Touch Ease of use for children

chrisridd · 12-08-2011, 04:12 PM

Hi,

We're thinking about getting a Kobo Touch for our daughter (11) but we're not sure what the process of buying books is like on the device. With my Sony T1 I buy on my Mac and sync them on (Sony's book store is AWOL so this is a necessity rather than a preference), but I think that's a little too inconvenient for her.

I think our questions boil down to:

Do you have to buy on the device, or must you do it on a Mac and sync across?
Does the device only purchase directly from the UK Kobo store, or from other (e.g. Waterstones) stores?
Does the UK Kobo store have things like gift cards? We want a way to give her books as presents.
Lastly, are there decent numbers of children's books available?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

kobokobe · 12-08-2011, 05:17 PM

1. You can buy directly on the device via wi-fi, or buy from Kobo's (or other) websites and sync.

2. Books purchased directly on the KT store are all from the Kobo store.

3. They have "eGift Cards" for amounts ranging from $10-100. Not sure what the limit would be for British Pounds.

4. Kobo released children's books for the Kobo Vox (to utilize the colours and what not), but for KT I am not sure how good the collection is. I suppose you could just go to kobobooks.com and check.

The Terminator · 12-08-2011, 06:15 PM

1. You can do it either way.

2. You can sideload content from other stores but I think you can only sync Kobo books through WiFi. That's how it is in Canada and the USA at least.

3. At Kobobooks.com you can send books as gifts or buy eGift cards. To buy books or use gifts cards thought you'll need to use a credit card, even if the gift card covers the entire purchase price. So you'll have to enter that in if you want to have her be able to get books from on the Kobo.

4. I really don't know about kids books on there. You would have to search and find out for yourself.

Suzanna · 12-08-2011, 07:09 PM

My two daughters (they're nine) each have Kobo WiFis. Because I purchase their books on my account, and there's definitely material in my library that isn't age-appropriate, I download the Adobe epub versions of the books I buy for them to Adobe Digital Editions and transfer the books to their Kobos that way.

If your daughter will have her own Kobo account, though, that won't be an issue for you. You can purchase the books either on the touch or through the website on your computer, then sync the books onto her touch - either through WiFi or connected to the computer using the Kobo desktop software.

The Kobo Touch will support all Adobe epub books as well as non-DRMed epubs. You can purchase them from Sony, independent online bookstores, and from publishers themselves if they have an online store. I'm not familiar with what type of ebook Waterstones sells, but if it's the standard Adobe epub format, then the books will work. You'd have to go the sideloading through Adobe Digital Editions route for non-Kobo books.

anonymoose · 12-08-2011, 09:16 PM

She's 11, so she should be fine for book selection. There are two sections on the Kobo website - "Fiction - Young Adult" and "Kids & Teens" and you can pretty much find everything from Garth Nix, CS Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle, to Twilight and the Hunger Games. They even have Magic Tree House books (although those are probably too young for her).

Picture books for younger kids are probably harder to find because they only just introduced the Vox and didn't really need a big selection of colour picture books.

digiSara · 12-09-2011, 07:17 PM

Also check out what your library offers - The Toronto library has a large number of ebooks available (which work on the Kobo) for younger readers. This is offered through a service called Overdrive - which I know some UK libraries have, so take a look at yours.

Library books will need to be downloaded on a computer (using software called ADE) so you will need to connect the Kobo to a computer to add. After a set period of time, the books expire - so there is no worry about late returns and fines.

Xennex1170 · 12-09-2011, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiSara

Library books will need to be downloaded on a computer (using software called ADE) so you will need to connect the Kobo to a computer to add. After a set period of time, the books expire - so there is no worry about late returns and fines.

This is one of those times I envy Kindle users.. They don't have to go the ADE route.. They borrow an ebook from the Overdrive system and it shows up in their Amazon account. They all they have to do is a wifi sync and they can immediately read their book.. The entire process can be done on the Kindle via the browser to access Overdrive and then the sync. No PC/Mac involved.

chrisridd · 12-10-2011, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiSara

Also check out what your library offers - The Toronto library has a large number of ebooks available (which work on the Kobo) for younger readers. This is offered through a service called Overdrive - which I know some UK libraries have, so take a look at yours.

Yes, our local library is part of the London Library Collective and lends books via Overdrive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by digiSara

Library books will need to be downloaded on a computer (using software called ADE) so you will need to connect the Kobo to a computer to add. After a set period of time, the books expire - so there is no worry about late returns and fines.

Oh, you can't borrow direct to the device? That's a pity. But I've got ADE already, so that shouldn't be a major problem.

chrisridd · 12-10-2011, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xennex1170

This is one of those times I envy Kindle users.. They don't have to go the ADE route.. They borrow an ebook from the Overdrive system and it shows up in their Amazon account. They all they have to do is a wifi sync and they can immediately read their book.. The entire process can be done on the Kindle via the browser to access Overdrive and then the sync. No PC/Mac involved.

The Sony T1 can do it directly too. However the library browsing experience is pretty appalling on an e-ink screen so I tend to put the books in my lending basket on my Mac, and then download the basket on the T1.

chrisridd · 12-10-2011, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sao

My two daughters (they're nine) each have Kobo WiFis. Because I purchase their books on my account, and there's definitely material in my library that isn't age-appropriate, I download the Adobe epub versions of the books I buy for them to Adobe Digital Editions and transfer the books to their Kobos that way.

Browsing the Kids section at kobobooks finds some definitely miscategorized stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sao

The Kobo Touch will support all Adobe epub books as well as non-DRMed epubs. You can purchase them from Sony, independent online bookstores, and from publishers themselves if they have an online store. I'm not familiar with what type of ebook Waterstones sells, but if it's the standard Adobe epub format, then the books will work. You'd have to go the sideloading through Adobe Digital Editions route for non-Kobo books.

Is a Kobo account separate from an Adobe ID? I assume she'll need the latter for Adobe DRM'd ePubs.

Waterstones is ePub with Adobe DRM, so that should be fine.

chrisridd · 12-10-2011, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Terminator

1. You can do it either way.

2. You can sideload content from other stores but I think you can only sync Kobo books through WiFi. That's how it is in Canada and the USA at least.

3. At Kobobooks.com you can send books as gifts or buy eGift cards. To buy books or use gifts cards thought you'll need to use a credit card, even if the gift card covers the entire purchase price. So you'll have to enter that in if you want to have her be able to get books from on the Kobo.

4. I really don't know about kids books on there. You would have to search and find out for yourself.

Sounds good - thanks to all who've replied!

The kids selection on kobobooks has some slightly odd books that I'm not too comfortable with, but there are definitely some there she'll want to read - Lemony Snicket for example.

Suzanna · 12-10-2011, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

Is a Kobo account separate from an Adobe ID? I assume she'll need the latter for Adobe DRM'd ePubs.

Waterstones is ePub with Adobe DRM, so that should be fine.

Yes, the Adobe ID is different from a Kobo account. You can download Adobe Digital Editions from their site, then register as a user. You'll be prompted to activate ADE when you first use it. When you get your Kobo Touch (or any ereader that can read ADE DRMed books) just plug it in when you have ADE open and it will prompt you to register the device.

The Terminator · 12-10-2011, 12:25 PM

Has anyone tried downloading directly from the library VIA the browser? I have tried but my problem is that I can't sign in because the auto redirect doesn't work on the KT's browser. Someone said it was working at some point.

12-08-2011, 04:12 PM	#1
chrisridd Guru Posts: 927 Karma: 2143512 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, Marvin 3	Ease of use for children Hi, We're thinking about getting a Kobo Touch for our daughter (11) but we're not sure what the process of buying books is like on the device. With my Sony T1 I buy on my Mac and sync them on (Sony's book store is AWOL so this is a necessity rather than a preference), but I think that's a little too inconvenient for her. I think our questions boil down to: Do you have to buy on the device, or must you do it on a Mac and sync across? Does the device only purchase directly from the UK Kobo store, or from other (e.g. Waterstones) stores? Does the UK Kobo store have things like gift cards? We want a way to give her books as presents. Lastly, are there decent numbers of children's books available? Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

12-08-2011, 06:15 PM	#3
The Terminator Retired Posts: 2,552 Karma: 37638420 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver Island Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Optimus One (2.3), Nexus 7 (4.2)	1. You can do it either way. 2. You can sideload content from other stores but I think you can only sync Kobo books through WiFi. That's how it is in Canada and the USA at least. 3. At Kobobooks.com you can send books as gifts or buy eGift cards. To buy books or use gifts cards thought you'll need to use a credit card, even if the gift card covers the entire purchase price. So you'll have to enter that in if you want to have her be able to get books from on the Kobo. 4. I really don't know about kids books on there. You would have to search and find out for yourself. Last edited by The Terminator; 12-08-2011 at 06:17 PM.

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12-08-2011, 05:17 PM	#2
kobokobe I am what I am Posts: 179 Karma: 52789 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: An enormous, polar bear infested igloo that we call north of the 49. Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch	1. You can buy directly on the device via wi-fi, or buy from Kobo's (or other) websites and sync. 2. Books purchased directly on the KT store are all from the Kobo store. 3. They have "eGift Cards" for amounts ranging from $10-100. Not sure what the limit would be for British Pounds. 4. Kobo released children's books for the Kobo Vox (to utilize the colours and what not), but for KT I am not sure how good the collection is. I suppose you could just go to kobobooks.com and check.

12-08-2011, 07:09 PM	#4
Suzanna Living in the past Posts: 432 Karma: 6011289 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Arc	My two daughters (they're nine) each have Kobo WiFis. Because I purchase their books on my account, and there's definitely material in my library that isn't age-appropriate, I download the Adobe epub versions of the books I buy for them to Adobe Digital Editions and transfer the books to their Kobos that way. If your daughter will have her own Kobo account, though, that won't be an issue for you. You can purchase the books either on the touch or through the website on your computer, then sync the books onto her touch - either through WiFi or connected to the computer using the Kobo desktop software. The Kobo Touch will support all Adobe epub books as well as non-DRMed epubs. You can purchase them from Sony, independent online bookstores, and from publishers themselves if they have an online store. I'm not familiar with what type of ebook Waterstones sells, but if it's the standard Adobe epub format, then the books will work. You'd have to go the sideloading through Adobe Digital Editions route for non-Kobo books.

12-08-2011, 09:16 PM	#5
anonymoose bookaholic Posts: 108 Karma: 1032718 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura, Kobo Touch, Kobo app on iPhone	She's 11, so she should be fine for book selection. There are two sections on the Kobo website - "Fiction - Young Adult" and "Kids & Teens" and you can pretty much find everything from Garth Nix, CS Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle, to Twilight and the Hunger Games. They even have Magic Tree House books (although those are probably too young for her). Picture books for younger kids are probably harder to find because they only just introduced the Vox and didn't really need a big selection of colour picture books.

12-09-2011, 07:17 PM	#6
digiSara Groupie Posts: 158 Karma: 153344 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kobo wifi	Also check out what your library offers - The Toronto library has a large number of ebooks available (which work on the Kobo) for younger readers. This is offered through a service called Overdrive - which I know some UK libraries have, so take a look at yours. Library books will need to be downloaded on a computer (using software called ADE) so you will need to connect the Kobo to a computer to add. After a set period of time, the books expire - so there is no worry about late returns and fines.

12-10-2011, 12:25 PM	#13
The Terminator Retired Posts: 2,552 Karma: 37638420 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver Island Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Optimus One (2.3), Nexus 7 (4.2)	Has anyone tried downloading directly from the library VIA the browser? I have tried but my problem is that I can't sign in because the auto redirect doesn't work on the KT's browser. Someone said it was working at some point.

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