Libra 2 Kobo Libra 2 first impressions

[frostschutz]

The Kobo Libra 2 microsd card turns out to be glued in all around, which makes it difficult to remove or replace. There is risk of damaging the slot when attempting to do so. Even putting a removed card back in might turn out to be difficult as there can still be leftover glue blocking the way (I didn't try it - decided to back off at this point). Unless you're very desperate you should consider this device to be like eMMC - non-removable storage.

Edit:

I'm not sure anymore if that was glue at all. it was dry on the outside, but turned greasy after moderately heating it, so it might be some kind of water-proofing gel instead. Unfortunately even after heating and removing most of the goop that I could reach around / above and under the card, it's still completely stuck.

Not sure what's the deal, whether it's simply stuck due to all the waterproof coating inside the slot, or whether it's actually soldered on or something. So might be it just needs a good tug or might be you'd destroy the microsd slot along with it, and that's not within my skills to repair, so I give up on it for now.

I've made a backup of the card so even destroying the card in the removal process would be an option if it left the slot intact... but I won't go in that direction until absolutely necessary.

If anyone else figures this out, please let me know. For now, I'm stumped.

Edit 2:

Someone managed to remove the card on a Tolino Vision 6 (separate line of readers which Kobo sells in Germany so it should be similar enough).

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...89#post4171389

Note that one user also seems to have damaged their device in the process. Please be careful.

Edit 3:

Another disassembly attempt by LuQQ with pictures showing in detail how much glue there is inside the slot: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...18#post4173818

Edit 4:

finally managed to remove it https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...22#post4213922

another Tolino user also reported success with a drop of WD-40 and tweezers

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

The Kobo Libra 2 microsd card turns out to be glued in all around, which makes it difficult to remove or replace. There is risk of damaging the slot when attempting to do so. Even putting a removed card back in might turn out to be difficult as there can still be leftover glue blocking the way. Unless you're very desperate you should consider this device to be like eMMC - non-removable storage.

A hair blower might do the trick. Soften the glue and remove. Just like when removing mobile phone back cases

[frostschutz]

I tried that and some soft stuff came out, which was quite un-glue like. Mabye there's a fat filling too...

All this for water proofing which I don't need or even trust anyway... sigh.

[Semwize]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

I tried that and some soft stuff came out, which was quite un-glue like. Mabye there's a fat filling too...

And if try to dissolve with ethanol?

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Semwize

And if try to dissolve with ethanol?

It's a project for a different day, and maybe a different thread.

Back to first impressions.

It's really just a first impression since I haven't had time to actually read a book with the Libra2 yet (I've yet to set it up with fonts and everything), but apart from its gunky innards, I like it so far.

The display seems a shade darker than my 1st gen H2O. The H2O's infrared touchscreen is good for something, I guess. But with frontlight on, it makes no difference and the adjustable light color is nice, on the H2O you were stuck with whatever it looked like [I've seen H2O's with blue, white, and yellow light, there was some fluctuation there].

The difference in display size (0.2"-ish) is negligible, as for the higher resolution (265 vs 300 ppi) it remains to be seen. The Libra2 display is certainly much faster to update than the H2O's. They both have ghosting in menus and when typing Wi-Fi passwords and the like, though. EInk is still EInk.

I'll have to get used to the power button on the back, it doesn't seem to click or anything so you never know if you're holding it right or not (edit: I must have done something wrong yesterday, the power button works fine!). The structure on the back does not help much with grip. It's flat and smooth plastic, quite unlike the geometric-rubbery finish on the H2O. USB-C is nice, I'll probably use a different cable than the one Kobo supplied though, its plugs are on the bulkier side.

If there's a dedicated reset button (like the pinhole on H2O) I haven't found it yet. You can trigger a factory reset by holding power and page turn buttons simultaneously.

The H2O had an amazing display for its time, but I'm glad to have a white reader with buttons again, it's what I had with the iriver Story HD before the H2O. I'm hoping for the Libra 2 to show its worth in due time, and I haven't even touched the bluetooth functionality yet.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

The display seems a shade darker than my 1st gen H2O.

i'd say it was more than a shade darker.

best wishes koboy

[Nirekeyaki]

Could anyone comment something on the battery life?

[Deobulakenyo]

Another Libra 2 review:

[Josieb1]

Does anyone know if the Libra H20 cases fit the Libra 2?

Apologies. Answered my own question, they don’t.

[Almamida]

Originally Posted by Nirekeyaki

Could anyone comment something on the battery life?

Mine lasts under 48 hours. The battery drains and I don’t understand why. I hope an update is going to fix that. (I already done a factory reset with no luck)

[Nirekeyaki]

Originally Posted by Almamida

Mine lasts under 48 hours. The battery drains and I don’t understand why. I hope an update is going to fix that. (I already done a factory reset with no luck)

Sorry to read that. I just received mine and charged it 100%. If I see that the battery goes down very fast, I will return it.

Thanks for answering.

[Almamida]

Thanks, I just performed a manual reset, which is a step further than the factory reset. Hope it fixes the issue.

[Nikoz]

Someone on reddit said they had the same problem, and fixed it by disabling auto-updates (until hopefully kobo fixes it for good).

[frostschutz]

I have no impression of the battery life as of yet. I'm still setting things up so the USB cable is connected a lot which results in 100% battery. Either way I'm not too concerned - there have been firmware-related battery drain issues in the past, so if there is indeed a software issue, it'll be fixed eventually.

If you expect "weeks of battery life", so far none of my readers managed to pull that off. Not while in active use. Also I use a comfortable font size setting so I flip pages more often than people who enjoy tiny fonts. So whatever my battery life will be, it probably can't be compared to someone else's.

The battery max capacity is around 1400mAh (as shown in the pictures attached to the first post of this thread). The device could fit a much larger battery, but weight is important too. There's only so much it can do. Plus the device has bluetooth now, if enabled that would be another battery drain.

In the end it has a charging port that needs to be used regularly, there is no way around that, unless you add solar panels I guess...

[Strether]

Originally Posted by Nirekeyaki

Could anyone comment something on the battery life?

I had problems with mine draining overnight the first night. Just had one book on it. So I did a factory reset and it's cured the problem. After two days of reading, the battery's at 69%. You might try it.

Jim