My experience with the kobo touch

donnie_ · 03-23-2012, 12:48 AM

My experience with the kobo touch ( 1.9.14 ):-
I needed to replace my antique ebook reader and liked the look of the kobo -
the screen, weight and price was right so I took the plunge...
I skipped the initial setup and had a play around with it and Liked it.
But when I loaded one of my ebooks it would not appear in the library and a
message appeared that I must connect to windows to set it up.
OK, after a big download the software ran and connected to kobo and then
demanded that I choose from a selection of titles - no way around this...
Did that, then an upgrade to the device started....
When it was done it was not the same device that I purchased. The home page
was FULL of marketing about books that I had no interest in. Very
disappointing.....
I liked it the way it was before so I did a factory reset and then set about
finding a way to get around the need to connect to the bookshop again.
Alas to no avail.. The only way I could use it was to connect to the bookshop
and get that awful update. I was all prepared to box it back up and return it
but I thought I would give it one last try (after about 3 hours stuffing
around).
This time it connected to the bookshop but because I had already created an
account it was a lot less painful.
The GOOD NEWS is that the update would not run due to being "already
adjusted" or some such message.
Now I can actually USE it to READ books!!!
Hooray! I like it again.

meeera · 03-23-2012, 04:38 AM

There is a five-second uncomplicated fix for your issue. Press "Recommended For You". Choose "Shortlist from the dropdown". If you haven't done this already, you can nominate your favorites from your library by pressing the heart button on the left hand side. Your favourites will then show up in the bottom carousel.

Unless your home page really was "FULL" of marketing, and that wasn't hyperbole - in which case I can't help you, and I've never seen anyone else report that issue here.

donnie_ · 03-28-2012, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Unless your home page really was "FULL" of marketing, and that wasn't hyperbole - in which case I can't help you, and I've never seen anyone else report that issue here.

Are you serious?
This post took me 5-seconds to find:-
http://www.mobileread.mobi/forums/sh...162202&page=21
I've seen lots more just like it here in these forums.

I was not exaggerating, the only part of my homepage not "FULL of marketing" was the library link at the top.
Please, we are NOT idiots...

meeera · 03-28-2012, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnie_

Are you serious?
This post took me 5-seconds to find:-
http://www.mobileread.mobi/forums/sh...162202&page=21
I've seen lots more just like it here in these forums.

I was not exaggerating, the only part of my homepage not "FULL of marketing" was the library link at the top.
Please, we are NOT idiots...

There is nothing at that link about the home page being filled with Recommended books.

Are you not seeing the five covers from your library above the "Recommended for You" carousel? On my device, the Recommended list (well, Shortlist, now, because I changed it) takes up the bottom quarter of the screen. If that's not the case for you, perhaps you could post a photo, to help people here diagnose your Kobo's problem?

donnie_ · 03-28-2012, 02:34 AM

Thank you for your reply but as I explained, I have reverted to version 1.9.14 with which I am quite happy. It was just the new firmware - the device itself is great. I hope with the next release that
the junk marketing (and the spyware) will be gone or the kobo will quickly get a bad reputation.

Bookpossum · 03-28-2012, 03:16 AM

I doubt that the advertising is going to be removed.

At this stage I have not updated to 1.9.17 because of the reports of margin problems in it (see thread on this). I am coping with the new layout by using the Shortlist option at the bottom of the Home page, but of course the annoying thing is that if I do a search for an author or book title, the Kobo throws up all the stuff they want me to buy.

I find it very annoying and have no intention of buying any of their recommendations or new releases. (They are pretty ludicrous in most cases.) However at this stage I haven't been annoyed enough to go back to 1.9.14 - I just pick a number of books from my Library, put them on the Shortlist, and read my way through them.

I would not recommend the Kobo Touch to others now that it is pushing books in this way.

meeera · 03-28-2012, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

[...] but of course the annoying thing is that if I do a search for an author or book title, the Kobo throws up all the stuff they want me to buy.

Quick question, if you don't mind - were you still having this happen after deleting all the Previews off your device? I've been struggling to puzzle out this problem (I can't reproduce it), and I'm wondering if what you were finding on your search results was not extraneous marketing (as in the Recommended list), but hits on the previews that were already on your Kobo - the Search searches both Books and Previews.

MorganM · 03-28-2012, 04:15 AM

I hate the recommended books etc down the bottom. I added the tweaks, prob solved. No more recommended book list.

Bookpossum · 03-28-2012, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

Quick question, if you don't mind - were you still having this happen after deleting all the Previews off your device? I've been struggling to puzzle out this problem (I can't reproduce it), and I'm wondering if what you were finding on your search results was not extraneous marketing (as in the Recommended list), but hits on the previews that were already on your Kobo - the Search searches both Books and Previews.

No, I had deleted all the previews. I haven't actually bought any books from Kobo because I'm a cheapskate

and at this stage have only public domain books on my reader. However, I had downloaded some of the free books from Kobo and this seems to be what they thought they were "matching" with their recommendations.

I have since deleted all of these and haven't since connected my Kobo to the computer except to sideload books I store in Calibre. I also got rid of the recommendations on the Kobo application by indicating I wasn't interested in any of them.

The really weird thing is that a while ago the Kobo was behaving oddly and after turning if off and then on again, it tried to get me to do the set-up as if I was just starting up. I bypassed all of that, and then found I had a whole pile of recommendations back on the reader, which really had me puzzled as I keep it in Airplane Mode. So it must remember what was there even after I have deleted the recommendations.

meeera · 03-28-2012, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

No, I had deleted all the previews. I haven't actually bought any books from Kobo because I'm a cheapskate

and at this stage have only public domain books on my reader. However, I had downloaded some of the free books from Kobo and this seems to be what they thought they were "matching" with their recommendations.

Hi - Sorry, I must have been unclear. I don't mean the Recommended For You list - I mean the unwanted results you're getting when you're doing a Search.

Bookpossum · 03-28-2012, 10:11 PM

Well, I'm not sure where they are from, but presumably either Featured (sorry, I thought it was called Recommendations) or New Releases. Hang on, I'll have a go with the Kobo.

I keyed in BU (which I recall is what I did the other day as I was looking for a particular book in the Library). I am offered various books and authors I have put on the Kobo and something called The Buddha in the Attic, which I did not. Now I have looked at New Releases, and there is The Buddha in the Attic.

As a second test, I keyed in D. Up popped one author I do have on the Kobo, four other authors I don't plus a book title that I saw in the Featured section, Death Comes to Pemberley.

Last night I went into the Kobo App. just to check, and because I have no books stored there now, it is still wanting me to indicate my interests so it can recommend books to me. Maybe Featured are ones that were previously New Releases.

I suppose some marketing person thought up this brilliant idea, and maybe it works with a lot of people. But it just annoys me, and, it would seem, quite a lot of others who belong to Mobile Read.

meeera · 03-29-2012, 01:06 AM

This is weird, Bookpossum - I'm performing identical actions, and I can't for the life of me reproduce that on my Touch. Latest firmware, wireless is on, etc. Tell me - if you go into your Library>Previews section now, is there anything there?

Bookpossum · 03-29-2012, 03:25 AM

Well, I'm still on 1.9.16 because I don't want the problem of no margins at the top, which a number of people seem to be experiencing.

If I look in the library on the Touch, the books don't appear - just when I do a search using the magnifying glass in the bottom right-hand corner and then type in a couple of letters as described.

When I hit Previews, it says Enjoy Free Previews, inviting me to download and read a free preview of any book in the store, with a box underneath to press which says BROWSE THE STORE. So there is nothing there.

News and Magazines is the same, inviting me to add them to the library.

I go into Search in this section and the same thing happens - I typed in A and it came up with several books on the Kobo and then one called A Stormy Greek Marriage by Lynne Graham with the BUY NOW box on the right-hand side. No doubt there are more, given that this was on page 2 of 51. As my Library shows page 1 of 45 and I have it on the five a page listing, that suggests an awful lot of books they want me to buy in that 51 pages of items beginning with the letter A (either title of author presumably).

When I go back to Home and push the HOME at the top of the page, I am offered Store, Library, Reading Life, Settings, Help and Sync.

If I press Store, it tells me I'm in Airplane Mode and I need to disable that in order to connect to the Internat.

So maybe you are on 1.9.17 and it's doing it on mine because I'm staying on 1.9.16. Or maybe it's my location in Australia - I don't know where you are.

meeera · 03-29-2012, 05:15 AM

I'm in Australia, too. Weird. Sorry that I kept on questioning you, and I hope you don't mind! I just thought that if we could figure out why the different behaviour, we could maybe figure out how people could avoid the problem. *scratches head*

Bookpossum · 03-29-2012, 06:08 AM

No problem about the questions. I recall from the 1.9.16 thread other people commenting on searches being cluttered up with books for buying, so maybe if you are on 1.9.17 it is something that has been removed, which is a good thing.

It isn't a serious problem as I usually know what I want to read next and get it from the Shortlist, but it does add to the irritation with Kobo for pushing their books. All the more so when you consider that they offer a cheaper version with advertising! But mine wasn't one of those - I paid full price.

03-23-2012, 12:48 AM	#1
donnie_ Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: kobo	My experience with the kobo touch My experience with the kobo touch ( 1.9.14 ):- I needed to replace my antique ebook reader and liked the look of the kobo - the screen, weight and price was right so I took the plunge... I skipped the initial setup and had a play around with it and Liked it. But when I loaded one of my ebooks it would not appear in the library and a message appeared that I must connect to windows to set it up. OK, after a big download the software ran and connected to kobo and then demanded that I choose from a selection of titles - no way around this... Did that, then an upgrade to the device started.... When it was done it was not the same device that I purchased. The home page was FULL of marketing about books that I had no interest in. Very disappointing..... I liked it the way it was before so I did a factory reset and then set about finding a way to get around the need to connect to the bookshop again. Alas to no avail.. The only way I could use it was to connect to the bookshop and get that awful update. I was all prepared to box it back up and return it but I thought I would give it one last try (after about 3 hours stuffing around). This time it connected to the bookshop but because I had already created an account it was a lot less painful. The GOOD NEWS is that the update would not run due to being "already adjusted" or some such message. Now I can actually USE it to READ books!!! Hooray! I like it again.

03-28-2012, 10:11 PM	#11
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Well, I'm not sure where they are from, but presumably either Featured (sorry, I thought it was called Recommendations) or New Releases. Hang on, I'll have a go with the Kobo. I keyed in BU (which I recall is what I did the other day as I was looking for a particular book in the Library). I am offered various books and authors I have put on the Kobo and something called The Buddha in the Attic, which I did not. Now I have looked at New Releases, and there is The Buddha in the Attic. As a second test, I keyed in D. Up popped one author I do have on the Kobo, four other authors I don't plus a book title that I saw in the Featured section, Death Comes to Pemberley. Last night I went into the Kobo App. just to check, and because I have no books stored there now, it is still wanting me to indicate my interests so it can recommend books to me. Maybe Featured are ones that were previously New Releases. I suppose some marketing person thought up this brilliant idea, and maybe it works with a lot of people. But it just annoys me, and, it would seem, quite a lot of others who belong to Mobile Read. Last edited by Bookpossum; 03-28-2012 at 10:15 PM.

03-29-2012, 03:25 AM	#13
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Well, I'm still on 1.9.16 because I don't want the problem of no margins at the top, which a number of people seem to be experiencing. If I look in the library on the Touch, the books don't appear - just when I do a search using the magnifying glass in the bottom right-hand corner and then type in a couple of letters as described. When I hit Previews, it says Enjoy Free Previews, inviting me to download and read a free preview of any book in the store, with a box underneath to press which says BROWSE THE STORE. So there is nothing there. News and Magazines is the same, inviting me to add them to the library. I go into Search in this section and the same thing happens - I typed in A and it came up with several books on the Kobo and then one called A Stormy Greek Marriage by Lynne Graham with the BUY NOW box on the right-hand side. No doubt there are more, given that this was on page 2 of 51. As my Library shows page 1 of 45 and I have it on the five a page listing, that suggests an awful lot of books they want me to buy in that 51 pages of items beginning with the letter A (either title of author presumably). When I go back to Home and push the HOME at the top of the page, I am offered Store, Library, Reading Life, Settings, Help and Sync. If I press Store, it tells me I'm in Airplane Mode and I need to disable that in order to connect to the Internat. So maybe you are on 1.9.17 and it's doing it on mine because I'm staying on 1.9.16. Or maybe it's my location in Australia - I don't know where you are. Last edited by Bookpossum; 03-29-2012 at 03:33 AM.

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03-23-2012, 04:38 AM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,658 Karma: 66417824 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	There is a five-second uncomplicated fix for your issue. Press "Recommended For You". Choose "Shortlist from the dropdown". If you haven't done this already, you can nominate your favorites from your library by pressing the heart button on the left hand side. Your favourites will then show up in the bottom carousel. Unless your home page really was "FULL" of marketing, and that wasn't hyperbole - in which case I can't help you, and I've never seen anyone else report that issue here.

03-28-2012, 02:34 AM	#5
donnie_ Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: kobo	Thank you for your reply but as I explained, I have reverted to version 1.9.14 with which I am quite happy. It was just the new firmware - the device itself is great. I hope with the next release that the junk marketing (and the spyware) will be gone or the kobo will quickly get a bad reputation.

03-28-2012, 03:16 AM	#6
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	I doubt that the advertising is going to be removed. At this stage I have not updated to 1.9.17 because of the reports of margin problems in it (see thread on this). I am coping with the new layout by using the Shortlist option at the bottom of the Home page, but of course the annoying thing is that if I do a search for an author or book title, the Kobo throws up all the stuff they want me to buy. I find it very annoying and have no intention of buying any of their recommendations or new releases. (They are pretty ludicrous in most cases.) However at this stage I haven't been annoyed enough to go back to 1.9.14 - I just pick a number of books from my Library, put them on the Shortlist, and read my way through them. I would not recommend the Kobo Touch to others now that it is pushing books in this way.

03-28-2012, 04:15 AM	#8
MorganM Fanatic Posts: 563 Karma: 1089963 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra H2o	I hate the recommended books etc down the bottom. I added the tweaks, prob solved. No more recommended book list.

03-29-2012, 01:06 AM	#12
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,658 Karma: 66417824 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	This is weird, Bookpossum - I'm performing identical actions, and I can't for the life of me reproduce that on my Touch. Latest firmware, wireless is on, etc. Tell me - if you go into your Library>Previews section now, is there anything there?

03-29-2012, 05:15 AM	#14
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,658 Karma: 66417824 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I'm in Australia, too. Weird. Sorry that I kept on questioning you, and I hope you don't mind! I just thought that if we could figure out why the different behaviour, we could maybe figure out how people could avoid the problem. scratches head

03-29-2012, 06:08 AM	#15
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	No problem about the questions. I recall from the 1.9.16 thread other people commenting on searches being cluttered up with books for buying, so maybe if you are on 1.9.17 it is something that has been removed, which is a good thing. It isn't a serious problem as I usually know what I want to read next and get it from the Shortlist, but it does add to the irritation with Kobo for pushing their books. All the more so when you consider that they offer a cheaper version with advertising! But mine wasn't one of those - I paid full price.