence the bitterness

I think this has to be a supply issue, my guess would be that Kobo was not able to source enough 7-inch Carta 1300 panels for the expected demand. It makes no doubt in my mind that when this is sorted out they will release a new Libra BW.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

I fully admit to having never seen a Libra 2 “in the silicon”, so perhaps my mind would be blown away by how much clearer it is than the Libra Colour. My only point of comparison is my Oasis, and subjectively, my Libra Colour is not a lot worse than my Oasis for reading novels. It is a bit worse. The technical details of the difference between color and b/w eInk panels are no doubt important, and I absolutely agree that there is place for both technologies in the market, however from personal experience using the color device, the tradeoff in real life usage is really not that bad, and I think it is a disservice to the people in the market for a new eInk device to make it sound like a bigger deal than it is.

I'm sure the Libra Colour is not a lot worse than the Libra 2, but only a bit. I'm also sure I'd get used to it if it was the only eink device on the market. The point is, it's not the only eink device in existence (as were the first eink readers - yes, looking back they were quite poor, but there was nothing else at the time to compare them with, so we accepted their limitations) and objectively it's not as good for b/w novels as the pure b/w eink is. So lots of people who mostly read those b/w novels don't want to be content with something that, in their view, is a step back in quality.

If Kobo finally releases that b/w Libra (and unlike you I'm not at all sure they will), the whining and grumbling will die down, I expect.