Glo Thinking of buying my first Kobo product, need advice. - Page 2

Corkobo · 11-12-2012, 06:16 AM

Is the Kobo stable? I see a few threads just on the first page of freezes and crashes.

I had some problems with my Glo. It crashed (at times it froze other times it rebooted) when I tried changing the margins in one of my sideloaded EPUBs.
However, I since learned from other people on this Forum (and verified) that it is that particular EPUB at fault. I have tried other EPUBs (from various sources) and it works fine with them.
Yes, no device should crash, but, on the other hand, I've not had any other problems and I have used it now for a week (daily for at least one hour a day).

I've heard that sideloaded books sometimes don't let you mess with their fonts/spacing. Does this apply even if the sideloaded book is a DRM free book bought FROM Kobo, unchanged? (even if the book previously had DRM? *winkwink*)

It does not let you change the fonts or margins if the EPUB is so formatted but that is what should happen. Otherwise it allows to change these things just fine with sideloaded books.

The EPUB that was making my Glo crash (but only when I tried to change the margins) had formatting problems. I tried other EPUBs until I found one that had the margins fixed (so that I could not change them) and the Glo did not crash, it simply did not change the margins.
You can strip these restrictions with Calibre.

What features do you like/made you decide to buy your Kobo Glo?

I had a Nook Simple Touch and I was very happy with it. So happy with the normal firmware that I did not even root it (I rooted the old Nooks).
So why buy the Glo? Because of the Glo(w) feature.

And it's great! It is too early to tell how it affect the battery, so far I've not had any dramatic drops in the battery level but I have the Wifi turned off.
Another thing that made me buy the Glo (as opposed to the Nook Glowlight) is the higher resolution screen. This makes the characters crisper and thus easier to read.
The Kindle PPW has the same resolution screen but the Kindle does not support EPUBs. I could have lived with that. However, the Kindle PPW was not available here (is still not AFAIK) so the Glo won.

And what finally clinched the deal was the big difference in the adjustments capabilities of the Glo vs the Nook and the Kindle.

What is the touch screen like? Is it capacitive like the Kindle Paperwhite? If not which is it? Infrared? Which is better, capacitive or infrared?

Touch screen is good. I have not tried the Kindle PPW so I cannot say if that is better.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Glo.

cghipp · 11-12-2012, 09:16 PM

On the topic of freezes and crashes: I exchanged my device at the bookstore today and have had no hint of the problems I had with the previous device. It's running beautifully now.

Big McLargeHuge · 11-13-2012, 10:07 AM

How does Kobo handle updates to books? Do they get pushed out immediately? Or do i have to contact them?

Cdesja5 · 11-13-2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big McLargeHuge

How does Kobo handle updates to books? Do they get pushed out immediately? Or do i have to contact them?

??? Updates to books? I've never received an update to a book once purchased, from any book retailer... As far as I know, it's like paper books. If you buy the first edition and then want a second edition you have to purchase it. Unless I'm misunderstanding you?

Big McLargeHuge · 11-13-2012, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

??? Updates to books? I've never received an update to a book once purchased, from any book retailer... As far as I know, it's like paper books. If you buy the first edition and then want a second edition you have to purchase it. Unless I'm misunderstanding you?

If i buy a book on Kindle and it has errors that get cleaned up by the publisher later, i can ask Amazon to update me to the newest version of the book, since they don't do it automatically. In that way, eBooks are better then paper books.

Pookeysgirl · 11-13-2012, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big McLargeHuge

If i buy a book on Kindle and it has errors that get cleaned up by the publisher later, i can ask Amazon to update me to the newest version of the book, since they don't do it automatically. In that way, eBooks are better then paper books.

I've had updates to both Amazon and Kobo books. Lord of the Rings was the one from Kobo. They absolutely do update them when there is a new copy available.

PeterT · 11-13-2012, 01:05 PM

I think though that unless you have the book in Kobo ePub format (ie through Kobo Desktop) you will not be aware of an update.

Big McLargeHuge · 11-14-2012, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

I've had updates to both Amazon and Kobo books. Lord of the Rings was the one from Kobo. They absolutely do update them when there is a new copy available.

So i don't have to ask them like i do on Amazon? Because i'm sure on Amazon they only update if you ask them to.

cghipp · 11-14-2012, 04:04 PM

When one of my Kindle books has an update, I get an email from Amazon with a prompt to download the new book. I received one just a few days ago:

Quote:

Kindle Title Weekend Homesteader: August (ASIN:B005EDBUOS) has an available update

Hello,

We are happy to announce that an updated version of your past Kindle purchase of Weekend Homesteader: August by Anna Hess is now available. The version you received had the following issues that have been corrected:

Sections or chapters were out of order.
Images were missing.

You can receive this new version by going to the Manage Your Kindle page at http://amazon.com/MYKupdate. Find the book in your Kindle Library and click on the “update available” link next to the book’s title. Within 5 minutes, any of your devices that have the eBook currently downloaded and have an active wireless connection will be updated automatically.

Alternatively, you can reply to this email with the word "Yes" in the first line of your response. Your e-mail response must come from the e-mail address associated with your Amazon account. We will update your book within two hours of receiving your email.

This book has undergone significant changes, so once we send you the updated version of this book you will no longer be able to view any highlights, bookmarks, and notes that have been made in your current version and your furthest reading location will be lost.

We thank you for your business with Amazon.
Sincerely,
Customer Service Department

Big McLargeHuge · 11-14-2012, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cghipp

When one of my Kindle books has an update, I get an email from Amazon with a prompt to download the new book. I received one just a few days ago:

Huh. I don't check my Amazon email often. Does Kobo do something similar?

Also, on a side note, i just bought my first Kobo book yesterday to try it out, it also happened to be my first ePub book and my first DRMed ePub book. So i had to make an Adobe ID and authorize my computer. I have a question about that.

Can i deauthorize a computer or device after i've authorized it, to get back one of the 3 authorizations?

cghipp · 11-14-2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big McLargeHuge

Huh. I don't check my Amazon email often. Does Kobo do something similar?

I only have about 15-20 Kobo books, and I don't think any of them have been updated yet. Clearly I need to acquire a much bigger sample size!

I will let someone else answer you about the Adobe ID - I escaped DRM issues with my Sony Reader and still have to figure out whether I have to deal with ADE on the Kobo.

Cdesja5 · 11-14-2012, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big McLargeHuge

Huh. I don't check my Amazon email often. Does Kobo do something similar?

Also, on a side note, i just bought my first Kobo book yesterday to try it out, it also happened to be my first ePub book and my first DRMed ePub book. So i had to make an Adobe ID and authorize my computer. I have a question about that.

Can i deauthorize a computer or device after i've authorized it, to get back one of the 3 authorizations?

Yes you can. But the limit is 6 not 3.

PeterT · 11-14-2012, 06:58 PM

No.... while you can deauthorize a device it does not reduce the use count. For that you have to get in touch with Adobe support and they can handle the resetting of the usage count.

Tarana · 11-16-2012, 04:02 PM

I can't tell you about the Kobo device, since I don't own one, but I can say that the Kobo books have been great. I can download directly to my Itouch via wireless. I've been able to sideload them easily onto my Nook using Adobe Digital Additions. There has only been one title that was problematic reading into Calibre. They took a return on a book I accidentally bought at another place.

I've read (here? Somewhere else? Don't remember) that potentially, I could run into issues buying a book that isn't licensed in the US paying via credit card. I pay via Paypal - I buy a gift card every so often for $30-50 and use that to make my purchases. No problems yet (82 books).

11-12-2012, 06:16 AM	#16
Corkobo Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 1053398 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Scotland Device: Kobo Glo, Nook Touch	Is the Kobo stable? I see a few threads just on the first page of freezes and crashes. I had some problems with my Glo. It crashed (at times it froze other times it rebooted) when I tried changing the margins in one of my sideloaded EPUBs. However, I since learned from other people on this Forum (and verified) that it is that particular EPUB at fault. I have tried other EPUBs (from various sources) and it works fine with them. Yes, no device should crash, but, on the other hand, I've not had any other problems and I have used it now for a week (daily for at least one hour a day). I've heard that sideloaded books sometimes don't let you mess with their fonts/spacing. Does this apply even if the sideloaded book is a DRM free book bought FROM Kobo, unchanged? (even if the book previously had DRM? winkwink) It does not let you change the fonts or margins if the EPUB is so formatted but that is what should happen. Otherwise it allows to change these things just fine with sideloaded books. The EPUB that was making my Glo crash (but only when I tried to change the margins) had formatting problems. I tried other EPUBs until I found one that had the margins fixed (so that I could not change them) and the Glo did not crash, it simply did not change the margins. You can strip these restrictions with Calibre. What features do you like/made you decide to buy your Kobo Glo? I had a Nook Simple Touch and I was very happy with it. So happy with the normal firmware that I did not even root it (I rooted the old Nooks). So why buy the Glo? Because of the Glo(w) feature. And it's great! It is too early to tell how it affect the battery, so far I've not had any dramatic drops in the battery level but I have the Wifi turned off. Another thing that made me buy the Glo (as opposed to the Nook Glowlight) is the higher resolution screen. This makes the characters crisper and thus easier to read. The Kindle PPW has the same resolution screen but the Kindle does not support EPUBs. I could have lived with that. However, the Kindle PPW was not available here (is still not AFAIK) so the Glo won. And what finally clinched the deal was the big difference in the adjustments capabilities of the Glo vs the Nook and the Kindle. What is the touch screen like? Is it capacitive like the Kindle Paperwhite? If not which is it? Infrared? Which is better, capacitive or infrared? Touch screen is good. I have not tried the Kindle PPW so I cannot say if that is better. Overall, I'm very happy with the Glo.

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11-12-2012, 09:16 PM	#17
cghipp Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 2479520 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: South Cackalacky Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Glo	On the topic of freezes and crashes: I exchanged my device at the bookstore today and have had no hint of the problems I had with the previous device. It's running beautifully now.

11-13-2012, 10:07 AM	#18
Big McLargeHuge Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 490332 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: None Currently	How does Kobo handle updates to books? Do they get pushed out immediately? Or do i have to contact them?

11-13-2012, 01:05 PM	#22
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,157 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	I think though that unless you have the book in Kobo ePub format (ie through Kobo Desktop) you will not be aware of an update.

11-14-2012, 06:58 PM	#28
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,157 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	No.... while you can deauthorize a device it does not reduce the use count. For that you have to get in touch with Adobe support and they can handle the resetting of the usage count.

11-16-2012, 04:02 PM	#29
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,977 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	I can't tell you about the Kobo device, since I don't own one, but I can say that the Kobo books have been great. I can download directly to my Itouch via wireless. I've been able to sideload them easily onto my Nook using Adobe Digital Additions. There has only been one title that was problematic reading into Calibre. They took a return on a book I accidentally bought at another place. I've read (here? Somewhere else? Don't remember) that potentially, I could run into issues buying a book that isn't licensed in the US paying via credit card. I pay via Paypal - I buy a gift card every so often for $30-50 and use that to make my purchases. No problems yet (82 books).

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