Kobo Clara HD

[Agama]

Is the Kobo Clara compatible with calibre? (My Paperwhite recently died and the Clara looks like a nice alternative).

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Agama

Is the Kobo Clara compatible with calibre? (My Paperwhite recently died and the Clara looks like a nice alternative).

All Kobo devices are very compatible with calibre especially if you value any of
- auto-manage your Kobo Collections via calibre
- auto-transfer calibre cover as Kobo cover thumbnail and sleep screensaver
- auto-transfer calibre Comments to Kobo synopsis for every sideloaded book
- plus lots of bells and whistles in calibre plugin, Kobo Utilities plus choice of 2 different calibre drivers KoboTouch or KoboTouchExtended.

[Agama]

Thanks, looks like I'm well covered.

[Agama]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

All Kobo devices are very compatible with calibre especially if you value any of
- auto-manage your Kobo Collections via calibre
- auto-transfer calibre cover as Kobo cover thumbnail and sleep screensaver
- auto-transfer calibre Comments to Kobo synopsis for every sideloaded book
- plus lots of bells and whistles in calibre plugin, Kobo Utilities plus choice of 2 different calibre drivers KoboTouch or KoboTouchExtended.

I've just read Kobo's full user guide for the Clara HD and there is no mention of any collections management. Is this a Kobo reader feature which has been left off the Clara?

Are there any details on which driver is best to use?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Agama

I've just read Kobo's full user guide for the Clara HD and there is no mention of any collections management. Is this a Kobo reader feature which has been left off the Clara?

I just had a look at the user guide for my Glo HD, and there is no mention of collections as well. But, it is a standard function in the Kobo firmware, so it will be included. And I haven't heard any screaming about not being there in the Kobo forum.

On device, the collection management is simple. You can open the collection list from the main menu, or tapping on the tab in the library. At the top right of the list is a menu and that has the "New collection" option. That takes you through the steps of creating a collection and adding the initial books to it. You can also long press on a book in the library and select "Add to collection". This displays the collection list and you can select multiple collections or create a new one.

The best thing is to play and see how it works. There isn't anything you can do that will break things.

Are there any details on which driver is best to use?

The extended driver extends the function of the built-in driver. And the main thing it adds is to convert epubs to kepubs on the fly when being sent to the device. If you don't want to read the books as kepubs, it isn't needed. If you want to know the differences, there are several threads discussing this in the Kobo forum, including one that should be on the first page.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Agama

I've just read Kobo's full user guide for the Clara HD and there is no mention of any collections management. Is this a Kobo reader feature which has been left off the Clara?

No. All current Kobo models have Collections. See first image for a screenshot from my ClaraHD. You can manage them via calibre for an easy life or, if you prefer, you can manage them manually on the device.

As well as a Collection list there's also an Author list (see second image). This is also managed via calibre. As you can see Kobo believe that support for Series info should be standard. I forgot to mention that in my previous post.

Originally Posted by Agama

Are there any details on which driver is best to use?

The KoboTouch and KoboTouchExtended (KTE) calibre drivers share a lot of code. The latter has a few extra features. The most common reason for using KTE is if you prefer to read your books in kepub format rather than plain epub. It has an option to do an auto format-shift from epub to kepub during calibre send-to-device. It saves having to clutter up your calibre library doing a standard epub to kepub conversion. Whether you'll prefer epub or kepub is a personal choice. Both have pros and cons. Best to try both and see what you think.

Every Kobo has 2 reading apps, the standard Adobe one for epubs or the kepub reading app for reading books bought direct from Kobo (or created by calibre or geek1011's kepubify utility).

[Agama]

Thanks davidfor and jackie_w I just wanted to be sure before buying one. Author and series lists look really handy too.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Agama

Author and series lists look really handy too.

Just to be clear, there isn't a separate series list like there is for authors. What you are seeing is the sorting set to series. Any of the book lists can be sorted by Recent (combination of when read and added to the device), Date added (to the device), Title, Author, Series, File size or File type.

A series list is probably my most requested feature.

[Agama]

There still appears to be at least as many options for sorting and filtering as on the Kindle and I already have a Kobo account from the days of my old Sony PRS-300. (Both my eInk readers to date died due to battery failure with replacements being hard to find so I'm reluctant to splash out on something like the Aura One even though the screen size looks ideal for general reading).

l don't suppose Kobo's collections allow sub-collections do they?

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Agama

l don't suppose Kobo's collections allow sub-collections do they?

I wish, but no.

[Agama]

Ah well, it's no deal breaker so I'll go Clara hunting at the weekend.

[Barbara1955]

You can use your Own collections. I use Authors [Last name, First name]

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

You can use your Own collections. I use Authors [Last name, First name]

Kobo have had an Authors list for at least a year now. This is built automatically from the authors on the device. This has multiple sorting options.

They just need to add a series list.