Quote:
Originally Posted by Alissa
I want to know the same thing in a reversed way. 
I'm in Japan and just bought a Kobo Touch from Rakuten. Is it the same hardware as those sold in Canada/US/Europe?
On my KT, I see a Rakuten logo just below the kobo logo on the front top and a Japanese Wi-Fi certification number on the bottom edge, so I guess this hardware is dedicated for Japanese market, but it doesn't mean there are some differences inside. |
Hardware:
Its my understanding that the hardware in all territories is the same. despite the technical specifications on
www.kobobooks.com/touch_tech stating that the main processor is a Freescale iMX508 and that on
kobo.rakuten.co.jp listing the processor as iMX507.
It would appear from posts elsewhere that a number of recently purchased KTs outside of Japan comes equipped with iMX507.
Firmware:
As for the firmware that's installed on the device when initially purchased, I believe that the devices bought in Japan would have the <affiliate>. directory in the hidden <.kobo> diectory containing data that would display Rakuten branded splash, "sleep" and "powered off" screens.
If its anything like the French affiliate branding from FNAC, these brandings may may be overridden by a user initiated Factory reset" (settings>Device Information>Factory Reset). This may be reverted however under certain induced reset conditions (ie when the device crashes and resets for some reason).
In Japan, the initial firmware versions shipped were:v2.0.0
The updated firmware version would be v2.0.2 at present.
The interface language may be changed at any time from:
Settings>Language>
Display fonts for content may be changed from:
"Font/styles" menu" >Font Face> (Jaapnese fonts are "Ryumin" anf "Gothic MB101")
Online Connection
The main contentious issue may be your ability to connect to kobo.com's English language content from Japan. Refer to the posts
here for details on this topic. There are however, a number of methods (side-loading books) to transfer books without using the purchase mechanism onboard the device or Kobo Desktop app.