Kobo Touch

Disappointing! – I experienced problems with my Kobo N905 not long after I received it. The images on the screen often split in two, sometimes another page appears over the page I was reading and the text becomes blurry. I have tried a basic reset and it worked for a few days, however now the screen is frozen and split with title page of my book on top part of… Read more

screen and part of text from one page on the bottom half. If I do a factory reset I will lose all my books.

Got better with age – I bought my Touch in 2012 and have used it constantly ever since. For the first couple of years it could be a headache loading new books, and I had to reload my library of around 800 books a number of times. After updating the firmware in 2017, I have found the device works so much better. But when it was working correctly, the Kobo is… Read more

fantastic and has simplified my reading habits. I have always used a leather look case to protect it, so damage has not been an issue.

Not incredible, but still going strong! – Purchased this ~5 years ago (from what I can recall), and still works brilliantly! Despite it's significant lag when turning-on, and almost any touch functions thereafter, it continues to charge and provide me with great battery life. Love the fact that there's no ambient back light either.

Terrible quality case – How can you make a product that a person can't drop two feet onto a wooden floor without breaking? I'm on my second one, but will definitely make the effort to transfer my books onto a Kindle now.

Does the job, but not much fun to use – I have four of these things - we made the jump to eBooks and never looked back as the single device is far more convenient but there are a lot of things Kobo has just done very poorly with this device. On balance, the most widely accepeted book format does seem to be ePub, which was the main reason I chose Kobo, but: - Kobo are very heavy on DRM… Read more

(rights management) and if you use their procedures for buying and downloading books you will not be able to share them and have issues with books disappearing. Besides, they use this horrible Adobe product to enable you to download books which is cumbersome to use. Strongly recommend getting an independent product like Calibre to manage your books, after doing what you feel is necessary to take ownership of them after you buy them..

- The reader is very buggy; software in these devices is TERRIBLE and the bugs are too numerous to list here. Once you get reading on a book its alright but general useability is very poor. You will get crashes and badly formatted books you cant read, and don't even think of upgrading the firmware or you may loose all compatibility with your library software (I actually had to return one that was "upgraded") because all Kobo is interested in is nailing you down to their bookstore

- The touchscreen is the old-fashioned resistive type, and combined with the very poor processing power it's got huge lags or is not very responsive and is very frustrating to use

I still use it; it's a useful device, but in the category of "I'm livin it but not lovin it". It's the sort of device you own but are always looking to upgrade.

crash freeze die – I chose Kobo over other brands because of it's compatibility with a wide range of book suppliers (and I liked the design with the padded back). My first frustration was with the set up process and figuring out how to get the books to go onto the Kobo (the computer software said they were there yet Kobo refused to show them). Second frustration the… Read more

very unresponsive touch screen. Third frustration the endless screen freezes.

Then the mother of all of them: 2 days into a 2 week beach vacation the thing froze and never came back to life.

No hard resetting no rebooting on the pc, nothing worked. Customer Service department was absolutely useless.

"Lucky" the Kobo was still under warranty so the south east Asia based call center told me to post it to Melbourne (I googled the address later, it is residential), I never heard anything back until I started making massive noise on their facebook page (the only way to reach them in Canadian headoffice) and then within days I received 3 (!!!) by courier: 1 from the Phillipines, 1 from Canada and 1 from Melbourne.

I kept them all!

And guess what, I am down to my last one now as they all had the exact same problem. Maybe this 4th one will be lucky? Never buying a Kobo again. Ever!!

Stab your Eyes out with a Fork – That's what you'll feel like doing after a few hours with the Kobo. I received this Kobo a couple of years ago for Christmas, and it defeated me. Recently inspired to stop paying $30 to read a book, I decided to face the Kobo challenge again, determined that this time it would not get the better of me. Alas. With so many options for reading… Read more

eBooks, computer, phone, iPad, etc, the only reason for using an eReader is make life more SIMPLE. And when it comes to eReaders, the reason to chose a Kobo is again simplicity, and that it uses ePubs by default.

Sadly, such logic is powerless against the Kobo.

For starters, calling is unit a "touch" is just flat out laughable. It should be called the "Kobo jab, wait, and you might get lucky."

It's easy enough to "transfer" books onto the Kobo. Plug it into your computer and it pops up as a drive that you can copy into. Congrats, you've just purchased a really oversized flash drive.

It would probably be really good for storing secret documents, because the one thing you CAN'T do is read them!

Unfortunately the Kobo itself remains blissfully unaware of whatever you have copied over, and the operating system doesn't allow you direct directory access.

I have synced and reset, and synced again, till I'm blue in the face, nada.

As far as I can tell, the only way to add a book and have it readable, is to login to the Kobo store and buy it. So much for using open format ePubs.

Calibre is a good piece of free ware for managing and converting your eBooks. It will even attempt to overcome the inherent crapiness of the Kobo by attempting to sync. Like everything with the Kobo, it MAY work, but most times it doesn't.

One of the truly wonderous features of the Kobo is that you cannot use it in any way, whilst it is plugged in. So after trying to sync some books, you must eject it and unplug it, before you can discover that it didn't work.

But lets assume you do buy a book from the Kobo store, and after hours of phaffing around the planets have aligned, and you have a book accessible in your Kobo's library. Now you are ready for the JOY that is reading on your Kobo.

As mentioned above, don't expect the "touch" function to be anything like an actual touch function. Yes, it will usually and eventually respond to touch, much the same way as a wild animal will generally get peeved if you touch it. You'll spend far more it e jabbing, holding, and hoping, than you will actually reading. Which is actually ok, because the screen is quite frankly rubbish.

You've probably heard that eInk screens are easier on the eyes? Well unfortunately Kobo never got that memo. (Or maybe they did but it was stuck on their Kobo...)

Without just enough light, it will strain your eyes, any more than that and its washed out. Plus the light source must be at exactly the right angle.

So I am once again back to reading on my computer!

Can not put up with kobo touch, my life is reading but this kobo is a nightmare – en I went to bed it shut down a total of six times. so frustrated with this ereader. disappointed with response from kobo emails nothing they tell you to do works. with my kobo only being 5 months old I was disappointed that kobo didn't offer me a discounted price on the kobo aura HD, 5 months is not good enough for it to last didn't even get… Read more

twelve months out of it. today I will try again to get some reading done. have my paper clip ready to keep getting it back on. my friends Kobo aura y kobo and worse of all I am in wheelchair and have to go looking around for a new ereader. anyone thinking of buying this kobo touch should not do so, better to pay extra money and gee Kobo aura HD instead. Norma.After 5 months with my kobo touch I have had enough. it freezes all the time. doesn't matter what I do to reboot the kobo. nothing fixes the problem. yesterday 9th feb my kobo turned off 4 times while trying to read in the afternoon got sick of keep using the paper clip to get it back on. then whHD net thver plays up. I cannot understand why the kobo touch is being sold when they know the customers are going to have trouble with it. I know I am very unhappy with m

Would never buy another one – After perservering with 2 Kobo touch e readers in a period of under 2 years I have had enough. Constant screen freezing make reading so frustrating. Advice from Canada involves a factory reset which only works for a short time before problems recur. Buy another make!!

Freezes, updates and mot useable – I bought this for my wife about 2 years ago. Within 6 months the device had frozen and we could see it was having issues. it freezes when it updates and then part way through books which means we have to reset the device and loose all the books. We will not be using kobo again.

I read so much more now – I love reading, but I find paper books too cumbersome to be able to read as often as I would like. I also have an iPad, but I didn't enjoy reading on it so I very rarely did. At the start of the year I bought a Kobo touch, and I love it. I catch public transport very regularly, but it's generally several short trips at a time, so it was never… Read more

worth reading a paper book because by the time I got the book out and found where I was up to, it was time to put it away again. With the Kobo Touch, it's so light and thin that it's easy to carry, and when you turn it on it goes straight to where you were at. I now also read when I'm walking to kinder from the tram stop to pick up my son. I am now able to read so much more, and I love it. Easy to use Battery doesn't last as long as I'd like

Frustrating – After 3 days I am still no closer to setting up my Kobo Touch on my computer. I may be old but I can read & follow instructions but no way can I get this 'thing' set up. Also there is no backup help anywhere that is why I am resorting to this site in the hope I get some response. I purchased it on line & according to box it came . from… Read more

Amazon.co. jp It seems to have travelled from Japan to Australia via Canada. Any suggestions apart from throwing it out! Trish

Fantastic buy! – I've had my ereader for two years now and love it. I've never had a drama and I love the fact that your not tied to one book provider or format type. If and when mine dies I will definitely go with Kobo again! It's super light weight and was easily able to find a cheap cover for it on ebay that securely protects it. Cheap, reliable, lightweight, long battery life. Nothing.

Don't waste your money – I only bought a Kobo because I didn't want to be tied to buying from Amazon. It never worked properly from the start, but I thought I just needed more experience with it...mostly only used when travelling. Then it froze completely and despite endless emails with "customer service" (what a load of rubbish they were! ) they said they couldn't help.… Read more

All they could offer was to reset, which I couldn't do because it was FROZEN and not responding. Added to the very slow website and downloads, it was a complete waste of money. I finally put it down to experience and bought a Kindle which is wonderful. Wish I had read the reviews first.

Not cheap, no service, slow downloads.

Froze after two years of minimal use – This was a gift for my wife. she mainly used it on holidays. It started to have minor problems about six months ago. Recently we downloaded a new book. At the same time a software update was included. After synchronising the reader is just froze. Technical support from Kobo could not solve the problem and it was out of warranty. So be warned When working it was effective Froze after two years

do not buy if you want more than 9 months reading – I have now owned two Kobo Touch e-readers. The first suddenly died after 7 months. The screen split into four different panels and froze like that. Reading was impossible. I thought this was a freak incident, contacted Kobo, and they actually replaced it for me. The second one suffered an identical problem after 11 months. Without any warning. … Read more

Coincidence? I see other reviewers have also complained about screens going wrong after some months of use. I can only conclude there is a consistent fault in the technology. Yes I am a heavy user, turning the reader on and off two or three times a day. But I do expect my technology to last more than a year. Oh, and Kobo will not replace my second reader because they say the warrantee refers to my first purchase, even though the replacement died after less than 12 months. Onto a Kindle I think. the reader was excellent while it functioned consistently unreliable

Shocking customer support – My daughters saved and saved for their Kobo touch. It was great for about 4 months and then the screen went wrong. Kobo tried to tell us that it was out of warranty as it was older than a year, even though it was less than six months!. Then they said it was physically damaged. There isn't a scratch on it. Basically they refused to take any… Read more

responsibility. They said we could buy another one - as if! So now my daughters have an iPod touch and are happily reading their books on that. It was good while it worked, but that wasn't long. Screen went wrong quickly and Kobo would not replace it.

Love it – I have had it for over a year. Reading experience has been wonderful. Fast page turning, remembers exactly where I leave off when I switch novels (and I do that a lot). Customisable page-turn touch areas are very useful. User interface is very easy to follow. Dictionary is quite comprehensive and doesn't take long to load. Battery lasts over a… Read more

week or two with on average 3-5 hours of reading/day on airplane mode. Browsing on kobo store is a bit slow but I don't go very often so not a problem for me. Syncs with Calibre seamlessly. Love the quilted back when I take it off its cover.

Only recently I noticed if you read for prolonged periods of time (I'm talking minimum of 3 hours non-stop per day) almost everyday for about two months it's prone to freezing, which is easily fixed by turning the device off and on again.

Overall very, very happy with the device and what I paid for it. Fast page turning, good dictionary, great battery life, managed easily with Calibre Type of wifi at home&uni not supported, sometimes freeze

Endless Problems – I too have problems with the Kobo Touch. Whenever I want to add books (usually about every 2-3 weeks), I always have to sync it with a new Kobo update. Often this seems to cause problems with the Kobo when I unplug it i.e. sometimes none of the books are on there and only the Kobo instructions are left on there. So I have plug it back in again,… Read more

re-sync it etc.

This happens both on my PC at work and on my Mac at home! Also, I have had to reset it because the page turning slowed down significantly. The reason I bought the Kobo over any of the other Ebooks available in Australia was because the review I read about it in 2012 said it was the best for speed with page turning. Sometimes I have to touch the page twice for it to turn and then often it will end up turning 2 pages! Lightweight and convenient Problems loading books

Barely Passable – I was suckered by the attractive appearance of the Kobo eReader touch with the quilted lilac back. I was also lured by the price, which was notably cheaper than the Kindle Touch at the time of purchase. I want to love this device, but I have had endless problems with it since day one including: * Inability to turn past the front cover of… Read more

books purchased on the device through the bookstore

* Unresponsive touch screen, tapping endlessly for up to a minute to actually turn a page or activate a link

* Failure to remember what page I was at when switching between novels

* Failure to update my reading progress, with all books showing as 1% complete whether just started, half read, or complete

* Needing multiple applications to manage my library effectively (Kobo app, Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions)

Each time my issues have only been resolved through a factory reset at Kobo's direction i.e. deleting everything off the device and rebooting from the Kobo desktop app, losing all bookmarks and books purchased elsewhere in the process. Some issues remain unresolved, and Kobo now admit that a replacement device may be the only way to go ... except they can only offer me the silver or black Kobo as a replacement. Ugly. Goodbye one of the only pros I could list for this device.

I wish I had done more research before purchasing, as there are endless websites cautioning about the buggy software on the Kobo Touch. I had been trialling a friend's Kindle and really regret not going with something tried and tested, especially now it has come down to be closer in price. That'll teach me for being shallow! The beauty of the Kobo is definitely only 'skin' deep. Appearance - attractive lilac quilted back. Light/portable. Response of Kobo support to my issues - although slow to respond, at least they have always gotten back to me. Unresponsive, buggy, and forgetful. Managing your library when purchasing books from multiple sources is fiddly and time consuming. Live chat support only available at a time when most people are at work.

Sync problems – I have had my Kobo Touch for 6 months. Loved it to start with but like other users I now have to factory re-set in order to sync it with the desktop app. I have had good customer service from Kobo support (both email and live chat) but ultimately the only way I can get my Kobo to sync is to reset it which is not really satisfactory. Prior to this… Read more

problem I would have rated the Kobo 5 stars and even bought one as a present for someone. Now I am wondering if I should have bought a Sony. Easy to use, lightweight, good battery, access to library books Have to factory reset every time I want to sync

Kobo Touch Ereader – The Kobo makes reading an absolute chore. If you touch to turn a page, sometimes it goes forward, sometimes it goes back, the number of pages is anyone's guess. Sometimes it just won't turn on, other times it just won't turn off, sometimes it just turns itself off, when it does turn on, it takes forever. When connecting to a computer to… Read more

transfer files, make sure you have a paperback to read because the Kobo takes forever to do anything. When you have finished transfering files and ejected it from the computer, make sure you leave it connected, because it takes a few minutes for it to catch up, then return to your paperback while it processes the information. On the positive side: The battery lasts months before recharging is necessary, it's light and that's about it. Buy a cheap one, as I did, it runs all over the Kobo. Would not buy again and definately would not recommend it..

Pretty much everything: won't turn pages, won't turn off, won't turn on or turns itself off. Takes forever to do anything, including turn on.

Device is fantastic but the support – I've used the device for a year now and it is fantastic! Light, convenient and the battery lasts and lasts and lasts. Since purchasing it, I have read more and enjoyed reading more. The device is small and can hold more books than I can think get through. So, I can always have one or two on hand waiting to be read ie I am never out of reading… Read more

material. Because I travel a lot, this is a must have device for me. The user interface is really intuitive and easy to use. I've used other ereaders and this is by far the easiest. Screen is great and eInk screens are just as easy to read from as normal paper. Okay, now the downside and why I can't give this device a 5 star rating. Kobo Customer support is not always very good. Their phone support is great and the people are helpful and friendly. Their email support is atrocious. They ask you to do factory resets as a matter of course and it is obvious they don't bother to read your email in the first place. There have also been a few issues with firmware updates in the last couple of months that have not been handled well by the company. With the Kobo Touch, you can buy ebooks from just about anywhere but the Kobo store is the most convenient. The store is however, poorly designed and the tools on the site are really inadequate (search, multiple book purchases, no reviews). Overall, a great device and worth the purchase price. Readability, size, weight, convenience, construction, ease of use. Quality of their email support. Kobo store website really needs to be redesigned and updated.

Had it for nearly a year now and still loving it – I had the previous Kobo Wifi model, which was okay but not the easiest to use as it was quite clunky. I went for the Kobo mainly for the ability to borrow ebooks from the library, which was not offered on the Kindle. So when the Kobo Touch came out, I palmed the old one onto my daughter and purchased it. What a massive improvement! Very… Read more

intuitive, well organized and much faster. Over the year I've had it, it has performed reliably with no problems. Battery life is decent as well. Would recommend. Intuitiveness, well organized, books being read are displayed on the cover page My only criticism is that the customer service is not on par with what I've heard about Amazon but fortunately no problems with it so far

eReader that ticks all the boxes – It is light weight and very slim. The screen is great, it is almost like reading a normal book. It has an easy to use touch screen keyboard. You can put all kinds of books on it, unlike the Kindle where you can only put Amazon books on it. The battery is fantastic - it lasts for months. And setting it up was super easy. You can buy books on the go… Read more

using any wifi connection. Kobo also has loads of free books. It's light, easy to read and cheap! You need a cover as the screen scratches easily.