Libra 2 Kobo Libra 2 first impressions

[Karellen]

I am now the owner of a Kobo Libra 2, black.

Its my first new ereader since I purchased my very faithful Kindle Gen 2 in 2009.

I've opened the box and immediately saw there is no power charger, just a USB cable. So its charging from a pc only. Can I use USB chargers combined in household power points?

I am yet to read the other Kobo threads, but any immediate issues I should be careful of? My main concern is being able to use collections (eg all the harry potter books). I briefly read a while ago something about mapping columns. I guess that happens in Calibre?

I'll set it up this afternoon and load my first book.

[Lynx-lynx]

Karellen where do you live, which city? Did you get it from jbhifi in store?

Re the power cord, it's double ended usb c isn't it? If you've got a usb c Android phone charger you can use that to plug it into the wall. The ereader will only charge to its maximum capacity, so it won't damage it. Same goes for a built in wall plate.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Karellen

So its charging from a pc only. Can I use USB chargers combined in household power points?

Any USB charger should work fine. There's nothing wrong with using the PC either, after all the device is supposed to be used like that.

Charging off a PC might take longer than a dedicated charger though. In terms of power supply, PC USB ports are usually at the low end (5V/0.5A) while the Kobo supports up to 5V/2A (according to its label printed on the USB port side of the device).

So in theory a dedicated power brick could charge up to 4 times faster than a PC, but I haven't tested it.

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Re the power cord, it's double ended usb c isn't it?

For my Libra 2 it was a regular USB 2 cable with USB-C plug on one end (USB-A on the other).

[Karellen]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Karellen where do you live, which city? Did you get it from jbhifi in store?

Re the power cord, it's double ended usb c isn't it? If you've got a usb c Android phone charger you can use that to plug it into the wall. The ereader will only charge to its maximum capacity, so it won't damage it. Same goes for a built in wall plate.

Melbourne, purchased at JB HiFi.

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Any USB charger should work fine. There's nothing wrong with using the PC either, after all the device is supposed to be used like that.

Charging off a PC might take longer than a dedicated charger though. In terms of power supply, PC USB ports are usually at the low end (5V/0.5A) while the Kobo supports up to 5V/2A (according to its label printed on the USB port side of the device).

So in theory a dedicated power brick could charge up to 4 times faster than a PC, but I haven't tested it.

For my Libra 2 it was a regular USB 2 cable with USB-C plug on one end (USB-A on the other).

Great, I've got a few of those USB powerpoints around the house. I'll use them.
Thanks

[Karellen]

So, I think I have been led astray by some other users. I asked if I needed an account to use a Kobo and I was advised No, all you needed to do was input an email address, and it does not even need to be a valid address.

Maybe things have changed because I could not proceed past the account page during setup. You are asked for email, confirm email and password which then creates an account at Kobo. In settings, if I log out of the Account it resets the Kobo and needs to be set up again.

Bottom line is that you cannot use the Kobo without a valid account, and the account needs to remain active on the Kobo.

[Lynx-lynx]

Karellen, did you turn wifi off (and Bluetooth) after you've set up?
The device should essentially be dumb (unconnected)

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Karellen

No, all you needed to do was input an email address, and it does not even need to be a valid address.

Essentially you have to make an account, but the email is not checked, so if you give a bogus email, you effectively get a bogus account (which you can not remove without going back to the email prompt, yeah).

Without making an account, you can still make the USB connection and you can install mods from there, so in theory you could install koreader and have it autostart instead of going through nickel (everything Kobo's firmware frontend), and that'd give you a device that does not even need the bogus account.

There used to be instructions how to inject a fake account directly into the database, but this method changed a lot between updates, not sure if still possible currently, putting down any kind of mail address is easy enough there's not much motivation to explore alternatives.

[Karellen]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Karellen, did you turn wifi off (and Bluetooth) after you've set up?
The device should essentially be dumb (unconnected)

Thanks. I have done that now. So obvious, but I didn't immediately think of it.

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Essentially you have to make an account, but the email is not checked, so if you give a bogus email, you effectively get a bogus account (which you can not remove without going back to the email prompt, yeah).

Without making an account, you can still make the USB connection and you can install mods from there, so in theory you could install koreader and have it autostart instead of going through nickel (everything Kobo's firmware frontend), and that'd give you a device that does not even need the bogus account.

There used to be instructions how to inject a fake account directly into the database, but this method changed a lot between updates, not sure if still possible currently, putting down any kind of mail address is easy enough there's not much motivation to explore alternatives.

Ok, thanks. Yes, only a trivial annoyance, so understand there are no easy workarounds.
Account is created, so no need to for any workarounds now.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Barty

Dark mode takes too many step to get to. Why not put it under the light menu?

I don't have any Kobos that are new enough to support dark mode and it's not a feature I would likely use. But I do agree. Now that there are several devices that can use dark mode, they need to make it more accessible.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't have any Kobos that are new enough to support dark mode and it's not a feature I would likely use. But I do agree. Now that there are several devices that can use dark mode, they need to make it more accessible.

On the devices that it’s supported on it can be toggled from within the book without exiting.

Bring up the menus, reading settings, second page, dark mode on.

That’s pretty accessible if you ask me.

It’s only on the Libra H2O and older devices that you must use nickelmenu to enable it, which makes sense as it’s not supported on those devices.

Just for sake of clarity the Elipsa, Libra 2, and Sage all have this setting in reading settings.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by meeera

It's in stock in four Perth stores now - now listed as in stock at my local JB within the past few hours - and listed as delivering on the 18th if ordered online. Where are you?

One of the three local stores has the black Libra 2 today. It just happens to be the one that is furthest from me at 27km. The other two are both 20km, so if I wanted one, it wouldn't be that bad.

When I noticed that, I also noticed the the second nearest is at Warriewood and is 42.9km away. But, that's straight line. I'd almost have to drive past the third closest in Hornsby (44.7km). Which might actually be quicker to get to than the nearest one.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

On the devices that it’s supported on it can be toggled from within the book without exiting.

Bring up the menus, reading settings, second page, dark mode on.

That’s pretty accessible if you ask me.

The suggestion from @Barty was to put it on the light popup. Which might be a reasonable thing to do. But, the light popup gets shown in places that Dark mode isn't applicable, so having it there could be confusing. Just as changing the popup to show different options depending on where it is opened could be confusing.

In any case, there are currently five taps or swipes to enable it (as above plus closing the settings). Using the light popup would be four: bring up menus, light, darkmode on/off, close the popup. Not much of a saving to my mind.

Personally, I don't like Dark mode. But, I am surprised this is something that someone would turn on and of frequently enough for it to need to be more accessible. Honestly, I thought it was a set-and-forget choice.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The suggestion from @Barty was to put it on the light popup. Which might be a reasonable thing to do. But, the light popup gets shown in places that Dark mode isn't applicable, so having it there could be confusing. Just as changing the popup to show different options depending on where it is opened could be confusing.

In any case, there are currently five taps or swipes to enable it (as above plus closing the settings). Using the light popup would be four: bring up menus, light, darkmode on/off, close the popup. Not much of a saving to my mind.

Personally, I don't like Dark mode. But, I am surprised this is something that someone would turn on and of frequently enough for it to need to be more accessible. Honestly, I thought it was a set-and-forget choice.

I love darkmode when reading at night in bed when i try to minimize the screen light glare from the device that bothers my wife.

The nickelmenu shortcut is a godsend for this. I normally enable it in the home screen so that when i go to the reader, it is set already.

[Josieb1]

Considering Amazon FR has already shipped the Libra 2 I’m a bit peed off that Amazon UK estimate between Dec and Jan for the White and no idea for the Black

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Karellen

So, I think I have been led astray by some other users. I asked if I needed an account to use a Kobo and I was advised No, all you needed to do was input an email address, and it does not even need to be a valid address.

Maybe things have changed because I could not proceed past the account page during setup. You are asked for email, confirm email and password which then creates an account at Kobo. In settings, if I log out of the Account it resets the Kobo and needs to be set up again.

Bottom line is that you cannot use the Kobo without a valid account, and the account needs to remain active on the Kobo.

No. You just need to input an email address. A fake one will do. And yes you need to give Kobo a password for your fake email. A fake password. Yes it creates an account at Kobo. I just make a note of it.