Kobo Nia E-reader

This has been an AMAZING eReader (emphasis on amazing), with the exception of character support, which I'm certain a software update could fix. A lot of the stuff I like to read are texts from before 1500, so the characters are in Middle English and Old English. Some letters render fine (Þorn/Thorn, Eðel/Ethel, and Æsh), but others (as well as every runic character, to my understanding) such as Ƿynn/Wynn show up as odd characters or blank boxes- I've also had an issue when attempting to read The Chaucer's Tale, as the device will freeze and crash after a certain point in the file. I also have texts on the device with CJK characters, and they don't render unless you have one of a few fonts actively selected. While this is somewhat frustrating, I do understand that ... MoreThis has been an AMAZING eReader (emphasis on amazing), with the exception of character support, which I'm certain a software update could fix. A lot of the stuff I like to read are texts from before 1500, so the characters are in Middle English and Old English. Some letters render fine (Þorn/Thorn, Eðel/Ethel, and Æsh), but others (as well as every runic character, to my understanding) such as Ƿynn/Wynn show up as odd characters or blank boxes- I've also had an issue when attempting to read The Chaucer's Tale, as the device will freeze and crash after a certain point in the file. I also have texts on the device with CJK characters, and they don't render unless you have one of a few fonts actively selected. While this is somewhat frustrating, I do understand that very few people have files on their Kobo devices that fall into this category. The only things I can think of would be for the font to fallback to one that has CJK support, and maybe add support for the other characters as well. While I don't anticipate buying a Kobo again anytime soon (I'm hoping this'll last for five years, but we'll see), I'd definately get another if I could find whether or not they had the character support. Again, I know I'm probably one of eight people on the planet to fall into this category, but it would make the experience that much better on the device. Overall, I'd rate it as a solid 9.5 of 10 as it just works for what I need, and often find myself falling asleep to whatever book I'm reading.Included is a picture of a page from Beowulf (Wyatt) from Wikisource and a picture of a page from a project I was doing pertaining to a community I'm a part of.

My last ereader before this was a late-model Kindle, so I end up comparing Kobo features to that. The Nia is comparable to Kindle in terms of hardware. I like a 6" screen: large enough to fit a page of text, but small enough to fit in a pocket. I bought a "sleep cover" that, like Kindle, makes it very easy to start and stop reading by simply opening the cover. Fully adjustable text and backlighting are user-friendly features of both devices.Where the Kobo Nia leaves Kindle in the dust is in the operating system. Kobo reads many different book formats, including epub. The Home page allows me to sort my library the way I want: alphabetically by author's last name. I like that I can see the page number at the bottom of each page. These kind of features make my Kobo ... MoreMy last ereader before this was a late-model Kindle, so I end up comparing Kobo features to that. The Nia is comparable to Kindle in terms of hardware. I like a 6" screen: large enough to fit a page of text, but small enough to fit in a pocket. I bought a "sleep cover" that, like Kindle, makes it very easy to start and stop reading by simply opening the cover. Fully adjustable text and backlighting are user-friendly features of both devices.Where the Kobo Nia leaves Kindle in the dust is in the operating system. Kobo reads many different book formats, including epub. The Home page allows me to sort my library the way I want: alphabetically by author's last name. I like that I can see the page number at the bottom of each page. These kind of features make my Kobo Nia a convenient, friendly companion.

I'm enjoying my first e-reader. I liked being able to customize fonts and to easily load public domain (Standard Ebooks) titles.Things that annoy me about it, though:* Occasional unexplained abrupt reboots (that can lose my place in a book)* The touchpad is slow and imprecise; it often misjudges where I have put my finger or stylus* I have been unable to get it to integrate successfully with Calibre (my desktop ereader)* It's sluggish (turning pages, moving around in menus or lists, etc.)* Its screen tends to be cluttered with dim ghosts of previous screens* Out of the box its default font was missing some language support (Hebrew)

This is a good device if you are not accustomed to higher end e readers. After having the kobo libra H2O (and losing it on a trip) my eyes had a harder time adjusting to the blue tint of the screen. There was some ghosting on the device as well.I do LOVE that it is smaller than the libra and sage and back of the device makes it easy to grip. I had a few issues where the ghosting of text stayed on the screen and I had to turn it off and on again to get rid of it. The sunken screen makes it more immersive and it’s a plus for me

For the most part I am very pleased with my experience with the Kobo Nia. I especially appreciate the device's home page My Books page, which makes it easy to browse through the electronic library and find a specific book. The interface also makes it easy to browse e-books in the Kobo store and purchase them through the e-reader, though it's even easier to use Kobo's website. Once a book is purchased through the website, it's seamlessly transferred to the registered e-reader so that one can begin reading the new book immediately.The e-reader's backlight and image quality are also clean and powered enough to comfortably read a book without eyestrain, even in the dark (though I recommend reading in a well-lit room instead). I haven't tested the device outdoors in ... MoreFor the most part I am very pleased with my experience with the Kobo Nia. I especially appreciate the device's home page My Books page, which makes it easy to browse through the electronic library and find a specific book. The interface also makes it easy to browse e-books in the Kobo store and purchase them through the e-reader, though it's even easier to use Kobo's website. Once a book is purchased through the website, it's seamlessly transferred to the registered e-reader so that one can begin reading the new book immediately.The e-reader's backlight and image quality are also clean and powered enough to comfortably read a book without eyestrain, even in the dark (though I recommend reading in a well-lit room instead). I haven't tested the device outdoors in sunlight but expect it would still be readable.The system also allows the reader to change the text font, margins, and line spacing easily while reading a book to maximize visual comfort. Depending on the book, you may need to adjust these factors to ensure that the text is the right size on the page for reading.Changing pages is relatively easy, even though the device does not have physical buttons.Two minor flaws of the Nia: highlighting an exact amount of text is difficult at times; and large books that contain images apparently take much longer to load and change pages. (This only occurred with one book thus far, which was not bought through the Kobo store). A very basic e-reader may not have enough processing power for large books with images. So I wouldn't recommend this black & white e-reader for graphic novels.The device was easy to purchase through the Rakuten online store but it took over a week to arrive with UPS shipping -- a bit slower than Amazon Prime.

The Kobo Nia does its job, but not much more. The screen isn't quite as responsive as I would expect, either in terms of speed or in accuracy. Any page that requires scrolling up or down lags significantly and appears extremely jumpy, making it unpleasant to use. I use my Kobo Nia exclusively for ebooks borrowed from my library, and while Overdrive materials sync seamlessly, EPUB materials require multiple steps and devices to access on the Kobo. My first attempt at reading an EPUB book on my Kobo Nia required well over an hour of reading how-to and help guides, figuring out how and where to download the required program, loading it to my Kobo, and then redoing it multiple times because it didn't work initially.As an e-reader, it does its job, but not in a ... MoreThe Kobo Nia does its job, but not much more. The screen isn't quite as responsive as I would expect, either in terms of speed or in accuracy. Any page that requires scrolling up or down lags significantly and appears extremely jumpy, making it unpleasant to use. I use my Kobo Nia exclusively for ebooks borrowed from my library, and while Overdrive materials sync seamlessly, EPUB materials require multiple steps and devices to access on the Kobo. My first attempt at reading an EPUB book on my Kobo Nia required well over an hour of reading how-to and help guides, figuring out how and where to download the required program, loading it to my Kobo, and then redoing it multiple times because it didn't work initially.As an e-reader, it does its job, but not in a particularly user-friendly way.

I'm loving my Kobo Nia, which I have now had for a couple of months.As a long-term Kindle user, I am especially enjoying the ability to read books from my public library as well as the Kobo store and other alternative sources rather than being locked into the Amazon Kindle ecosystem.I am happy with my switch to the Kobo Nia.PRO:The Nia is light to hold, has excellent battery life and a good screen.Although the screen is the same size, the Nia is slightly smaller and lighter than my Kindle Paperwhite, which makes it better for travel and nicer to hold.Able to read books from public libraries and other sources. Not locked into a single provider.CON:The USB charging / data port is still the old micro-USB type.Would have been nice to have physical page-turning ... MoreI'm loving my Kobo Nia, which I have now had for a couple of months.As a long-term Kindle user, I am especially enjoying the ability to read books from my public library as well as the Kobo store and other alternative sources rather than being locked into the Amazon Kindle ecosystem.I am happy with my switch to the Kobo Nia.PRO:The Nia is light to hold, has excellent battery life and a good screen.Although the screen is the same size, the Nia is slightly smaller and lighter than my Kindle Paperwhite, which makes it better for travel and nicer to hold.Able to read books from public libraries and other sources. Not locked into a single provider.CON:The USB charging / data port is still the old micro-USB type.Would have been nice to have physical page-turning buttons (available on more expensive models), but the touch screen works well.

I bought the Kobo Nia a few weeks ago. For a long time I had been a "Physical books only!!" and "I can't read on a screen!!" adherent. However, the more I looked into e-readers the more I considered their convenience. What drew me in was the buttons, or one tap to turn the page. It meant that, no longer would I need to hands to read in bed. I caved, figuring it would be a convenient way to do light reading.In some sense this E-Reader has ruined my life. I read so much now. Maybe too much. If I'm not doing something that requires my eyes, I'm reading. I had never considered how inconvenient books actually were. I can put on the backlight to read in low light conditions. I can have multiple books on the go at once, without having to carry them around. I can change ... MoreI bought the Kobo Nia a few weeks ago. For a long time I had been a "Physical books only!!" and "I can't read on a screen!!" adherent. However, the more I looked into e-readers the more I considered their convenience. What drew me in was the buttons, or one tap to turn the page. It meant that, no longer would I need to hands to read in bed. I caved, figuring it would be a convenient way to do light reading.In some sense this E-Reader has ruined my life. I read so much now. Maybe too much. If I'm not doing something that requires my eyes, I'm reading. I had never considered how inconvenient books actually were. I can put on the backlight to read in low light conditions. I can have multiple books on the go at once, without having to carry them around. I can change the font size, so when I'm a little fatigued the letters are larger, and when I am less fatigued and want to move more quickly I can make them smaller. It fits in many of my pockets, and so is easy to carry around. If I fancy something new to read, I simply head to overdrive or the store and pick out a new book.Sure, there are things I wouldn't do with this particular e-reader. If I was using a text as a reference, then I wouldn't use this e-reader for that. But it's not meant for that. It is meant to be a compact thing you can get out at a moment's notice to read whatever pulpy fiction you're reading.I received it around 3 weeks ago. Up to that point this year, I believed I finished maybe 1 book. In the 3 weeks since I recieved it I have read 13 books. It's a problem. This e-reader is simply too good!!!

I was looking for a simple, non-Amazon e-reader to replace the Nook I used for years. The Kobo is an ideal replacement, with its similar e-ink screen and back light that is easy on the eyes. The biggest advantage over my previous e-reader is the Overdrive app: I get most of my ebooks from the library and had to connect my previous e-reader to a Windows or Mac computer (I prefer to use Linux), but with the Kobo Nia library borrowing is all done through the app. This has dramatically improved my experience and I'm really happy with my purchase.

Great product

Awesome product, so light and small enough to be popped in a bag but large enough to read. Perfect for people with sight problems or learning disabilities where larger text size helps as the font size can go quite large. So easy to read even out in the bright sun or in the dark. Love how you can change where you tap the screen to move pages and also how you can hold on a word to look up the definition. Very easy to use and to connect to wifi and the NZ librarys. Much better than the older versions where you had to download library books from a laptop now you can download them directly from the kobo. Such an awesome wee reader for a great price, would definitely recomend!