The Kobo Family

Way back when, when I got my first E-reader from Kobo, they only had the one model. Now, there are almost too many to count - especially when you add in all the colour options.

The earliest that I still see on the market on occasion is the Kobo Wi-Fi. This was the second Kobo E-reader I got, and as a basic model, it still does absolutely fine. If I remember correctly, it held up to a thousand books and the battery typically lasted about two weeks. I remember getting about three to five books read on it at a time. I know this one was on the market in mid-2011 because I wrote a post about it around then. This was the first Kobo to give more than simply a choice between black and white. There was the black, all-white, white and lavender, white and silver, white and baby blue, and I think, white with a grey backing. Navigation was done via the thumb-pad in the bottom right corner.

The next models on the market were the Kobo Vox and the Kobo Touch. Two completely different e-readers catering to a completely different audience set. The Kobo Touch was the next generation e-ink reader and the first of the new touch-screen readers Kobo released. The biggest additions this brought about were more control over the page appearance - not just font size, but multiple fonts, line spacing and margins were all adjustable. They also added the ability to touch a footnote and have the book take you to that point and then back to your original page again, which in my mind opened up a lot of non-fiction reading options, not to mention the ability to highlight and take notes on what you're reading. Kobo also improved the battery life dramatically.  As with the Wi-Fi, the Touch comes in several colour options, including pink, blue and white backs with a white front, and also an all black model.

The Kobo Vox is one I've written about quite a bit on All Booked Up. It was the first Kobo Tablet E-reader. As a result it has all of the positives and the negatives for the type. I have one though, and I quite like it, so in my mind given what it is, for a certain segment of the population, the Vox is ideal, and the shortcomings won't be as noticeable. Mainly the shortcomings are that the battery life is about seven or eight hours of use and that the tablet isn't the fastest one out there. On the positive side is the ease of being able to browse the internet via Wi-Fi, and get your e-mail, jot down a few notes or even play a few games. The Vox also retains the micro-SD card slot, which is one of the things I've used the most often with it. The Vox (and of course, the Arc) is ideal for someone who likes graphic novels, or for someone who likes to be able to do more than just read on a device. I have to say, this is the Kobo that I've found it easiest to load on library books for, and another neat feature was being able to install the Amazon Kindle app as well, giving me the best of both worlds - something that has since been made even easier.

Another first with the Kobo Glo: The first non-backlight built in light for reading. Also, the first to go completely to a touch screen with no navigation buttons. Two GB of storage allows for 30 thousand books, and there's a micro-SD card slot if you need more storage. The Glo also has a slightly faster processor than the Touch, making for a slightly faster reading experience. Not as dramatic a difference than there was between the Wi-Fi and the Touch, but a very nice update, and honestly, the one I recommend to anyone I know is going to be doing a lot of travel. The light is just too helpful I think. Adjustably bright, so useful in all kinds of reading situations from twilight to absolute middle of the night darkness. If I were going to buy another e-ink e-reader I think it would be a toss-up between this one and the Aura HD.

Along with the Glo, Kobo has come up with another bright idea: the pocket-sized Kobo, perfect for students, commuters and anyone who likes to snatch any stray moment to read: the Kobo Mini. With only a five inch screen, this one will literally fit in your pocket. On the other hand, this is a more basic model. All of the navigation features are there, but this Kobo has a slower processor than the Glo, which came out at the same time, matching the one in the Touch. The Mini is also lacking the ComfortLight of the Glo and the micro-SD card slot. For some, that doesn't matter - the smaller size is the big selling point. For me, I think those are the deal-breakers. I'm a fast enough reader that the thought of having less text on the page and having to turn the page more often would be an annoyance.

Kobo also has a new tablet e-reader out this year: the Arc. Like the Vox, it's running on the Android operating system. Unlike the Vox, however, this tablet doesn't have the micro-SD card slot - something I would miss greatly. I used it regularly for transferring books and other files to and from my e-reader. One nice change between the Vox and the Arc though is the choice in sizes. The Arc comes in 16, 32 and 64 GB sizes, so depending on what you're planning to do, there's going to be plenty of room to work with. Another improvement I can see right off is the dual front-facing speakers. Those should really improve the sound quality if you want to use this for something like NetFlix.

As I said with the Vox, I'd recommend this one primarily for those who want to read books that use plenty of colour, such as graphic novels and the like. I can see from the screen layout that this is geared more for multimedia use rather than for strict reading.

The final and newest e-reader in the Kobo family is the Aura HD. I wrote a full post on it here earlier today, so I'll just summarise some of the points briefly here. Rather than the normal screen of 6 inches that the majority of the other e-ink/pearl readers listed here have, this one has a 6.8 inch screen, making it closer to a hardcover in size. Also, the Aura HD has at least twice the storage of the other e-readers at 4 GB of space. Finally, the ComfortLight has been improves somewhat so there's less bleeding at the edge of the screen. The only negative I've found so far is the removal of the "Free Books" category from the Kobo store menu. The books are still there to be found. You just have to know about them to be able to search by name, rather than being able to browse a list.

Kobo Vox Update - Android Marketplace (Google Play)

The biggest news involving the Kobo Vox in recent days is the latest system update. This one was big enough that Kobo sent out a mass e-mail a few days ago to announce it: access to Google Play, which also includes the Android Marketplace.

On turning on my Kobo Vox after the update was applied, I discovered that the GetJar marketplace icon which had originally come with the Kobo Vox was replaced by one called Play Store, which brought up the Google Play site. That's where the apps market is now.

At the same time, the Vox has added more Google integration to the system: the "Notifications" bar across the top now has a little e-mail icon, and on swiping it to see the notifications, it now states how many new e-mails I have. There are probably other integrations too, but that is the first one that came to my notice right off the bat.

A quick search discovers that my work-around for adding the Kindle app to the Kobo Vox is no longer needed. It's right there in the app-market at the top of the results list from a search for "Kindle for Android". I suspect the same thing is true for a lot of the work-arounds people have been using to date as well.

It may well be possible to read NetGalley titles easily on the Vox now. Aldiko Reader is easy to find and install, which is what NetGalley says to use with Android. I'd check it out but at the moment I have no titles requested.

I think this update is something that a lot of people have been waiting for. I know I have, if only so I don't have to say to people that the Vox doesn't have access to the Android Marketplace anymore.

Kobo Vox - Longer Term Impressions

It's now been several months since I posted both my First Impressions review of the Kobo Vox and my Further Impressions. Since then, I've added a couple of tutorials: Installing the Overdrive Media Console and Installing the Amazon Kindle app.

While I've been a fan of the Kobo e-reader from day one, since I got the Kobo Vox, I haven't even charged up the old Wi-Fi model once. As far as I'm concerned, low battery-life and all, the Vox trumps the older models completely. I can't say anything about the Touch model though.

 I've done a fair bit of reading on it too. Both of Michael R. Hicks books - through the amazon Kindle app, which works like a charm - and several others too.

Daylight or night, it works wonderfully with all kinds of lighting - definitely better than my smartphone screen.

Reading back, I noticed that I commented on the Live Wallpapers having a tendency to slow my Vox down back in my Further Impressions post. Maybe it was just that one wallpaper, because I've since been running a spectacular one, with no problems in the last couple of months. Finding and installing the wallpapers though has been a challenge, because most of them are linked from the Android Marketplace, which it seems, the Vox still has no access to. On the other hand, I haven't tried in recent months, but at the same time I haven't heard otherwise either.

The libraries have been a bit of a disappointment though. Nothing to do with the Overdrive Media Console app or how it works however. That side of things has worked - no problems. It's just that the libraries don't seem to have the kind of books I'm interested in reading - mostly science fiction or fantasy novels.

Loading on non-Kobo E-books is still an absolute breeze. Drop the e-pub file onto your micor-SD card and insert it into the Vox. Open the Library, and your e-reader does the rest of the job for you. Believe me, about half my library is on there from that method.

The feature I'm starting to take more advantage of now though is the Pulse, that social aspect of reading which has been integrated into the Kobo Vox interface. Surprisingly, at least with the super-popular books like Game of Thrones, it's lots of fun, because you can keep track of who else is reading the book at the same time, and how many times the book has been read. Not to mention reading other people's comments about the book. It's possible to read all the comments at once (choosing one option will let you avoid spoilers too) or to see comments and "likes/dislikes" for particular pages. It's kind of neat to know that somebody has commented for the same page you're reading. I'm thinking of it a bit like a world-wide book club for the book you're reading. Unfortunately, it only works with the books you buy from Kobo.

At the same time, I'm integrating Facebook into my reading a bit more. I only just managed to get the Facebook app (the screen just past the home screen) to let me log in properly, and I've been finding that the Facebook integration with Kobo is a bit finicky, and not always letting me do things like posting quotes. On the other hand, that could be my unfamiliarity with both Facebook and that segment of Kobo usage talking.

On a different topic, recently Dark Horse Comics has announced a partnership with Kobo to bring their graphic novels to the Kobo Vox. Even though I haven't tried reading a full graphic novel on the Kobo Vox, I have seen what they look like. It's spectacular! The pages are vibrant and clear, with readable text and crisp images.

Overall, I've had nothing but good experiences with my Kobo Vox over the past several months. Certainly the "new gadget" appeal has never worn off in my eyes.

I have however, noticed a change in how I read, using the Vox as compared to reading a paper book or even on the older Wi-Fi model. Before, I would read in longer segments of time, even hours at a time. Now, when I'm reading on the Vox, I find myself switching over to playing a game after only a few minutes of reading. Just the temptation of having the games available?

Friday Favourites - Your Favourite Aspect of the Kobo Vox?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week I'm asking what your favourite aspect of the Kobo Vox e-reader is. Or, what your favourite app is?

Please leave either a link to your response or your response itself in the comments.

My answer: I know this is more of a limited question than some I have asked, but I started wondering anyway.

For myself, I find that it's the flexibility that I have thanks to the ability to install apps. I've installed the Overdrive Media Console so I can read library books, and because of that, I don't even have to be using my computer to look them up. Because the Kobo Vox is more of a tablet computer type, I can do it all from there, providing I have Wi-Fi access.

Or, and for me, this is the big one. Although I love Kobo, with the Vox, I'm not restricted to only Kobo and any repositories of e-pub books. It is possible, with a little bit of work, to install Amazon's Kindle app to the e-reader, so I have the best of both worlds. That's how I was able to take advantage of Michael R. Hicks sale on the In Her Name omnibus edition - now over.

It's just plain nice to have options. Some days, I find myself using the Vox more for playing games than for reading, others I alternate between reading and game playing.

Installing the Kindle App to the Kobo Vox

I've seen in a number of places offhand mentions by people that they've been able to install the Kindle app to their Kobo Vox readers, but I couldn't see a way right away. And there were no immediately obvious tutorials to be found on Google. I found one though, that wasn't specifically about installing the Kindle app, but it works, over at the Dear Author blog.

According to that post, the GetJar marketplace has the Kindle app, so that was my starting place. In the version actually on the Kobo Vox, it can't seem to be found at all, so I tried downloading it to my computer to e-mail to myself on the Vox. Something they say can be done. According to GetJar, the app in question doesn't work with the Vox, but I've seen all those mentions of having installed it successfully.

So, on to the next step in my quest. Installing another marketplace. Easily done. I tried another of the marketplaces on their list: the Soc.io Mall. Opened up my browser and input the url for that, installed it and registered. They wanted a bit more information than I really wanted to give though. I did it anyway. Success.

Searched for the Kindle app on that marketplace and installed it just the same way I would an app from the GetJar marketplace that came with the Kobo Vox, and installed it. No warnings about it not working with my device. Their install method follows a bit of a different process though. Instead of "Download" the button says "Accept Permissions" and then after that, "Install". From there it either brought up the install screen or I had to bring down the Notifications window and open the downloaded file myself. I honestly can't remember, having been a bit distracted at that point in the process. Either way, it was a simple thing to do.

After the Kindle app is installed, you register your account the first time you open it. If you already have an amazon.com account, use that, or else create a new account. Once you're in, the app comes with three free classics, and you can get more books through the menu button. The process seems to be fairly intuitive.

Edited to add:
The latest update to the Kobo Vox has made this unnecessary now. With the access to the Play store, it's now easy to search for any app you want.

Kobo Vox Installing Overdrive and Borrowing Library Books

Edited in response to a question in the comments as of January 2, 2012

Like the Kobo WiFi and the Kobo Touch, you can read library books on the Kobo Vox. It's just done somewhat differently. Where with the previous Kobo e-readers, you would download the book to your computer and then load it onto the e-reader through Adobe Digital Editions, with the Vox you have to download an app.

Here's the up-side though, Overdrive, the makers of the app have it linked from their website, bypassing the Android Marketplace completely. Thus, it's a breeze to download to the Kobo Vox and install.

I googled Overdrive, then found on their site the Overdrive Media Console, selected the operating system (Android), chose to download it directly from them, and then agreed to the user agreement. From there, it took less than a minute to download.

To install, I've found that the best way is to bring down the notifications screen and then touch (I keep wanting to say "click") the file you've just downloaded. From there, follow the prompts.

The newly installed Overdrive Media Console app can be found under "All Apps".

Once you've opened Overdrive Media Console for the first time, the shelf will be empty except for the welcome option. You'll have to choose your libraries, which is one of the options you'll get in the menu from the button at the bottom of the screen. Go to "Get Books", and it will ask you to choose your libraries.

You can either use your postal code or browse for libraries. I tried the former and got told there were no results which I know is not true, as I've borrowed for my old Kobo before. So, I'm browsing to find libraries. It will bring it up by country. Narrow it down, until you find your libraries in the list. Save the library, and start browsing or searching.

Once you've found a book you want, add it to your cart and either keep searching for more books or proceed to check-out. Apparently, you can have a maximum of five titles out at any one time.

The first step in the check-out is to choose the library that issued your library card from their drop-down menu. Then, you have to type in your library card number. I found that doing it with no spaces worked. Choose your checkout period and confirm the check-out. Hit download, and now discover a quirk you didn't know about. You need to have an Adobe ID to use the book. Easy enough to get, and you might already have one.

The books you borrow will be stored and accessed within the Overdrive Media Console.

If you've checked out books on your computer, you can still get them onto the Kobo Vox:

First go to the "Get Books" option in the menu. Select the library you checked the book out from and go to the "My Digital Account" option.

Log in.

Go to the My Bookshelf option and from there you can download the books you've checked out.

Kobo Vox Further Impressions

I've had my Kobo Vox for a little over a week now and I'm still loving it for reading.

No, the backlit screen isn't quite as easy to read on as the e-ink of the Touch or Wi-Fi models, but it's not bad at all glare-wise, and in the evening it's actually kind of neat - I've taken to reading while waiting for my ride after work and things when I'm standing outside.

Pages turn really easily (occasionally too easily as I accidentally turn two pages once in a while), and books load quickly. That is, when I don't have one of the Live Wallpapers activated. Those are incredibly neat, and the ones that come with the Kobo don't slow it down any at all. The one that I found and downloaded on the other hand, it slowed things down quite a bit, enough that I reverted back to the static images.

For browsing the web, you've just got to get used to the mobile versions of the websites. Something that's not bothering me much, I have to say. It's really handy though, having access to my e-mail all of the time. Just have to figure out better how to use the Vox for typing up blog posts and the like for it to be even more perfect.

I love the ability to highlight and make notes (and then to be able to jump back to them in an instant). That's going to make finding quotes and things a breeze for book reviews.

Not having access to the Android Marketplace on the other hand is proving to be frustrating! Nearly every site that says it has an Android app you can use has it linked to the marketplace so I can't download it. On the other hand, I'm not that familiar with the Android system yet, so I haven't really tried all of the tricks out there to get them in other ways (or any of the tricks really, although I've seen a couple of tutorials).

Overdrive, the way to access the libraries, at least in Canada, though does have the app in a way you can download it straight from their site. That's something I've got to try in the near future, though that might end up being after Christmas.

Loading on non-Kobo e-books is a snap! If you have a micro-sd card and adaptor that is. I just copied them onto there and then once the card was inserted, imported the books into the Kobo Library, where they show up in the list just like any other book. And highlighting and note-taking both work fine in non-Kobo Epubs as well.

Music seems to stay on the SD card, although both photos and e-books seem to be imported right onto the Kobo. At least I'm sure of that with the e-pubs, but not quite so sure for photos (need to try things with them before I can say for sure). I also need to do some experimenting with playing video on the Kobo. I've heard a few too many contradicting things to really know what works and what doesn't.

My biggest gripe is with the charging cable that comes with the Kobo Vox. Because the battery life is so short, I tend to charge it quite regularly, and when sitting at my desk, the cable is just barely long enough to reach me from beside the desk. I think it's only a 3 foot wire - which also leaves me limited in where I can put the Kobo while I'm charging it. Guess I'm going to have to daisy-chain an extension cord or two in the near future.

Still, I'm loving the experience, even though I'm grumbling a bit here.

Kobo Vox Impressions - 2nd Day

2nd day impressions:
Up until about six thirty tonight the Kobo Vox was more or less perfect in it's behaviour. Reading was smooth, the highlighting was easy to do - and I had a really neat unrelated surprise. Well, more or less unrelated. There's an e-book I was given to review, Writing Horses: The Fine Art of Getting It Right by Judith Tarr, that I read back in February on the Kobo Wi-Fi. At the time I'd rather wondered why the file was about 14 megs. However, I just figured it was because there were a lot of images. I opened it on the Kobo Vox this morning and had a wonderful surprise: All of those images I'd assumed were in black and white because the e-readers were turned out to be in full, glorious colour.

So, I read and highlighted away all day, having fun with the various settings. I figured out how to change the desktop image, and there are some absolutely beautiful ones that come with the Vox. Personally, I'm finding that the static beach scenes are the nicest, although there are also some really neat images which also contain movement - water rippling or colours changing, or even a rotating galaxy for example.

Got home and turned on my Vox, expecting it to work properly. After all, it had all day. Instead, I found myself with a bit of a problem.

Connection issue: Kobo can't start right now because of a problem connecting to the Kobo server. Please try again in a little while.

Now, I'm still not sure what the Kobo thought it was doing. You don't need to be connected to the wi-fi to be able to read. The books are stored on the device itself, but that message came up every time I tried to load the store, a book (both Kobo and non-Kobo) or the library itself. Tried re-starting - no luck. Tried removing the micro-SD card I'd left in from last night. Didn't change anything. Tried changing various settings with no success either. And, just in case, right at the beginning, I made sure that I was connected to the wi-fi. Browsed the internet, twitter etc with no problems.

Ended up resorting to searching Google for a solution to the problem. Two different messageboards suggested doing a factory re-set, which seems to have fixed the problem - along with removing all my books and other things of course. I found that this one had the clearest instructions. After going through that and redoing the initial set-up, I'm now waiting for all my Kobo books to re-download. After that, I have to re-import my non-Kobo books, although I think I might add a few more of them this time.

At this time, I'm also working out how to add music to my Vox, more or less by following the instructions in the user guide. Also in the near future, I need to figure out how to get Overdrive and access to library books. I've been told that the device can do that - but I need to try it for myself. Just hope I can find some library books I actually want to read this time around. That's why I didn't use that option much to date with my other Kobo E-reader.

Despite this issue, I'm still quite happy with my Kobo Vox and am not about to give up on it yet  (or at all)

Kobo Vox Setup and First Impressions

Testing out the Kobo Vox e-reader/tablet for the first time. So far, I'm really liking it, although all I've really done so far is the setup and some poking around.

Initial setup:
On the first attempt, the set up process got stuck in a loop at the video clip. Touching the "Get Started" button restarted the video clip as did touching anywhere else on the screen. Restarting the Vox got the setup process going again without any problems. Updates applied themselves quickly - 8 minutes give or take.

After the firmware update it went back to the first screen of the start-up and asked me to "get started" again. No problems it seems. Went to the "Connect" screen and the reader connected to the right network automatically. Asked me to check for updates again and then went to the "Date and Time" screen. Just choose your time-zone. The Vox does the rest.

The next step is to either create a Kobo Account or sign in with your existing account, although you also have the option of signing in with your Facebook account.

Once this is done, then the setup is complete and your books will download.

Beyond that, I'm finding that the keyboard works well for typing although arrow keys would be nice for making corrections, and for navigating around within the post.

Honestly, at this point I'm not familiar enough with the keyboard on the tablet to fully try to type a whole post there.

As to reading on the Vox, it's not the same as with the e-ink screen of either the Wi-Fi or the Touch models, but I like it. Page turning is quick and the text is crisp and clear. Admittedly though, this is only my experience with the books for the earlier Kobos. I have yet to try any of the books that are designed specifically for the Kobo Vox.