Android on Kobo: "Tips and Apps"

[Dryhte]

Guys,

is the Glo a better reader under Android than under the original firmware? Advantages/disadvantages?

[embryo]

Originally Posted by zufre

My Kobo Glo works in Android now, thank you for your help.
I cannot use the Kobo rotate apk. After activating it the screen rotates allright but every touch area of the app remains in the position it would be in portrait mode.

Tried a task killer but it didn't work. I got an error message in German and go back to the home page.
I wonder which comic app will rotate the screen OK... Perfect Viewer rotates the screen but the touch points are still in portrait mode so when you get a menu you have to devine where it would be in portrait mode...
Regards.

Did you update the rotate.apk from here?

You don't have to open the app itself.
When you rotate the screen from within an application (a reader or whatever) the rotate app understands that and rotates the screen and the touch points.
I never have to do it manually.

BTW Do you have the older or the newer Glo?
Serial on the box 613Axxxxxxxx or 613Bxxxxxxxx?

[zufre]

Originally Posted by embryo

Did you update the rotate.apk from here?

You don't have to open the app itself.
When you rotate the screen from within an application (a reader or whatever) the rotate app understands that and rotates the screen and the touch points.
I never have to do it manually.

BTW Do you have the older or the newer Glo?
Serial on the box 613Axxxxxxxx or 613Bxxxxxxxx?

I got the app from the page you mentioned.
Then, do I have to run it once so it is working before I change the orientation inside another app like Aireader or Perfect Viewer?
I will check the serial when I get back home.
Thanks for answering.
Regards.

[zufre]

Originally Posted by Dryhte

Guys,

is the Glo a better reader under Android than under the original firmware? Advantages/disadvantages?

I installed Android a few days ago and I am yet undecided about which system is best. Well, at the moment I haven't been able to rotate the screen but it seems to be working OK for most people so I must be doing something wrong.
Without rotating I miss being able to read comics in Landscape mode. That is a must for such a small screen.
The readers are OK, though. You can install dictionaries like Colordict or Fora that let you check words inside the readers. Kindle app works fine though it is an old version so it does not support Asian languages in case you needed it.
You can also install other programs like an internet browser (Opera works fine) or some simple games like Othello or Chess.

In the original system you can install Koreader and Cool reader. They are very good and you can use Stardict dictionaries with Koreader (Cool reader does not support dictionaries yet).
With Koreader you can read Comics too and rotating is not a problem.
Cool Reader is nicer for reading but this is just a personal opinion. It also includes a few games like Chess, Checkers, Sudoku...

Regards.

[embryo]

Originally Posted by zufre

I got the app from the page you mentioned.
Then, do I have to run it once so it is working before I change the orientation inside another app like Aireader or Perfect Viewer?
I will check the serial when I get back home.
Thanks for answering.
Regards.

You must run the apk file once, to install it.
After that, you don't have to run the actual app anymore.

[embryo]

Originally Posted by Dryhte

Guys,

is the Glo a better reader under Android than under the original firmware? Advantages/disadvantages?

The main advantage & disadvantage of Android is "options".
Nickel - Less options - simpler machine, easier to use.
Android - More options - customization, do things the way you like them.
No need to wait for Kobo to listen to your prayers.

For me, my first big problem with nickel was the lack of tag support.
With 3500+ books, I read looking through tags, and the only way to do it was to use calibre to convert them to collections.
But calibre can't send non-latin (Unicode) characters as filenames. And if I try to use Koreader, or Coolreader to read a book, I have to guess the Latin name that calibre converted the book to, so, no-go ...

Plus, with Android, I can adjust everything the way I like it, I have many (and better) readers for everything, better dictionaries, better net browsing, even multi touch.

Battery, I think is better with nickel, though I haven't use it for long.

[zufre]

I tried again following your indications and the Kobo Rotate app works OK.
Maybe, when you run the app it should show no rotating option because when you use it everything goes awry.
Thanks for your help.
Regards.

[PremaEbooks]

Originally Posted by embryo

You can also check out the image for the AuraHD I uploaded here.
I deleted the tolino app from system (it didn't work anyway) so you are not presented with a choice of launchers at the first boot.
I also resized the storage space to 2.5Gb

Hope it works ...

Mhmm
I'm gonna try it as soon as I have time
Thanks again for all your help.

EDIT: Ouch... It happens the same... SmartLauncher fails and no option to enter "manage aplications" or else...
Anyway, thanks for your help

[embryo]

Originally Posted by PremaEbooks

Ouch... It happens the same... SmartLauncher fails and no option to enter "manage aplications" or else...
Anyway, thanks for your help

Well, I'll delete the SmartLauncher and put LauncherPro in the image.

Download the new image from here.

I wonder. Is there any AuraHD owner with a working Android system?

[dalamario]

Originally Posted by embryo

I wonder. Is there any AuraHD owner with a working Android system?

I'm using android on my AuraHD, but I do not have tried your image, I used the PHJ one.

On mine I had to format DATA partition because was corrupted giving me errors on smartlauncher, packages.xml and UID IDs (maybe my download was faulty).

Now it's working well, exept that the screen is not refreshing as it should be for an e-ink.

[embryo]

Originally Posted by dalamario

On mine I had to format DATA partition because was corrupted giving me errors on smartlauncher, packages.xml and UID IDs (maybe my download was faulty).

I uploaded here an other image for the AuraHD
Its the original phj's one with the DATA partition copied from the original Marek's image.

If someone with an AuraHD can test it, and it works, I can put the link in the first post.

[Koboloid]

would be cool if there was a custom recovery like twrp or cwm.

[dalamario]

Embryo script for light off is working also on AuraHD

#!/system/bin/sh
echo 0 > /sys/class/backlight/mxc_msp430_fl.0/brightness

[dalamario]

Originally Posted by embryo

I uploaded here an other image for the AuraHD
Its the original phj's one with the DATA partition copied from the original Marek's image.

I tested your image and it work fine.

[embryo]

Originally Posted by dalamario

I tested your image and it work fine.

Thanks for the info.
I updated the first post with the link.