Glo First impressions on the GLo - Page 7

Lunchtray · 10-03-2012, 11:56 AM

In firmware 2.1.4 which is on the Kobo Glo the chapter marks are indeed gone when you middle click the menu open when reading Epubs and kEpubs.

buffaloseven · 10-03-2012, 12:09 PM

Well I've had some time to play with it now, and a few more thoughts:

- This screen is fantastic. The text is super crisp and clean. Ghosting is practically non-existent, even when a full refresh is set to every 6 pages. The worst I've seen so far makes it look like you can sort of, just slightly see the text printed on "the other side of the page"

- The lighting is smooth and pretty even, from full brightness down to low. The only noticeable thing is the LED shadows at the bottom (which become more pronounced at lower brightness settings). I think this is a simple matter of physics, and without using more material (hiding screen extremities further into the bezel), I don't think it's something that's going to go away any time soon. That being said, it's easy to ignore it once you actually start reading and it's a minor inconvenience in an otherwise great implementation. Truthfully, the only reason it's so noticeable is simply because the rest of the screen is so evenly lit. I do wish that the display could be even a little more dim than it is now on it's lowest setting.

- I've had no problems with the firmware so far. Page turns are very quick, PDFs render excellently and CBR/CBZ files look great. Zooming in PDFs is about as smooth as you can expect it to be on a non-capacitive touch screen. Haven't experimented too much with PDFs, though, as essentially everything I'll read is ePub/CBZ.

- Tried putting two fonts onto the device. Created a "fonts" folder in the root and installed Regular/Italic/Bold/Bold Italic variants of Lato and a font I purchased for a few projects I worked on, FF Tisa Mobi Pro. Both showed up on the device and work flawlessly. As others have mentioned, TypeGenius is only for the preloaded fonts.

I'm very pleased with this as my first ebook reader, and based on what I've read about the KP, the KG seems to be a very strong competitor. The only advantage I can see Amazon having is the book selection, but that's a moot point if you don't live in the US, as their selection internationally is...lacking. The only other thing the Kindle has going for it is the ability to e-mail documents to your eReader. I'd love it if I could get a <myname>@kobo.com to e-mail ePubs to my device.

I think Kobo has a fantastic implementation of the front-light technology and I'm very pleased with the speed and responsiveness of the firmware. As my first e-reader, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to others without hesitation. I'm optimistic with the future of the device, too. It's very encouraging to see Kobo representatives on this board answering questions and listening to feedback.

buffaloseven · 10-03-2012, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmorDog

I noticed that too and I really want to know the answer. This is worse than the time they moved the clock

I'm not familiar with other Kobos, but is this the narrow bar that would appear just above the bottom bar with vertical lines in it and filled to indicate overall progress? If so, then yeah, it's gone. Unfortunate, I think. It does display your overall progress as a % value at the top.

The other thing I can't find is the short list. Maybe it was removed in 2.0 or maybe it's just a 2.1.4 thing, but it'd be nice to have back.

SameerH · 10-03-2012, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buffaloseven

I'm not familiar with other Kobos, but is this the narrow bar that would appear just above the bottom bar with vertical lines in it and filled to indicate overall progress? If so, then yeah, it's gone. Unfortunate, I think. It does display your overall progress as a % value at the top.

The other thing I can't find is the short list. Maybe it was removed in 2.0 or maybe it's just a 2.1.4 thing, but it'd be nice to have back.

We're looking at adding more progress indication, stay tuned.

buffaloseven · 10-03-2012, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameerH

We're looking at adding more progress indication, stay tuned.

Thanks, Sameer. You guys have put out a pretty great product. Very satisfied customer here :-)

elemenoP · 10-03-2012, 12:36 PM

Apologies if this has been asked and answered, I didn't see it. How does the screen look with the light OFF? Anyone have a previous ereader to compare it with?

Thanks,
eP

ottdmk · 10-03-2012, 12:37 PM

I think the Shortlist is just a Shelf now. Have you looked in the Shelves section of the menu?

Woodstonian · 10-03-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameerH

We're looking at adding more progress indication, stay tuned.

Thank you, Sameer, for and excellent product. I bought it yesterday so my wife and each have a Kobo now. We also greatly appreciate your monitoring of this board and the update you give. Good for Kobo!

pagepack · 10-03-2012, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Apologies if this has been asked and answered, I didn't see it. How does the screen look with the light OFF? Anyone have a previous ereader to compare it with?

Thanks,
eP

I sold my Kindle a day ago, but I'm absolutely positive reading in low light with the light off is better than my 4th gen Kindle. People who have a Kindle who I have shown it to also think the same, less grey.

rainio · 10-03-2012, 01:38 PM

I've never owned an ereader before the glo and find the background without the light is great - not harsh on the eyes, good contrast though not too grey.

Nilotikus · 10-03-2012, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taming

The extras are not formally supported by Kobo. In the past they were identified as beta features. They are well and truly extras and you will not get support from Kobo around their use. Linking to them from the home screen would be just plain weird given that they are not anything Kobo sees as part of the core functionality of the devices.

Hmmm. The home screen/desktop on Windows is designed to have links to stuff not necessarily supported by Microsoft. Priority is given to personal usability. It would be nice if the home screen were customizable so users can tailor it to their personal taste.

A fair proportion of the home screen links are more or less advertising: aimed at trying to steer you to the Kobo book store. But if you don't have wifi (I don't) those menus are a complete waste of space.

On a PC such aggressive marketing with a piece of software is usually heavily criticized. Give the owner the power to set up the options themselves.

RobertJSawyer · 10-03-2012, 01:46 PM

Does the Kindle Glow have the option to turn justification off (like on the Kindle Touch)? Also, is my favourite font, Rockwell, still included? Thanks!

Nilotikus · 10-03-2012, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainio

Yes, some pdf's can be difficult to read but that could be the coding of the pdf (?).

Had a good play with several PDFs now and it's definitely down to the PDF reader.

Basically you can zoom in and rotate PDFs and the responsive touch screen makes it really easy to move around the document. The problem is when you come to turn the page. If you're zoomed in (as you're likely to be on 99% of PDFs) you can't. You have to zoom out again before the next page then zoom in again to start reading. This is really painful, especially when compared to page turning on epubs which is easy, fast and a real joy.

It's a shame as it's seems like it's almost there for PDFs. If you could just just continue onto the next page by either continuing to drag or the normal page turns it would be fine.

Perhaps there are other PDF readers you can install? Though I've no idea where or how to do that.

Danger · 10-03-2012, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nilotikus

Hmmm. The home screen/desktop on Windows is designed to have links to stuff not necessarily supported by Microsoft. Priority is given to personal usability. It would be nice if the home screen were customizable so users can tailor it to their personal taste.

A fair proportion of the home screen links are more or less advertising: aimed at trying to steer you to the Kobo book store. But if you don't have wifi (I don't) those menus are a complete waste of space.

On a PC such aggressive marketing with a piece of software is usually heavily criticized. Give the owner the power to set up the options themselves.

Kobo is not listening, since 1.9.17 they've just added more rather than less advertising.

rainio · 10-03-2012, 02:20 PM

SameerH, in terms of progress indication I find what FBReader on android does is very useful. It uses a thin bar at the bottom of the screen with small lines as chapter indicators, so at a glance you know where you are in the book and chapter.

(Reducing the height of the bottom bar to increase screen-text real-estate would also be welcome.)

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10-03-2012, 11:56 AM	#91
Lunchtray Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 107708 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch, Kobo Gen 1	In firmware 2.1.4 which is on the Kobo Glo the chapter marks are indeed gone when you middle click the menu open when reading Epubs and kEpubs.

10-03-2012, 12:09 PM	#92
buffaloseven Watching the Sky Posts: 234 Karma: 634112 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Winnipeg, MB Device: Kobo Aura	Well I've had some time to play with it now, and a few more thoughts: - This screen is fantastic. The text is super crisp and clean. Ghosting is practically non-existent, even when a full refresh is set to every 6 pages. The worst I've seen so far makes it look like you can sort of, just slightly see the text printed on "the other side of the page" - The lighting is smooth and pretty even, from full brightness down to low. The only noticeable thing is the LED shadows at the bottom (which become more pronounced at lower brightness settings). I think this is a simple matter of physics, and without using more material (hiding screen extremities further into the bezel), I don't think it's something that's going to go away any time soon. That being said, it's easy to ignore it once you actually start reading and it's a minor inconvenience in an otherwise great implementation. Truthfully, the only reason it's so noticeable is simply because the rest of the screen is so evenly lit. I do wish that the display could be even a little more dim than it is now on it's lowest setting. - I've had no problems with the firmware so far. Page turns are very quick, PDFs render excellently and CBR/CBZ files look great. Zooming in PDFs is about as smooth as you can expect it to be on a non-capacitive touch screen. Haven't experimented too much with PDFs, though, as essentially everything I'll read is ePub/CBZ. - Tried putting two fonts onto the device. Created a "fonts" folder in the root and installed Regular/Italic/Bold/Bold Italic variants of Lato and a font I purchased for a few projects I worked on, FF Tisa Mobi Pro. Both showed up on the device and work flawlessly. As others have mentioned, TypeGenius is only for the preloaded fonts. I'm very pleased with this as my first ebook reader, and based on what I've read about the KP, the KG seems to be a very strong competitor. The only advantage I can see Amazon having is the book selection, but that's a moot point if you don't live in the US, as their selection internationally is...lacking. The only other thing the Kindle has going for it is the ability to e-mail documents to your eReader. I'd love it if I could get a <myname>@kobo.com to e-mail ePubs to my device. I think Kobo has a fantastic implementation of the front-light technology and I'm very pleased with the speed and responsiveness of the firmware. As my first e-reader, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to others without hesitation. I'm optimistic with the future of the device, too. It's very encouraging to see Kobo representatives on this board answering questions and listening to feedback.

10-03-2012, 12:36 PM	#96
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Apologies if this has been asked and answered, I didn't see it. How does the screen look with the light OFF? Anyone have a previous ereader to compare it with? Thanks, eP

10-03-2012, 12:37 PM	#97
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 3765734 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M8 HD	I think the Shortlist is just a Shelf now. Have you looked in the Shelves section of the menu?

10-03-2012, 01:38 PM	#100
rainio Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 38262 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: none	I've never owned an ereader before the glo and find the background without the light is great - not harsh on the eyes, good contrast though not too grey.

10-03-2012, 01:46 PM	#102
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 730 Karma: 3871570 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Does the Kindle Glow have the option to turn justification off (like on the Kindle Touch)? Also, is my favourite font, Rockwell, still included? Thanks!

10-03-2012, 02:20 PM	#105
rainio Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 38262 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: none	SameerH, in terms of progress indication I find what FBReader on android does is very useful. It uses a thin bar at the bottom of the screen with small lines as chapter indicators, so at a glance you know where you are in the book and chapter. (Reducing the height of the bottom bar to increase screen-text real-estate would also be welcome.)