Kobo pulled their Windows 8 app! [Now available again]

[dhuhtala]

I've been struggling with the very poorly developed Windows 8 Kobo app for the last year. I finally got it working on a Microsoft Surface RT tablet. I upgraded to a Surface Pro 2 and went to download the app from the Windows Store - and couldn't find it! I went back to my RT - still there, still working, but it's nowhere in sight on my Pro 2 tablet!

I contacted tech support and they informed me that it's been removed from the Store - and there is no estimated timeframe to have it added back in.

All I can say is...wow...this company continues to shoot itself in the foot every chance they get! I had originally supported Kobo because it was a Canadian company - but it isn't anymore. I no longer see any reason not to switch to Kindle for my e-books in the future...and I'll be sure to quite buying Kobo e-book readers too, I guess.

The company is just too unreliable to invest anything more...if they can't even keep the mainstream Windows app working, I have zero faith in their future...!

[simond]

I don't even use the desktop app, I read my books in ADE when I do use the pc

[meeera]

Yes, I'm struggling to remember the last time I opened the Desktop app. Now that current devices can be registered/updated wirelessly, other software does everything I need far better than Kobo Desktop ever did.

[melmac]

A little of topic but I really wish there was an app for the surface that will allow me to read my ibooks I have a few cookbooks I'd like to access

[Canuck_in_Japan]

I think the real issue here is that you're using Windows 8!

[toddos]

Originally Posted by melmac

A little of topic but I really wish there was an app for the surface that will allow me to read my ibooks I have a few cookbooks I'd like to access

Good luck with that.

What you could do is liberate those books (hard to do for ibooks, but Requiem is out there) and then read them in Nook or Freda or other epub reading apps. But the chances of an Apple-made or endorsed ibooks for Win8 are pretty slim.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

I think the real issue here is that you're using Windows 8!

Not much choice on a Surface tablet. Might as well complain of being "stuck" with OS X on a Mac.

[eschwartz]

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would buy books on a platform that will restrict what platforms you read it on -- iBooks is the ONLY one that does that!

It's shooting yourself in the foot.

[melmac]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would buy books on a platform that will restrict what platforms you read it on -- iBooks is the ONLY one that does that!

It's shooting yourself in the foot.

All my ibooks were freebies

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by melmac

All my ibooks were freebies

Ah, a valid excuse! Just so long as you didn't spend money down that black hole, you haven't actually LOST anything.

[dhuhtala]

No, not the desktop app...the tablet app, the "Metro" app, the Modern UI App...whatever you want to call it now. I'm not talking about the desktop application - I don't use that either. The Metro app is the only way to use Kobo on Windows 8 tablets like the Surface RT tablets. You can't install the desktop apps on a Surface RT. This is equivalent to pulling Kobo out of the Google Play store or from iTunes Store. In my mind, not having my main e-book reader on my tablet would make the tablet nearly useless to me. This is a really big deal - both for Windows 8 tablets and for Kobo. They're essentially not supporting the Windows 8 tablet platform1

[toddos]

Originally Posted by dhuhtala

No, not the desktop app...the tablet app, the "Metro" app, the Modern UI App...whatever you want to call it now. I'm not talking about the desktop application - I don't use that either. The Metro app is the only way to use Kobo on Windows 8 tablets like the Surface RT tablets. You can't install the desktop apps on a Surface RT. This is equivalent to pulling Kobo out of the Google Play store or from iTunes Store. In my mind, not having my main e-book reader on my tablet would make the tablet nearly useless to me. This is a really big deal - both for Windows 8 tablets and for Kobo. They're essentially not supporting the Windows 8 tablet platform1

It may be a pain in the rear, but have you tried downloading your Kobo books as epubs and opening them in the Nook app? It can sideload, and I assume (but haven't verified) that it can read ADEPT DRMed books. Not as convenient as syncing your books directly from Kobo, but it may be a decent interim solution until Kobo can get their app back up to par and in the store again.

[jlynton]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

I think the real issue here is that you're using Windows 8!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dhuhtala

No, not the desktop app...the tablet app, the "Metro" app, the Modern UI App...whatever you want to call it now. I'm not talking about the desktop application - I don't use that either. The Metro app is the only way to use Kobo on Windows 8 tablets like the Surface RT tablets. You can't install the desktop apps on a Surface RT. This is equivalent to pulling Kobo out of the Google Play store or from iTunes Store. In my mind, not having my main e-book reader on my tablet would make the tablet nearly useless to me. This is a really big deal - both for Windows 8 tablets and for Kobo. They're essentially not supporting the Windows 8 tablet platform1

You said yourself in your initial post that it was "very poorly developed". That presumably is why it's been temporarily removed from the store.

[AnemicOak]

Another temp solution for some might be the Kobo Instant Reader...

http://read.kobobooks.com/