Mini Owners of the Kobo Mini: What Are Your Impressions?

[l_macd]

I've read a couple of comments from people that have said they hated the screen on the Mini, but going from how it looked instore, I couldn't see a lot of difference between it and the Touch or Glo (with the light off obviously!). It's small and it's not as good as the Glo, but for the price I wouldn't expect it to be. Are there some variations in the screens, or are these people just being picky?

[DomesticExtremis]

Well, I love mine.It's my first e-reader so I don't have mush to compare with.
Next to my sister's K2 it is about half the size, but with a screen only one
inch smaller.
Compared a cheap paperback made with recycled (aka grey) paper or a
daily newspaper, the contrast is fine.

[Redjack443]

I've had my Kobo Mini for a few days now, and I'm really liking it so far. Coming from a 6" Sony PRS-T1, I was a bit concerned about the 5" screen size, but so far it's not been an issue.

With regards to the quality of the screen, I've had no complaints. I've already sold my old reader to a friend, so I can't compare them side by side, but at no point did I feel the quality of the screen was inferior.

[paola]

my Kobo mini is one day old, and I am coming from a Pocketbook - I love the lightness and the crisp screen on the Kobo, other things I like less (e.g. the way a large library is difficult to navigate if you are one of those weirdos, like me, who like to have no shelves and only look at titles or author sort: then you have zillion pages to navigate!), but I have a lot to learn on this forum, so I am sure many issues are due to me being a Kobo ignoramus
But then one question: the book I am currently reading tells me what percentage I have read of the current chapter, and does not refer to the overall book: is there some setting I should change to get info on the overall percentage I've read?

[PeterT]

The reading info. is based on whether the book is an ePub (ie sideloaded via calibre, ADE, Windows Explorer or any other means) or a Kobo ePub (kEpub) loaded via WiFi or Kobo Desktop.

ePubs show page location within the book; kEpub location within the chapter.

[paola]

Originally Posted by PeterT

The reading info. is based on whether the book is an ePub (ie sideloaded via calibre, ADE, Windows Explorer or any other means) or a Kobo ePub (kEpub) loaded via WiFi or Kobo Desktop.

ePubs show page location within the book; kEpub location within the chapter.

Peter, many thanks - so presumably if I can convert it to epub I should be fine? It is interesting, as I was reading the same book on another device, and thought it was an epub, as there I had the book percentage - but perhaps it was that reader which could not manage the database like the kobo does...

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by paola

But then one question: the book I am currently reading tells me what percentage I have read of the current chapter, and does not refer to the overall book: is there some setting I should change to get info on the overall percentage I've read?

When you tap the centre of the screen, the menu bar at the bottom of the page shows the percentage read of the whole book, for both kepubs and epubs. The page numering is per chapter for kepubs, but the pecentage read is for the whole book.

[paola]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

When you tap the centre of the screen, the menu bar at the bottom of the page shows the percentage read of the whole book, for both kepubs and epubs. The page numering is per chapter for kepubs, but the pecentage read is for the whole book.

many thanks Geoff, I had not noticed!

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by paola

Peter, many thanks - so presumably if I can convert it to epub I should be fine? It is interesting, as I was reading the same book on another device, and thought it was an epub, as there I had the book percentage - but perhaps it was that reader which could not manage the database like the kobo does...

There is no tool for conversion. However if from your PC you ho to the Kobo books website, you should be able to download an ePub version of each book you have bought. There should be a large blue button besides each book that will download an ACSMfile, which in turn when opened via ADE will download an ePub.

[paola]

many thanks Peter, as you see I am still finding my feet :-)

[Redjack443]

Originally Posted by paola

my Kobo mini is one day old, and I am coming from a Pocketbook - I love the lightness and the crisp screen on the Kobo, other things I like less (e.g. the way a large library is difficult to navigate if you are one of those weirdos, like me, who like to have no shelves and only look at titles or author sort: then you have zillion pages to navigate!), but I have a lot to learn on this forum, so I am sure many issues are due to me being a Kobo ignoramus
But then one question: the book I am currently reading tells me what percentage I have read of the current chapter, and does not refer to the overall book: is there some setting I should change to get info on the overall percentage I've read?

If you go to the Bookstore tab, there is a search button, which can also be used to search your library, instead of just the Kobo store.

[paola]

Originally Posted by Redjack443

If you go to the Bookstore tab, there is a search button, which can also be used to search your library, instead of just the Kobo store.

thank you Redjack, I had found the search. I was complaining about not being able to browse at leisure (with my previous reader, also a 5", I could see even twenty or more titles per page), but I guess it is also a matter of an old dog learning new tricks!

Having said that, the smallness and portability of the Mini are definitely a winner - I am also getting a knack for the highlights, and they are really very easy to "manipulate". Now I've also found out about custom dictionaries, which is great. The web browser is also very convenient, the only problem I had with it was to make it download from dropbox, but I'll find a way!

Ah, and the price: I got it (UK) for £49.99, really a steal!

[samhy]

Congratulations paola I hope you'll like it more and more.

I am new to Kobo Mini world too and so far I really like it. It's easy to carry around and it seems sturdy. The battery is really good (on the first charges). The navigation takes some time to get used to it, but it is only due to being a different brand former user, and in the end it's quite natural.

One thing though, I don't think it's possible to change the font size of the menu or dictionaries. Well, it's the dictionaries size that bothers me the most. On a small screen, it's not always easy to read (Japanese, for example).

[paola]

actually now that I've learned how to export highlights via Calibre (thank yo Lynx-lynx!), the ease of highlighting is getting more and more enjoyable :-)

[hidari]

Just got the Kobo Mini.....I was walking in my local Electronics shop: BIC Camera..in Sapporo...and Checking out the old Sony 350 (already own), Sony T1 and T2, and Saw the Kobos.... Glo etc... but me being a 5 inch reader maniac....could not resist.... bought it and will show some photos next to my PB360plus,Sony 350, and Cybook Opus....