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electragician · 12-31-2010, 08:10 AM

I'm sure the forum is full of these type posts, but I thought I'd introduce myself and put one out there.

I have been reading electronically for many, many years. I've lurked in these forums for a long time, and been a member since around '06. I think my first ereading device worth a damn was a Palm M105. Dated link for street cred

Anyway, most recently I'd been reading on a WinMo smartphone, but decided that I really wanted an e-ink device for myself, after I bought my girlfriend a Kindle3 for Christmas. The Kindle is a fine device, but I didn't really want two of the same thing, when I could expand the possibilities by getting something that used ADE and opened up other online book stores.

The Kobo seemed a good choice. I don't really care much about WiFi, but it might come in handy. I love the tactile quilted "feel" of the device (odd, I know). ADE books are a snap, and I specifically wanted to try out Google's new bookstore project, especially since I have one of the freebie CR-48 ChromeOS powered laptops.

I went to the local Borders and did a "hands on", ran through everything they had and didn't care for any of the e-ink devices, except for the Kobo. I went with the WiFi since I figured I should probably get the latest and greatest in the particular brand I was going with, even though the 1st gen seemed just as good and was cheaper.

The very first thing I did was go home and buy a Google Bookstore book. Argh.... the beta hardware and OS on the CR-48 wouldn't allow file management on the Kobo and, of course, there's no ADE software for the CR-48 anyway. I could read the book just fine in the browser though, which was nice.

The bad:

I was able to install ADE on my Windows PC and pull the file to the Kobo. It worked great, but the margins were far too large. I get to reading on these forums and find that seems to be a fairly common thing, and probably dependent on the software that was used to create the epub (I think?). Anyway, it was irritating. Seriously.

So I try and do the right thing and buy a book electronically, something I've done many times on my other devices, normally using Mobipocket. This is a book I already own, BTW (G.R.R Martins "A Game of Thrones") but I bought it as a test, and it failed.

How do I fix this problem? Edit the file, according to these forums... except the file is DRM protected. So to read the book and use more than 70% of my screen, I guess I have to stoop to downloading an illicit copy of a book that I just bought legally, or figuring out how to break the DRM, so I can read it using my entire screen. Really? Really?

If anyone from Kobo reads this: Please fix this. It's just rediculous not to have margin control on a device that (obviously) needs it. It's easier (though of course not ethical) for me to just steal the damned book from a torrent site so I can modify it for my needs than to *buy* it. I mean it's almost 2011 guys, get off your asses and fix this... seriously. It should be priority # 1 in your "todo" list. Truth be known it should have been done before you ever released your product on the market.

In my playing around, I also finally installed the Borders (ie... Kobo) desktop software and was told that my reader needed to be updated. I did so, and then decided to do a factory reset, since I know you get a better experience with many things after a firmware upgrade when you do this. I did it, reinstalled my books with both Calibre and ADE and WTH???? ARRRRRRGH....

I had read that there was no Goto page function on the Kobo, but it just didn't click. You guys built an electronic reading device of the same price point as an Amazon Kindle 3 and it won't let you do the equivalent of "flipping to the middle of the book." OH MY GOD. I just don't know what else to say about that. My 10 year old Palm Pilot running Mobipocket could do it, but you can't pull it off?

The Good

It really is a beautiful device in it's simplicity, and even with my nerd-rage over the two flaws listed, I'm happy enough with it. I love the feel of the back... nice touch.

It's got a beautiful display, pages turn plenty fast for me, the button placement makes sense and I can read on it

I like the fact that it opens up avenues not available on the Kindle, and doesn't tie me to just one bookstore.

Calibre supports it, which is just freakin' awesome.

12-31-2010, 08:10 AM	#1
electragician Member Posts: 11 Karma: 56 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Kobo WiFi, PC, CR-48 ChromeOS laptop	Kobo WiFi Impressions I'm sure the forum is full of these type posts, but I thought I'd introduce myself and put one out there. I have been reading electronically for many, many years. I've lurked in these forums for a long time, and been a member since around '06. I think my first ereading device worth a damn was a Palm M105. Dated link for street cred Anyway, most recently I'd been reading on a WinMo smartphone, but decided that I really wanted an e-ink device for myself, after I bought my girlfriend a Kindle3 for Christmas. The Kindle is a fine device, but I didn't really want two of the same thing, when I could expand the possibilities by getting something that used ADE and opened up other online book stores. The Kobo seemed a good choice. I don't really care much about WiFi, but it might come in handy. I love the tactile quilted "feel" of the device (odd, I know). ADE books are a snap, and I specifically wanted to try out Google's new bookstore project, especially since I have one of the freebie CR-48 ChromeOS powered laptops. I went to the local Borders and did a "hands on", ran through everything they had and didn't care for any of the e-ink devices, except for the Kobo. I went with the WiFi since I figured I should probably get the latest and greatest in the particular brand I was going with, even though the 1st gen seemed just as good and was cheaper. The very first thing I did was go home and buy a Google Bookstore book. Argh.... the beta hardware and OS on the CR-48 wouldn't allow file management on the Kobo and, of course, there's no ADE software for the CR-48 anyway. I could read the book just fine in the browser though, which was nice. The bad: I was able to install ADE on my Windows PC and pull the file to the Kobo. It worked great, but the margins were far too large. I get to reading on these forums and find that seems to be a fairly common thing, and probably dependent on the software that was used to create the epub (I think?). Anyway, it was irritating. Seriously. So I try and do the right thing and buy a book electronically, something I've done many times on my other devices, normally using Mobipocket. This is a book I already own, BTW (G.R.R Martins "A Game of Thrones") but I bought it as a test, and it failed. How do I fix this problem? Edit the file, according to these forums... except the file is DRM protected. So to read the book and use more than 70% of my screen, I guess I have to stoop to downloading an illicit copy of a book that I just bought legally, or figuring out how to break the DRM, so I can read it using my entire screen. Really? Really? If anyone from Kobo reads this: Please fix this. It's just rediculous not to have margin control on a device that (obviously) needs it. It's easier (though of course not ethical) for me to just steal the damned book from a torrent site so I can modify it for my needs than to buy it. I mean it's almost 2011 guys, get off your asses and fix this... seriously. It should be priority # 1 in your "todo" list. Truth be known it should have been done before you ever released your product on the market. In my playing around, I also finally installed the Borders (ie... Kobo) desktop software and was told that my reader needed to be updated. I did so, and then decided to do a factory reset, since I know you get a better experience with many things after a firmware upgrade when you do this. I did it, reinstalled my books with both Calibre and ADE and WTH???? ARRRRRRGH.... I had read that there was no Goto page function on the Kobo, but it just didn't click. You guys built an electronic reading device of the same price point as an Amazon Kindle 3 and it won't let you do the equivalent of "flipping to the middle of the book." OH MY GOD. I just don't know what else to say about that. My 10 year old Palm Pilot running Mobipocket could do it, but you can't pull it off? The Good It really is a beautiful device in it's simplicity, and even with my nerd-rage over the two flaws listed, I'm happy enough with it. I love the feel of the back... nice touch. It's got a beautiful display, pages turn plenty fast for me, the button placement makes sense and I can read on it I like the fact that it opens up avenues not available on the Kindle, and doesn't tie me to just one bookstore. Calibre supports it, which is just freakin' awesome.