New to Kobo (Aura One) from Sony. Some Quibbles.

[SuzanneTF]

My previous two eReaders were from the final days of of Sony Readers - PRS-T1 and PRS-T3 (the PRS-T3 ordered from Canada). I liked most things about them (especially the removable backcover on the PRS-T3) but was always sad they gave up in-screen illumination. However, apparently I actually appreciated the software/OS better than I knew.

I had a fantastic experience buying the Kobo. I purchased mine online from chapters.indigo.com and the order that I made on November 8th was prepared for shipment November 14th and arrived on November 17th at my home in United States. I thought this was super fast and the total cost after currency conversion for the device plus shipping was $196.81 USD. I was not interested in ordering the sleepcover and have purchased an expensive version from China to try (has not arrived yet)

Once I actually get reading on the book with an Overdrive (library) book file the experience is amazing. I read three novels after the device arrived and I think the larger screen and lighting settings contributed a lot to that. I have also gotten really comfortable with the on-screen controls for navigating the book and menus. I don't really miss physical buttons at all. I can't speak for the battery life as I'm in the habit of charging my devices regularly. I feel like I have read for longs stretches with the light on and it has done well.

Now my quibbles:

1) Why isn't there password/pin protection option for the device?

2) Why can't I upload an image for a custom screen saver?

3) Why is the management of multiple Overdrive library cards so frustrating? I was intrigued by the self-syncing Overdrive checkouts but thing are pretty much broken now after I tried to change between libraries. It was briefly fixed when I logged out my Kobo account to reset the device but now it is already happening again.

4) After they killed the Library portal on my Sony I was able to just bookmark my libraries on the web browser and check out books directly from their web pages. They always remembered my library branch, card number, and pin. The download progress pulldown menu was available at the top of the screen. My new Kobo refuses to download files directly the from Overdrive website and the progress/lack of progress is impossible to find on the menu. Also, the libraries won't my password even when I tick the "Remember Me" boxes. I have also had difficulty transferring library files from my laptop to the Kobo. In short, the Sony method was far superior. I will concede that some of this may be due to the updated Overdrive website.

5) I use Calibre.com to manage my library of epubs. A few of the plugins I sometimes use are FanFicFare and Generate Cover. Both my Sony readers read such files flawlessly. However this Kobo doesn't want to recognize the generated covers when displaying thumbnails, tries to add page numbers, formats the books on the page oddly such as putting the top of the page way to close to the top edge of the screen, and turns two pages on most page turns so that I have to go back one. Why could a 3-5 year old device read these just fine but a new top of the line Kobo is confused?

If I have missed something obvious, please correct me. Has the Kobo software evolved much over the years or do they focus more on their store and the hardware upgrades? I know that software/firmware updates can be deployed but don't know if they are pretty much "take it or leave it" once they complete development and release the devices for sale.

[robko]

Originally Posted by SuzanneTF

1) Why isn't there password/pin protection option for the device?

2) Why can't I upload an image for a custom screen saver?

Others have asked for it in past. My guess would be that there hasn't been enough people asking for that particular feature for Kobo to spend the time/money to add it.

Originally Posted by SuzanneTF

Has the Kobo software evolved much over the years or do they focus more on their store and the hardware upgrades? I know that software/firmware updates can be deployed but don't know if they are pretty much "take it or leave it" once they complete development and release the devices for sale.

Kobo (for better or for worse depending on your perspective) are working regularly on fixing problems and adding new features to all but their oldest devices. The base firmware is the same across all the devices, so except for the 1st one or two devices they produced (which is likely a case of the hardware not having the power to keep up) even the older discontinued devices are still getting updates. The only caveat to this is that sometimes the really hot new features (i.e. Overdrive) may have a delay in being rolled out to older devices.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by SuzanneTF

5) I use Calibre.com to manage my library of epubs. A few of the plugins I sometimes use are FanFicFare and Generate Cover. Both my Sony readers read such files flawlessly. However this Kobo doesn't want to recognize the generated covers when displaying thumbnails, tries to add page numbers, formats the books on the page oddly such as putting the top of the page way to close to the top edge of the screen, and turns two pages on most page turns so that I have to go back one. Why could a 3-5 year old device read these just fine but a new top of the line Kobo is confused?

You might want to check your formatting. By the sounds of it, you have customised the stylesheet you use with FFF to work with the Sony devices. You should revisit this to get the formatting how you want to see the books.

To pick some of the comments:

- For epubs, the device renders the first page of the book as the cover. If a cover image hasn't been embedded in the first page, then it won't be used.
- Page numbers are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Also, there are page numbers shown in the right margin. There is an option to turn the latter off.
- The Kobo epub renderer allows most of the screen to be used. If you don't like that, then add @page styles to increase the margin around the text. These are common in purchased books, and I normally strip them because I think they waste space on the screen. Yes, I want the text fairly close to the top of the screen.

The two page turning is something else. It seems to be either particular devices do this, or something about how people use the device. Some people seem to trigger double page turns when they tap and end up swiping instead. And other people are the other way round. I haven't heard of any particular issues with the Aura ONE.

If I have missed something obvious, please correct me. Has the Kobo software evolved much over the years or do they focus more on their store and the hardware upgrades? I know that software/firmware updates can be deployed but don't know if they are pretty much "take it or leave it" once they complete development and release the devices for sale.

Kobo have made a lot of changes over the years in all parts of the software. A lot of the epub issues are to do with the Adobe RMSDK. But, the version of this they are using is years newer than that on the Sony's. If there are bugs in the software, Kobo do tend to fix them, but, they might not agree with you about what is a bug or how important it is. Some of the issues with the Overdrive interaction are because it is new and they are ironing out the issues. There will be changes in the next firmware release, but I don't know if they are the ones you want.

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Kobo have made a lot of changes over the years in all parts of the software. A lot of the epub issues are to do with the Adobe RMSDK. But, the version of this they are using is years newer than that on the Sony's.

If memory serves Sony shipped an old and very buggy (italics didn't always work?) version of the RMSDK, so whatever Kobo use will be streets ahead.

What version of the RMSDK is Kobo including in the Aura One firmware?