Kobo future firmware feature request thread

[MrsJoseph]

I want folders. I want to be able to arrange my books by genre if I like, or series. I want to arrange as I see fit.

As with everyone else, I would like "Go To" and bookmarks.
.PDF reflow would be GREAT, too. Right now I'm having to turn into a TechnoGod just to convert and read .PDFs on my Kobo

[scudder]

I would love to be able to keep reading while the device charges. It is frustrating to get to an exciting part of my book only to be told that I have to recharge then I have to stop and wait before I can continue. My old Sony allowed me to keep reading while I recharged.

[taming]

You can choose between manage books and keep reading with the update, scudder. WiFi has had it for awhile now, and Kobo-O will get it very, very, very soon.

[m_bisson]

If the battery DIES while reading, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make it bookmark my last page before shutting down.

I also want 'one-touch' updating with the WiFi. Why must I turn on the wireless, select the same network I always use, then finally update my library?

[The Terminator]

thanks everyone i got what i wanted fixed not sure why the light doesn't flash anymore was this part of it updating

[taming]

Try another book. I just tried using Mark Twain--one of the preloaded books--and all was fine. I actually like the flashing light. It is an indicator for several things--like you will not want to mess with another thing that needs the processor while the flashing is happening.

[taming]

The dictionary works on kepub files only. Books that are on your reader in the old kobo format will not have dictionary support. That means if you are doing an update from 1.0 or 1.4, any of the books that were on your reader before the update and stayed on the reader after it was done will NOT have dictionary support as they continue to be on in the old kobo format.

[windowsrefund]

I'm hoping for:

1. PDF reflow
2. Titles only view of "Books" listing
3. Goto page
4. Bookmarks
5. Drop the non-free "desktop apps" entirely and just support/patch/enhance Calibre
6. Add a cache or something in order to speed up page turns.

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Are any of these being worked on? Any ETAs?

Many thanks.

[windowsrefund]

duplicate

[3d0g]

1. PDF reflow
Horribly unlikely. PDF is the wrong format for reflow and just doesn't do it well.

2. Titles only view of "Books" listing
Kobo has always had this. From the Books listing, press the Display button and choose "Text Only"

3. Goto page
Marginal usefulness as there's no keyboard to enter a page number on.

4. Bookmarks
Kobo already has bookmarks that sync across devices.

5. Drop the non-free "desktop apps" entirely and just support/patch/enhance Calibre
Unlikely as I'm sure purchases via the desktop are a major (if not primary) revenue stream for kobo book resellers.

6. Add a cache or something in order to speed up page turns.
Books are processed for display by chapter so page turns are already cached. Need a faster processor (a la WiFi kobo) to speed up further.

[windowsrefund]

Originally Posted by 3d0g

1. PDF reflow
Horribly unlikely. PDF is the wrong format for reflow and just doesn't do it well.

Why is PDF reflow the wrong fix here? Currently, PDF support on the kobo is pretty much useless. Every pdf file I've attempted to view is barely readable at 100% and I'm then forced to scroll left and right if I zoom in. Wouldn't PDF reflow wrap that text so the left to right nonsense could be eliminated? If not, what would be needed in order to improve the situation?

Originally Posted by 3d0g

2. Titles only view of "Books" listing
Kobo has always had this. From the Books listing, press the Display button and choose "Text Only"

Ah! I missed that. Good to know the hook is there but it could really use some tweaking. The goal of a feature like this is to maximize screen real estate. The current formatting/design really does not achieve this because every item is using 2 lines of text that are separated with black lines which are further separated alphabetically. Really, what should happen here is the alphabets need to be dropped, the separating lines should go and every title should be reduced to a single line. If that design were to be made available we'd probably be able to see 20 or more book titles at a time.

Originally Posted by 3d0g

3. Goto page
Marginal usefulness as there's no keyboard to enter a page number on.

The move here would be to slap up a stripped down version of the soft keyboard in order to allow the user to enter the page number he or she wanted to navigate to.

Originally Posted by 3d0g

4. Bookmarks
Kobo already has bookmarks that sync across devices.

Hmmm... I have no idea what you're talking about. Where are the bookmarks and how are they used? I'm using a wifi device with 1.7.4. The only software I'm using in combination with the kobo is Calibre 0.7.34

Originally Posted by 3d0g

Unlikely as I'm sure purchases via the desktop are a major (if not primary) revenue stream for kobo book resellers.

I don't need a "desktop app" to spend money with Amazon. Why should I need one to spend money with Borders or any part of the Kobo ecosystem? I spent $60 today when I bought 3 Oreilly epubs and they didn't require me to use a proprietary desktop application. Sounds to me like a redesign is in order if the revenue stream is really that dependant on the client side tools.

Originally Posted by 3d0g

Books are processed for display by chapter so page turns are already cached. Need a faster processor (a la WiFi kobo) to speed up further.

Hmm... I've got the wifi running fw 1.7.4 and I still feel a very noticable lag when navigating around and turning pages. Do you feel that performance is acceptable? How would you compare it with the other hardware on the market today? Do we need to start overclocking our Kobos?

[zoran]

Originally Posted by windowsrefund

Why is PDF reflow the wrong fix here? Currently, PDF support on the kobo is pretty much useless.

There is no hatred against pdf. The format is just like it is. Intended
for printing. Nobody ever envisioned it's usage on 6 inch device. If
you have 20+ monitor, here you are. The very problem is the way the
line ends in pdf file. You might call it "hard line end" or however. Some-
body put enter at that place. To have it reflow, it has to be processed
to remove it and substitute for space. For instance, to convert to txt
or rtf or doc or... Then to make substitution and find where is the end
of paragraph. Then to convert again to pdf/epub...
I'm not sure why people issue their masterpieces in pdf. I know that
people mostly take their pictures by mobile phone. Next could be to
shave with fine end of chain saw.

[3d0g]

Why is PDF reflow the wrong fix here?
Again, because the PDF format doesn't properly support it. Has nothing to do with the kobo (or any) eReader. PDF is simply not a proper eBook format. It was never intended for such use.

Hmmm... I have no idea what you're talking about. Where are the bookmarks and how are they used? I'm using a wifi device with 1.7.4. The only software I'm using in combination with the kobo is Calibre 0.7.34
Might want to check out the User Guide on your kobo. Pretty sure it describes how bookmarks work - it's all automatic. Do your books not re-open where you last left off? You can read on your kobo, do a sync, and then continue reading on your iPhone, right where you left off.


I don't need a "desktop app" to spend money with Amazon. Why should I need one to spend money with Borders or any part of the Kobo ecosystem? I spent $60 today when I bought 3 Oreilly epubs and they didn't require me to use a proprietary desktop application. Sounds to me like a redesign is in order if the revenue stream is really that dependant on the client side tools.
Understood, but how much of that $60 went to kobo? There's no money to be made in the hardware. Hell, the eInk screen itself costs $90 in quantity. That alone should give you a clue about the margins of eReaders. It's entirely understandable that kobo would integrate and streamline in a process for easy purchase of eBooks which is where they make money. The very fact that the kobo actively supports alternatives like Calibre (oh, did you know the Calibre developer was on the kobo beta team?) is quite remarkable. Do you know why the Kindle doesn't support EPUB? I assure you, it's not a hardware limitation...

Hmm... I've got the wifi running fw 1.7.4 and I still feel a very noticable lag when navigating around and turning pages. Do you feel that performance is acceptable? How would you compare it with the other hardware on the market today? Do we need to start overclocking our Kobos?
How many other eReaders have you used? The original kobo was on par with the Nook for page turns with the Kindle quicker. The WiFi kobo blows the Nook away and is on par with the Kindle, to my eye at least. The eInk technology has inherent limitations. If it's still not acceptable, perhaps consider an LCD based eReader?

[dmacmart]

Originally Posted by 3d0g

Why is PDF reflow the wrong fix here?
Again, because the PDF format doesn't properly support it. Has nothing to do with the kobo (or any) eReader. PDF is simply not a proper eBook format. It was never intended for such use.

PDF is an output (final) format. If a file can be reverse-engineered to some semblance of the original text and graphics, that is happy coincidence and not a requirement of the protocol.

Having said that, there are improvements to be made to Kobo's PDF viewing but I don't thing reflow is the answer. Easy scaling and scanning, which we do all the time on our computers and even smart phones, on an eInk screen can be painful.

As for Go To Page - I'd suggest a similar interface as the setting the clock, where we can scroll one digit at a time, up to 9999 (or maybe 99999, why not). Would be pretty easy to use.

[3d0g]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

As for Go To Page - I'd suggest a similar interface as the setting the clock, where we can scroll one digit at a time, up to 9999 (or maybe 99999, why not). Would be pretty easy to use.

I'd suggested the same but it's still a painful kludge. It's a screen refresh (page turn) for every digit change so to go to page 555, it would be 20 page refreshes. Still, it wouldn't be hard to code. If enough people requested it, perhaps kobo would consider.