[rcentros]

Received my new (to me) Kobo Touch today. It was in good condition, the bezel and back looked almost new, but somehow the former owner had managed to build up a layer of "scum" on the screen. Cleaned easily with water on a micro-fiber cloth, but I've never seen a screen look like that before. The Touch booted fine, but every time I tried to read the one book (a Math Study Guide) it would lock up. Figured that's probably why the former owner quit using it. A factory reset and then ... how do I set this up?

I didn't realize the Kobo Touch (firmware release 3.6.x) apparently had no WiFi until you set it up via Kobo's Desktop software. Ah well, I dug out the laptop that has Windows 8.1 on one partition and set it up from there (also got the newest firmware release – which may, or may not, be a good thing. I don't know). This process took longer than I thought it would but – eventually – I had a factory reset Kobo touch with my 28 Kobo books (apparently loaded on to the Kobo) and everything seemed to work without a hitch. I felt like I should have checked to see if this could have been done in Linux and whether or not the release should have been held back for some reason, but what is, is what is.

First my impressions. I like Touch quite a bit. Feels solid, has a bright, easy to read, screen. I like the "Touch" home button (just like the Kindle Touch). I like the feel of the device in my hand. The screen is brighter than my Glo screen was (without the light) and there's no comparison between the Touch and the Kobo Wifi (the Wifi and Glo were the only other Kobos I've owned).

I installed my Constantia and Bookerly fonts (at first I put them in ".fonts" directory – with the period for hidden – so they didn't show up until I renamed the folder to "fonts" instead. Then they showed up without even rebooting.

I've also taken advantage of the "full page" hack (I remember now that I set that up on my Glo as well). So all is good.

I do have one question, though. I sent a book I converted from Kindle to ePub (embedding the Constantia font). If I use the Publisher font option, it displays as it should (italics, bold, etc., correct). If I choose Constantia instead, what's supposed to be italicized is "bolded" instead. The fonts built into the Kobo display correctly. Is there something I need to change in the name of the fonts? So far this is my only issue, and the problem is probably self-inflicted.

Thanks.

EDIT: Meant to mention. The Kobo Touch's screen seems more responsive than did the Glo's screen.