Question from a Kobo virgin.

[thorn]

I just ordered the Mini today for USD40, because I have a few Kobo editions on my phone that I'd rather read on an e-ink display; plus, I have a *bunch* of ADE books on my laptop that I'd love to side-load. So if the device actually ships, it'll be worth it to me just for those titles.

But. Is it also possible to buy DRM-protected books for the Mini from e-bookstores other than Kobo? Specifically, I'm imagining a scenario where I by some miracle find a German title or two or three unburdened by geographic limitations, at Osiander.de or Ciando.de. Can I pretty much just rely on ADE working with my new Kobo Mini as long as I've authorized the device with the software?

I've had Kindles since 2009, and still do -- I just wanted an e-ink option for epub books.

Thanks in advance!

Thorn

[FizzyWater]

I don't anything about non-US ebookstores, but I'm going to hazard a guess that you can buy ePub eBooks from anyplace but Apple's iBookstore and *possibly* Barnes & Noble. I don't know for sure about B&N - I know that Sony has refused to upgrade the version of ADE on its readers to allow for the B&N DRM scheme. I don't know Kobo's stance.

Hopefully, someone with a Kobo will chime in and confirm or deny.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by thorn

Can I pretty much just rely on ADE working with my new Kobo Mini as long as I've authorized the device with the software?

You're right. As long as your device is authorized through ADE, you're good to go.

[thorn]

I'm pretty psyched. That is exactly what I was hoping. I saw the Mini at my local bookstore around the holidays, and even then found the form factor appealing. Amazon, and publishers, have been very good so far about ensuring availability of materials in the Kindle format; but my U of Chicago Press free ebooks of the month are all EPUB. Because the European booksellers/publishers still seem to prefer EPUB and I've not had a pleasant means of reading that format, I haven't gotten into a thorough exploration of whether *any* (modern/current) titles in German are available to me in the US, and if so, what conditions have been satisfied to make them available outside the EU.

Now, given the reputed impenetrability of Kobo's customer service dept., all I have to do now, is hope that all goes well with my order.

Thank you - !

[TechniSol]

It may not be strictly by the book(sorry couldn't resist the pun), but a visit to Apprentice Alf's combined with a bit of Calibre's magic will allow you to easily use the B&N ebooks, for which you've purchased the right to read, on your Kobo as well. You can also run other titles with the regular Adobe DRM through a similar input filter.

[thorn]

i don't think i'll need to get any b&n titles to work on the mini. (assuming my order really did go through, and it ships). (kobo is kind of bad at web design. you'd think it would be easy for them to automate emailing order confirmations.) since i have a kindle as well, i have access to most domestic monographs from amazon. i'm just really interested in being able to read my ADE library on an e-ink device.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by thorn

Now, given the reputed impenetrability of Kobo's customer service dept., all I have to do now, is hope that all goes well with my order.

This is not everyone's feeling. Sometimes Kobo's customer service can be really bad, sometimes it's very good. Many things come into play, so it's difficult to state one way or the other for sure. Though I hope you'll never need to experience for yourself

[thorn]

I shall remain hopeful!

[thorn]

hm. when i submitted my order, the webpage told me that it had been successfully submitted, and that i would receive an email confirmation when it shipped. this was just under the wire for getting the $39.99 price on the mini. it had been 'out of stock' for some time, but was suddenly available on thursday, and when i confirmed the order and put in my credit card info, the bargain price was confirmed. thing is, back when it was out of stock, there was a link for logging in to be notified when it becomes available again. logging in resulted in being logged in. nothing else. no form to request notification -- nothing. and the odd thing about the supposed order (which i do hope was real), was that i was never prompted to login. ever.

i asked customer service about this thursday evening, and was promised a reply in 24-48 hours. well, that's over, and still nothing.

so i have no idea now what to expect.

anyone else have more experience ordering actual objects from kobo? is this normal for their process? it seems messed up to me. it's neither rocket science, nor very expensive, to set up an automated system that generates and emails to the customer an order summary. unless they enjoy losing orders, and having no idea in what sequence they were placed...

maybe my expectations are unreasonable here?

??

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by thorn

hm. when i submitted my order, the webpage told me that it had been successfully submitted, and that i would receive an email confirmation when it shipped. this was just under the wire for getting the $39.99 price on the mini. it had been 'out of stock' for some time, but was suddenly available on thursday, and when i confirmed the order and put in my credit card info, the bargain price was confirmed. thing is, back when it was out of stock, there was a link for logging in to be notified when it becomes available again. logging in resulted in being logged in. nothing else. no form to request notification -- nothing. and the odd thing about the supposed order (which i do hope was real), was that i was never prompted to login. ever.

i asked customer service about this thursday evening, and was promised a reply in 24-48 hours. well, that's over, and still nothing.

so i have no idea now what to expect.

anyone else have more experience ordering actual objects from kobo? is this normal for their process? it seems messed up to me. it's neither rocket science, nor very expensive, to set up an automated system that generates and emails to the customer an order summary. unless they enjoy losing orders, and having no idea in what sequence they were placed...

maybe my expectations are unreasonable here?

??

I think orders of devices are not linked to your kobo account, so you don't need to be signed in to order, especially since no info about a device order would come up, even if you had been signed in. Weird? yes. But the account is solely for ebooks, not ereader purchases.

I think most people who submitted an order eventually got their device or finally successfully cancelled their order (due to impatience or disliking having no information but having their credit card charged before the device was actually shipped). But many people spent a lot of time harrassing kobo in the meanwhile (not a judgement...harrassing is fine if not all that productive in dealing with ordering from kobo). Based on what happened during the release of the Aura HD, my own opinion would be to just wait it out. Especially if you are the US. They outsource the orders (and the ordering itself apparently), so have little to no information from the time you order until you get the device. This is just based on reading about people's experiences here on MR.

Unless you have a time-sensitivity issue or you just aren't patient, waiting seems to have the most success and least aggrovation.

[thorn]

I can be patient. It's not time-sensitive at all. But I will observe that their contracted order-fulfillment company is really not the mega-talent. Strangely, in this case I actually *hope* they charged my credit card right away. It would imply a commitment on their part!

[teija]

Have you checked your credit card statement to see if they have yet? It will be handy to know, particularly if you need to chase up the order. There is another thread somewhere on here where people were being charged by Kobo, but Kobo had no records of their order! You want to make sure this does not happen.

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by teija

Have you checked your credit card statement to see if they have yet? It will be handy to know, particularly if you need to chase up the order. There is another thread somewhere on here where people were being charged by Kobo, but Kobo had no records of their order! You want to make sure this does not happen.

That's the thread I was referring to and most/all people who were charged but kobo didn't have a record, it was because they were using an intermediary and kobo was not able to view the records of that company...and the silly CS people didn't say that, but rather kept telling the clients.. "we have no record of your purchase". I realise this is stupid, but it is also NOT because kobo was charging them for something they never intended to send. The intermediary company was just doing the whole process and kobo wasn't letting the clients know that was the case.

[Marbles]

[QUOTE=thorn;2572595]I just ordered the Mini today for USD40, because I have a few Kobo editions on my phone that I'd rather read on an e-ink display; plus, I have a *bunch* of ADE books on my laptop that I'd love to side-load. So if the device actually ships, it'll be worth it to me just for those titles.




When you side load do you mean with a SD card? If so the mini does not have a slot for a SD card. Sorry about that

[Cdesja5]

You don't need an SD card to sideload. You can put books directly on the reader. I use Calibre to add books but they can also be added in several other ways.