New Firmware (1.4) Discussion

[goinveg]

Originally Posted by goinveg

I really enjoy the Kobo. I had been hoping for an ereader that didn't have the bells and whistles I didn't need and this little device fills the bill nicely. I documented this in the "Which one should I buy?" board under Why I bought the Kobo.

I will not be upgrading at this time because my sleep patterns are such that I cannot sleep for long periods of time. So I read until I fall asleep then I wake up, pick up the Kobo and start reading again. I will then fall asleep and repeat this for most of the night. I really don't want to power up the Kobo every time I wake up.

I understand I am one of the bell curve extreme people and my situation is not the norm so until an upgrade allows me to continue this behavior I will stay with 1.0.

Also, because I don't buy from the Kobo store or Borders.com (where I bought the Kobo) I do not represent much of an incentive for Kobo to change things on my account.

I like the cover when I do shut down, also, but that is not an upgrade problem for me.

Well, I broke down and made the upgrade. I found my local library has ebooks but...the fonts could not be resized. Now the fonts can be resized but...the margins and justification is for s***!!!

[Vimstl]

Howdy - this is my first post, so please be gentle

I am very happy with the 1.4 firmware upgrade. I did it this weekend, the instructions clear and easy, and it only took about 15 minutes. While there was a warning that I would need to re-download my books, this did not happen. All my books were still there (both those that came with, and those I added), with all my bookmarks. The "finished" status of books I have read was maintained. Well done to the app support team for a very good upgrade process.

I have had my Kobo for about a month, and I have read 14 books on it so far. I am delighted with its performance, and the firmware upgrade seems to be a reasonable improvement. I have no complaint about the automatic sleep mode and power down - I very much like them. I do not find the 30 second bootup time to be a problem if I have not used the unit for a while.

I have also not noticed any particular problem with battery life, so I cannot determine if the upgrade made a significant improvement. I have taken my Kobo on the road for a 5-day trip, and in that time I read three books virtual cover to cover, with plenty of battery to spare.

In summary, I am very happy so far.

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by Vimstl

In summary, I am very happy so far.

Do you work for Kobo? Just kidding, that is usually the first thing that comes up when someone likes a product a little too much.

Anyway, I am glad you are enjoying it. Even though we complain, most of us are quite happy with our Kobos and don't regret the purchase. I guess we might just be expecting a little too much for an entry level first time out device.

[Tom Bombadil]

So far I like the new firmware, with some suggestions for the next:
- user definable auto-off sleep options
- totally blank or book cover on off-state screen
- quicker page turn
- crisper font rendering

The last two are kinda crucial. The nook is much better on those.

[fred_yu_job]

I always fix my books with KoboBulkFixer even with fireware 1.4. mainly for margin issue.

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

So far I like the new firmware, with some suggestions for the next:
- user definable auto-off sleep options
- totally blank or book cover on off-state screen
- quicker page turn
- crisper font rendering

The last two are kinda crucial. The nook is much better on those.

I think auto-sleep is okay, just auto-shut-off...

[tpw]

For me all bitching would stop if 1.5 came out with:

- User configurable auto off
- remove book from "i'm reading"
- jump to page, or at least some kind of skip 10 pages on long button press function
- clock on the display menu

I don't think any of these are asking for fundamental changes.

Got all that kobo? Cool, looking forward to the update tomorrow

[3d0g]

Originally Posted by tpw

For me all bitching would stop if 1.5 came out with:

Add Android Bluetooth sync to that 1.5 list and you got a deal! Ship it!

[Vimstl]

Originally Posted by RedRoverJ

Do you work for Kobo? Just kidding . . .

Hi RedRoverJ

No, I don't work for Kobo, but I am an avid reader. My brother got a Kindle, which I found interesting, but too expensive. I chose the Kobo largely based on price, and I like the fact that it does not use a proprietray format. I carry my Kobo with me almost everywhere, and I like the fact that I always have something to read. Cheers

[PenelopeWeaving]

I'm not sure what to do. I took my Kobo in to Chapters for the upgrade. Today I tried to upgrade my Kobo Desktop Application but it kept getting hung up. Nor does my menu show My Books & Free, My Books Only, Free Books Only. I can't change the order of books or anything. Problem is, I'm not sure where the error lies. Wondering if I should go back into the email I received and try to start all over again.

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by Vimstl

Hi RedRoverJ
I chose the Kobo largely based on price, and I like the fact that it does not use a proprietray format.

Yep. Those are the two main reason I got one too.

[thepossum]

I opened a trouble ticket with Kobo with regards to the deleted html files still showing up in the Documents list, and their somewhat-helpful suggestion is copied below:

You may have a corrupted database. Try a factory reset (menu-settings-advanced settings-factory reset) but we should warn you that this will clean our your ereader and you will have to reload everything.

I didn't want to do anything quite so drastic if it wasn't actually necessary, and my Kobo was otherwise fully functional and working just fine. As some kind soul posted upthread:

Originally Posted by timlegge

The most recent version of Calibre should allow you to delete the HTML and txt docs

I finally had opportunity to try this today. I can confirm that using Calibre to remove the "ghost" entries from the database appears to work fine, and my Kobo isn't showing any other problematic symptoms. I:

1) plugged in my Kobo
2) started Calibre
3) selected "Show books in the main memory of the device"
4) highlighted ONLY the html files I'd previously deleted from the Kobo, but which were still showing in the device's Documents list
5) pressed the Delete key, and waited for it to finish
6) ejected the Kobo

In other words, the problem was NOT that the Kobo database was corrupt. The problem must have been that the Kobo simply doesn't remove the database entries when html files are removed from the device.

So hopefully this relatively minor issue will be corrected with a future firmware update, and others having the same problem can be given a solution other than "wipe it and start over". ;-)

[3d0g]

Originally Posted by thepossum

In other words, the problem was NOT that the Kobo database was corrupt. The problem must have been that the Kobo simply doesn't remove the database entries when html files are removed from the device.

So hopefully this relatively minor issue will be corrected with a future firmware update, and others having the same problem can be given a solution other than "wipe it and start over". ;-)

Yup. It's a bug. The kobo will process and add .html and .txt files to the sqlite database, but it doesn't remove them. I used an sqlite editor to clean mine up.

[taming]

Did you go into the Kobo and use the file in the desktop installers file for the Kobo desktop update? I never had things like My Books & Free, My Books Only, Free Books Only. If they were custom bookshelves you established, they may be gone with the new version of the desktop software. This is just a guess though.