Clara Next Kobo Model - Kobo Clara HD

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I'm not 100% sure I understand your question and it's hard to draw conclusions about Collections and sorting with only 4 books on the device. However, 3 of the books are in the same Collection (Thriller), same Series, same Author.

For every Collection there is a line stored in the Kobo eReader.conf file e.g.

LastLibrarySorter_shelf_filterByBookshelf%28Thriller%29=sortByAuthor()

If I use the GUI to sort this Collection by Title the conf entry seems to change correctly to

LastLibrarySorter_shelf_filterByBookshelf%28Thriller%29=sortByTitle()

which means it gets remembered.

Yes that's what I meant, thank you! I must have messed up the config file permissions or something when it wouldn't remember the sort order for me.

Originally Posted by davidfor

Until Kobo fixes this, a workaround is to use calibre and my Kobo Utilities plugin. The "Update metadata in device library" can set the date added to one of the dates in the library. This will set the __SyncTime in the correct format.

Yay, thank you! (And now I have to decide whether to let my Nova update and use this workaround, or to just stick to the factory firmware... I wonder what changed in 4.8.11090...)

Another way would be to write a database trigger to use the correct format when the books are first added. It shouldn't be to hard, so I'll leave it as an exercise for someone

[TheBard]

Originally Posted by thymaster

I partitioned as one.

Thanks again for the information. Lets see if I can summarize so far, in case others are interested in expanding the Clara's memory:

• The OEM internal microsd card is 4GB, but the Kobo Clara can "see" 64GB or more.
• To increase the Clara's storage, the 4GB card must be cloned [copied to] to the larger card (thus transferring the firmware).
• Although Kobo recommends FAT32 formatting of the SDHC card, cards in the range of 64GB and above can use exFAT.
• The larger card should have a single partition.

If I have made any errors in my summary, please correct them!


Additional information:

• The Clara can be opened by carefully "splitting" the top and bottom portions, as shown in earlier photos. When done, the halves can be snapped together.
• Class 10 cards have been used, because they have much higher speed capabilities than lower classes. However, the maximum transfer rate is determined by the device.
• When purchasing the larger card, be careful - counterfeit cards are quite numerous. Purchase from a reputable dealer.

[thymaster]

I doesn't matters if you update before or after cloning because with Kobo update it does not stick. Meaning if you do a hard reset it will go back to the original OS at the time you bought the device.

Originally Posted by Atilla

Is it best to clone the SD card before the initial update?
Can you also take a picture of inside back cover please? I am curious how it looks directly opposite the battery.

Thank you very much.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by TheBard

Thanks again for the information. Lets see if I can summarize so far, in case others are interested in expanding the Clara's memory:

• The OEM internal microsd card is 4GB, but the Kobo Clara can "see" 64GB or more.
• To increase the Clara's storage, the 4GB card must be cloned [copied to] to the larger card (thus transferring the firmware).
• Although Kobo recommends FAT32 formatting of the SDHC card, cards in the range of 64GB and above can use exFAT.
• The larger card should have a single partition.

If I have made any errors in my summary, please correct them!


Additional information:

• The Clara can be opened by carefully "splitting" the top and bottom portions, as shown in earlier photos. When done, the halves can be snapped together.
• Class 10 cards have been used, because they have much higher speed capabilities than lower classes. However, the maximum transfer rate is determined by the device.
• When purchasing the larger card, be careful - counterfeit cards are quite numerous. Purchase from a reputable dealer.

Minor nits: The original internal uSD card is 8GB not 4GB and I would recommend using CrystalDiskMark or similar to check the card speed before installing it. Class 10 cards are basically optimized for large file transfers and the small block read/write speeds can be rather pathetic. Again, SanDisk and Samsung seem to be consistently best at those small block numbers.

[Majorix]

Whoever designed the sleepcover deserves the golden medal for the yearly award of bookly designs. Honestly I have never seen a worse sleepcover. Opens from the top - which kind of "book" opens from the top? Also why place the stupid magnetic binder at the bottom right over the charging slot and make us unable to charge with the cover closed?

[thymaster]

If you're looking to document all this then you might want to add what software to use to clone and repartition. Here are a couple of free apps I use.

Cloning: https://download.cnet.com/USB-Image-...-75449768.html

Re-partitioning: https://www.partitionwizard.com/free...n-manager.html

Also try to avoid the term copy because people might confuse the term cloning with copy and paste. It does not work that way.

Originally Posted by TheBard

Thanks again for the information. Lets see if I can summarize so far, in case others are interested in expanding the Clara's memory:

• The OEM internal microsd card is 4GB, but the Kobo Clara can "see" 64GB or more.
• To increase the Clara's storage, the 4GB card must be cloned [copied to] to the larger card (thus transferring the firmware).
• Although Kobo recommends FAT32 formatting of the SDHC card, cards in the range of 64GB and above can use exFAT.
• The larger card should have a single partition.

If I have made any errors in my summary, please correct them!


Additional information:

• The Clara can be opened by carefully "splitting" the top and bottom portions, as shown in earlier photos. When done, the halves can be snapped together.
• Class 10 cards have been used, because they have much higher speed capabilities than lower classes. However, the maximum transfer rate is determined by the device.
• When purchasing the larger card, be careful - counterfeit cards are quite numerous. Purchase from a reputable dealer.

[oren64]

Originally Posted by geek1011

It seems to work for me now too. The only complication is that now we can't download 4.8.10956 for the kobo7 devices anymore as it had the same link. I'll remove 4.8.10956 from my firmware downloader for kobo7 devices (it also needs to be removed from the wiki), and I'll add the Clara later today.

The link for 4.8.10956 mark 7 is still working.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by TheBard

Thanks again for the information. Lets see if I can summarize so far, in case others are interested in expanding the Clara's memory:

• The OEM internal microsd card is 4GB, but the Kobo Clara can "see" 64GB or more.
  As mentioned by DNSB, it's 8GB. It can definitely see more than 8GB. The Glo HD has been tested working with up to 128GB so at the very least, I expect that to work with the Clara HD, too. The 256GB might work but those kinda cost as much as the Clara.
• To increase the Clara's storage, the 4GB card must be cloned [copied to] to the larger card (thus transferring the firmware).
  Do note, it's not a simple file copy operation. The reason the term "cloning" is used is because the entire card structure needs to be duplicated.
• Although Kobo recommends FAT32 formatting of the SDHC card, cards in the range of 64GB and above can use exFAT.
  Nope. I don't think Kobo firmware even supports exFAT (Microsoft patent/license?). However, FAT32 definitely supports higher than 32GB. You just need to install different software to either format or expand the FAT32 data partition. Not like you can use the built-in Windows formatter to format in the first place. That would kill the partition which stores the the Kobo firmware. Heck, Windows reports the card as corrupt or missing a file system when you plug it in with a card reader.
• The larger card should have a single partition.
  Nope. I believe there's like 3-4 partitions post-clone. The 3 I know for sure are: OS/firmware, recovery and data.

If I have made any errors in my summary, please correct them!


Additional information:

• The Clara can be opened by carefully "splitting" the top and bottom portions, as shown in earlier photos. When done, the halves can be snapped together.
• Class 10 cards have been used, because they have much higher speed capabilities than lower classes. However, the maximum transfer rate is determined by the device.
  The reason Class 10 cards are often used is because all consumer 64GB+ cards are at least Class 10. Even 32GB, I don't think they make in Class 4/6 anymore. Doesn't mean all Class 10 cards are good for running Kobo firmware. That just means minimum sequential write is 10MB/s (good for taking videos or large images). The 4K random write can still be crap. SanDisk and Samsung have good 4K random write and are the recommended brands for Kobo SD card upgrades.
• When purchasing the larger card, be careful - counterfeit cards are quite numerous. Purchase from a reputable dealer.

Corrections in red.

[TheBard]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Minor nits: The original internal uSD card is 8GB not 4GB and I would recommend using CrystalDiskMark or similar to check the card speed before installing it. Class 10 cards are basically optimized for large file transfers and the small block read/write speeds can be rather pathetic. Again, SanDisk and Samsung seem to be consistently best at those small block numbers.

Arg. Yes, on all counts.
Blame my 4GB error on insufficient caffeine in my system

Thanks!

[TheBard]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Corrections in red.

Thanks for the clarifiations! My lack of caffeine caused the 4GB error. The rest of your post indeed may help understanding

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by oren64

The link for 4.8.10956 mark 7 is still working.

Yes, but extract it and run the grep command I posted in #407 and you'll see that it downloads the Clara firmware 4.8.11090 instead.

[haydnfan]

I've read a bit on the Clara HD now. I didn't want to post a review or even full impressions just important things that might not have been said before.

* Before it arrived I thought that it might be thick, but it is actually about the same thickness as the Kindle Voyage.
* I thought that the bezel might be too narrow to grip properly. But the size and shape of the Clara HD matches the Aura Ed. 2 excepting the thickness and the rounded edges at the bottom. I've had no real problem holding this model, and the curved edges fit nicely in the palm of my hand.
* I've had problems with previous Kobo models and responsiveness. The Glo and the Aura HD were just a bit slow (moderately annoying). The Glo HD and the Aura H2O (both editions) would occasionally not register a press (only slightly annoying). The Aura Ed. 2 has an imprecise touch (very annoying). But the Clara HD is as fast and precise at turning pages, opening and closing options and menus as a Kindle.
* The contrast is noticeably better than the Aura Ed. 2 and the H2O Ed. 2.
* There is significantly less ghosting and uneven boldness of font prior to refreshing as compared to all previous Kobo models including the One. Again as good as a Kindle.

In my opinion this is the second best Kobo model, with the best being the Aura One. But I have never owned the original Aura.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I've read a bit on the Clara HD now. I didn't want to post a review or even full impressions just important things that might not have been said before.

* Before it arrived I thought that it might be thick, but it is actually about the same thickness as the Kindle Voyage.
* I thought that the bezel might be too narrow to grip properly. But the size and shape of the Clara HD matches the Aura Ed. 2 excepting the thickness and the rounded edges at the bottom. I've had no real problem holding this model, and the curved edges fit nicely in the palm of my hand.
* I've had problems with previous Kobo models and responsiveness. The Glo and the Aura HD were just a bit slow (moderately annoying). The Glo HD and the Aura H2O (both editions) would occasionally not register a press (only slightly annoying). The Aura Ed. 2 has an imprecise touch (very annoying). But the Clara HD is as fast and precise at turning pages, opening and closing options and menus as a Kindle.
* The contrast is noticeably better than the Aura Ed. 2 and the H2O Ed. 2.
* There is significantly less ghosting and uneven boldness of font prior to refreshing as compared to all previous Kobo models including the One. Again as good as a Kindle.

In my opinion this is the second best Kobo model, with the best being the Aura One. But I have never owned the original Aura.

Thanks for the insights! They're really helpful. Or maybe not since now I'm strongly tempted to spend the $250 for Clara HD + 256GB uSD.

[radbaddude]

Originally Posted by Majorix

Whoever designed the sleepcover deserves the golden medal for the yearly award of bookly designs. Honestly I have never seen a worse sleepcover. Opens from the top - which kind of "book" opens from the top? Also why place the stupid magnetic binder at the bottom right over the charging slot and make us unable to charge with the cover closed?

Waiting on third party covers. This thing is damn slippery to hold though.

[haydnfan]

Originally Posted by Majorix

Whoever designed the sleepcover deserves the golden medal for the yearly award of bookly designs. Honestly I have never seen a worse sleepcover. Opens from the top - which kind of "book" opens from the top? Also why place the stupid magnetic binder at the bottom right over the charging slot and make us unable to charge with the cover closed?

I'm also not a fan of the design of the sleepcover and for the first time did not order one. The previous Kobo sleepcovers I consider to be the best designed out of all first party sleepcovers (Kindle, Kobo, Nook).

But the golden medal certainly goes to the Oasis 2 cover. It is so poorly designed that Amazon was flooded with bad reviews and discontinued it.