Some basic questions about the Kobo Glo

[Jon-Howard]

Hi all!

I’m new to the forum, I’ve been using (Kindle) Ereaders for the last three years but I’m not particularly technically savvy. Reading through many of the posts on here—with their dizzying array of terms and hacks and arcane doo-dads—has still left with a few basic questions concerning the Kobo Glo, so I’m wondering if anyone can help me?

To explain, I’m thinking of picking-up a Glo after a fairly disastrous experience with the Kindle Paperwhite. I had three replacement KPWs in one week and found issues with all of them in respect of extremely uneven lighting (yellow tint, half-dark screen, colour splashes), the lack of a stable WI-FI connection (broken connections and sometimes a complete inability to connect), a degradation in the text after each 6th page refresh (patches of bold, light and half-printed letters spoiling the reading experience) and also a need to continually wipe noticeable, distracting finger marks off the screen and case. Consequently the Glo has been recommended to me as an alternative – but I can’t help wondering is it really any better? Plus I’m also slightly worried by some of the things I’ve heard/read about the Kobo formatting, so here’s a list of Q’s I’m trying to find answers for.

1) Does the Kobo Glo always, unavoidably, set spaces between paragraphs or is there some way to remove this? I’ve used Calibre (a bit – I mostly buy my EBooks through Amazon) and I’m aware of the ‘remove spaces between paragraphs’ option in the software—so could I simply use that to reformat books and remedy the problem?

2) I have hundreds of Amazon EBooks in my cloud storage so can I transfer them (again using Calibre to strip the DRM and change the format) so as to read them on the Glo?

3) Does the Glo suffer from the same degraded text issue as the Kindle – with words appearing half-printed, printed in bold or worse apparently ‘fading-out’ after page refreshes?

4) Does the Kobo also act like a magnet for fingerprints and grease marks?

5) Is the Glo a reliable unit that’s fairly robust without freezing or crashing issues—basically can I reasonably depend on it like my old 3G Kindle keyboard or my WI-FI only model with the page-click buttons?

Many Thanks for your help in advance and Best Wishes!

Jon

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Jon-Howard

Hi all!
1) Does the Kobo Glo always, unavoidably, set spaces between paragraphs or is there some way to remove this? I’ve used Calibre (a bit – I mostly buy my EBooks through Amazon) and I’m aware of the ‘remove spaces between paragraphs’ option in the software—so could I simply use that to reformat books and remedy the problem?

2) I have hundreds of Amazon EBooks in my cloud storage so can I transfer them (again using Calibre to strip the DRM and change the format) so as to read them on the Glo?

3) Does the Glo suffer from the same degraded text issue as the Kindle – with words appearing half-printed, printed in bold or worse apparently ‘fading-out’ after page refreshes?

4) Does the Kobo also act like a magnet for fingerprints and grease marks?

5) Is the Glo a reliable unit that’s fairly robust without freezing or crashing issues—basically can I reasonably depend on it like my old 3G Kindle keyboard or my WI-FI only model with the page-click buttons?

1 & 2: Yes, no problems, if you're willing to befriend Apprentice Alf and set up Calibre to your specifications.

3: You can set refresh anywhere from 1 to 6 pages (or longer if you're willing to hack a bit), to suit your eyes & preferences. Ghosting happens, that's the nature of e-ink, but at least you can choose.

4: Yes, the device is a print magnet. A case fixes this, and you need one anyhow. Fabric, leather, and faux leather are all available.

5: I've actually found mine (and the one I support) to be really quite robust, despite a fair bit of fiddling around; more robust than my old Touch (though I probably fiddled with that a fair bit too much too). I've done a paperclip reset here and there, mostly with sideloaded updates (which Kobo doesn't recommend), but I'm now struggling to remember the last time I needed a factory reset. My impression is that there may be more issues than with the Kindles in this regard, but who knows - no-one's done a statistically reliable survey.

Poking around Getsatisfaction, it seems there is a large and vocal crowd whinging about Kobo refusing to replace their smashed-substrate units for free ("It was just sitting there completely untouched and it spontaneously shattered, honest!"), and a few other complaints here and there. There also seem to be a few issues with libraries on SD cards, so if you don't need that, that might help. As always, poking around the forums here will give you a sense of common complaints, but bear in mind that in fora you will always hear far more about the negative than about the positive.

Either way though, if you have your library set up in Calibre, a factory reset really isn't a drama.

[taming]

Kobo does not set spaces between paragraphs at this point. They do not remove them either if that is what the publisher has chosen to do. This means that some books have spaces between paragraphs, others do not. Some books have paragraph indents, others do not.

They do not override the publisher's css stylesheet. If the publisher has not specified a setting, then Kobo's default takes over. As far as I know, this no longer includes lines/spacing between paragraphs.

[Jon-Howard]

Thank you, meeera and taming! That's very kind of you both and you've really put my mind at rest. I'm calling at Smith's to get my Glo later this week so fingers crossed...

[meeera]

You're welcome. Enjoy your Glo, and any troubles just ask here - it's the best place for Kobo support, IMO.

[Willa]

Originally Posted by Jon-Howard

Thank you, meeera and taming! That's very kind of you both and you've really put my mind at rest. I'm calling at Smith's to get my Glo later this week so fingers crossed...

Now the big decision comes . . what colour to get

[Jon-Howard]

Well, I've gone and done it now--lol! My new Kobo Glo is still in the box, waiting until I finish this 24hr shift at work before I can go home and make friends with it. Got it in black with a 'sleep case' (hope that was a good idea), a stylus and a mains charger. All in £130.

In any case, does feels a bit weird to be betraying my 3yr affair with the Kindle--but kind of welcome too. Ereaders are such personal things it is oddly like straying in a relationship, with all the illicit thrills that has to offer.

I'll keep you posted as to how I get on with it. And once again--many thanks for your advice!

[owly]

That would make me a e-reader slut then

[Willa]

Originally Posted by Jon-Howard

Well, I've gone and done it now--lol! My new Kobo Glo is still in the box, waiting until I finish this 24hr shift at work before I can go home and make friends with it. Got it in black with a 'sleep case' (hope that was a good idea), a stylus and a mains charger. All in £130.

In any case, does feels a bit weird to be betraying my 3yr affair with the Kindle--but kind of welcome too. Ereaders are such personal things it is oddly like straying in a relationship, with all the illicit thrills that has to offer.

I'll keep you posted as to how I get on with it. And once again--many thanks for your advice!

Good price for all the kit. When exploring and setting it up make sure that you have the box ticked for the 'sleep cover' - it is in Settings --> Light, Sleep & Power --- on page 2. You can also turn it off if you don't want it after all - we like choice!

I expect when you register, the firmware 2.5.2 will be loaded on it and your homescreen will have the carousal layout. Be aware that 2.6.1 is rolling out . . and that your homescreen will look like the Aura'a after that with the tiles. Have no idea when it will get to you . . but it will

If you want to see piccies, Peter posted some in this thread - just scroll down to see them . . if you click on them they will enlarge.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=215181&page=3

As for your Kindle . .. that was just a minor distraction and I am sure you are suitably repentant and will withdraw from public life to spend more time with your Kobo family!

[Willa]

Originally Posted by owly

That would make me a e-reader slut then

[Anak]

Originally Posted by taming

Kobo does not set spaces between paragraphs at this point. They do not remove them either if that is what the publisher has chosen to do. This means that some books have spaces between paragraphs, others do not. Some books have paragraph indents, others do not.

They do not override the publisher's css stylesheet. If the publisher has not specified a setting, then Kobo's default takes over. As far as I know, this no longer includes lines/spacing between paragraphs.

That is not completely correct. Kobo does override the publishers stylesheet but tries to respect the publishers stylesheet but often fails. Simply because the kobostylehacks are very rudimentary.

I have many books bought through Kobo where the downloaded epub (with DRM) looks fine. E.g. no bottom margin after every paragraph, but the kepub does add them.

"Kepubs are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

With the current KoboStyleHacks Kobo can not control the actual outcome.

[taming]

When I asked, Anak, I was told that Kobo did not usually go back to existing books and make the changes in them that would reflect the changes they had made to how files are now handled. Just as a matter of curiosity, if you were to buy a new reader, what brand would you buy now?

[Anak]

Originally Posted by taming

When I asked, Anak, I was told that Kobo did not usually go back to existing books and make the changes in them that would reflect the changes they had made to how files are now handled. Just as a matter of curiosity, if you were to buy a new reader, what brand would you buy now?

That is another problem that occurs when appling this kind of "mods" on the software side (kepubs) instead on the hardware side. While these mods are purely for Kobo hardware and reading apps. Resulting in an unpredicable outcome. If Kobo could move the mods to the devices or apps then all changes would automatically be applied on all kepubs, new and old.
But this is probably easier said than done.

I don't know which brand I would buy. Non of the existing models that are on the market today. For now I'll stick with my Touch. I'll wait for the introduction of Aura HD like products which will hopefully come this fall.
I don't make buy decisions on marketing material alone. I do try to read or view as many reviews as possible to make a decision.
The Kobo hardware is solid but the firmware is, well, much less solid.
Bug fixes don't seem to have a very high priority. But I do realize that developing firmware is way more than solely bug fixing.

P.S. I'll probably would buy a Kobo if they increased the reading area by reducing the top and bottom information bars by placing the text closer to the edge of the screen and reduce the margins surrounding these bars.