Kobo Sage vs Forma: is Sage FASTER? Has Sage battery-life improved?

[LivresInOz]

Hey all,

I've been enjoying my (hard-to-obtain Kobo) Forma, but I have to admit...I sometimes wish it was faster, especially in dealing with PDFs.

Trying to get the right zoom and page position is already a bit of a hassle on a Kobo, but I find the Forma pretty slow doing this, so it can be a bit painful!

I also LOATHE the power button...of course...y'all gave ample warning !


To people who have owned both, I was wondering:

1) Is the Sage faster (altogether)?

2) Specifically:
- can you position a PDF page (using zoom and move) faster than Forma?
- maybe fast enough to buy a whole new device?!
(yes, very indulgent I know - but the Kobo itself has made me much more of a...READER!)

3) How is the battery life these days? That was one reason I avoided the Sage. Have any improvements been implemented or discovered over the last few months?

[Quoth]

Install KOReader using the one Click install for PDFs. It has built in crop.
But really an Elipsa is better for PDFs and I think a faster CPU.

I have original H2O, original Libra, Likebook Mars (7.8"), Sage and Elipsa.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Install KOReader using the one Click install for PDFs. It has built in crop.
But really an Elipsa is better for PDFs and I think a faster CPU.

I have original H2O, original Libra, Likebook Mars (7.8"), Sage and Elipsa.

KOReader is also pretty battery hungry on the Sage. At least last I’d checked.

I don’t use PDFs so can’t say anything there but the Sage feels like it refreshes faster and the battery life doesn’t bother me. It lasts well beyond the point of when I can put it on a charger.

[cerem0ny]

The battery on the Sage is atrocious .

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by cerem0ny

The battery on the Sage is atrocious .

Maybe poorer compared to an original H2O or Libra, but it's not atrocious. It's better than a Boyue Mars. Far better than any phone, personal media player or tablet I ever had or have. About 86% after prolonged use.

Do make sure WiFi & Bluetooth is off. On FW 4.30.x and FW 4.31.x simply opening the Bluetooth setting page turns on the Wifi!
It also charges quickly on a 2A USB-A port mains charger.

Also make sure you are on Homescreen before connecting to Mac/Windows/Linux to avoid database corruption.

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Maybe poorer compared to an original H2O or Libra, but it's not atrocious. It's better than a Boyue Mars. Far better than any phone, personal media player or tablet I ever had or have. About 86% after prolonged use.

Do make sure WiFi & Bluetooth is off. On FW 4.30.x and FW 4.31.x simply opening the Bluetooth setting page turns on the Wifi!
It also charges quickly on a 2A USB-A port mains charger.

Also make sure you are on Homescreen before connecting to Mac/Windows/Linux to avoid database corruption.

In my comparison of the Forma and the Sage:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=343407

I recorded my battery life figures: with the devices set up to look as much as possible as each other, the Sage got only 2/3 the battery life of the Forma. If it had had the same battery life, I'd have kept it (just because of the USB-C port). But, with that miserable battery life, no.

[Quoth]

2/3rds is certainly poorer than Forma, but it's hyberbole to call it miserable.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

In my comparison of the Forma and the Sage:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=343407

I recorded my battery life figures: with the devices set up to look as much as possible as each other, the Sage got only 2/3 the battery life of the Forma. If it had had the same battery life, I'd have kept it (just because of the USB-C port). But, with that miserable battery life, no.

You returned it? I complained vociferously about the very poor battery life on the Sage, but I would not have thought of returning it. Your own comparison shows you getting 8+ hours of reading out of it, making overnight (or whenever one sleeps) charging a viable option.

[enuddleyarbl]

Yep. Besides the USB C port and a better power button, the Sage brought nothing significant to my use case, and lost me about 4 hours of reading time between charges (plus it's perceptibly thicker and heavier). Now, if I read PDFs or comics, perhaps the greater speed/memory/screen(?) would have helped. But, for me, there was no reason to keep it. And $260 is a lot of pizza.

[DevonHess]

I recently had to replace my Forma with a Sage.
I used Koreader on both, so my reading conditions were exactly the same and the devices are very similar.

My battery life on the Sage is probably half what it was on the Forma. It's ridiculous.

It's not the end of the world to have to charge once a week, but it's still annoying.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by DevonHess

I recently had to replace my Forma with a Sage.
I used Koreader on both, so my reading conditions were exactly the same and the devices are very similar.

My battery life on the Sage is probably half what it was on the Forma. It's ridiculous.

It's not the end of the world to have to charge once a week, but it's still annoying.

Except KOReader munches the Sage’s battery even harder than the stock software. While it doesn’t do this for the Forma. KOReader does apparently have a nightly build with an option that brings the its battery performance on the Sage in to near parity with Nickel. I’ve not tried it so I can’t confirm how improved it is.

[DevonHess]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Except KOReader munches the Sage’s battery even harder than the stock software. While it doesn’t do this for the Forma. KOReader does apparently have a nightly build with an option that brings the its battery performance on the Sage in to near parity with Nickel. I’ve not tried it so I can’t confirm how improved it is.

This change? Cool, I'll definitely check it out.

I'm glad to see that it's an open issue either way.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Except KOReader munches the Sage’s battery even harder than the stock software. While it doesn’t do this for the Forma. KOReader does apparently have a nightly build with an option that brings the its battery performance on the Sage in to near parity with Nickel. I’ve not tried it so I can’t confirm how improved it is.

Nightlies are the only KOReader I use, and I check for updates every day, so that might explain why my reading experience (98% KOReader) seems comparable to the stock reader, thanks!

[NiLuJe]

Note that it is opt-in, because while a Sage takes < 10ms to resume, an older device will take ~200ms!

Spoiler alert: this is (part) of why page turns feel atrociously slow in nickel.

(In my book, that makes it a terrible trade on older devices: you tank UI latency for meager power efficiency gains (because nxp SoCs are fairly power efficient to begin with). On sunxi, not so much ;p).

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Also make sure you are on Homescreen before connecting to Mac/Windows/Linux to avoid database corruption.

Ahah, so maybe that's what's biting me. I'm on an Elipsa.