WARNING about new firmware version 1.4

[kiwikobo]

But since not every Kobo had battery problems, either there were two slightly different variants of the firmware out there, or there was a hardware issue with some Kobos. Neither of these problems would be 'solved' by changing the way the Kobo works. As I've said before, I never switched my Kobo off and never had a problem with charging. So the people who have had a problem either have duff hardware or different firmware. They should be fixing that, not something else.

Note that the reason given in the "official" thread was that this new solution is to extend the total lifetime of the battery, not the time between charges.

[artificial]

Originally Posted by kiwikobo

But since not every Kobo had battery problems, either there were two slightly different variants of the firmware out there, or there was a hardware issue with some Kobos.

I think we can rule out different firmware versions, since until a few days ago I think everyone had the same version.

Originally Posted by kiwikobo

Neither of these problems would be 'solved' by changing the way the Kobo works.

I'm one of the people who has less-than-stellar battery life, and I found that by powering off the unit when I'm not using it I double the number of page turns I can achieve per charge. I've seen others report similar improvements.

So in these cases, the new auto-shutdown feature does improve the length of a battery charge, albeit in a very inelegant fashion.

I agree that this doesn't "solve" the problem, it just sidesteps it.

It really sucks for people like you, who never had battery problems to begin with, but are forced to put up with this nasty "fix" anyway.

[Duiker]

Originally Posted by Zac

Hmmm....really? Strong sentiments. I disagree.

My PVR that is attached to my flat panel, will go into sleep mode after a number of hours of inactivity. A message flashes that it will go into sleep mode and turn the TV off unless I press a button.

Really just leave your Kobo on and don't put it into sleep mode. It really doesn't take all that long to boot up. Type "A"s are great in rush hour too..chill out guys!

You can't leave it on. From what I understand it goes to sleep after 15 min of inactivity. The choice has been taken away from us. Is that right? Anyone?

[jimr]

Originally Posted by Duiker

You can't leave it on. From what I understand it goes to sleep after 15 min of inactivity. The choice has been taken away from us. Is that right? Anyone?

Yup...you're right. We have no choice at all.

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by jimr

Yup...you're right. We have no choice at all.

lol...unbelievable ? believe it!

[tpw]

Maybe someone savvy should implement a poll on this forum so we can find out just how many people think non configurable power off is actually a good idea.

[wrenn1]

You also have to consider the demographic. Mobile reads is mostly populated by 'savvy' types or gadget gurus. Judging by the amount of fluff reading or harlequin romance type books that are popular with ereader folk the poll might not be accurate.

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by kiwikobo

But it obviously wasn't, because some users were reporting no problems with battery life. I've only ever had one instance of running out of battery and I leave it on, by the bed, day after day (and read for a considerable time each night).

Some users have reported serious battery problems, such as not even being able to get through one book without a recharge, but this is obviously not a problem that applies to all Kobos, just some of them.

The battery life may not have been a problem for everyone, however, the "solution" provided will help those people out and only slightly inconvenience the people who were not affected by the original problem. This really does reek of a band-aid solution to a bigger problem.

I personally like the option of a permanent sleep mode, that can kick in after 15mins. The extra step to power down seems completely unnecessary. Jordan stated that in sleep mode the Kobo is only waiting for a power button press to wake it up, and all other keys are disabled. Surely this would greatly improve the battery life if it dropped to sleep mode after 15 minutes and stayed there indefinitely. That, in my opinion, would be just fine.

[tpw]

Originally Posted by wrenn1

You also have to consider the demographic. Mobile reads is mostly populated by 'savvy' types or gadget gurus. Judging by the amount of fluff reading or harlequin romance type books that are popular with ereader folk the poll might not be accurate.

True, unfortunately

On the other hand, the tech savvy on this forum are also the ones best placed to really put the kobo through its paces, unearth bugs in various usage scenarios, and provide considered feedback. Is there a harlequin romance forum we should be posting on instead ?

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by tpw

Maybe someone savvy should implement a poll on this forum so we can find out just how many people think non configurable power off is actually a good idea.

which other ereader has this "non configurable power off" feature?
evenmore, what digital device has such feature?
why they don't and kobo has to have?

[clintbradford]

>> ... which other ereader has this "non configurable power off" feature?

You know, I'd wager that if you received ONE PAGE TURN less than "8,000" that you'd be screaming bloody murder at kobo regarding dismal battery life.

Consider giving kobo a break right now. You should be appreciating the fact that kobo reps are here, listening, and obviously responsive. My wife has a Kindle - and similar support is non-existent.

Clint Bradford

[kiwikobo]

Yes, artificial and Redrover, you're right that the "solution" provided is a kludge to save the battery of those Kobos that are eating up battery life. And the cost is the slow startup of all Kobos, including those who didn't have the problem in the first place.

What really annoys me is this story about the overall battery life covering it up. Now obviously I don't have figures on the life expectancy of a Kobo with or without 1.4 firmware installed, but I do know enough about commercial rechargeable batteries to know that their overall life is a function primarily of their quality (therefore cost), and not how they are used. Blaming the charging process is something we all got used to with NiCd batteries in the old days, but that should not be a significant issue with modern battery technology.

Clint, thanks for attempting to calm things down, but Kobo need to realise that they've turned their device from something I used to look forward to using to one that really annoys me each time I pick it up. Instead of buying two more I'm now trolling the internet looking for alternatives or news of when Kindles will turn up in NZ. The comment about "one page turn less than 8000" is nonsense, as we all know these kinds of figures are "best possible" estimates and no-one would complain if it were, say, more than half that.

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

>> ... which other ereader has this "non configurable power off" feature?

You know, I'd wager that if you received ONE PAGE TURN less than "8,000" that you'd be screaming bloody murder at kobo regarding dismal battery life.

Consider giving kobo a break right now. You should be appreciating the fact that kobo reps are here, listening, and obviously responsive. My wife has a Kindle - and similar support is non-existent.

Clint Bradford

Agreed! Although I criticized kobo that much, I always apprecite their effort!
In fact, I'm promoting the kobo (for free) in many forums for them, and I have to explain different features, including the infamous "auto-shutdown".

[dixieknits]

Hi, just purchased my Kobo yesterday and have two concerns. It seems to me that the margins are way too large, wasting space . Also, the page going black when turning is really hard on my eyes/brain. Does the new ugrade fix these issues? I successfully removed the 100 free books that cluttered things up. I can't see ever needing more than 10 at a time in there for my reading habits. I never could get the software thing working, but was able to drag and drop epubs in. I had been using a jetbook which died after just under 2 years and am sorely missing it..

[pleochroic]

those who happily experience no battery problems might not remain so lucky -- for the first 3 weeks after i bought my kobo my battery life was great (though never close to 8000 page turns; i believe that to be purely wishful thinking on the part of kobo), but in the last week that time has shortened significantly, until i've had to recharge the reader every couple of days. it might well be a hardware problem after all; i'm now timing my reader after the firmware upgrade.

the forced shutdown doesn't help me; it is annoying. i much rather recharge the reader every day than lose my place in the book i was last reading (sleep doesn't do that, but the forced shutdown does), and it makes timing comparisons with the battery life before the upgrade difficult. taking choices away from people is never a good thing because companies tend to be not particularly tuned to how individual people use their tools.

but i am hoping that kobo will listen. this was their first firmware upgrade; they've piled a bunch of fixes and some bandaids into it which show that they have been listening to people even if they're not necessarily coming up with the best solutions yet. new company, new learning process.