Paperwhite vs Glow Kobo - specs please

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by sombreastre

Does it need to be connected to wifi to list translations? thanks

No. All the dictionaries involved are on the device as part of the firmware.

[sombreastre]

Thanks, I just remembered two more questions about the kobo user interface:

(1) Can you search a term across all of your books?(not just in one book) And the results would be a list of books which contain the term, and clicking on each book-result returns all instances of term in that book.

(2) Is there a good and functional(meaning you're completely satisfied with it and works as you'd expect) go-back function? In kindles there's a back button which always brings you back to the last page you were on, not just in books but also between searches and other menus. So say, if you're reading and find the name of a character you don't remember too well, you search for it in the book, then follow the links in the results which will jump throughout the whole book; and yet you never worry about losing your place or having to set a bookmark first: going back function never fails and works as expected.

thanks everyone.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by sombreastre

(1) Can you search a term across all of your books?(not just in one book) And the results would be a list of books which contain the term, and clicking on each book-result returns all instances of term in that book.

No. You can search for title or author names in the library. Or you can search within a book while reading it.

(2) Is there a good and functional(meaning you're completely satisfied with it and works as you'd expect) go-back function? In kindles there's a back button which always brings you back to the last page you were on, not just in books but also between searches and other menus. So say, if you're reading and find the name of a character you don't remember too well, you search for it in the book, then follow the links in the results which will jump throughout the whole book; and yet you never worry about losing your place or having to set a bookmark first: going back function never fails and works as expected.

I haven't use the search much, so I had to test it. The answer is yes.

I started a search by highlighting a word and pressing the search icon in the bar at the bottom. This brought up a a list of matches. Each match was two lines of text to show the context. Press a match to display the page with the search term highlighted. At the bottom of the screen is the search bar with: "Results" to return to the results list, left and right arrows with "x of y" to navigate between the matches, a return arrow to go back to where you were when you started the search and an X to close the bar and stay at the current page.

The search doesn't have to be started by highlighting a word. You can also enter a word.

This worked better than I remembered. Which makes me wonder if it changed with one of the firmware versions.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by murg

Actually, it's currently Spring!

Isn't it actually still summer in the northern hemisphere for another day or two, and winter in the south?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by scrapking

Isn't it actually still summer in the northern hemisphere for another day or two, and winter in the south?

My immediate reaction was that spring started on the 1st of September in Oz. But, I decided to check what the official dates are.

Apparently, the northern hemisphere prefers to start the seasons on solar events (equinox or solstice) but the southern hemisphere starts it at the beginning of the month containing that solar event.

This "Useless Fact" brought to you by Wikipedia and the desire not to do any real work.

[jsj]

Originally Posted by davidfor

And as I'm surprised that no-one has asked, the dictionary popup states the source as "Miriam-Webster's English Dictionary". "Miriam-Webster's" seems to be the source for the translations as well.

Since I've only used Kindle's and not Kobo's, can you clarify on this? I'm gathering that if I tap-and-hold on a word, the M-W definition comes up (just like on a Kindle). But are you saying that I can tap-and-hold on a word that is in a foreign language and I'll get a translation? Without being connected to the internet? If so, what languages for translation are pre-loaded on the Kobo?

I can translate on the Kindle by tap-and-holding a word, then tapping "More" then tapping "Translate", but it requires an internet connection...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by jsj

Since I've only used Kindle's and not Kobo's, can you clarify on this? I'm gathering that if I tap-and-hold on a word, the M-W definition comes up (just like on a Kindle).

Correct.

But are you saying that I can tap-and-hold on a word that is in a foreign language and I'll get a translation?

At the bottom of the pop-up with the meaning of the word are two options: "Translate" and "Definition". Pressing "Translate" opens another window with the translation of word. At the top, of this window is a menu to choose the languages.

The pop-up also has arrows to scroll through the definition if it doesn't fit. The "Definition" option opens a bigger window.

Without being connected to the internet?

Correct. I just turned the WiFi off to test just in case.

If so, what languages for translation are pre-loaded on the Kobo?

My device has English to French, German, Spanish and Italian. Plus each of those to English. But, for various reasons, I can't tell you if that is the complete list or even the list that is on the device by default.

I can translate on the Kindle by tap-and-holding a word, then tapping "More" then tapping "Translate", but it requires an internet connection...

Thanks for explaining that. I like to know how things work on other devices.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by jsj

Since I've only used Kindle's and not Kobo's, can you clarify on this? I'm gathering that if I tap-and-hold on a word, the M-W definition comes up (just like on a Kindle). But are you saying that I can tap-and-hold on a word that is in a foreign language and I'll get a translation? Without being connected to the internet? If so, what languages for translation are pre-loaded on the Kobo?

Yes. As I stated earlier in this thread (here), you can translate words from and to English in the following languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and I think I'm missing some. It does not require an internet connection.

When you select a word by tapping-and-holding, the dictionary pop-up comes up. In the bottom of the pop-up you can hit 'translate', and you can select any of the above languages to translate from or to.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Does the translation only work for kepubs or even side loaded books? Nice Hunger Games burn. I'm of the opinion that anyone who hasn't needed to use their dictionary function in 3 years is either a total genius or is reading too many comic books.

[taming]

Translation and dictionary lookup works for sideloaded ePUBs and kepub books. At this time there are no localizations--people in the US, UK, NZ etc get the same English dictionary.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Does the translation only work for kepubs or even side loaded books?

To be honest, I don't know if the translation works for kepubs. I only read sideloaded epubs. The only times I have opened kepubs is to see how they work. All the tests I've described in my last few posts have been with sideloaded epubs.

[sombreastre]

thanks a lot davidfor, for clarifying every little quirk of the interface, that's exactly the kind of stuff one doesn't easily find in video reviews and which is so difficult to check until you've had a device yourself.

I'm very much pleased with the dictionary and translation functionality you've been describing, the kindle 4 has nothing of it (there are only single language dictionaries, and it usually takes a lot of clicking and dodging with the 5-way controller to get a full definition. Kind of a bummer if you use the dictionary a lot).

The fact you can't search the whole collection of books may be problematic when reading series of books with lots of characters though. I don't suppose there's any way around that with the kobo, short of opening each book in the series and type->search the name of the carachter (?)

[jsj]

Originally Posted by sombreastre

thanks a lot davidfor, for clarifying every little quirk of the interface, that's exactly the kind of stuff one doesn't easily find in video reviews and which is so difficult to check until you've had a device yourself.

Agreed.

At this point, if the Paperwhite's capacitative touch screen just a huge leap forward, and assuming the front-lighting technology and resulting contrast are equal, and assuming the Kobo is just as comfortable to hold one-handed in Landscape orientation (how I prefer to read), I just may make the switch to becoming a Kobo user.

[taming]

You cannot read kepub or epub in landscape on the Touch. I have not seen anything in the adverts that suggests that you can use landscape to read those formats on the Glo.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by sombreastre

The fact you can't search the whole collection of books may be problematic when reading series of books with lots of characters though. I don't suppose there's any way around that with the kobo, short of opening each book in the series and type->search the name of the carachter (?)

If you really really really want this function, you could use Calibre's plugin (I forget its name) that bundles multiple books into one ebook. That way you could have all the books of the series in one ebook, and a single search from within that huge book would give you all the character info you want...