ADVERTISEMENTS VIA READING LIFE.

[jackastor]

This morning I synced my Aura HD and during the sync I had the reader pop up a full page add at me while I was reading. I was surprised about this as I don't want adds coming at me while I am reading. This attack on a readers Enjoyment is not acceptable on any level and Kobo Has to stop the attack.

So I looked into my settings and under Reading Life and Notifications theres a button for Kobo Notifications. Uncheck this button to avoid those reading attacks. Nobody needs a reader that interrupts reading enjoyment.

regards

Jack

[davidfor]

Exactly when did it pop up? Opening a book, turning a page or some other time? And what type of book? And just for my curiosity, what was it an add for?

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Exactly when did it pop up? Opening a book, turning a page or some other time? And what type of book? And just for my curiosity, what was it an add for?

It popped up during a sync while I was reading. It was an add for kobos current contest. Also the book was a non kobo book. But the add showed whilst it was syncing.

[taming]

Am I understanding you correctly? A full page ad popped up during sync. You were reading at the same time you were doing the sync. You later found that there was a setting to turn this off. Is this correct, or am I misreading your posts?

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by jackastor

It popped up during a sync while I was reading. It was an add for kobos current contest. Also the book was a non kobo book. But the add showed whilst it was syncing.

If I'm understanding it correctly, he was reading when the ad popped up. Syncing can take awhile and be going on in the background while your nose is buried back in your book happily reading. And that's when it happened.

And I agree with him, very intrusive. I thought the Notifications in settings were strictly for the Reading Awards that might pop up only and nothing else. But then I'm on firmware 2.4.0, maybe the ads are only from newer firmware.

[taming]

There are a number of new settings in the new 2.9.1 firmware. This includes things like turning off sync entirely and a separate one that assures that you will not ever have Kobo deliver this kind of promotion. They are both under the new setting for Syncing and Updates.

From my POV, the big failure is not including this information about new settings in the release notes. It is not part of Reading Life, as far as I know.

The promotions tiles have been around for a couple of FW releases, I think. Being able to turn them off will be muchly appreciated in the new FW. The fact that it has not come up before on MR may have something to do with how rarely (thus far) these tiles have appeared.

EDIT: I agree there is something very wrong if, in fact, a person were to be interrupted while reading by an advertisement.

[taming]

I decided to check with the developers. The fellow who is the director R&D Devices at Kobo said this (and said I could quote him).

Not possible. There is a tile that can appear on your home screen with these types of promotional messages like discounts and specific recommendations but it is not inserted into your experience by force. You need to click on the tile.

[robko]

I'm thinking somewhere the device interpreted a screen touch as being on the homescreen (and activating the tile for the promo) instead of in the book. This should be a one off (or extremely rare) event if this is the case. I sync at least once a day (for newspaper subscription) and while I have notifications on I've never had that happen. I can't imagine the behaviour could change that much without pushing a firmware update.
For the record, if they did change it to have that being normal behaviour I'd be screaming bloody murder too!

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by robko

For the record, if they did change it to have that being normal behaviour I'd be screaming bloody murder too!

I for one would not bother wasting the energy to scream. It's for a few seconds...

And yes I know it's the thin edge of a wedge. Accept an ad then, and I let myself in for ads all over the place.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I for one would not bother wasting the energy to scream. It's for a few seconds...

And yes I know it's the thin edge of a wedge. Accept an ad then, and I let myself in for ads all over the place.

I wouldn't bother screaming either (maybe quietly cursing to myself under my breath). But I would immediately hunt down my next reader and buy any other brand but the one that inserted even 1 ad while I was reading.

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by taming

I decided to check with the developers. The fellow who is the director R&D Devices at Kobo said this (and said I could quote him).

Your developer is wrong or out right lied..

[PeterT]

I so wish people could avoid inflammatory comments. A far nicer way of saying what my esteemed colleague said directly above would be

I can only say that I saw what I saw.

[aceflor]

Me, I am just "amazed" at a RD Director answering a mail on a sunday...

Just sayin'.

But how nice that our Kobo troopers are on the front again as soon as a critic is being made.

Jack, what you are describing, although it never happened to me (and I will not switch my Aura HD back on just to try to reproduce it, I am aiming at having a frustration-free week ), does not surprise me a bit. I understand they are working on "optimizing" Reading Life, basically trying to build an answer to the integration of Goodreads to the new Paperwhite.

And yes, I also have now (a total coincidence btw) a contact at Kobo (Sales and Marketing Europe), so I have been talking with this person a lot about the problems I have had. But as she does not work on a sunday (), I'll have to wait for this afternoon to ask her.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Or, just be "amazed" at a RD Director answering a mail on a sunday..

Just sayin'.

But how nice that our Kobo troopers are on the front again as soon as a critic is being made.

Geez. So its acceptable for those of you who are continually negative to say whatever you want, while some of us who try to bring a degree of civility to matters are not allowed too.

I wonder if you and your brethren have noted how many of the old gang of regular participants here have stopped posting and wondered why?

Quite simple.. The juvenile manner that so many of the posters here stoop too.

[aceflor]

You have to accept critics being made Peter, it is quite simple.