played with new wifi kobo

plaid · 10-16-2010, 04:14 PM

The Chapters near my house have the new Kobo in stock and I had a couple of minutes to run in and play with it. First thing I noticed, when you click a button the display changes - no wait. Moving around is very fast. When I opened the Huckleberry Fin book it took only about 1 second to load and display the book. I didn't have much time to check everything, but I did click the side Store button and had it load up the store and new releases and clicked on an item to see the details. This all seemed pretty quick. I looked a bit through the settings, and saw the option to have the cover either display or not for both sleep and power off mode - no options to change the time, not sure if they changed from the current 15 minutes or not. I didn't go into wifi settings other than to have it browse signals and connect to something, so I didn't see the on screen keyboard at all. For me, the whole wifi thing isn't a big deal, it's the speed improvement that I like the best. There were no pdf's on it so I couldn't see if there were any changes to viewing documents. I really hope they can come out with a firmware update to the original Kobo that gives at least a bit of a speed increase.

Pookeysgirl · 10-16-2010, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plaid

The Chapters near my house have the new Kobo in stock and I had a couple of minutes to run in and play with it. First thing I noticed, when you click a button the display changes - no wait. Moving around is very fast. When I opened the Huckleberry Fin book it took only about 1 second to load and display the book. I didn't have much time to check everything, but I did click the side Store button and had it load up the store and new releases and clicked on an item to see the details. This all seemed pretty quick. I looked a bit through the settings, and saw the option to have the cover either display or not for both sleep and power off mode - no options to change the time, not sure if they changed from the current 15 minutes or not. I didn't go into wifi settings other than to have it browse signals and connect to something, so I didn't see the on screen keyboard at all. For me, the whole wifi thing isn't a big deal, it's the speed improvement that I like the best. There were no pdf's on it so I couldn't see if there were any changes to viewing documents. I really hope they can come out with a firmware update to the original Kobo that gives at least a bit of a speed increase.

Thanks for sharing your experience with new kobo!

Were you able to turn it off and then on again to see how fast that was?

PeterT · 10-16-2010, 07:58 PM

I also played with one a bit at the Kennedy Road and 401 Chapters in Toronto. Liked what I saw (but did not time the boot time etc).

Looked snappier.

Also had a lot of new cases and new lights for the unit.

I am thinking of upgrading and if I do will let people know how it goes. (And I will probably donate the existing unit to an upcoming bazaar at my church; I still have the box it came in).

PeterT · 10-16-2010, 09:30 PM

New light in store appears to be this --> http://www.amazon.com/Verso-Clip-Rea.../dp/B003FZA1O2

Case the wife got is like this:

zoran · 10-17-2010, 12:26 AM

Cool! However, I don't see two features I look for: screen quality and
go-to option. If the screen is basically the same, why upgrade at all?

billthereader · 10-17-2010, 04:55 AM

I bought the new wi-fi version today and it's looking pretty good so far. Much faster and there's a few changes; some good and not so good.

The good: faster startup and page loading. I'd say it's twice as fast as the original model when moving from page to page. Quicker power on, from sleep mode it's almost instant and from powered off it's about 30 seconds. Menu choice shows the battery level and if wifi is enabled. In the settings, you can now choose sleep and power preferences to show a cover or the KOBO screen on power off or sleep which is a handy way to see if it's powered off or sleeping. You can also choose to continue reading while the Kobo is recharging.
The wireless setup works good although it's only for the Kobo store. After I setup my wireless for my home network, it remembered my connection after I'd turned off the Kobo and turned it back on. It doesn't see other computers on the network and there's no way to send files to the device through the wifi other than the store. I don't see a upgrade feature for firmware included (hope this comes).
Another nice feature is that you can now delete books from the Kobo. You do this by going to the BOOKS section and finding the book and then choose menu and do the delete. SD card capacity seems to be increased according to the KOBO store site as they say you can use a card up to 32 gigs. Screen resolution has increased in greyscale to 16 level and this is a nice improvement.

The not so good: You don't have the option to hide the pre-loaded books. The big blue button is now grey or black but is the same although slightly quieter than the original. There's also an extra step now when you connect it to the computer as you have to choose to "manage library" before the computer will see it as a device. Calibre also doesn't see it as a device yet.
The book summary option doesn't show up either, which is something I liked with the original.

Overall, a good improvement over the original. I like it so far.

viviena · 10-17-2010, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billthereader

The good: faster startup and page loading. I'd say it's twice as fast as the original model when moving from page to page.

Yessssss. I love the idea of a faster processor -- I find it hard to readjust to the slower page turns of the old Kobo when I use it.

I guess it's still the same amount of time for it to auto-sleep and auto-shutdown?

tpw · 10-17-2010, 06:42 AM

So, no option to change auto-poweroff then? That's basically a deal breaker for me.

zoran · 10-17-2010, 09:56 AM

Nice review. I have 2 questions, btw. Could you compare the screen
on wifi and first device? Yes, I found it has 16 levels, but how it comes
to reading? Sharper, better contrast ot the same?
Second: could you find go-to option?
My best bet is that kobo will find the way to use wifi for upgrade.
Kindle is using it, without user knowledge.

SensualPoet · 10-17-2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billthereader

I bought the new wi-fi version today and it's looking pretty good so far. Much faster and there's a few changes; some good and not so good.

Do you have two Kobos then? Old one, new one? Are they attached to the same account? Therefore, can two people read the same book at the same time (on the two Kobos)?

Do bookmarks sync with the library and pick up with the next device that opens the book? (This won't apply to the Original Kobo until plugged in of course.)

Provided WiFi now makes syncing content seamless, it doesn't matter if there isn't a web browser. It's the ability to share content and keep it synced to where you are that matters.

mtn · 10-17-2010, 10:16 AM

My original black Kobo gave up the ghost, screen became garbled, so because I'd bought it at my local Chapters store, took it back.
They had two options, for me:

1. Take a replacement white one
2. Wait two weeks for a new black Kobo wireless.

Guess which one I chose? The wi-fi isn't a big deal, since you've got to plug it in anyway to charge, the 16-level greyscale screen though is.

So I'm waiting, apparently it's in the mail...

taming · 10-17-2010, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Do you have two Kobos then? Old one, new one? Are they attached to the same account? Therefore, can two people read the same book at the same time (on the two Kobos)?

Two people have always been able to read the same book at the same time from the same account. My husband and I each have our own Kobos. We share one Kobo account and one ADE account. I don't have the new reader yet, but these have been some points to consider all along.

If you are syncing, you will be in bookmark he!! if two people are syncing to the same account. If one person removes a book from the reader, it will be removed from the other reader as well on the next sync. The new user guide says that if you remove the book from the reader, it is removed from your account--not sure what that actually means.

If you are using ADE for ePUBs, then you both need to be using not just the same Kobo account, but the same ADE account. Only one ADE account can be live on a reader at a time--you will show locked content on books loaded using the other ADE.

You will probably want to have ADE on two machines so that you are not having to authorize and reauthorize each time you switch out a reader. The locked content still applies, but you will not risk running out of authorizations for ADE (six devices, six computers).

Consider using Calibre to actually load the ADE encrypted ePUB books onto one of the readers. The locked content issue is the same, but you will not run out of authorizations for devices.

triffids · 10-17-2010, 02:34 PM

So ... does anyone know if the speed improvements are all hardware related (i.e., faster processor) or is there some software optimization that is contributing? (Wondering if early adopters have any hope of faster power-on and page turns with a future update ...)

SensualPoet · 10-17-2010, 02:36 PM

Thanks, taming, that was helpful clarification on using two Kobos at once.

So ...

A kobo book, loaded with the kobo desktop app, will be live on two Kobos.
A kobo book, as an ePub loaded through ADE desktop app, can be live on ONE kobo only.

Did I get that right?

Also, I played with the wifi Kobo at a store today. It's snappier than the original but otherwise pretty much the same. The dictionary feature works ok although it's a bit of hassle to invoke it -- but it's still a nice to have.

The wifi is truly only for buying books -- from any wifi hotspot. But browsing is tedious; as with a Kindle you are probably better off purchasing on your PC. The biggest "hmmmm ..." is that the wifi does not bookmark sync, through your library at the kobobooks store, with other devices. That is: you are reading on your wifi Kobo, with wifi on, and you close the book on pg 23. You switch to your Blackberry, and it syncs with the library ... but the pg 23 bookmark isn't registered unless you sync with the USB cable.

It leaves me asking ... then why wifi?

Still, the Kobo is nice as it is and the incremental improvements for the same price are most welcome. But it doesn't look like a reason to upgrade.

SensualPoet · 10-17-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triffids

So ... does anyone know if the speed improvements are all hardware related (i.e., faster processor) or is there some software optimization that is contributing? (Wondering if early adopters have any hope of faster power-on and page turns with a future update ...)

Kobo clearly states (somewhere) there is a faster processor ie. hardware update.

10-16-2010, 04:14 PM	#1
plaid Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 5434 Join Date: Sep 2004 Device: Kobo eReader	played with new wifi kobo The Chapters near my house have the new Kobo in stock and I had a couple of minutes to run in and play with it. First thing I noticed, when you click a button the display changes - no wait. Moving around is very fast. When I opened the Huckleberry Fin book it took only about 1 second to load and display the book. I didn't have much time to check everything, but I did click the side Store button and had it load up the store and new releases and clicked on an item to see the details. This all seemed pretty quick. I looked a bit through the settings, and saw the option to have the cover either display or not for both sleep and power off mode - no options to change the time, not sure if they changed from the current 15 minutes or not. I didn't go into wifi settings other than to have it browse signals and connect to something, so I didn't see the on screen keyboard at all. For me, the whole wifi thing isn't a big deal, it's the speed improvement that I like the best. There were no pdf's on it so I couldn't see if there were any changes to viewing documents. I really hope they can come out with a firmware update to the original Kobo that gives at least a bit of a speed increase.

10-16-2010, 09:30 PM	#4
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,155 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	New light in store appears to be this --> http://www.amazon.com/Verso-Clip-Rea.../dp/B003FZA1O2 Case the wife got is like this: Attached Thumbnails

10-17-2010, 10:16 AM	#11
mtn Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kobo	Very fortunate event My original black Kobo gave up the ghost, screen became garbled, so because I'd bought it at my local Chapters store, took it back. They had two options, for me: 1. Take a replacement white one 2. Wait two weeks for a new black Kobo wireless. Guess which one I chose? The wi-fi isn't a big deal, since you've got to plug it in anyway to charge, the 16-level greyscale screen though is. So I'm waiting, apparently it's in the mail...

10-17-2010, 02:36 PM	#14
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Thanks, taming, that was helpful clarification on using two Kobos at once. So ... A kobo book, loaded with the kobo desktop app, will be live on two Kobos. A kobo book, as an ePub loaded through ADE desktop app, can be live on ONE kobo only. Did I get that right? Also, I played with the wifi Kobo at a store today. It's snappier than the original but otherwise pretty much the same. The dictionary feature works ok although it's a bit of hassle to invoke it -- but it's still a nice to have. The wifi is truly only for buying books -- from any wifi hotspot. But browsing is tedious; as with a Kindle you are probably better off purchasing on your PC. The biggest "hmmmm ..." is that the wifi does not bookmark sync, through your library at the kobobooks store, with other devices. That is: you are reading on your wifi Kobo, with wifi on, and you close the book on pg 23. You switch to your Blackberry, and it syncs with the library ... but the pg 23 bookmark isn't registered unless you sync with the USB cable. It leaves me asking ... then why wifi? Still, the Kobo is nice as it is and the incremental improvements for the same price are most welcome. But it doesn't look like a reason to upgrade. Last edited by SensualPoet; 10-17-2010 at 02:38 PM.

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10-16-2010, 07:58 PM	#3
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,155 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	I also played with one a bit at the Kennedy Road and 401 Chapters in Toronto. Liked what I saw (but did not time the boot time etc). Looked snappier. Also had a lot of new cases and new lights for the unit. I am thinking of upgrading and if I do will let people know how it goes. (And I will probably donate the existing unit to an upcoming bazaar at my church; I still have the box it came in).

10-17-2010, 12:26 AM	#5
zoran himself Posts: 576 Karma: 11226 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Cool! However, I don't see two features I look for: screen quality and go-to option. If the screen is basically the same, why upgrade at all?

10-17-2010, 04:55 AM	#6
billthereader Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 16 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kobo	I bought the new wi-fi version today and it's looking pretty good so far. Much faster and there's a few changes; some good and not so good. The good: faster startup and page loading. I'd say it's twice as fast as the original model when moving from page to page. Quicker power on, from sleep mode it's almost instant and from powered off it's about 30 seconds. Menu choice shows the battery level and if wifi is enabled. In the settings, you can now choose sleep and power preferences to show a cover or the KOBO screen on power off or sleep which is a handy way to see if it's powered off or sleeping. You can also choose to continue reading while the Kobo is recharging. The wireless setup works good although it's only for the Kobo store. After I setup my wireless for my home network, it remembered my connection after I'd turned off the Kobo and turned it back on. It doesn't see other computers on the network and there's no way to send files to the device through the wifi other than the store. I don't see a upgrade feature for firmware included (hope this comes). Another nice feature is that you can now delete books from the Kobo. You do this by going to the BOOKS section and finding the book and then choose menu and do the delete. SD card capacity seems to be increased according to the KOBO store site as they say you can use a card up to 32 gigs. Screen resolution has increased in greyscale to 16 level and this is a nice improvement. The not so good: You don't have the option to hide the pre-loaded books. The big blue button is now grey or black but is the same although slightly quieter than the original. There's also an extra step now when you connect it to the computer as you have to choose to "manage library" before the computer will see it as a device. Calibre also doesn't see it as a device yet. The book summary option doesn't show up either, which is something I liked with the original. Overall, a good improvement over the original. I like it so far.

10-17-2010, 06:42 AM	#8
tpw Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 250 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: Kobo, Sony PRS650	So, no option to change auto-poweroff then? That's basically a deal breaker for me.

10-17-2010, 09:56 AM	#9
zoran himself Posts: 576 Karma: 11226 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Nice review. I have 2 questions, btw. Could you compare the screen on wifi and first device? Yes, I found it has 16 levels, but how it comes to reading? Sharper, better contrast ot the same? Second: could you find go-to option? My best bet is that kobo will find the way to use wifi for upgrade. Kindle is using it, without user knowledge.

10-17-2010, 02:34 PM	#13
triffids BookWorm Posts: 26 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo eReader (1st generation)	So ... does anyone know if the speed improvements are all hardware related (i.e., faster processor) or is there some software optimization that is contributing? (Wondering if early adopters have any hope of faster power-on and page turns with a future update ...)