Very happy new Vox owner looking for tips!

ficbot · 06-22-2012, 11:12 AM

I just got a Kobo Vox and I love it so far! I had an e-ink Kindle but found that ever since I moved, the lighting situation in my new place isn't great for reading in bed and I dislike booklights. I found they never covered the whole screen and they bother my bedmate

I do have an iPad for work, but I found it a little clunky for bedtime reading, and since the last Kindle app update, with the bigger margins, the screen size is too big for text-based stuff.

So, I got the Kobo Vox. The Google Play update installed the first time I turned it on for setup (I had to wait two hours for the battery to charge though, it kept crashing when I tried it out of the box). I have spent the last two days fiddling and tweaking and here is what I found made a huge difference:

1) I installed the Go Launcher on the advice of a forum member, and I love it. I don't use the Kobo software so I was delighted to be able to replace all their widgets and menubar icons. The Go Launcher is very iOS-ish and you can even group your icons into folders like on iOs. It also has a 'running apps' tab with a broom so you can sweep closed all your unused stuff. This I think will help save battery while in sleep mode.

2) Widgets. Love them! I have a widget that keeps my calendar right on the desktop (it seamlessly syncced with my Google Calendar, I remember the Palm Pilot days of having to export and restore things!) and I have my tasks on another screen.

3) I also installed a wifi killer widget onto the menubar so that when I am not using wifi, I can turn it off and on with one tap to save battery. I set up two home screens, one with non-internet apps and one with internet apps and this widget. When I turn on the wifi, I do all my quick little internet tasks, them turn it off. And when it is off to save battery, I can stay on the non-internet home screen and do everything there without worrying about it.

4) Kindle app. I loathe the Kobo app so I was delighted to be able to load the Kindle app right from the Google Play store and use my Kindle books. It is just like having a Kindle Fire

Now, my disappointments

1) They only had black and I wanted one with a little punch. Oh well

It was not worth special ordering just for that so I got the black one.

2) The screen is very smudgy; it looks dirtier, through general use, than my iPad does. Is there a case or screen protector I can get to minimize this?

3) I am spoiled by my iPad's battery life. The Vox seems to go from 100 to 90% at the drop of a hat, but has more staying power after that and it drops less quickly. I plan to mostly use it at home after working hours, so it should be okay, but right now I am not working and am playing with it more and it definitely is less than my iPad. Other than turning off wifi and background sync and turning down screen brightness, any battery saver tips?

4) I can't get Netflix working at all. I tried downloading an older version and it didn't work either...

5) It's a little chunkier than I thought it would be. I wonder why they couldn't get it slimmer given how tiny the iPod Touch is, and still able to do the same thing.

6) Rdio and Globe2Go drive me crazy. I try to quit them, but then they launch themselves again. I don't use them nor do I plan to, so this is quite annoying. I read the rotting tutorial and apparently it does not work anymore so I can't root to delete them.

Overall, I am very happy. Hit me with your best apps, tips and tricks, Vox fans!

paulsalter · 06-22-2012, 11:24 AM

One of the best Apps I found is Aldiko, this is another reader app so not sure if you are to interested

works great with ePub files and also for library books

there is also Aldiko Sync available (different developer) which keeps it's books in sync between android devices and also works as a backup as it stores your books on Dropbox

i notice in your signature you use Goodreads, I find their app very handy to be able to look up my books and decide on my next read

oldyellr · 06-22-2012, 03:04 PM

Reading at night:

Even with the brightness turned all the way down, in night mode the native Vox reader app is still too bright for me. I use Aldiko as a reader app and it has a wider brightness range and lots more features than the Vox reader or Overdrive. Even then it's too bright for me, so I installed Screen Filter, which drops the brightness even more. Now the 3 menu buttons are way too bright, so I jam a piece of paper across the bottom in my case to dim them.

Case:

I got a very nice leather case from skindigital on eBay for $18, free shipping. They are available in various colours.

06-22-2012, 11:12 AM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Very happy new Vox owner looking for tips! I just got a Kobo Vox and I love it so far! I had an e-ink Kindle but found that ever since I moved, the lighting situation in my new place isn't great for reading in bed and I dislike booklights. I found they never covered the whole screen and they bother my bedmate I do have an iPad for work, but I found it a little clunky for bedtime reading, and since the last Kindle app update, with the bigger margins, the screen size is too big for text-based stuff. So, I got the Kobo Vox. The Google Play update installed the first time I turned it on for setup (I had to wait two hours for the battery to charge though, it kept crashing when I tried it out of the box). I have spent the last two days fiddling and tweaking and here is what I found made a huge difference: 1) I installed the Go Launcher on the advice of a forum member, and I love it. I don't use the Kobo software so I was delighted to be able to replace all their widgets and menubar icons. The Go Launcher is very iOS-ish and you can even group your icons into folders like on iOs. It also has a 'running apps' tab with a broom so you can sweep closed all your unused stuff. This I think will help save battery while in sleep mode. 2) Widgets. Love them! I have a widget that keeps my calendar right on the desktop (it seamlessly syncced with my Google Calendar, I remember the Palm Pilot days of having to export and restore things!) and I have my tasks on another screen. 3) I also installed a wifi killer widget onto the menubar so that when I am not using wifi, I can turn it off and on with one tap to save battery. I set up two home screens, one with non-internet apps and one with internet apps and this widget. When I turn on the wifi, I do all my quick little internet tasks, them turn it off. And when it is off to save battery, I can stay on the non-internet home screen and do everything there without worrying about it. 4) Kindle app. I loathe the Kobo app so I was delighted to be able to load the Kindle app right from the Google Play store and use my Kindle books. It is just like having a Kindle Fire Now, my disappointments 1) They only had black and I wanted one with a little punch. Oh well It was not worth special ordering just for that so I got the black one. 2) The screen is very smudgy; it looks dirtier, through general use, than my iPad does. Is there a case or screen protector I can get to minimize this? 3) I am spoiled by my iPad's battery life. The Vox seems to go from 100 to 90% at the drop of a hat, but has more staying power after that and it drops less quickly. I plan to mostly use it at home after working hours, so it should be okay, but right now I am not working and am playing with it more and it definitely is less than my iPad. Other than turning off wifi and background sync and turning down screen brightness, any battery saver tips? 4) I can't get Netflix working at all. I tried downloading an older version and it didn't work either... 5) It's a little chunkier than I thought it would be. I wonder why they couldn't get it slimmer given how tiny the iPod Touch is, and still able to do the same thing. 6) Rdio and Globe2Go drive me crazy. I try to quit them, but then they launch themselves again. I don't use them nor do I plan to, so this is quite annoying. I read the rotting tutorial and apparently it does not work anymore so I can't root to delete them. Overall, I am very happy. Hit me with your best apps, tips and tricks, Vox fans! Last edited by ficbot; 06-22-2012 at 11:14 AM.

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06-22-2012, 11:24 AM	#2
paulsalter Fanatic Posts: 579 Karma: 3243761 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Fire HD8	One of the best Apps I found is Aldiko, this is another reader app so not sure if you are to interested works great with ePub files and also for library books there is also Aldiko Sync available (different developer) which keeps it's books in sync between android devices and also works as a backup as it stores your books on Dropbox i notice in your signature you use Goodreads, I find their app very handy to be able to look up my books and decide on my next read

06-22-2012, 03:04 PM	#3
oldyellr Evangelist Posts: 484 Karma: 26106 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Vox, Amazon Fire 7	Reading at night: Even with the brightness turned all the way down, in night mode the native Vox reader app is still too bright for me. I use Aldiko as a reader app and it has a wider brightness range and lots more features than the Vox reader or Overdrive. Even then it's too bright for me, so I installed Screen Filter, which drops the brightness even more. Now the 3 menu buttons are way too bright, so I jam a piece of paper across the bottom in my case to dim them. Case: I got a very nice leather case from skindigital on eBay for $18, free shipping. They are available in various colours.

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