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Calenorn · 02-23-2015, 10:00 AM

I got my Mini! Although it's a bit late for an 'unboxing,' I thought I'd share my first impressions, and also compare the Mini to my old standby NOOK Simple Touch.

For a while the only vendor selling these new in the US has been Family Christian Books. As the Mini has been discontinued by Kobo, and as Family Christian just declared bankruptcy, it was now or never!

I had to email Family Christian's customer service to get the tracking numbers. And when I got them they didn't work, but that may be the US Postal Service at fault. Anyway, it didn't matter, as I placed the order on Wednesday and got the Mini in Friday's mail! So, good job shipping by Family Christian Books.

The initial set up and updates went as advertised. Kobo does not demand a credit card number like B&N does, so the first point goes to the Mini.

The initial sync took a very long time, more than an hour! I think the reader was choking down all those polyglot dictionaries. (Which I just turned around and deleted anyway.) But eventually all seemed well.

As promised, the Mini sold by Family Christian downloaded THREE different versions of the Bible, but there were no other sample books. So, somehow the Kobo servers know which ereaders are sold by which vendor. THAT'S interesting.

The vaunted Kobo adjustable fonts seem to work fine, but side-loaded epubs will not allow any adjustment to the line spacing. This is rather annoying. A long paragraph displayed on such a small screen can easily become a mind-numbing solid wall of text.

Does anyone know why that happens? Is line spacing a privilege reserved for kepubs? Is there something in the css that prevents (or enables) this feature? Anyway, NOOK never had any trouble adjusting the line spacing, so one point goes to Barnes & Noble.

Kobo scores a point for the Beta features. Barnes & Noble really is very Grinch-like to prevent games and other features on their e-ink machines.

The Sketch Pad works OK, though I can't see using it much. I did discover that you can save other image files in the "drawings" directory, so you can stash a few family photos on your Mini to view later. The Simple Touch, however, does that nifty screen saver that turns your reader into a digital photo frame when resting. We'll call this one a wash.

One point to Mini for the chess game, which works well. VERY well. It crushed me both times, even on the "beginner" setting! I'm afraid to try "grandmaster," I just do not have a chess-style brain.

The Sudoku puzzle will get more use. Another point to Mini.

The web browser is, of course, problematical. I was able to download a book from Gutenberg, so that's one big point for Kobo over Barnes & Noble.

However, other internet uses are impractical. Even checking email is terribly tedious. Most commercial web pages are running so much video in the ads nowadays that the web browser will crash. I locked the Mini completely once already doing that, no screen response, no sleep by the slider. We had a very bad moment there but were able to wake it back up by plugging it into the PC. So, no more web browsing!

Side-loading books was easy. The Simple Touch's expandable memory gives it one point, but I don't think I'll try to put my entire library onto the mini. Especially if I have to modify each book to make the line spacing work out! Ugh!

The jury is still out as to whether my Mini's years-long wait on a store shelf has injured its battery. I had a charge indicated at 100% yesterday, but after I unplugged it the unit showed 90%. The WiFi really seems to draw the power down rapidly; far worse that the Simple Touch. But with WiFi off and reading normally I don't think battery life will be a problem.

So, all in all I am glad to have the Mini. It can do a few tricks the NOOK can't, and once I work out the formatting for comfortable line spacing and get a cover this reader will get a great deal of use.

02-23-2015, 10:00 AM	#18
Calenorn Brash Fumbler Posts: 1,203 Karma: 9224939 Join Date: May 2013 Device: NST, Kobo Mini	Mini-me! I got my Mini! Although it's a bit late for an 'unboxing,' I thought I'd share my first impressions, and also compare the Mini to my old standby NOOK Simple Touch. For a while the only vendor selling these new in the US has been Family Christian Books. As the Mini has been discontinued by Kobo, and as Family Christian just declared bankruptcy, it was now or never! I had to email Family Christian's customer service to get the tracking numbers. And when I got them they didn't work, but that may be the US Postal Service at fault. Anyway, it didn't matter, as I placed the order on Wednesday and got the Mini in Friday's mail! So, good job shipping by Family Christian Books. The initial set up and updates went as advertised. Kobo does not demand a credit card number like B&N does, so the first point goes to the Mini. The initial sync took a very long time, more than an hour! I think the reader was choking down all those polyglot dictionaries. (Which I just turned around and deleted anyway.) But eventually all seemed well. As promised, the Mini sold by Family Christian downloaded THREE different versions of the Bible, but there were no other sample books. So, somehow the Kobo servers know which ereaders are sold by which vendor. THAT'S interesting. The vaunted Kobo adjustable fonts seem to work fine, but side-loaded epubs will not allow any adjustment to the line spacing. This is rather annoying. A long paragraph displayed on such a small screen can easily become a mind-numbing solid wall of text. Does anyone know why that happens? Is line spacing a privilege reserved for kepubs? Is there something in the css that prevents (or enables) this feature? Anyway, NOOK never had any trouble adjusting the line spacing, so one point goes to Barnes & Noble. Kobo scores a point for the Beta features. Barnes & Noble really is very Grinch-like to prevent games and other features on their e-ink machines. The Sketch Pad works OK, though I can't see using it much. I did discover that you can save other image files in the "drawings" directory, so you can stash a few family photos on your Mini to view later. The Simple Touch, however, does that nifty screen saver that turns your reader into a digital photo frame when resting. We'll call this one a wash. One point to Mini for the chess game, which works well. VERY well. It crushed me both times, even on the "beginner" setting! I'm afraid to try "grandmaster," I just do not have a chess-style brain. The Sudoku puzzle will get more use. Another point to Mini. The web browser is, of course, problematical. I was able to download a book from Gutenberg, so that's one big point for Kobo over Barnes & Noble. However, other internet uses are impractical. Even checking email is terribly tedious. Most commercial web pages are running so much video in the ads nowadays that the web browser will crash. I locked the Mini completely once already doing that, no screen response, no sleep by the slider. We had a very bad moment there but were able to wake it back up by plugging it into the PC. So, no more web browsing! Side-loading books was easy. The Simple Touch's expandable memory gives it one point, but I don't think I'll try to put my entire library onto the mini. Especially if I have to modify each book to make the line spacing work out! Ugh! The jury is still out as to whether my Mini's years-long wait on a store shelf has injured its battery. I had a charge indicated at 100% yesterday, but after I unplugged it the unit showed 90%. The WiFi really seems to draw the power down rapidly; far worse that the Simple Touch. But with WiFi off and reading normally I don't think battery life will be a problem. So, all in all I am glad to have the Mini. It can do a few tricks the NOOK can't, and once I work out the formatting for comfortable line spacing and get a cover this reader will get a great deal of use.