glose.com -- what a joke!

twowheels · 01-21-2016, 02:56 PM

While making a booking on hotels.com today I received an offer for a free S&S ebook from glose.com. I decided to go ahead and take advantage of it, and made a new account. What a joke... a few minutes into it and it's already unsusable... I don't expect their service to be around for long, and definitely won't spend any money there (especially since they don't support eInk devices).

The website has a horrible reading experience... the iOS app takes forever to load some pages (it seems to load each page as you go), and the formatting is horrible with headings not fitting the screen... every single paragraph has annotations, which seem completely pointless and distracting (you can turn them off)... when you select a paragraph it vibrates the phone, with no apparent way to turn that off... and just selecting the paragraph seems to create an annotation, whether you meant to or not (probably explaining why seemingly stupid things are annotated by other people)...

What a mess!

Edit: More... some GUI elements on the main screen go off the edge.... no tap to turn pages, only swipe... ugh...

JSWolf · 03-29-2016, 05:07 PM

Is there any way to download the eBooks from Glose.crap as ePub so I can read on my H2O?

RMOP · 07-05-2021, 11:24 AM

Any updates about downloaded Glose books? I think they are supposed to be ePub format w DRM, but don't know.

maddz · 07-05-2021, 01:40 PM

I have a couple of freebies on Glose and found no way to download them.

RMOP · 07-05-2021, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddz

I have a couple of freebies on Glose and found no way to download them.

Which is perplexing, since you are (per Glose) able to read their books off-line, though some functions are unavailable w/o an internet connection. I wonder if the books are downloaded in some obscure and not readily identifiable folder/filename? I just purchased an ebook from Harper Collins, naively thinking I would get a download link for a format of my choosing. Guess I didn't read the fine print, as it was not clear from the order page what I was NOT getting. I haven't bothered to install Glose, so haven't seen that interface or looked into how it stores books for offline use. I've requested a refund, since for the same (high) price, I can get it from Amazon for Kindle.

HC's website is misleading in other ways, as well. The book I wanted showed to be on sale for $2.99, but that offer was for 2013 (!) and expired, though still was displayed as-if... The actual price was $9.95, as I learned after adding it to my cart.

maddz · 07-06-2021, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMOP

Which is perplexing, since you are (per Glose) able to read their books off-line, though some functions are unavailable w/o an internet connection. I wonder if the books are downloaded in some obscure and not readily identifiable folder/filename? I just purchased an ebook from Harper Collins, naively thinking I would get a download link for a format of my choosing. Guess I didn't read the fine print, as it was not clear from the order page what I was NOT getting. I haven't bothered to install Glose, so haven't seen that interface or looked into how it stores books for offline use. I've requested a refund, since for the same (high) price, I can get it from Amazon for Kindle.

HC's website is misleading in other ways, as well. The book I wanted showed to be on sale for $2.99, but that offer was for 2013 (!) and expired, though still was displayed as-if... The actual price was $9.95, as I learned after adding it to my cart.

From the Glose FAQ:

Quote:

Can I download the books I buy on my computer?
No, you can’t. The books you buy on Glose are only available on your profile, and you can read them on your computer, mobile or tablet (on our free app).

Your library is synced on all your devices so you can read everywhere, anytime.

So no, not downloadable. I can only read on my computer since the app isn't available in my local app stores.

John F · 07-06-2021, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Can I download the books I buy on my computer?
No, you can’t. The books you buy on Glose are only available on your profile, and you can read them on your computer, mobile or tablet (on our free app).

Your library is synced on all your devices so you can read everywhere, anytime.

This seems like a contrary statement? If it isn't downloaded, wouldn't you need a wifi or a cell connection to read? Or are they saying that the ebooks are downloaded, just in a propriety format that no other apps can read (yet)?

maddz · 07-06-2021, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

This seems like a contrary statement? If it isn't downloaded, wouldn't you need a wifi or a cell connection to read? Or are they saying that the ebooks are downloaded, just in a propriety format that no other apps can read (yet)?

I think what's meant is that the content is cloud-based and you're reading via an interface, and what's downloaded is a temporary file which is deleted at the end of your session when things get synched back to the server.

Either way, the only way I can access the content is logging into Glose and reading in my browser.

John F · 07-06-2021, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddz

I think what's meant is that the content is cloud-based and you're reading via an interface, and what's downloaded is a temporary file which is deleted at the end of your session when things get synched back to the server.

Either way, the only way I can access the content is logging into Glose and reading in my browser.

What is a "session"? The end of a book, a time-out? If I'm on vacation in a remote area, I'm out of luck? I belueve othef services call it down loading (Amazon ebooks, kobo ebooks, Amazon music, netflix, ...); you download it while you have a wifi/cell connection, and read/listen/watch later.

RMOP · 07-06-2021, 04:32 PM

Well, I just downloaded a free Glose book to my tablet and then went to airplane mode. I can indeed read it off-line. However, I could not locate the downloaded ebook. It's NOT in Android/Data/com.glose.android/Files/Data/Download on either my Internal storage or SD card. But it is clearly somewhere.

As for a refund from HarperCollins for my purchased book, which I did not download, here's their reply:

"Thank you for contacting HarperCollins Publishing.

Ebooks are not returnable so unfortunately they are not refundable.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you,

Brooke
Customer Care"

Amazon has a better return policy for Kindle books. Wished I'd gotten it there first, as I'll have to anyway to read it on my Kindle. I'm not impressed w HC or the Glose "experience."

01-21-2016, 02:56 PM	#1
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,853 Karma: 13432974 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro, Boox Note Max	glose.com -- what a joke! While making a booking on hotels.com today I received an offer for a free S&S ebook from glose.com. I decided to go ahead and take advantage of it, and made a new account. What a joke... a few minutes into it and it's already unsusable... I don't expect their service to be around for long, and definitely won't spend any money there (especially since they don't support eInk devices). The website has a horrible reading experience... the iOS app takes forever to load some pages (it seems to load each page as you go), and the formatting is horrible with headings not fitting the screen... every single paragraph has annotations, which seem completely pointless and distracting (you can turn them off)... when you select a paragraph it vibrates the phone, with no apparent way to turn that off... and just selecting the paragraph seems to create an annotation, whether you meant to or not (probably explaining why seemingly stupid things are annotated by other people)... What a mess! Edit: More... some GUI elements on the main screen go off the edge.... no tap to turn pages, only swipe... ugh... Last edited by twowheels; 01-21-2016 at 03:00 PM.

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07-06-2021, 04:32 PM	#10
RMOP Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, TabPRO 8.4, Galaxy Light, Sony PRS-300	Well, I just downloaded a free Glose book to my tablet and then went to airplane mode. I can indeed read it off-line. However, I could not locate the downloaded ebook. It's NOT in Android/Data/com.glose.android/Files/Data/Download on either my Internal storage or SD card. But it is clearly somewhere. As for a refund from HarperCollins for my purchased book, which I did not download, here's their reply: "Thank you for contacting HarperCollins Publishing. Ebooks are not returnable so unfortunately they are not refundable. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you, Brooke Customer Care" Amazon has a better return policy for Kindle books. Wished I'd gotten it there first, as I'll have to anyway to read it on my Kindle. I'm not impressed w HC or the Glose "experience."

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