played with new wifi kobo

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by taming

I'd rather have it right than have it now...assuming we aren't waiting too much longer. BTW, too much longer isn't very long at all in my book. I'm patient, but I'm no saint.

I'd like it right, right now.

[JCKobo]

Originally Posted by taming

I'd rather have it right than have it now...assuming we aren't waiting too much longer. BTW, too much longer isn't very long at all in my book. I'm patient, but I'm no saint.

Agreed. It's longer than it should be, and it is coming soon. We love our early customers and have been working on the update for the original Kobo Reader the whole time. Thanks for your patience so far - it won't be much longer.

[JCKobo]

Back to billthereader - thanks for the write up. Two notes:

Originally Posted by billthereader

The not so good: You don't have the option to hide the pre-loaded books.

The option is still there - it's just a one more step away. When in your BOOKS library, press the Menu button, and pick Display. The same option in the 1.4 option is there.

You can also use the delete option to remove these books permanently if you want the space back.

Originally Posted by billthereader

There's also an extra step now when you connect it to the computer as you have to choose to "manage library" before the computer will see it as a device.

I see this as an improvement as it allows you to continue to use your device while charging it. This was a big ask from previous customers (and will be in the Kobo 1 update coming soon). Let us know if you disagree.

[Pookeysgirl]

Originally Posted by JCKobo

Agreed. It's longer than it should be, and it is coming soon. We love our early customers and have been working on the update for the original Kobo Reader the whole time. Thanks for your patience so far - it won't be much longer.

Are you able to tell us what's in the new firmware release?

[digital_steve]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Kobo bookstore apparently sells books in their own format (sqlite?). As the only ebook I purchased from that store was ePUB, I have had no experience with this.

I am unsure to what my next ereader will be, but interest in the Sony PRS-650 is starting to grow in me, even though it is $100+ more than the Ko1/Ko2.

Really? I just bought epubs and thought they were epubs; if they differ somehow, they're still able to be DRM stripped in the normal way.

I'm with you on the PRS-650... my interest is certainly growing more and more.

Originally Posted by 3d0g

Nope. The Kobo has always been a Shortcover format eReader that also supports EPUB. While both formats are XHTML spec, they are not the same.

Shortcover stores the book data in a sqlite database on the kobo with one page per database record. EPUB stores book data as one file per chapter. EPUB also supports considerably more XHTML tags than Shortcover (inline images, etc.)

So 'kobo format' is just the way it handles the .epub container?
Thanks for the info; all new to me!

Originally Posted by JCKobo

We are working to update the original reader to support the same format as the Wireless Reader, however since the original Kobo reader has less RAM and a weaker CPU, we need to do more optimization and testing to get it working there.

So essentially all the work has been towards the wifi kobo and the firmware for the original will be a cut-down 'port'?

Originally Posted by JCKobo

All I can say is it's coming soon. I understand this is frustrating as we've been saying that for a while, but I don't want to give specific dates unless I'm 100% sure we'll release it on that date. As soon as it's firm, I'll come back and let you all know.

Originally Posted by JCKobo

Agreed. It's longer than it should be, and it is coming soon. We love our early customers and have been working on the update for the original Kobo Reader the whole time. Thanks for your patience so far - it won't be much longer.

... hang on, you said above that you're working on an update on the original reader to bring it inline with the new reader; surely this would indicate that you guys have been concentrating on the new one (understandable!) and not working on the original firmware 'the whole time'?

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

Are you able to tell us what's in the new firmware release?

+1... are you able to give us any info, considering it won't be much longer?

[JPenguin]

@digital_steve: Some of the libraries they needed for the WiFi reader were in the open source packages they released back in August, I think you can take this as a pretty firm indication that the "new" firmware is just an updated version of the current firmware for the old devices. There are just some more minor changes between the two to remove the WiFi support, enable Bluetooth and presumably remap the buttons (since we don't have a shop button). I suspect it won't be so much a "port" but just a respin of the new device's firmware, you could think of it as being similar to Microsoft's different Windows editions, WiFi is Windows 7 Home Premium and old-non-WiFi is Windows 7 Home Basic.

The Kobo format for ebooks are similar to ePub but you cannot download them without using the Kobo apps (Desktop or smartphone/tablet apps). They have similar DRM but stripping it wouldn't make sense since you'd have no compatible reader software/hardware. Any book you download in ePub format from the Kobo site will be in usual ePub format, just like if you bought it from Sony or any other store. Usually the visual formatting of the ebooks is slightly different between Kobo and ePub format, Kobo format didn't support images for example, this difference also highlights why there were never problems resizing the font of Kobo books with firmware 1.0.

[digital_steve]

Good info, nice one.

I'm confused re kobo format... my assumption is that i have managed to only buy normal epubs through the kobo store thus far

I only strip DRM for intended formatting (once i work it out); i'm not sending out my books over the virtual seven seas.

[JPenguin]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

Good info, nice one.

I'm confused re kobo format... my assumption is that i have managed to only buy normal epubs through the kobo store thus far

I only strip DRM for intended formatting (once i work it out); i'm not sending out my books over the virtual seven seas.

Most books that Kobo sells are available in ePub, if you download the books from the Kobo site and transfer them with ADE then you are using the ePub versions. If you use the Kobo Desktop software (or Borders versions) then you are using the Kobo format.

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by JPenguin

Most books that Kobo sells are available in ePub, if you download the books from the Kobo site and transfer them with ADE then you are using the ePub versions. If you use the Kobo Desktop software (or Borders versions) then you are using the Kobo format.

That is very interesting to know. I was having problems with an epub that I bought from both Books On Board and Kobo but used ADE to install. Once I used the kobo app to put it on my reader it worked fine. So I guess there are SOME advantages to using the kobo formatted books

[digital_steve]

Nice one JPenguin; it's crystal now

[3d0g]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

I'm confused re kobo format... my assumption is that i have managed to only buy normal epubs through the kobo store thus far

When you use the kobo desktop app to make / transfer your purchases to the kobo, that's in Shortcover format. When you click on "download epub" and use ADE, Calibre or something else to transfer the book to the kobo, that's called a "side load" and is in EPUB format, of course.

They are quite different formats, both in terms of storage and supported features.

[JPenguin]

It's all a matter of preference really, I rather like the formatting on Kobo's format and the books I read don't usually have too many images in them.

I also checked out the new WiFi model in store today. The speed was very good, response to the button presses was definitely faster than the old Kobo. I couldn't cage the contrast etc so I can't weight in on that (I had an eye exam right before so my vision wasn't so great). I wasn't that fond of the changed menu structure, I had to adjust the font on the demo model and missed the Display button. This probably wouldn't be too big of an issue. Now hearing that the new Kobo doesn't have an "Off" mode explains why I couldn't turn it off , I tried to see what the start up speed was but it was refusing to turn off. Without using the same books on the old and new Kobo I couldn't gauge the loading time for books.

I'm going to wait for the old Kobo's update to see whether the optimizations improve the page flipping enough (and improve startup, or remove the off state), if they don't then maybe I'll buy a WiFi device. If we had a Pearl display then I would definitely upgrade to a new Kobo, I'm hoping for that as the next upgrade.

[tpw]

JCKobo, thanks for finally dropping by and clarifying a few issues for us all.

Just one question: is the new "no auto power off" feature going to be backported into the firmware update for Kobo1? Please say yes...

[Malmic]

Hello,

I have been lurking around here for a while but never posted. I thought I'd share my thoughts after checking out both the wifi kobo and the PRS 650 today (I had my original kobo and my husband's kindle with me for comparison).

The new kobo is definitely faster. The screen still has the grayish tint and while it is better than the old one the difference, at least to my eyes, is minor. I could not try the wifi because it didn't want to connect.

I saw a few people here mentioning that they are thinking more and more of getting a PRS 650. This is exactly what I was thinking as well (that's why I went to check it out today). After seeing it in store again and playing around with it I really don't think it's worth it. Although it has a pearl screen, when compared with my kobo it didn't seem a whole lot better. In fact I think it's very close to the new wifi kobo screen. It has the same grayish tint and it is nowhere near the kindle. Also, it seemed that only one font size is actually usable. On my Kobo I can use smallest, small and medium but on sony only the medium one was OK. The jump from one size to the next is huge compared to kobo. Sure, Sony is pretty, the touch screen is fancy but quality wise it didn't seem a huge step up from the wifi Kobo (unless you would use the annotation feature).

That being said, neither kobo or sony really compare with kindle when it comes to speed, screen quality (contrast) and character size options (plus line distance options). Kindle is a class above both. It would become an option for me if they would open to epubs but until then it's a no for me.

The big things I think are still missing from Kobo are bookmarks and a "go to" option. I almost bought the sony just for those two features. I have books with footnotes and glossaries and being able to move back and forth within the book is a must for academic books. I would be happy if they would just tell us that they are at least considering those features and working on implementing them in a future firmware upgrade.

[viviena]

Originally Posted by Malmic

I saw a few people here mentioning that they are thinking more and more of getting a PRS 650. ... Although it has a pearl screen, when compared with my kobo it didn't seem a whole lot better. In fact I think it's very close to the new wifi kobo screen. It has the same grayish tint and it is nowhere near the kindle.

That's strange. I have, well, not the 650, but the 350, and one reason I found the Sony devices attractive enough to pay the extra is that it was clear to me the 350's Pearl screen is much better than the Kobo's. The 350's screen quality is also comparable to a friend's K3. Must be a subjective thing.

I do agree however that the jumps between text sizes are bigger than the Kobo's, and it seems to vary wildly depending on the EPUB or PDF.

Anyway, I must admit I'm struggling with a case of gadget envy, and my mind is trying to rationalise the purchase of a WiFi Kobo. That said, I'm waiting to see how well the company treats their original customers, starting with the release of the new firmware.