Kobo messed up again! - Page 2

meeera · 10-27-2014, 07:37 AM

For some inexplicable (or, at least, so far unexplained) reason, Kobo has told us that they only offer kepub books when they've been supplied with an epub3 format by the publisher. And yet, other ebook retailers manage to provide ADE epub downloads for the exact same books at the exact same time. The publishers aren't insisting that it be kepub-only; on the contrary, one publisher decided to give me an epub download of a particular book themselves when I couldn't resolve this issue with Kobo (this before the obok Calibre plugin became available).

treadlightly · 10-27-2014, 07:58 AM

Yep, I've received the same message from Kobo. They can offer kepub right away, but have to wait on the publisher to provide ADE epub. If you check back on the same book in several days to a couple of weeks, likely the ePub is available for download. They are not shifting to kepub only as part of some nefarious scheme.

Purple Lady · 10-27-2014, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

crich, there's really no problem here. Just install the Kobo desktop app and you're done. It's important to realise that the Kobo store is NOT a "generic" ebook store; it's a store for people with Kobo reading devices or apps, just as the Kindle Store is for people with Kindle readers or apps. Your claim that Kobo have "messed up" is wholly without foundation.

Kobo advertises themselves as an open platform - http://www.kobo.com/aboutus?___store=au&style=onestore

Open Platform
Kobo believes people should be able to read on their terms. Our open platform, which supports the most popular formats including EPUB and PDF, allows readers to buy and read digital content from a variety of sources.

Purple Lady · 10-27-2014, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Kobo advertises themselves as an open platform - http://www.kobo.com/aboutus?___store=au&style=onestore

Open Platform
Kobo believes people should be able to read on their terms. Our open platform, which supports the most popular formats including EPUB and PDF, allows readers to buy and read digital content from a variety of sources.

I just read this again and it looks like they may be talking about their own readers. I thought this used to be worded differently.

But like meeera said, they now have Sony customers so they should be offering epub.

shalym · 10-27-2014, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

But like meeera said, they now have Sony customers so they should be offering epub.

Exactly. Sony customers are now being pushed to the Kobo store for their on device purchases. Unless they are going to supply a patch for Sony readers, they should at the very least indicate whether or not a book can be read on a Sony (which would mean an epub version is available)

Shari

DrNefario · 10-27-2014, 09:12 AM

It kind of is Kobo's responsibility to tell us what it is we're buying, rather than leaving us to come up with some vague heuristic to guess it ourselves. They have definitely lost one sale from me, and if I ever get sold something I can't use, or can only use in some ugly compromised way (Mr PDF), they will lose a customer.

Difflugia · 10-27-2014, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

For some inexplicable (or, at least, so far unexplained) reason, Kobo has told us that they only offer kepub books when they've been supplied with an epub3 format by the publisher. And yet, other ebook retailers manage to provide ADE epub downloads for the exact same books at the exact same time. The publishers aren't insisting that it be kepub-only; on the contrary, one publisher decided to give me an epub download of a particular book themselves when I couldn't resolve this issue with Kobo (this before the [deleted] Calibre plugin became available).

Kobo ereaders use different engines to render epubs and kepubs. The epub engine is based on Digital Editions and probably doesn't handle epub3 correctly. My guess is that Kobo decided from a customer service perspective to simply not allow downloads of books that aren't supported by their reader software.

Purple Lady · 10-27-2014, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Kobo ereaders use different engines to render epubs and kepubs. The epub engine is based on Digital Editions and probably doesn't handle epub3 correctly. My guess is that Kobo decided from a customer service perspective to simply not allow downloads of books that aren't supported by their reader software.

Their reader software now includes Sony readers that were upgraded to use Kobo's store. I wonder if kepub only books are shown to Sony ereaders when shopping from the device.

HarryT · 10-27-2014, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I just read this again and it looks like they may be talking about their own readers. I thought this used to be worded differently.

I'd certainly interpret the text you quoted as saying that their reading devices are an open platform, not their bookstore.

crich70 · 10-27-2014, 01:15 PM

I heard back from Kobo. Apparently the book in question is in epub3 format and in their words, "Unfortunately the Kobo website does not have the direct download functionality for EPUB3 files at the moment." Whatever that means. I mean are they having some problems with the site? Is it something they just haven't got sorted yet? Or what? It does appear in the Kobo app but it's not like I can carry my desktop around with me either.

HarryT · 10-27-2014, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

I heard back from Kobo. Apparently the book in question is in epub3 format and in their words, "Unfortunately the Kobo website does not have the direct download functionality for EPUB3 files at the moment." Whatever that means. I mean are they having some problems with the site? Is it something they just haven't got sorted yet? Or what?

It simply means that "kepub" books can't be downloaded from the website, as previously stated.

Quote:

It does appear in the Kobo app but it's not like I can carry my desktop around with me either.

But once you've got it in the Kobo app, you can simply import it into Calibre and convert it to a normal ePub. You'll find it in "My Documents\Kobo Content" (or something similar).

crich70 · 10-27-2014, 01:48 PM

I haven't been able to find the folder for some reason. I've looked in 'my documents' and in 'my programs' and so far I've found no sign of the book. I even looked round my desktop. So far nothing.

Purple Lady · 10-27-2014, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

It simply means that "kepub" books can't be downloaded from the website, as previously stated.

But once you've got it in the Kobo app, you can simply import it into Calibre and convert it to a normal ePub. You'll find it in "My Documents\Kobo Content" (or something similar).

As far as I know everything downloaded by the Kobo app is kepub even if it has an epub version. And they are formatted differently than the epub version. I have different TOC contents and chapter headings are formatted differently with no clickable link.

Purple Lady · 10-27-2014, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd certainly interpret the text you quoted as saying that their reading devices are an open platform, not their bookstore.

I remember not too long ago they had something much different. It said something about being able to read Kobo ebooks on any Adobe epub capable reader.

ottdmk · 10-27-2014, 02:05 PM

Kobo is in a bit of a nasty position on this. The company remains committed to allowing their books to be read on any compatible device. The problem is the issue of compatibility.

I believe the problem is publishers submitting their epub files as epub3 when they don't have to be.

Adobe's RMSDK doesn't support epub3 fully. It's a major reason that Kobo went with ACCESS for kepub, as they need epub3 to support international markets, particularly Asian ones.

So, what to do when a publisher submits a book as epub3? Well, in an ideal world, Kobo would examine the epub, determine it's compatible with RMSDK despite being typed as epub3 and set up the download links for the acsm files.

The problem there is, naturally, time & money. Kobo may have backing from Rakuten, but they are not a large company. They're not Amazon, which can get by on razon-thin profit margins as long as they continue to gain market share. They don't have the resources to be examining tons of books all the time.

They could just put out the link anyways. One of our fellow posters (regrettably, I can't recall the screen-name) has made the point that almost nobody uses the epub3 features that would cause problems. However, I can understand the company's reluctance to make available a product that they're not convinced will work properly.

So I think they've made a reasonable choice under the circumstances. If it's submitted as epub3, don't enable an Adobe DRM download until the publisher resubmits as epub2.

Still frustrating for those folks that sideload everything. Kobo really should bring back the file type info.

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10-27-2014, 07:37 AM	#16
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,862 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	For some inexplicable (or, at least, so far unexplained) reason, Kobo has told us that they only offer kepub books when they've been supplied with an epub3 format by the publisher. And yet, other ebook retailers manage to provide ADE epub downloads for the exact same books at the exact same time. The publishers aren't insisting that it be kepub-only; on the contrary, one publisher decided to give me an epub download of a particular book themselves when I couldn't resolve this issue with Kobo (this before the obok Calibre plugin became available).

10-27-2014, 07:58 AM	#17
treadlightly Wizard Posts: 1,370 Karma: 6957792 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo H2O	Yep, I've received the same message from Kobo. They can offer kepub right away, but have to wait on the publisher to provide ADE epub. If you check back on the same book in several days to a couple of weeks, likely the ePub is available for download. They are not shifting to kepub only as part of some nefarious scheme.

10-27-2014, 09:12 AM	#21
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,227 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	It kind of is Kobo's responsibility to tell us what it is we're buying, rather than leaving us to come up with some vague heuristic to guess it ourselves. They have definitely lost one sale from me, and if I ever get sold something I can't use, or can only use in some ugly compromised way (Mr PDF), they will lose a customer.

10-27-2014, 01:15 PM	#25
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I heard back from Kobo. Apparently the book in question is in epub3 format and in their words, "Unfortunately the Kobo website does not have the direct download functionality for EPUB3 files at the moment." Whatever that means. I mean are they having some problems with the site? Is it something they just haven't got sorted yet? Or what? It does appear in the Kobo app but it's not like I can carry my desktop around with me either.

10-27-2014, 01:48 PM	#27
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I haven't been able to find the folder for some reason. I've looked in 'my documents' and in 'my programs' and so far I've found no sign of the book. I even looked round my desktop. So far nothing.

10-27-2014, 02:05 PM	#30
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,224 Karma: 3804496 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M9	Kobo is in a bit of a nasty position on this. The company remains committed to allowing their books to be read on any compatible device. The problem is the issue of compatibility. I believe the problem is publishers submitting their epub files as epub3 when they don't have to be. Adobe's RMSDK doesn't support epub3 fully. It's a major reason that Kobo went with ACCESS for kepub, as they need epub3 to support international markets, particularly Asian ones. So, what to do when a publisher submits a book as epub3? Well, in an ideal world, Kobo would examine the epub, determine it's compatible with RMSDK despite being typed as epub3 and set up the download links for the acsm files. The problem there is, naturally, time & money. Kobo may have backing from Rakuten, but they are not a large company. They're not Amazon, which can get by on razon-thin profit margins as long as they continue to gain market share. They don't have the resources to be examining tons of books all the time. They could just put out the link anyways. One of our fellow posters (regrettably, I can't recall the screen-name) has made the point that almost nobody uses the epub3 features that would cause problems. However, I can understand the company's reluctance to make available a product that they're not convinced will work properly. So I think they've made a reasonable choice under the circumstances. If it's submitted as epub3, don't enable an Adobe DRM download until the publisher resubmits as epub2. Still frustrating for those folks that sideload everything. Kobo really should bring back the file type info.