Touch Kobo Touch Firmware 2.0

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by HarleyB

I (and many other people) have the book cover bug. I got so sick of the Kobo never displaying the correct cover that I changed my settings so that my Kobo never goes to sleep. I'd rather have to recharge more often than never be sure what book I'm about to open.

I just put the Touch to sleep with the switch after starting a new book. Then I know I'll have the right cover when it automatically goes to sleep.

[guma]

Originally Posted by HarleyB

I (and many other people) have the book cover bug.

Does anybody on firmware 2.0 NOT experience this behaviour (cover of previous book when first opening a new book from the homescreen, no cover when first opening a book from the library)?
I tried all available iterations of the 2.0 firmware and can't get rid of this stupid bug that annoys the hell out of me. Don't want to go back to other firmware versions since these are either missing good features (like the font tuning) or have equally annoying bugs of their own (like no top margins for epubs).

Embarassing for kobo to release a (forced) firmware update with obvious and perfectly reproduceable bugs like this in the first place and then not even to provide bug fixes for months ...

[MorganM]

Every couple of days I add the latest firmware to my KT and I try a book and it the page turn gets slower and slower and slower. It's really quite frustrating. All functions get slow actually. I then put it back to 1.9.14 and its all happy again. *sigh* I have been reading on my tablet more and more.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by guma

Does anybody on firmware 2.0 NOT experience this behaviour (cover of previous book when first opening a new book from the homescreen, no cover when first opening a book from the library)?

I tried all available iterations of the 2.0 firmware and can't get rid of this stupid bug that annoys the hell out of me. Don't want to go back to other firmware versions since these are either missing good features (like the font tuning) or have equally annoying bugs of their own (like no top margins for epubs).

Sorry, I'm pretty sure that all the 2.0.x versions have this bug. If any don't, no one has mentioned it.

As to going back to 1.9.17, I have to agree. I did a factory reset last week and put it back on to test something. Yes, the page turns were faster, and the screen saver was correct, but, it just didn't feel right. I prefer 2.0.2 with its problems.

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by guma

Does anybody on firmware 2.0 NOT experience this behaviour (cover of previous book when first opening a new book from the homescreen, no cover when first opening a book from the library)?

I may be one of few that haven't seen this problem - ironic, because it wouldn't wind me up the same amount as it does some. I'd be happy with the text-only title, and a simple list instead of the covers on the carousel!

Originally Posted by guma

Embarassing for kobo to release a (forced) firmware update with obvious and perfectly reproduceable bugs like this in the first place and then not even to provide bug fixes for months ...

It is more than embarrassing - it is almost negligent. It suggests a certain disregard for their customers, and their future business. OK, it isn't a big thing - the KT is still fulfilling its major function of being an ebook reader - but it is the sort of thing that will turn people off the device in favour of a Nook or Kindle, or whatever.

Oh, yes, and that issue of not being able to choose when/whether to update is utter arrogance on the part of Kobo. It is my machine, and I want to choose what happens to it.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by HarleyB

I (and many other people) have the book cover bug. I got so sick of the Kobo never displaying the correct cover that I changed my settings so that my Kobo never goes to sleep. I'd rather have to recharge more often than never be sure what book I'm about to open.

Just turn a couple of pages in the new book and the correct cover will display when asleep. No big deal.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by guma

Embarassing for kobo to release a (forced) firmware update with obvious and perfectly reproduceable bugs like this in the first place and then not even to provide bug fixes for months ...

Originally Posted by Peakcrew

It is more than embarrassing - it is almost negligent. It suggests a certain disregard for their customers, and their future business.

You guys are overstating things. I would consider whatever bugs are in the latest firmware to be minor. It would be one thing if there were significant fatal bugs that harmed the usability of the device, but as far as I'm concerned, a glitch that causes it to display the wrong cover when asleep and slightly slower page turns on epubs are really not worth getting this worked up about.

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

You guys are overstating things. I would consider whatever bugs are in the latest firmware to be minor. It would be one thing if there were significant fatal bugs that harmed the usability of the device, but as far as I'm concerned, a glitch that causes it to display the wrong cover when asleep and slightly slower page turns on epubs are really not worth getting this worked up about.

I can see what you are saying, but these problems are reproducible, seemingly common, and have been reported for some time. They are the sort of thing that pee existing users off, and make potential buyers wary, even though they ought to be comparatively simple to fix. Is this the sort of thing seen on Kindle/Nook? - no. Has there been any comment from the guys at Kobo? - no. Why should anyone that wants a reader that "just works" (to steal a Jobsianism) buy a Kobo in the light of this? There is a lack of professionalism that does not inspire confidence - it sometimes feels that Kobo is a 'three guys in a garage' operation.

As I've said elsewhere, this doesn't trouble me too much - I much prefer a Series Landrover to a Bentley, and I like being part of a community where there is a 'work in progress'. However, because of Kobo's general lack of communication and/or action, I will be looking for a backup reader just in case (probably a Galaxy Note with the a reader app), especially in light of the forced updates and the semi-bricking (for some) that went with the first 2.0.0 update.

[guma]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

You guys are overstating things. I would consider whatever bugs are in the latest firmware to be minor. It would be one thing if there were significant fatal bugs that harmed the usability of the device, but as far as I'm concerned, a glitch that causes it to display the wrong cover when asleep and slightly slower page turns on epubs are really not worth getting this worked up about.

It's a minor annoyance to encounter some small bugs in the first release of an upgraded firmware, but it's a major failure on kobo's side not to fix these as soon as possible (and not to test releases properly in the first place). Especially if these bugs break functionality of older firmware versions and are unrelated to newly introduced features.

And the fact that fixing stuff like the cover display bug in the firmware should be VERY easy but has not been done leaves the impression that they do not care too much about their customers. The same goes for introducing half-baked features like their ergonomically somewhat dysfunctional implementation of shelves.

The criticism thus is not about the general usability of the touch as an e-reader but about Kobo's policy concerning firmware issues, which, from my point of view, leaves a lot to be desired.

[murg]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

You guys are overstating things. I would consider whatever bugs are in the latest firmware to be minor. It would be one thing if there were significant fatal bugs that harmed the usability of the device, but as far as I'm concerned, a glitch that causes it to display the wrong cover when asleep and slightly slower page turns on epubs are really not worth getting this worked up about.

Overstating? Like when 2.0.0 came out and it bricked my Touch? Like the Desktop getting into an endless update loop?

Kobo has yet to have a release (since I've owned my Touch) that wasn't fatally flawed and had to be recalled and reissued.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Just turn a couple of pages in the new book and the correct cover will display when asleep. No big deal.

My experience is that if I open a book from the library or search, the correct cover will not show. I need to open a book from the home screen/carousel and the second time I put my KT to sleep, it will have the right cover. I also notice the first time I go to the home screen after opening a book, a text screen with the book title and type shows momentarily and then is replaced by the cover image. If the book does not have a cover image defined, the first page of the book is used.

I'm not sure if this matches everybody's experience since there seems to be a considerable variance in the reports I've read.

[John F]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

You guys are overstating things. I would consider whatever bugs are in the latest firmware to be minor. It would be one thing if there were significant fatal bugs that harmed the usability of the device, but as far as I'm concerned, a glitch that causes it to display the wrong cover when asleep and slightly slower page turns on epubs are really not worth getting this worked up about.

You are understating things.

When the primary function of a reading device (reading) is adversely affected (much slower page turns), that is a major problem. There are so many small things we all continue to deal with, but something as simple as a page turn should be right every release. If they can't get it right, allow the user some supported way to revert.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by John F

You are understating things.

When the primary function of a reading device (reading) is adversely affected (much slower page turns), that is a major problem. There are so many small things we all continue to deal with, but something as simple as a page turn should be right every release. If they can't get it right, allow the user some supported way to revert.

The page turn issue does not seem to affect all users. I've reverted my KT to various firmware versions and the page turns do vary -- 1.9.9 was the worst, 1.9.14 was better, 1.9.17 was the fastest with 2.0.2 falling between 1.9.14 and 1.9.17. I used a video camera for the testing and just counted the frames from when I triggered the page turn to when the new page was completed. I must say that detecting a page turn tap/swipe is much improved since the first generation of firmware and trading a slightly slower page turn for not having to tap the screen a couple of time and likely triggering multiple page turns is a decent tradeoff IMNSHO.

My page turn experience is likely affected by 90% of the EPUB ebooks on my KT have been run through Sigil so the chapters are split correctly, a consistent page style has been applied, covers are centered and configured to fit the page, embedded fonts have been cleaned up, etc. I did find that a several ebooks where the book was stored in 3 or fewer files did have slower page turns which breaking the chapters up properly seems to have corrected.

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by DNSB

My page turn experience is likely affected by 90% of the EPUB ebooks on my KT have been run through Sigil so the chapters are split correctly, a consistent page style has been applied, covers are centered and configured to fit the page, embedded fonts have been cleaned up, etc. I did find that a several ebooks where the book was stored in 3 or fewer files did have slower page turns which breaking the chapters up properly seems to have corrected.

This is perhaps why I don't find a problem with lengthy page turns - once I discovered Sigil I made sure that all my epubs are in short chunks. On the Jetbook I had a couple of books that, after several pages, slowed down to the point where the only way to maintain progress was to click for the next page whilst about half-way down the page. I discoverd these had huge html files. However, it doesn't account for why some people are experiencing slower page turns on books they were not having difficulties with before. Is it worth swapping files - would someone like to send me an epub that turns slowly, and I'll send one of a similar size that turns quickly, and then compare notes?

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by Peakcrew

Is this the sort of thing seen on Kindle/Nook?

I don't know about the Kindle, but I know the Nook has its annoyances that have persisted since launch.