[9littlebees]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, due to the fact that I have only just pre-ordered my first eReader, the Kobo Glo. Being a bit of a tech-head and review junkie, I thought I'd post a review of the Glo here on MobileRead after I've had a little play with it.

So basically this thread is to ask you guys for things I should look out for and general questions (probably Kobo specific) I should address in my review, that you wouldn't necessarily get from your standard review sites, though I won't be doing anything that will void the warranty. It's apparently going to be available from the 1st October here in the UK, so I should be getting it sometime the week after next.

Here's the colour-coded outline for my review (updated regularly with new requests):

CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Unboxing & First Impressions
• First Steps & Loading Content
• User Interface & Readability
• Functionality
• Kobo Customer Service
• Bug List, Conclusion & Rating

INTRODUCTION
About Me

• Current role (engineering project planner), no current or previous affiliation with any eReader manufacturers
• Previously bookshop branch manager, physical book lover
• eReader newb (mention Kindle / Kobo / Aldiko apps on Android as only prev experience)
• Prev experiences with eBooks on LCD screens (PC, Android)
• Why I haven't gone for a Kindle (family in the US that could provide a Paperwhite, if wanted)

About Review

• Real-world review, with no bias
• No previous experience with "proper" eReaders
• Addressing questions / concerns from MobileRead community (link to thread)

About Kobo Glo

• Reflection on specs, inc formats, resolution & other features

UNBOXING & FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Unboxing and comments on physical device

• Packaging & protection of unit
• General presentation
• Documentation (manual, warranty, etc)
• Peripherals & accessories (UK mains plug?)
• Perceived robustness (compare to my Android - plastic body but glass screen)
• Quality of home button and ports
• Perceived durability of screen
• Comments on LED lights - location, how well-protected, etc
• Comments on quilted back, comfort of holding it
• General thought on the physical unit

FIRST STEPS & LOADING CONTENT
Preparing for First Use

• Does the battery have an initial charge?
• Duration of first recharge - UI elements, LED notification, etc when charging
• Does it need to be tethered to PC to activate and get to work?
• Able to access free books, side-load from Calibre, etc without logging into Kobo (i.e. work out of the box)?

Loading Content

• List of any bundled free books
• Availability of officially supported epubs & price comparison with Amazon ebooks
• Navigating Kobo Store from device, and ease of ordering kepubs
• Comparison of DRM epub vs same book in kepub, when both purchased from Kobo store
• Ease of getting back to where you were reading after loading/buying new books (try it with kepubs & side-loading to see if different)
• Adding additional dictionaries

USER INTERFACE & READABILITY
User Interface

• Firmware number
• Comments & photos of home screen
• Ease of navigating the menus and settings
• Comments on social settings (Reading Life, Facebook integration, etc)
• Web browser - which is installed and possible to change? How does it work?
• Browser scrolling - how does Glo scroll on long/wide pages - soft buttons / double touch / shaking?
• Browser zooming - how does Glo zoom / increase font in browser?
• Browser comfort - possible to render sites (i.e. forums to only see messages)?

Readability

• Page turn speed
• Ease of turning pages one-handed
• Thoughts on screen clarity/quality with light on and off (inc contrast)
• Light brightness levels, in low-light and total/near darkness, inc uniformity of light distribution
• Note-taking - can notes be exported? How are they accessed outside the book itself? Do notes sync with kepubs between devices?
• Highlighting text - anything special, does highlighting of kepubs carry over onto other versions of Kobo (i.e. PC)?
• Footnotes - how are they displayed? Thoughts / comments
• Dictionaries - size requeired for each, can they interpret foreign text (try to use example from every supported language - test with Anna Karenina)
• Provide list of supported dictionaries
• Which non-Latin alphabets (Cyrillic, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, etc) are supported, and how are they displayed? Support for font size and weight changes?
• Similar feature to Paperwhite's "time left to end of chapter"?

FUNCTIONALITY
Functionality

• Using microSD cards to store & access eBooks, and also interact with Calibre (using both generic & branded, plus new and used cards)
• Purchasing non-standard books and ease of converting & sideloading (inc Amazon, Google, Smashwords, BOB, B&N)
• Do eReader settings override font, justification, line spacing, margin widths, etc if these are set in an eBook?
• Functionality with side-loaded eBooks, including epubs, PDFs, CBRs, CBZs, etc
• Add-in (i.e. non-standard) font handling
• Functional differences between epubs and kepubs (also, kepubs vs "official" epubs, i.e. purchased from WH Smith)
• Compatibility with Adobe Digital Editions, including ease of syncing with the Glo, and exporting ebooks, data, etc from ADE to the Glo
• Thoughts / comments on checking out ePubs from local library service
• Format handling when reading epubs converted by Calibre
• In sleep/off mode, are epub book covers properly full screen right away, or do they require editing in Calibre?
• Investigate issue of device setting itself to standby mode after having been turned "off" by long switch press (not the case with mine as of 3/1/13 when I last switched off on 28/12/12 - 6 days prior).
• In sleep/off mode, does the last book read show, or is it the book before last, or other?
• After other elements of review are finished, fully charge battery then test battery life with light left switched on continuously
• Duration of full recharge, following full discharge as above
• Can a Glo's library be organised from within Calibre, without issues?
• Functionality of "shelves" and support for it outside of the device, also do shelves have full functionality with ebooks stored on a microSD
• Are any features / configurations lost upon restarting the device?
• How the Glo navigates the Touch's "Home button" areas without a physical button

KOBO CUSTOMER SERVICE
Kobo Customer Service

• Email response time & helpulness to general query
• Email response time & helpulness to bugs
• Email response time & helpulness to feature suggestion
• Ease of contacting (& helpulness) by telephone in UK / international head office

BUG LIST, CONCLUSION & RATING
List of bugs encountered
Conclusion

• Does it live up to my expectations as a first-time eReader owner?
• Will I use this as a replacement to physical books?
• Thoughts on commerce elements (i.e. local Amnesty bookshop, unable to sell "used" ebooks)

Rating

• Based on the sections of review above, score out of 10, weighted as follows:
  
• Robustness, durability, comfort of physical device (20%)
• Preparing for use and loading content (10%)
• User interface & Readability (30%)
• Functionality (30%)
• Kobo Customer Service (10%)
  
• Overall rating

Books to test ([source]: [title]):

• Kobo: First Contact (EPUB)
• Amazon: Purple (converted from MOBI to EPUB)
• MobileRead: The Savage Stories of Conan & Three Men in a Boat (EPUBs)
• Project Gutenberg: Anna Karenina (EPUB)
• epubBooks: Heart of Darkness (EPUB)
• Smashwords: Yesterday's Gone, Ep 1 (EPUB)
• DigiLibraries: 20 Days in the Darkness (EPUB)
• FeedBooks: Blindsight (EPUB)
• BaenBooks: Oath of Swords (EPUB)
• Web-Writer.net: Magical World Builder's Guide (EPUB)
• DriveThruRPG: Eureka (EPUB)
• DriveThruRPG: Savage Worlds Deluxe (PDF)
• ComicBookPlus: Amazing Adventures 1 (CBR)
• LibrariesWest: The Colour of Magic (EPUB library rental)