Why did Kobo abandon the capacative touch flat screen? - Page 11

Canuck_in_Japan · 07-04-2015, 09:31 AM

ahh right, I forgot about that. Of course, if in turn it off then I'll lose a lot of my screen real estate. Everything is a trade off

jackie_w · 07-04-2015, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Yes that is better I would agree. I just downloaded the book from Kobo (rather than using a side-loaded version) but the kepub cuts off the right side of the page! What the hell?

If you want to pursue it I believe one of GeoffR's newer patches in the Kobo Patcher tries to deal with this kepub/full-screen cut-off problem.

chrisridd · 07-06-2015, 05:09 AM

If we're thinking about general hardware improvements that could be made by Kobo, I'd opt for a more robust USB connector.

The current one really is awful and it is really easy to bend the male connector leading to intermittent connectivity/charging etc.

The USB C connector is supposed to be stronger.

meeera · 07-06-2015, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

If we're thinking about general hardware improvements that could be made by Kobo, I'd opt for a more robust USB connector.

The current one really is awful and it is really easy to bend the male connector leading to intermittent connectivity/charging etc.

Does it matter if you bend the male connector? MicroUSB cables are 99c.

(No one in my family has managed to destroy one yet in several years and multiple Kobos, but I suppose it's always possible.)

frostschutz · 07-06-2015, 07:15 AM

There should be a standard for a completely flexible connection, so whatever connector you use doesn't go crowbar. Leverage force is not funny. But I'd rather they use the standard USB connector than invent something proprietary that's supposedly better but cables cost $30 apiece. The USB port works fine, although you have to be careful with it.

chrisridd · 07-06-2015, 11:01 AM

It matters if you only have the one cable with you, and you discover it is bent!

If there's a more robust (and cheap) alternative that's available, Kobo should switch.

Desdinova · 07-06-2015, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

It matters if you only have the one cable with you, and you discover it is bent!

If there's a more robust (and cheap) alternative that's available, Kobo should switch.

The thing about USB though, is the U. It is pretty Universal. And cheap.

Last thing the world needs is another proprietary connector.

MGlitch · 07-06-2015, 03:47 PM

Are people picking up their charging H2Os by the USB plug? I mean seriously, it's not unbreakable but if you're reasonably careful with it, you're not likely to break the plug.

I'd rather Kobo spent their time and money making the screen better, and the rest of the device slimmer and lighter rather than replacing the working charging cable with something of their own, which if it breaks I'm forced to buy from them.

chrisridd · 07-06-2015, 04:58 PM

There are other and more robust USB connectors. Sure, keep the USB A plug on the computer end of the cable, just use a more robust one like USB Type C on the eReader end. This would not be Kobo proprietary at all.

The Wikipedia page on USB has a nice diagram of some of the different USB connector standards. Frankly this part of USB is a bit of a disaster!

frostschutz · 07-06-2015, 05:11 PM

There are magnetic cables (wsken magnetic micro) but I'm not sure if they'd work for the Kobo (particularly the H2O) since the magnetic connector tends to be kind of fat. The idea is nice though, leave one part always in the port, and allow the magnetic connector to break of if anything yanks on the cable. Nothing breaks. Never tried it though so not sure if it works like that in practice.

Canuck_in_Japan · 07-06-2015, 07:51 PM

So I switched my ebook to a kepub and selecting endnotes works great now, even with a tiny font. I don't get that. Why is it practically impossible to select an endnote on an EPUB but with KEPUB I can just mash the screen with my big fat thumb and the endnote will pop up on the very first try? I thought it was a IR limitation, not a software thing.

jackie_w · 07-06-2015, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

So I switched my ebook to a kepub and selecting endnotes works great now, even with a tiny font. I don't get that. Why is it practically impossible to select an endnote on an EPUB but with KEPUB I can just mash the screen with my big fat thumb and the endnote will pop up on the very first try? I thought it was a IR limitation, not a software thing.

It's because the Kobo uses 2 different reading applications - Adobe for standard epubs, ACCESS for kepubs. They each have their pros and cons. As you've seen the kepub reader is better for footnotes and annotation text selection.

chrisridd · 07-07-2015, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostschutz

There are magnetic cables (wsken magnetic micro) but I'm not sure if they'd work for the Kobo (particularly the H2O) since the magnetic connector tends to be kind of fat. The idea is nice though, leave one part always in the port, and allow the magnetic connector to break of if anything yanks on the cable. Nothing breaks. Never tried it though so not sure if it works like that in practice.

The magnetic power connectors ("MagSafe") that Apple use on their laptops work very well on my 2 MacBookPros. The latest version is thinner than the original.

However on one recent model Apple dropped the MagSafe connector and has switched to using USB Type C instead which is even thinner. (But not magnetic.)

meeera · 07-07-2015, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

The magnetic power connectors ("MagSafe") that Apple use on their laptops work very well on my 2 MacBookPros. The latest version is thinner than the original.

I think there's a big different between a MBP, which needs to be plugged in a lot of the time, and an eink reader. In general an ereader only needs to be plugged in maybe once a week for a short period of time. There's a much lower likelihood of it being accidentally yanked or whatever, simply because it spends so little time plugged in.

chrisridd · 07-07-2015, 05:28 AM

I totally agree - MagSafe isn't well suited for eReaders for various reasons.

I do think updating to USB C is the way to go, as that's small and quite robust.

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07-04-2015, 09:31 AM	#151
Canuck_in_Japan Wizard Posts: 1,476 Karma: 14328611 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: Aura, Aura H2O, Kindle PW3	ahh right, I forgot about that. Of course, if in turn it off then I'll lose a lot of my screen real estate. Everything is a trade off

07-06-2015, 05:09 AM	#153
chrisridd Guru Posts: 983 Karma: 2209358 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	If we're thinking about general hardware improvements that could be made by Kobo, I'd opt for a more robust USB connector. The current one really is awful and it is really easy to bend the male connector leading to intermittent connectivity/charging etc. The USB C connector is supposed to be stronger.

07-06-2015, 07:15 AM	#155
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,282 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	There should be a standard for a completely flexible connection, so whatever connector you use doesn't go crowbar. Leverage force is not funny. But I'd rather they use the standard USB connector than invent something proprietary that's supposedly better but cables cost $30 apiece. The USB port works fine, although you have to be careful with it.

07-06-2015, 11:01 AM	#156
chrisridd Guru Posts: 983 Karma: 2209358 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	It matters if you only have the one cable with you, and you discover it is bent! If there's a more robust (and cheap) alternative that's available, Kobo should switch.

07-06-2015, 03:47 PM	#158
MGlitch Wizard Posts: 2,857 Karma: 22003124 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2	Are people picking up their charging H2Os by the USB plug? I mean seriously, it's not unbreakable but if you're reasonably careful with it, you're not likely to break the plug. I'd rather Kobo spent their time and money making the screen better, and the rest of the device slimmer and lighter rather than replacing the working charging cable with something of their own, which if it breaks I'm forced to buy from them.

07-06-2015, 04:58 PM	#159
chrisridd Guru Posts: 983 Karma: 2209358 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	There are other and more robust USB connectors. Sure, keep the USB A plug on the computer end of the cable, just use a more robust one like USB Type C on the eReader end. This would not be Kobo proprietary at all. The Wikipedia page on USB has a nice diagram of some of the different USB connector standards. Frankly this part of USB is a bit of a disaster!

07-06-2015, 05:11 PM	#160
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,282 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	There are magnetic cables (wsken magnetic micro) but I'm not sure if they'd work for the Kobo (particularly the H2O) since the magnetic connector tends to be kind of fat. The idea is nice though, leave one part always in the port, and allow the magnetic connector to break of if anything yanks on the cable. Nothing breaks. Never tried it though so not sure if it works like that in practice.

07-06-2015, 07:51 PM	#161
Canuck_in_Japan Wizard Posts: 1,476 Karma: 14328611 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: Aura, Aura H2O, Kindle PW3	So I switched my ebook to a kepub and selecting endnotes works great now, even with a tiny font. I don't get that. Why is it practically impossible to select an endnote on an EPUB but with KEPUB I can just mash the screen with my big fat thumb and the endnote will pop up on the very first try? I thought it was a IR limitation, not a software thing.

07-07-2015, 05:28 AM	#165
chrisridd Guru Posts: 983 Karma: 2209358 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I totally agree - MagSafe isn't well suited for eReaders for various reasons. I do think updating to USB C is the way to go, as that's small and quite robust.