Kobo Arc - My New Toy

I now have the privilege of owning a Kobo Arc - having earned it in an online training program undertaken in May this year.

This is brilliant because at work we sell Arcs (and other Kobo products) and I have often been asked how to do this and how to do that, and I didn't know. But now I do, and I shall put it up here so that I a, don't forget and also b, because I learned to do it via google search and trial and error and it took a while, so I'm going to make it more straightforward for anyone else trying to do it via google search and trial and error!

Mostly I'm going to deal with the "Reading" tapestry, because that is what you are going to be using your device for mostly, right?

It comes with KOBO pre-loaded. Once you are logged in to your Kobo account, you can download any books that you have purchased previously on that account. Mine was a little odd in that I had a random book that I do not remember buying (it was a freebie anyway), which may have been a bonus extra, and one of my previews wouldn't show up at all. That was okay, the preview was for the book I had written myself, and I intended to get it onto the device in its entirity.

So, here's how to load non-kobo.com purchased books onto your Kobo Arc:

1. Plug your Arc into your computer. It doesn't come with a USB cable, so you may need to borrow one from another ereader device (my kindle has the same size plug, as does sony) or purchase one.

2. Side-Loading: Open up the Arc's storage via your computer in the same way you would a USB stick. There is no Ebook folder inside it but that doesn't matter, because you can make one. So, make one, or use the main folder, it doesn't actually matter! Drag your file into this folder via copy and paste.
- To make your Kobo app recognise it, tap on the top right 3 dot icon and select the second option, it will then scan your internal storage looking for appropriate files.
- Select appropriate file/s.
- My thumbnail cover does not appear for some reason, but otherwise the story is fine (oddly enough, it does appear for some of the other books, which I loaded via the next process).

3. Calibre:  Download Calibre onto your computer. If you already have it, make sure it is the most up-to-date version. It should recognise the device. You can now add ebook files to calibre, then send them to device.
- Repeat process as per above with scanning the internal storage.

4. Adobe Digital Editions would not recognise my Arc, and apparently this is pretty standard. I believe there may be ways to do it, but since the above two methods both work, I don't care!

Borrowing Books from your Local Overdrive e-Library:

1. Firstly, ADE won't work, you need to download the Overdrive App.

2. Choose your local library. I cannot remember if I needed to enter the number and password or if it just recognised it via my Adobe id, but have your library card on hand anyway.

3. You will be prompted to log in with your Adobe ID. Having forgotten my password, I could not find an easy way to get it sent to me, so I ended up typing all the passwords I typically used until I got it right... But I did, in the end and then the book I had just hired pretty much appeared on my device. I may have been prompted to download it first, I cannot remember.

Overall, really easy to use. I also recommend downloading the Kindle app, so that you can connect it with your Amazon account and have access to any books you might have acquired through there, or to allow you to take advantage of their slightly cheaper pricing or greater range of  indie titles.

Other Apps I have added:
* GoodReads - allows me to manage my GoodReads profile from my device
* Book Catalogue - allowed me to import my GoodReads "books I own" folder onto my device so that when I go shopping now I will know what books I need to buy (have yet to double-check it has all of them)!