A few months ago Kobo developed a new homescreen for the Kobo Aura One and the Edition 2. The company has just pushed out a new firmware update for all of their older devices to port over the homescreen and a slew of new enhancements.
Here are all of the new features that are now available on most Kobo e-readers
- Home screen – A fresh new layout that puts the focus back on your current reads – with larger text and bigger book covers.
- Main menu – A new simple menu on the upper left gives you direct access to all the important sections with one tap.
- Authors view – You can now browse by authors in the My Books section.
- Tabs – The My Books, Browse, Recommended, and Activity sections now feature tabs for quick and easy access to sub-sections.
- Status bar – The status bar on the upper right now displays larger icons for Light, Wi Fi, Battery, Sync, and Search.
- Sort by date added – You can now sort your books by the date they were added to your account. Look for this option with the other sort controls in My Books.
- PIN lock – Protect your privacy by requiring a 4-digit PIN to unlock your eReader. Enable this feature from the settings menu under Energy Saving and Privacy.
Kobo is pushing out the update out starting today and you should be able to download and install it when you are on a wireless internet connection and hit the sync button. Sometimes firmware updates are pushed out via a staggered release, so if you don’t get it right away, do not fret.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.