Touch Kobo Touch future firmware feature request thread

[DragonflyKing]

Here are some more suggestions...

Remove Library Index Page Numbers - Can we please get rid of the library page number display that was added in KT2.3.1. As I navigate each page of my library it is very distracting to have the library page displayed momentarily. It is also unnecessary, as the book numbers are displayed at the top right of this same page.

I guess it was added for people who navigate multiple pages of the library in one touch of the slider, but I don't think anyone would know exactly which page of the library index their book is on. The slider is a rough but much better indicator of where in the library index we are.

Add book page count. The library index would benefit from displaying the number of pages in a book along side its progress status, format and file size. This makes it easier to pick up a light read rather than a tomb that would be several inches thick in the real world. The calculation of how many pages in a book would only need to be done once (when generating the cover thumbnail).

Home page only display books actually being read. Currently the home page shows covers of the last 5 books opened. After downloading books I might open them to read the blurb when selecting my next read, check the number of pages or that the format has come through correctly. It is very easy to push the books that I am actually reading off of my home page just by opening other books briefly. Could a better set of rules be applied when adding covers to the home page so that the books actually being read are not removed until finished? e.g. Show the 5 books, that are not finished, with the highest amount of time invested in them (perhaps weighted for how recently they were last opened).

[julandroid]

Kobo supports UTF-8, so you can read books in different languages. What it doesn't is searching by anything different than (extended) LATIN.

If I read text in cyrillic there is no way to search by cyrillic term, by typing them, via the virtual keyboard.

Please add keyboard layouts to the virtual keyboard and let me choose cyrillic from the settings menu.

Personally I own Kobo Glo, but since both Glo and Touch use virtual keyboard, the feature is the same and many international users (like me) will benefit from it!

[mld]

My request requires a standalone version: a careful cleanup of the code and get the unit running as it should (reading docuements) before introducing anything new.

Version 2.0.2 was a mess on my original 1.9.11 unit, I had to rollback and not used Kobo desktop anymore. By accident, a forced upgrade to 2.3.1 made its way on my unit and the new code screw up the bookmarking. Looks like the code is managing the team.

Those that dream of new bells and whisthles on "Touch" need to realize that a ereader is not pad and will never be. It is used for reading, not beta testing features irrelevent to reading.

[Peakcrew]

Originally Posted by mld

My request requires a standalone version: a careful cleanup of the code and get the unit running as it should (reading docuements) before introducing anything new. ... Those that dream of new bells and whisthles on "Touch" need to realize that a ereader is not pad and will never be. It is used for reading, not beta testing features irrelevent to reading.

I tend to agree. As I've said before, I primarily want to be able to get from book to book, and from book to annotation, seamlessly (and this includes grouping books together in a way that makes sense to me). I know for others, ease of getting into dictionaries is important too. From my point of view, that is where the emphasis on functionality should be - all those things are the core functions of an e-reader.

However, with my realist hat on, all manufacturers of e-readers have to be aware of the competition, and with other options available to the consumer, such as tablets, it is easy to see how there could be a pull towards putting more functions in. I think this is a mistake - it seems to me that the hardware (on the Touch anyway) is only just up to dealing with the basic functions, and the add-ons are causing problems. Maybe, as you say, a good clean-up of the code would help with both - basic functionality with room for some extras.

I'm so fed up with mine hanging regularly recently that I am regretting buying it.

[GeoffR]

I would like to be able to go more than 6 pages without a full screen refresh. I 'm using the Kobo Glo, and when reading a book (not using menus) there is no noticable ghosting at all after 5 pages. I think it would be a simple change to make, and if the default was left at the current value of 6 then no-one should be upset by the change.

[robko]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I would like to be able to go more than 6 pages without a full screen refresh.

Do a little searching around and there is a post somewhere about what to change in one of the .ini or cfg files to allow you to do this.

[mmutoo]

Hi all,
This is a problem I am struggling with for a long time now. Whenever I try to go to a specific page in a large pdf document, I have to use the slider for turning pages which is not good at all. It would be great if there was a sort of dial pad like thing for entering the page number in addition to the slider. I remember this was the case in the kobo reader (the non-touch edition!).

[zztush]

Originally Posted by mmutoo

Hi all,
This is a problem I am struggling with for a long time now. Whenever I try to go to a specific page in a large pdf document, I have to use the slider for turning pages which is not good at all. It would be great if there was a sort of dial pad like thing for entering the page number in addition to the slider. I remember this was the case in the kobo reader (the non-touch edition!).

I think you should use Table of Contents or you should move chapters with double arrow.

[mmutoo]

Thanks for the reply zztush,
there are two problems with that method. First of all, for pdf files, most of the time there is no linked table of content. I mean there is a table of content, but I cannot choose a chapter in it to take me to that chapter. it is like the rest of the text. simple text. The second problem is I have huge pdf files, like 100 pages in a chapter, and still going to a specific page is almost impossible without turning 10 or 20 pages.

[zztush]

Hi, mmutoo,

I see. That's why all of the pdf readers dial pad have.

[vernel1008]

Hi Everyone,


This will be my first post and my first request with Kobo Glo.
I was very happy buying the device but there are some bumps along the way.
I don't know if this were requested before so you may correct me anytime.

1. Highlighting takes a lot of time and very tedious
Since the KG and KT uses infrared tech for the screen sensor, it is much more difficult to properly gauge your touch especially when there are foreign materials that obstruct the infrared receptors on the bezel. Since infrared touch in reality does not need calibration in comparison with capacitive or pressure sensors, it is much more difficult to actually pinpoint a certain pixel in the screen. This is because the four infrared receptors would beam out infrared in four direction to create a grid. Then the blocker which can either be your finger or your whole hand may register the touch. In turn, the blocker's size cannot be standardized making it difficult for the device to actually know what pixel on the screen you really want to touch.

Request: Since we cannot remove or change the infrared sensor on our KT and KG, we may employ a manual cursor on the touch so that we will know what letter or characters we want to highlight. Although it may tend to be slower, at least it would be more accurate


2. Going from one book to another takes a lot of time especially for those who has a Huge Library

I have a Huge Library of sideloaded epubs and PDFs. They tend to get messy nevertheless. But after reading a certain book and I want to switch to another, I have to get back to the Home Screen > Click Library > Click Books > Search Entire Library. The frustrating part of this is the book you wanted to read is just next to what you are currently reading.

Request: Back Button per books. The back button may either register towards the BOOK Section or the Shelves section. This way it would be easier to choose on what to read next.


3. Addition of Clock on books while reading
Request: This is a minor one. I think it would be more convenient to have a clock while reading the book instead of just seeing the Page Numbers. I usually read at night time and I tend to get too immersed with the book. When I look at the clock, it is already 4:00AM


4. Options on what 5 books to show on the Home Screen
The carousel is a very neat (I hope I called it correctly). However it tend to be troublesome especially when you add new books.
Request: Options on what to show on the carousel (based on categories, shelves, recent reads, or recent addition)


5. Official tutorial on how to create or convert EPUB to KEPUB
KEPUB is the best feature for Kobo. Although some of it are server side and DB-driven, if we can convert our EPUB correctly and easily, sideloading will be more efficient and worthwhile (sideloading is my reason for buying KOBO instead of Kindle Paperwhite). Although it is posted that you just need to add the extension .kepub.epub on every EPUB you have, annotation will not be usable. Some instructions are already posted to counter that but still an official instruction is very much appreciated.


Thank you very much

Sincerely,
~vernel

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by vernel1008

3. Addition of Clock on books while reading
Request: This is a minor one. I think it would be more convenient to have a clock while reading the book instead of just seeing the Page Numbers. I usually read at night time and I tend to get too immersed with the book. When I look at the clock, it is already 4:00AM

But then people wouldn't read as much and so fewer books would be sold.

[ottdmk]

Also, the clock has evolved the way it has because having an always present and always updating clock is a significant battery drain.

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by ottdmk

Also, the clock has evolved the way it has because having an always present and always updating clock is a significant battery drain.

Do these e-ink screens use the same amount of power to change a single digit on them (tiny %) vs. a page turn (large %)?

[robko]

Originally Posted by RoninTech

Do these e-ink screens use the same amount of power to change a single digit on them (tiny %) vs. a page turn (large %)?

Probably not (and updating the screen would only need to happen once per minute), but you could run into ghosting/legibility issues fairly quickly . The other part of the power use equation is that it would have to keep the processor live in a more highly powered up state to know when it needed to change the time. I believe Kobo talked about these points waaayyyyy back when at one point.