What do we think the next new Kobo will be?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Owl_

The next kobo should have the elipsa's features and running well Android. Of course I'm dreaming

The only advantage of Android is the apps. Otherwise it's terrible.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Owl_

The next kobo should have the elipsa's features and running well Android. Of course I'm dreaming

Android would totally spoil the Kobo experience. Plus it would mean having to support Android and Linux. So IMHO, that's a no go. I know I would not buy an Android based Kobo.

Kobo has a lot to lose if they went Android.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The only advantage of Android is the apps. Otherwise it's terrible.

Sony went with Android for their T series and having used the T1, I can say it worked rather well. But then Sony did supply an Android version of RMSDK and it was better then the version used for their Linux Readers as the Android version allowed swapping fonts from a menu. It did not allow user fonts though.

Someone did modify the reading software to allow user fonts.

[Quoth]

The T1 also had a dictionary bug and offered nothing significant over the prior models in usability. I have a PRS350 and I had the PRS-T1.
The PRS350 and T1 do allow embedded publisher fonts and unlike the horride Kindle DX, the stock fonts are OK. Most people never add fonts to an ereader. User fonts and User Font menus are nothing to do with Linux vs Android, but a developer choice.

I've developed for Linux and Android. The only advantage for Android is Apps. I have an Android eink which does take apps, but for epub reading, finding books (Library features) OR annotation it's seriously poorer than the Kindle PW3, Original Kobo H2O, Kobo Libra and for library/collections and epub reading, poorer than the PSR350, allowing for the 7.8" vs 5" screens. The major advantage of the Android is being able to run the Android reading apps for DRM content, inc the Belinda Borrowbox of our County Library and incidently the 7.8" screen and PDFs. But the 7.8" screen and the PDF reader application doesn't need Android.
I do have email (real email, not the Android Mail which gives all the settings to Google), browser, text editor + BT Keyboard and a decent Android Music/Audio book player. But I don't use any of that, too inferior to the phone and/or tablet.
Android ONLY exists on top of Linux to allow Android version of Java style apps, originally so the devs could migrate easily from the crippled version of java on Symbian.
So Android is totally pointless without the PlayStore. But most apps are poor on eInk. Also the stock GUI of Android is ghastly, it's also STILL unfinished and chops & changes File access to SD card per release. The Google Material Design GUI appearance guideline are idiotic. Google has wilfully ignored GUI principles and privacy on the erratic development of Android since they bought it in.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The T1 also had a dictionary bug and offered nothing significant over the prior models in usability. I have a PRS350 and I had the PRS-T1.
The PRS350 and T1 do allow embedded publisher fonts and unlike the horride Kindle DX, the stock fonts are OK. Most people never add fonts to an ereader. User fonts and User Font menus are nothing to do with Linux vs Android, but a developer choice.

I've developed for Linux and Android. The only advantage for Android is Apps. I have an Android eink which does take apps, but for epub reading, finding books (Library features) OR annotation it's seriously poorer than the Kindle PW3, Original Kobo H2O, Kobo Libra and for library/collections and epub reading, poorer than the PSR350, allowing for the 7.8" vs 5" screens. The major advantage of the Android is being able to run the Android reading apps for DRM content, inc the Belinda Borrowbox of our County Library and incidently the 7.8" screen and PDFs. But the 7.8" screen and the PDF reader application doesn't need Android.
I do have email (real email, not the Android Mail which gives all the settings to Google), browser, text editor + BT Keyboard and a decent Android Music/Audio book player. But I don't use any of that, too inferior to the phone and/or tablet.
Android ONLY exists on top of Linux to allow Android version of Java style apps, originally so the devs could migrate easily from the crippled version of java on Symbian.
So Android is totally pointless without the PlayStore. But most apps are poor on eInk. Also the stock GUI of Android is ghastly, it's also STILL unfinished and chops & changes File access to SD card per release. The Google Material Design GUI appearance guideline are idiotic. Google has wilfully ignored GUI principles and privacy on the erratic development of Android since they bought it in.

I wouldn't call the Android GUI "unfinished". That's ridiculous. How is it unfinished? Even Apple ignores their own GUI principles all the time and on Linux you're pretty much guaranteed to have some app break the principles of your DE. Windows is of course famously a mess with 5 different dialog box styles and 2 separate setting menus.

The ability to run apps adds so much to the experience. Who cares if the stock reader isn't as good at ePubs when you literally have dozens of options that are better. And the built-in PDF reader at least on Onyx devices is leagues better than what Kobo or Kindle have ever shipped, plus it's a very good Djvu viewer as well. It's incredibly awesome to to be able to use nearby share on my phone and just send a PDF to my eReader with very little faffing on my end. Or be able to download an academic paper from my University's library with an actually tolerable web browser experience if I need to.

I wouldn't go back to a Kobo/Kindle. They are just too limited. Apps are a huge improvement even if takes a little more fiddling to get them working well.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

I wouldn't go back to a Kobo/Kindle.

Makes responding to a thread entitled "What do we think the next new Kobo will be?" sort of moot.

[Sirtel]

Depends on what you read. If your reading material is mostly standard text-based epubs/Kindle books, then nothing beats the dedicated ereader, be it Kobo, Kindle, Pocketbook and so on. If, on the other hand, you read many different documents in different formats, an Android eink tablet may be a better choice for you.

Me, I read 90% standard genre fiction, so Android has no attraction for me. It's rare I ever open a PDF file and my laptops/tablets are enough for those few instances.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

I wouldn't go back to a Kobo/Kindle. They are just too limited. Apps are a huge improvement even if takes a little more fiddling to get them working well.

They do what they are meant to do, let you find and read books.
Your complaint is like someone with a DVD or BluRay player that it doesn't do more than play audio or video complaining it doesn't have apps. In that sense, smart Android TVs are often awkward to use the built in Satellite & Terrestrial tuners and use as a monitor for DVD/BD. The Android TV is badly done kludge designed by someone only testing it with streaming services, Android Apps and sitting at a desk instead of normal viewing distances. Dumb TV plus laptop/phone/tablet is better.

Of course Android isn't finished. At Version 8.x, file management, printing, windowing, rotation, keyboards, privacy and other things are worse than OSes I've used nearly 30 years ago and certainly 20 years ago. Progress is glacial and erratic. Features come and go and are half baked.

I've used about every desktop OS since CP/M and many mobile systems since before they had phones built in. Psion, Palm, Win CE, played with Newton. Symbian (which had sever GUIs and the 60 was worst), iOS 6 and custom ones in our lab based on Debian. NT since 1994, UNIX since 1986, Linux since 1998. OS/2, Atari, Gem, Amiga, Two versions of Trolltech's QT GUI on Debian before Nokia bought them. Google is more concerned with capturing what you do and who you know than a decent version of Android. They bought it in and that always results in poor development.

[MGlitch]

I’m always baffled by people who don’t think 3hrs (or less) on a charger is an acceptable time for charging a device which will in most use cases last at least a day (most people not being able or willing to sit and read for 24+hrs). If you’re going to be away from an outlet then sure solar makes some sense, though honestly a few battery packs should see you through a vacation spent camping and as you aren’t guaranteed bright sun they’d probably serve you better than solar.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The T1 also had a dictionary bug and offered nothing significant over the prior models in usability. I have a PRS350 and I had the PRS-T1.

I have used the dictionary on the T1 and I have never once encountered this so-called dictionary bug. But then all of the eBooks I put on the T1 were verified by epubcheck before being put on.

So maybe like a lot of Reader problems,it's due to eBooks with errors.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have used the dictionary on the T1 and I have never once encountered this so-called dictionary bug. But then all of the eBooks I put on the T1 were verified by epubcheck before being put on.

So maybe like a lot of Reader problems,it's due to eBooks with errors.

I doubt that. I've had very few problems with my ereaders over the 10 years I've used them and I never check my books for errors.

[Owl_]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Android would totally spoil the Kobo experience. Plus it would mean having to support Android and Linux. So IMHO, that's a no go. I know I would not buy an Android based Kobo.

Kobo has a lot to lose if they went Android.

A dual OS would solve the matter

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by Owl_

A dual OS would solve the matter

And needlessly complicate the reader, and make customer service harder.

Android has its place, a dedicated reader isn’t it

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have used the dictionary on the T1 and I have never once encountered this so-called dictionary bug. But then all of the eBooks I put on the T1 were verified by epubcheck before being put on.

So maybe like a lot of Reader problems,it's due to eBooks with errors.

It's a known bug. Not the ebook. I was able to reproduce it. It's not really the dictionary, it's just the reader can freeze on a dictionary lookup. Some people claim to have fixed it by re-partitioning the internal storage. I took mine back and was able to demo it on multiple books that are OK on the PRS350, Nook Simple Touch, Binatone, and 3 models of Kobo and passed Calibre checks, so the shop refunded me.
Note, it's not directly because it's a Sony Android. The T2 is OK.

[Quoth]

There is an Android based Kobo? The Tolino models, but do they have the Playstore? Android is pointless without the Playstore.