New Firmware (1.4) Discussion

[J. Strnad]

My upgrades went just fine. The onscreen instructions were very clear and easy to follow.

[corona]

What J. Strnad said.

[Vardd]

Samething here. Good job

[Zac]

Worked well.

Results good except a free epub book from Harper Collins that I was reading on the Kobo (for all platforms) is now showing a DRM issue and won't let me read it.

I tried syncing it with Adobe Digital Editions.

[techie42]

If you have done the update can you tell me...

1) Does the Firmware upgrade effect the way Calibre works with Kobo?

2) Does the firmware upgrade have a problem if the 100 free books have been previously removed from the Kobo? ( And, if so should I restore my original Kobo files and folders before I run the update?)

[jonnybraga]

My upgrade went well...

but i gotta say that i didn't like it a bit!

They've created a feature that is useless... the possibility to lock the buttons for 15 min.
Who the hell needs to lock the button for 15 min? I could see it if it was for 1...2 hours... even a day or two... but if i'm gonna stop my reading for 15 min or less, chances are I'm gonna leave my Kobo on a desk... safe and sound... I'm not gonna put it in a bag, where the buttons can be pressed.....

Another thing is that when it's off, i don't see my book's cover... that was something really cool about Kobo... and what's astonishing to me is that THEY KNEW we loved it.... and now it's gone...

At least I hope they fixed the battery problems and that we will get closer to the 8.000 page turns... and I like the fact that they fixed the font rescaling problem... although it didn't bother me... I got pretty good fixing it myself...

Bottom line is... i'm still waiting for a GOOD firmware... VERY disappointed...

[robandcurtis]

...but I guess you can never please a technology junkie.

I did the upgrade. No issues at all. So the book cover does not display! It's not like I have my KOBO hanging on the wall like a photo

I am glad it shuts off, as I found my battery life was much improved when I did that. As far as those who lament about the it taking "forever" to boot up - I just timed it and it takes EXACTLY 34 seconds from a cold start - hardly an eternity.

Perhaps if people devoted less energy to whining and directed it into something more productive the world would be a better place. I mean, I know there have been some issues, but there are two Kobo's in my house, and I think they are about the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread.

And you can always go back to dead trees.

[J. Strnad]

I like the suggestions for an improved sleep mode, but the font thing was HUGE for me. Getting that fixed is a major achievement IMO. People can't be expected to fix the font issue themselves.

The book cover thing was cool but, honestly, when I'm not using my Kobo, I'm not looking at it.

[jonnybraga]

it's not the 30-40 seconds to have it on that bothers me... i don't think it's a lot of time..

it's the draining of the battery... we know that the off/on process drains a good amount of power... so I wanted them to come up with a sleeping mode that consumes less battery than if it was on and more than when it's off... but worth using for short periods, like 2... 3 hours....

what I'm saying is that they came up with something that i won't use... the 15 min sleeping mode...
If I'm stopping my reading session for a short period, i might as well just leave it on (and hope the buttons don't get pressed in my bag)... if I'm not gonna read for 1 day, I'll turn it off altogether...

So, it's the same as before... nothing's changed in that case...

EDIT: I just found out that if u leave the device on, with the book you're reading, it goes to sleeping mode, no matter what u do.... aaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh... i there any way to get back to firmware 1.0????

[SensualPoet]

I bought one of the first units on May 1st, the first day of sale at Chapters at Manulife Centre.

I just upgraded successfully. The process was very clear ... and it worked, which is even better.

I am running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit edition; the browser is Chrome 5.0.375.86. Kobo settings now reports 1.4 software (Jun 22 2010).

Small matter, but the timezone got changed to GMT and hence my Eastern Time was incorrect and needed to be reset.

I re-authorised Adobe Digital Editions successfully and books known to have not worked in ePub previously now display fonts correctly. This includes:

• Library books from local public library with DRM currently checked out
• "Liberated" library books from the same source (temporarily liberated of course for testing purposes)
• Books purchased with DRM ePub from Fictionwise
• Calibre converted Amazon Kindle books
• My own hand-tuned, hand created ePubs (such as The Under Dogs by Hulbert Footner in the Mobileread Library)

So, all in all, 100% successful!

Thanks again to the entire Kobo team.

SP
In Toronto
Toronto

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by jonnybraga

EDIT: I just found out that if u leave the device on, with the book you're reading, it goes to sleeping mode, no matter what u do.... aaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh... i there any way to get back to firmware 1.0????

How long will it go in the sleep mode when the book is being read?
I quess it's 15 minutes again?
so, after 30 minutes idle, the thing will be shut-off?

[EricLandes]

I was eager for this update, but if they've botched sleep mode this badly, I'm not going to install it.

I can get around the font thing, but wow. Who spec'd out this sleep feature?

And, is it true they got rid of the covers being displayed when off? If so PUT THAT BACK! It's one cool thing only Kobo has, and now it's gone? Dumb.

[Stinger]

Originally Posted by fred_yu_job

How long will it go in the sleep mode when the book is being read?
I quess it's 15 minutes again?
so, after 30 minutes idle, the thing will be shut-off?

Just timed my Kobo. It is indeed 15mins of idle time that puts the Kobo into sleep mode. Then 15mins of further idle time before it shuts down completely.

[NickWilliams]

I am really happy with the upgrade as well. Maybe it is my reading habits, but the sleep mode thing doesn't bother me. I have a two year old daughter, and I am a full time nursing student. Between those two things, I am usually really busy all day long. I don't have the opportunity to pick up my e reader for a few minutes here and a few minutes there. When I read it is usually for 30 min - 2 hour sessions twice a day. Having the reader go into sleep mode and turn off on its own makes no difference to me at all. In fact, they could do away with the sleep mode all together. If I had to take a call or something during my reading time I would just leave the reader on anyway. So, in that respect it does seem a little bit silly, but when I only get to read a couple of times a day it is really a non-issue for me. If it makes my battery last longer, I am perfectly happy with the changes.

The overall process was smooth, though the three button update thing made me chuckle a bit. I was hoping I wouldn't have to grow an extra hand at some point to get all the buttons pressed.

I have not come across any glitches yet, and is it my imagination or do the page turns seem a little smoother?

Regardless, I am a very happy customer at this point.

Thank you Kobo for standing behind your product and being active in the discussions here. That is the sort of business ethic that you do not see much these days.

[wrenn1]

I like the sleep mode/power off thing. I don't always remember to shut it off. Also, as someone mentioned it doesn't take that long to power it back on. I imagine there will be 50/50 for and against. :-)