Touch My KT experience so far: Good & Bad

[MrsJoseph]

I am currently using my 2nd generation of the Kobo eReader, the Kobo Touch.

I purchased the KT after returning the Nook STR and my husband breaking my Kobo Wifi (which I loved).


I have to say that I am really enjoying the KT so far. I would like a more robust OS but the this one works pretty good for me so far. It would be nice if it had more functions like the Sonys and Kindle BUT since I'm typically a linear reader it doesn't bother me too much.

The one thing I really really want support for are MAPS. Genre specific MAPS. Specifically: fantasy genre specific maps. I love maps. I NEED maps. I get super upset at authors who don't give maps. So I expect my ereader to support maps. I do know that this problem is one that all ereaders have but - if there are any Kobo Support/designers reading this - if you guys figure out a way to support maps in a way that allows me to flick to the map and back again without loosing your place....you will have fantasy readers flocking to you in droves. PLEASE. Give me maps!



Like
- I really like Reading Life. It’s cute.
- I like the reading statics
- The sketch is cool
- page turns don't need a lot of pressure
- The shortlist is starting to grow on me but I miss "currently reading"

Love
- I love the size and shape. It’s basicly the same width/height as a MMPB which is great!
- I also love the weight. It’s very light and fits well in my hand.
- The bevel is a good size to rest my thumb on until I need to turn a page.
- Ability to set the KT to go to sleep and to power off. Great feature!

Hate

It feels like Kobo took two steps forward and one step back. They got rid of the best parts of the Kobo & Kobo Wi-fi:


-I hate that there is a lack of notations on the KT library. Is the book open, closed, what?? If open what percentage has been read?

- The home screen is pretty close to being useless but it’s a bit better than the Nook STR home screen.

- The “Currently Reading” list has been removed and nothing really put in its place. The shortlist doesn't give as much info.

- There are NO STATS on the book being read to be found in the library.

- The only place to find reading stats is in the Reading Life section. That’s just nonsensical! I track my reading on GoodReads so when I pause reading I have to close out of the library, go to the home screen, tap Reading Life AND THEN tap on Reading Stats. That’s just too much for basic information that used to be provided at a glance.

-There is no way to go directly from Reading Stats to the book showing as “In Progress.” There is a cover/icon of the book I’m currently reading…why can’t I tap on it and be taken back to my book? Why do I have to go back to the home screen and then tap on the book again. *annoying*

Bugs
I have noticed that the KT is more than a "little" buggy.

- If I'm reading and I let the reader go to sleep by itself - I've noticed that the KT will stop recognizing my touch. I do use a screen protector but that shouldn't be a problem. It will stop responding to touch and I have to cut the reader off and on again for it to work correctly. This concerns me a lot.

- I've already had to reset to factory configs twice.


Does anyone else have KT updates?

[Jeff1192]

I would pretty much say you hit the nail on the head with your review. Everything you mentioned that was lacking are things that I miss too.

I had never thought of the map thing but that would be a great addition.

I would also like to see the Reading Life stats expanded to the detail that they are in the Iphone app.

Finally I would like a much better way to organize the books. Again just like their Iphone app...to be able to organize them in shelves.

Jeff

[anonymoose]

I think that, if they can get footnotes to work right, that maps would follow the same kind of programming. I wonder if that is more of a publisher issue than a Kobo issue though.

Am reading World War Z right now which has lots of footnotes. I use the Table of Contents to jump to the footnotes. And on each footnote is a handy dandy link back to the place in the text of the book. The only problem is that the publisher didn't label the footnotes by chapter, so it starts of 1, 2, 3 and then keeps going with another set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. without any indication as to which chapter the footnote is from.

[molman]

@MrsJoseph: Curious for what and how you used/use the notations. KT is my first eInk eReader so I tend to still be old school and write notes in a notebook (moleskin) if and when I do.

I also use Goodreads, but just tend to be a little sloppy with my book progress updating. Find when I started and finished it is good enough for me

Also RE: maps tend to prefer looking at these online. Take Game of Thrones - Westeros. The Tower Of The Hand interactive version is so much better than any black and white eInk version. (see: http://towerofthehand.com/maps/westeros.html)

[MrsJoseph]

I'm in a lot of book clubs and I read a ton of books yearly. I also review books for a blog site so I'm always reading multiple books at one time. I'm sometimes juggling 5-10 books at once. Having access to in-device notes is sometimes the only access I have when I want to jot something down or highlight really quickly on the run.

One great example is a book I just reviewed a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be a sci-fi romance but in read like a romanticized derivative of Star Wars (with the names changed to protect the innocent). I read that one on a trip so I had no extra notebook with me. I was not about to re-read that to remind myself of all the things I hated, lol.

I'm also really really good with keeping GR statuses updated. If I'm on a roll I only do start & finish but if I'm not, I update regularly.

[FJames]

I agree with your comments too.

Mostly I use my KT for just reading, and I love it for the simple and compact design, the quick response, and the fact that little gets in the way of reading (aside from the occasional double-page-turn).

But whenever I have to leave my current book and use the library, I feel that it's getting harder and harder to find the book I want as I add more books. The lack of information shown in the library listing and the lack of organization tools for the library is becoming more significant for me.

From my own personal reading experience (not counting things I would theoretically like) I would also like to see better handling of footnotes, one-touch access to the TOC (for reading news summaries where I go back and forth frequently between the TOC and the content), text and title search, and the ability to go to a specific page number (slider too coarse in a large book).

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by FJames

But whenever I have to leave my current book and use the library, I feel that it's getting harder and harder to find the book I want as I add more books. The lack of information shown in the library listing and the lack of organization tools for the library is becoming more significant for me.

You do know that when looking at your Library on the Touch that if you select the Looking Glass icon you can search for a book; either by Title or Author (or as they say Keyword); as you type a list of matching entries is displayed, and if for instance, you select an Author it will just display the books by that author.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by PeterT

You do know that when looking at your Library on the Touch that if you select the Looking Glass icon you can search for a book; either by Title or Author (or as they say Keyword); as you type a list of matching entries is displayed, and if for instance, you select an Author it will just display the books by that author.

This only works if I know what I'm looking for. I tend to purchase in large batches. My latest haul from fictionwise was 12. If I just upload them to the reader they go everywhere. Without notations that the book is open, closed, new, etc then I need to float around and open books to read a chapter or two to see if its a finished one or a new one. Especially my "throw aways" which all tend to have similar covers.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

- If I'm reading and I let the reader go to sleep by itself - I've noticed that the KT will stop recognizing my touch. I do use a screen protector but that shouldn't be a problem. It will stop responding to touch and I have to cut the reader off and on again for it to work correctly. This concerns me a lot.

You can't wake the Kobo Touch up simply by touching the screen. You have to slide the power switch. Just don't slide and hold or else you'll power off.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

You can't wake the Kobo Touch up simply by touching the screen. You have to slide the power switch. Just don't slide and hold or else you'll power off.

I mean that if it goes to sleep by itself, when I wake it up the screen is no longer responsive. I can go to the home page by pressing the home button but nothing else. I can't tap the covers or go to the library.

If I put it to sleep manually I have not noticed this bug.

[molman]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I'm in a lot of book clubs and I read a ton of books yearly. I also review books for a blog site so I'm always reading multiple books at one time. I'm sometimes juggling 5-10 books at once. Having access to in-device notes is sometimes the only access I have when I want to jot something down or highlight really quickly on the run.

One great example is a book I just reviewed a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be a sci-fi romance but in read like a romanticized derivative of Star Wars (with the names changed to protect the innocent). I read that one on a trip so I had no extra notebook with me. I was not about to re-read that to remind myself of all the things I hated, lol.

I'm also really really good with keeping GR statuses updated. If I'm on a roll I only do start & finish but if I'm not, I update regularly.

I'm not dissimilar - in a number of book clubs, 5+ books always on the go. I tend to have a number of formats going through - physical, ebook, audiobook, so I find an old school notebook just works better for me (as I’m across media). Never really been one to directly annotate (deface) my physical books so such an approach is foreign to me in the digital world.

Curious how you do find making notes on these eReaders. They just don't strike me as the best for input of any significant amount. It's definitely an area where a Tablet (iPad 'n Co) probably have the edge, but even compared to those I think I would find I'm more efficient with pen and paper - just a much freer medium.

Also re: the Goodreads reading progress updates, I'm also curious what value you find is the ongoing updates? Is it just to communicate to others so they can discuss during the reading with knowledge of your position? Or is it your own data gathering interest as some are so inclined?

Sorry know these are a little tangent, but find such interesting. As to your review it is perfectly good as other have said, obviously features, functions and niceties will vary depending upon how you use it. I tend to use mine rather simplistically (as a simple digital book) - I don't even use the dictionary function, though my wife has on hers. Any UI and interface improvements however are always welcome. I’d love am automatic progress interface with Goodreads, but then that wouldn’t work as I share one account with my wife.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by molman

I'm not dissimilar - in a number of book clubs, 5+ books always on the go. I tend to have a number of formats going through - physical, ebook, audiobook, so I find an old school notebook just works better for me (as I’m across media). Never really been one to directly annotate (deface) my physical books so such an approach is foreign to me in the digital world.

Curious how you do find making notes on these eReaders. They just don't strike me as the best for input of any significant amount. It's definitely an area where a Tablet (iPad 'n Co) probably have the edge, but even compared to those I think I would find I'm more efficient with pen and paper - just a much freer medium.

Also re: the Goodreads reading progress updates, I'm also curious what value you find is the ongoing updates? Is it just to communicate to others so they can discuss during the reading with knowledge of your position? Or is it your own data gathering interest as some are so inclined?

Sorry know these are a little tangent, but find such interesting. As to your review it is perfectly good as other have said, obviously features, functions and niceties will vary depending upon how you use it. I tend to use mine rather simplistically (as a simple digital book) - I don't even use the dictionary function, though my wife has on hers. Any UI and interface improvements however are always welcome. I’d love am automatic progress interface with Goodreads, but then that wouldn’t work as I share one account with my wife.

I read across digital and print media but I don't do audio books. I can't stand the idea of spine cracking, dogearing, or writing in my books - but with DTBs I just stick a book mark in the place I have "notes" for.

I guess my idea of "notes" is pretty loose. When writing notes in digital media I've usually stuck to my general feelings (comments like "meh," etc), bookmarks and highlighting. Highlighting is VERY helpful for me. I usually don't get in-depth until I'm actually ready to write my review (cause otherwise I would be the queen of nitpicking). At that time I use a mess of whatever happens to be near me and a computer.

I LOVE in-device dictionaries! They really are my best friend. The Kobo phone app also has access to Wikipedia which is GREAT when I'm reading books that make unfamiliar cultural references.

I keep Goodreads updated so much just for my own personal information. This is the first year I've actually tracked what I've read. I'm really interested in the data I'll have complied at the end of the year.

[molman]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I read across digital and print media but I don't do audio books. I can't stand the idea of spine cracking, dogearing, or writing in my books - but with DTBs I just stick a book mark in the place I have "notes" for.

I guess my idea of "notes" is pretty loose. When writing notes in digital media I've usually stuck to my general feelings (comments like "meh," etc), bookmarks and highlighting. Highlighting is VERY helpful for me. I usually don't get in-depth until I'm actually ready to write my review (cause otherwise I would be the queen of nitpicking). At that time I use a mess of whatever happens to be near me and a computer.

I LOVE in-device dictionaries! They really are my best friend. The Kobo phone app also has access to Wikipedia which is GREAT when I'm reading books that make unfamiliar cultural references.

I keep Goodreads updated so much just for my own personal information. This is the first year I've actually tracked what I've read. I'm really interested in the data I'll have complied at the end of the year.

Hi MrsJoseph, thanks for the reply. Interesting to hear your feedback, even though it wasn't totally germane to the topic - though perhaps insight to your use case might put the review in context.

I'm curious now, these reviews you are writing where would one find these (particularly because I believe you said you are a fantasy/scifi fan)? Also I saw that you've read 126 books so far this year - I hope some of those are on the lighter side because that is rather impressive with it only being August going on September.

Also be interested to see how you find the Goodreads experiment at the end of the year. As I said I personally (though I do, do it occasionally) didn't see much value in updating between start and finish - just too much work. Only thing I see you'd get would be the variable rate of reading (maybe see you get more reading done on a Wednesday or something), be interested to see your thoughts on its value verse effort when your year is done.