Kobo Firmware 4.10.11591 Enhances OverDrive Support Amid Walmart Partnership Launch
The unnamed Kobo eReader N782, which surfaced a few days ago at the FCC, has not yet been introduced; however, since August 21, new firmware 4.10.11591 has been available for some recent Kobo models. This update is available for the following models: Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 v1/v2, Kobo Aura Edition 2 v2, Kobo Aura ONE, Kobo Aura ONE Limited Edition, and Kobo Clara HD.
According to a MobileRead user, the following changes have been made:
- Overdrive support for Aura H2O Edition 2, Aura Edition 2, Clara HD
- Fix: Top margins are now displayed correctly when opening an ePub file.
- Fix: No longer necessary to long press to switch the reading progress display.
- Reading settings have been rearranged
- Paging through multi-page settings screens has been improved
- An option for automatic USB connection has been added. This can be enabled via the config file. In the “DeveloperSettings” section, you need to add the value “true” for the “AutoUsbGadget” option.
The update is being rolled out automatically in several waves to the supported models. If you haven’t received a notification yet, you can simply wait, or install the update manually.
Just in time for the Rakuten-Walmart partnership
The largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the USA (Walmart) entered into a strategic partnership with Kobo’s parent company Rakuten back in January 2018. It was announced at that time that the retail giant intended to enter the eBook sector. This collaboration is beneficial for both companies, as Walmart has been defending its market position against the online giant Amazon for years, while Kobo has been unable to gain additional market shares in the USA despite early market presence following the bankruptcy of the second-largest bookstore chain, Borders, in the USA.
Both parties are now attempting to challenge Amazon’s dominance in the eBook space. Digital books and Kobo eBook readers are now being sold on Walmart eBooks. At the same time, the retailer plans to use its local stores to sell popular book titles (with 40 titles to choose from) in the form of gift cards, as well as reading devices.
The aforementioned software update is being released just in time for the official start of the partnership and brings better OverDrive support, as well as (presumably) appropriate modifications for the eBook store.
