Engadget reviews Kobo Aura, verdict: it's the nicest mainstream e-reader. Not.

[Alexander Turcic]

Whether it's the new Kindle Paperwhite, Sony's just unveiled PRS-T3 Reader, or Kobo's upcoming Aura - let's face it, it's not exactly easy to pick the right device to satisfy our e-reading cravings. So props to the guys from Engadget for this in-depth review of the Kobo Aura. Their verdict? Great hardware, great software, albeit pricey ($150).

Funny enough, at one point the reviewer states that the Aura is "easily the nicest mainstream standalone e-reader we've seen", while a little further down he remarks that this device is "decidedly not mainstream" due to its heavy price tag. Confused?

All told, the Aura's hardware isn't perfect, but this is easily the nicest mainstream standalone e-reader we've seen, though the $150 price tag may be a lot for all but the most devoted bookworms to stomach.

The Kobo Aura is the best flagship e-reader on the market. There are, however, some caveats here. First, it's still a hard sell if you're locked into Amazon, as the Paperwhite's recent tweaks have made it all the more compelling a proposition. Second, the $150 price tag makes the device decidedly not mainstream. Kobo just can't compete with Amazon's subsidized reader prices, particularly not with the Kindle's Special Offers ad model, which shaves even more off the price. If you're already locked into Amazon, it's best to wait it out. If you're a Kobo devotee or someone who has yet to pull the trigger on an e-reader (and don't mind paying for quality), do yourself a favor and take a serious look at the Aura.

Related: Kobo forum

[Apache]

Are you sure this guy isn't a politician with a second job?
Apache

[Mivo]

The flush bezel makes the device very attractive to me.

I do more reading on the Nexus lately, but I still like to have and use an e-ink reader (tablets make it hard for me to not check mail and such). One of my issues with the Glo is the ease with which it collects dust, cat hair and bread crumbs between screen and bezel. I even bought one of those things to keep it clean (actually very nifty for cleaning the laptop, too -- it's made from micro fibre).

So the flush bezel might end up convincing me to buy the device, even though I don't really need another e-ink reader!

[booklover6]

That's such BS. It's only $11 (in the US) more than the Kindle Paperwhite. Unless you want the ads. I paid to get them off my PW1, so it was $139. I consider my Kobo Glo a superior device, and look forward to getting a Kobo Aura.

[meeera]

They also say that the Aura has managed its size reductions by introducing capacitive touch, which they call "quite the novel feature for an e-reader" -- WHILE comparing it to the gen 1 Paperwhite. Which has capacitive touch.

[doctorow]

Kobo announced the Aura before Amazon announced the Paperwhite 2. Perhaps the Engadget reviewer wrote this review before the Paperwhite 2 announcement and only updated it slightly (and inconsistently) afterwards.

[Katsunami]

All told, the Aura's hardware isn't perfect, but this is easily the nicest mainstream standalone e-reader we've seen, though the $150 price tag may be a lot for all but the most devoted bookworms to stomach.

That's BS, crappadidoodaa and just plain baloney too.

(edit: Next part of this post is assuming that you don't have to support a wife/husband and 5 children in college on a minimum wage.)

I don't know how it is in the US, but to compare... a Kobo Aura (HD, the 6.8 one) will cost you €150 in the Netherlands. That's USD 199. Often I hear people wailing how "expensive" an e-reader is, and how books cost "a lot of money" and that this is "hard to spend that amount of cash on entertainment in these tough times".

Those same people, for some reason, will easily blow €50 on an evening in a bar, drinking 25 beers. (A beer over here costs around €2), and then add another €10 to go eat something afterward. Many people I know go out very often; some of them each day of the weekend.

Just skip one day of drinking, three weeks in a row, or drink/eat half for 6 days, and you have your e-reader. You even have €30 to spare for your first 5-6 books. (If you read English, you can actually go cheaper than €5 per book.)

€150 for an e-reader, which can last several years if you're a bit lucky, is NOTHING if it allows me to save 50% on each book (if reading in English), get lots of books for free even, and save entire walls of space in my house.

For a lot of people, it's all about priorities. The e-reader is not expensive. They're just not readers, and so they can't justify the "hefty" price tag.

[ProfCrash]

ummm My K1 cost $400 so, yeah not all that expensive.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

For a lot of people, it's all about priorities. The e-reader is not expensive. They're just not readers, and so they can't justify the "hefty" price tag.

Very well said. I remember I paid almost $500 for my first e-book reader!

[greenasterisk]

My only regret with the new model is the logo placement. Shifting it to the side somehow signifies an imbalance. It really bothers me.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by greenasterisk

My only regret with the new model is the logo placement. Shifting it to the side somehow signifies an imbalance. It really bothers me.

Hm. So I'm not the only one. It's one of those "a change because it's a change" things again. The logo in the middle was fine, and now the reader indeed looks imbalanced. It's actually the first thing I noticed.

I sure hope the screenshots he included were poorly taken photos as they show a really grey background and light text.

Kobo has had a lot of good hardware, but their firmware has been really buggy, and attempts to fix bugs has often just made more bugs. I wonder if the Aura uses a seperate rendering engine for the kePubs than the sideloaded ePubs? That was what made me return the Kobo Touch I had about two years ago. The kePubs looked okay, but sideloaded ePubs looked terrible. Since Kobo has a lackluster bookstore I was reading mostly sideloaded ePubs and that equaled FAIL.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I wonder if the Aura uses a seperate rendering engine for the kePubs than the sideloaded ePubs?

I'd assume so. The Glo, Aura HD and Mini all do & Kobo seems to like using the same firmware across all of their current readers. I've taken to using the extended Kobo plugin for Calibre to load my ePubs as kePubs since the Access engine gives a more consistent experience while reading than the one using the Adobe RMSDK.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by jswinden

That was what made me return the Kobo Touch I had about two years ago. The kePubs looked okay, but sideloaded ePubs looked terrible. Since Kobo has a lackluster bookstore I was reading mostly sideloaded ePubs and that equaled FAIL.

I wouldn't want to play down any negative Kobo experience you had 2 years ago but I think you may find that things have changed a lot since then.

I only read epubs, not kepubs, and they render at least as well as they ever did on my Sonys. This is partly due to the Kobo firmware being more stable than it was 6-12 months ago (at least for me), partly due to the marvels created by the friendly community hackers and the hi-res, front-lit screens with huge choice of font-sizes, faces and weights. The Kobo/calibre interface is also excellent and under constant improvement.

I also can't remember the last time I needed the trusty paperclip This is not to say that some people don't still find their Kobo 'quirkier' than their previous favourite reader but it all really depends on what features you find indispensible. I probably wouldn't be quite so happy if my priorities were PDF, thousands of books on the reader and a permanent Wi-fi connection.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

That's BS, crappadidoodaa and just plain baloney too.

(edit: Next part of this post is assuming that you don't have to support a wife/husband and 5 children in college on a minimum wage.)

I don't know how it is in the US, but to compare... a Kobo Aura (HD, the 6.8 one) will cost you €150 in the Netherlands. That's USD 199. Often I hear people wailing how "expensive" an e-reader is, and how books cost "a lot of money" and that this is "hard to spend that amount of cash on entertainment in these tough times".

Those same people, for some reason, will easily blow €50 on an evening in a bar, drinking 25 beers. (A beer over here costs around €2), and then add another €10 to go eat something afterward. Many people I know go out very often; some of them each day of the weekend.

Just skip one day of drinking, three weeks in a row, or drink/eat half for 6 days, and you have your e-reader. You even have €30 to spare for your first 5-6 books. (If you read English, you can actually go cheaper than €5 per book.)

€150 for an e-reader, which can last several years if you're a bit lucky, is NOTHING if it allows me to save 50% on each book (if reading in English), get lots of books for free even, and save entire walls of space in my house.

For a lot of people, it's all about priorities. The e-reader is not expensive. They're just not readers, and so they can't justify the "hefty" price tag.

Haha I easily spend more $100 a week on things that aren't good for me and have no lasting value, and I am conservative compared to most people I konow. I doubt I would pay more than $400 on an ereader, but why not I wonder. I spent more than that on my last TV and I rarely watch it. I bought it for the use of my mother and sister when they visit. How weird is that

Helen