Rakuten Kobo launched a net reader in 2023, it was launched for folks to learn their books whereas at work or on their laptop at dwelling. This launch didn’t get a lot public consideration, and lots of Kobo customers have no idea it exists. The one option to launch the online reader is to go to the Kobo web site, log into your account, go to your library, and click on on a e book you personal. It would provide to open it up through a browser. No marvel it floats below the radar because it doesn’t have a devoted net app just like the Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader.
Since 2023, the online reader hasn’t been up to date a lot, however Kobo appears to prioritize introducing new options and enhancements to spur adoption. Here’s a record of every thing they’ve accomplished previously three or 4 months.
Illustration appreciation
We’re at all times working in the direction of pixel-perfect show for each eBook, and these days, we’ve dug into among the trickier circumstances of manga and different illustrated titles. We’ve tamed tables of contents, itemized inner hyperlinks, and slain outdated CSS code to make every thing slightly friendlier on the display. All eBooks ought to show as supposed throughout cell and desktop Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox variations.
Quicker loading for image-heavy eBooks
Once you open a comic book, manga or different illustrated content material within the Kobo Net Reader, you’re in it immediately. That’s as a result of relatively than loading the entire e book earlier than exhibiting you the primary web page, we solely obtain the pages you want as you want them. We’re so pleased with how good illustrated eBooks look now; we couldn’t wait to indicate you each web page—and we figured you couldn’t both.
Quicker every thing
We acquired on a roll with pace enhancements and cleaned up some previous code to make every thing within the Kobo Net Reader a bit snappier.
Talking of being “on a roll”… introducing scrolling
If you would like the books you learn in your net browser to really feel extra like all the opposite stuff you learn, we’re glad to supply vertical scrolling for all text-based eBooks. Toggle between vertical and horizontal studying progress within the Studying Settings menu.
Limbering up web page layouts
We’ve taken textual content customization to a brand new degree with controls for adjusting font weight, letter spacing, line spacing, phrase spacing and alignment. As a result of with everybody studying on completely different screens in numerous circumstances (with completely different eyes!), each reader wants to have the ability to get their web page trying good for them.
You get a font! You get a font! All people will get a font!
Whereas customizing your web page structure, try our new fonts: Atkinson Hyperlegible, Bitter, Noto Sans, Texurina, Ubuntu, and Vollkorn can be found now. Please use it responsibly.
Bookmarks
We’ve at all times synced your studying location throughout apps and gadgets, however now you possibly can bookmark particular pages in your books. You may decide up the place these bookmarks are left off on Kobo’s cell apps and eReaders.
Charcoal is right here
We love Darkish Mode, however typically it’s just a bit too darkish. So we’ve added a gentler Charcoal theme to affix our eye-pleasing Gentle, Sepia, and Darkish modes menu.
Coming quickly
All of the aforementioned new options are rolling out first to pick areas, so hold a watch out for them wherever you might be.
In the meantime, we’ve been exhausting at work levelling up our net studying expertise to the identical options on our eReaders and apps. Which means you’ll quickly be capable of:
- View your bookmarks in our new Annotations Checklist
- Spotlight textual content in 4 colors and sync the highlights you’ve made on Kobo apps and eReaders
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Put up and the New York Instances have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
