Kobo Glo HD

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by oj829

Even from sleep? If so, that would solve several problems nicely. Thanks. Will explore the setup screens some more...

Or you can turn it off right away (as I have just discovered... bought one this morning) by holding the top button down for around 10 secs. More or less. If you hold it too long it will come back on and sleep and ditto if not long enough. But it can be turned off there. I've just done that.

[hooplehead]

Hi!

I had a Kobo Touch for two years and now got a Glo HD after the Touch broke when it was smashed to the ground... :\

I'm very pleased with the Glo HD. Compared with the Touch, its background is much whiter, the text cisper (duh, it has twice the resolution) and wake-up time and overall responsiveness is better.


Here is some hardware related feedback, that would be nice if it were considered when Kobo designs a "Glo HD v2.0":

• Biggest complain, the same as for many commenters, is the reflective plastic frame on the inner bezel. Really quite annoying in the sun.
  
• The bezel itself is also a bit reflective, but not as much and therefore less annoying.
  
• Also, if the bezel were slanted on the inside, it wouldn't cast as much of a shadow, which is also slightly annoying in the sun.
  
• The sides of the bezel where your fingers curl around would be less slippery it it had the same surface as the beautiful back.
  
• The power button could give a better tactile feedback, but that's no biggie in my book.

Some suggestions that could be provided with future firmware updates:

• Not sure if it's a hard- or software issue, page turning could be faster. The Touch wasn't a sprinter in that department, but it still beats the Glo HD.
  
• It'd be nice to have an "alarm clock" that pops up a window as notification. Handy, e.g. if you read in bed and don't want to forget the time while reading...
  
• The icon for the backlight setting in the top status bar should be different when the backlight is on/off. A user could see at one glance if it's still on from last night's reading session, when it isn't needed any more on a new sunshiny day.
  
• The brightness setting should have the percentage above the slider so you don't obscure it with your finger when using the widget.
  
• Tapping the "more/less brightness icons" to the left/rigt of the slider should increase in smaller steps, maybe 2%. 5%-steps are too crude. (I'm not even sure why the backlighting can be so bright. Anything above 10% is too bright in a dark room. Maybe I just didn't happen on a use case for it myself yet...)
  
• Using the browser seems to stretch the limits of the hardware. It'd be nice to have a nice light-footed email app (IMAP capable).

Thanks!
hooplehead

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by hooplehead

Here is some hardware related feedback, that would be nice if it were considered when Kobo designs a "Glo HD v2.0":

• The bezel itself is also a bit reflective, but not as much and therefore less annoying.
  
• The sides of the bezel where your fingers curl around would be less slippery it it had the same surface as the beautiful back.

Some suggestions that could be provided with future firmware updates:

• It'd be nice to have an "alarm clock" that pops up a window as notification. Handy, e.g. if you read in bed and don't want to forget the time while reading...
  
• The brightness setting should have the percentage above the slider so you don't obscure it with your finger when using the widget.

I concur on these.

[murg]

Originally Posted by hooplehead

• It'd be nice to have an "alarm clock" that pops up a window as notification. Handy, e.g. if you read in bed and don't want to forget the time while reading...

And/or a timer, so you can set it when you get on the train, and it will go off a minute before your stop and you can get ready to leave the train.

[Nick_1964]

Originally Posted by murg

[/LIST]And/or a timer, so you can set it when you get on the train, and it will go off a minute before your stop and you can get ready to leave the train.

And an option to set the timer for boiled eggs !

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by hooplehead

• It'd be nice to have an "alarm clock" that pops up a window as notification. Handy, e.g. if you read in bed and don't want to forget the time while reading...

I already have one: the eyes close and the ereader falls out of my hand. That tells me it's time to go to sleep.

• The icon for the backlight setting in the top status bar should be different when the backlight is on/off. A user could see at one glance if it's still on from last night's reading session, when it isn't needed any more on a new sunshiny day.

Yes, they do need an extra icon. The older devices with a button for the light didn't show the icon when the light wasn't on. I think they haven't caught up to this..

• Tapping the "more/less brightness icons" to the left/rigt of the slider should increase in smaller steps, maybe 2%. 5%-steps are too crude. (I'm not even sure why the backlighting can be so bright. Anything above 10% is too bright in a dark room. Maybe I just didn't happen on a use case for it myself yet...)

For me the more/less buttons change the light by 10%. But, I agree that is to much. They should be 1%. That way you tap somewhere for the coarse adjustment and use the buttons to fine tune.

I never turn the light off. But, I do adjust it for the ambient level. In bed with the room light off, the level is around 5%. On the train during the day, around 30%. The higher levels are for time with more light. I usually adjust the light by sliding my finger along the left edge when reading and I never turn the light off.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I already have one: the eyes close and the ereader falls out of my hand. That tells me it's time to go to sleep.

Works for me too.

[Fbone]

My eyes must be worse than I thought. At night I read with the light at 70%.

[wakkaday]

Originally Posted by Fbone

My eyes must be worse than I thought. At night I read with the light at 70%.

haha

mines around 25 percent

[kyteflyer]

On the question of adding fonts: I don't see any additional folders on my GloHD on my Macbook. Are they hidden folders? Or should one create the necessary folder to add fonts. IIRC on the Glo I used to own, the folders were quite obvious.

I love to read with a thinner sans serif font than anything in the defaults and have a couple I would like to install.

Main observation thus far... the resolution is great and I suspect will finally drag me away from reading on my phone (which is giving me headaches of late... hence the reason for buying today) and the fonts are delightfully clear. On my old Glo they always looked a little washed out even at low brightness with necessary weight alterations. And the whites were blueish. Te whites in the new one seem to be white, but not too bright... so perhaps a little off-white/light beige, just like paper.

[BryanK]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I already have one: the eyes close and the ereader falls out of my hand. That tells me it's time to go to sleep.

Mine has that! I love that feature!

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Fbone

My eyes must be worse than I thought. At night I read with the light at 70%.

My light is at 83% right now. I like it bright!

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

On the question of adding fonts: I don't see any additional folders on my GloHD on my Macbook. Are they hidden folders? Or should one create the necessary folder to add fonts. IIRC on the Glo I used to own, the folders were quite obvious.

Make a folder called fonts, drop your fonts into it, and put the folder in the main directory (where books go).

You may or may not have to restart the device.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by BryanK

Mine has that! I love that feature!

Mine hits me on the nose when I try to use this feature. I don't like it. Did I get a duff unit?

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by murg

[/LIST]And/or a timer, so you can set it when you get on the train, and it will go off a minute before your stop and you can get ready to leave the train.

That's another reason I loved the Sony x50 line of readers with PRS+ installed. It allowed you to keep the time visible in the very bottom corner. Great when you're killing time reading before an appointment.

Originally Posted by davidfor

I already have one: the eyes close and the ereader falls out of my hand. That tells me it's time to go to sleep.

Yes, they do need an extra icon. The older devices with a button for the light didn't show the icon when the light wasn't on. I think they haven't caught up to this..

For me the more/less buttons change the light by 10%. But, I agree that is to much. They should be 1%. That way you tap somewhere for the coarse adjustment and use the buttons to fine tune.

I never turn the light off. But, I do adjust it for the ambient level. In bed with the room light off, the level is around 5%. On the train during the day, around 30%. The higher levels are for time with more light. I usually adjust the light by sliding my finger along the left edge when reading and I never turn the light off.

GeoffR's patch for the Kobo readers includes this, the light adjusts by 1% increments.