Kobo Nia
 Insides | |
| Manufacturer | Kobo |
|---|---|
| Name | Nia |
| Codename | kobo-nia |
| Released | 2020 |
| Type | ebook reader |
| Hardware | |
| Chipset | Freescale i.MX 6ULL |
| CPU | 1x 900 MHz Cortex-A7 |
| GPU | PXP + EPDC |
| Display | 1024x758 6 inch eink/epaper |
| Storage | Internal 8GB SD slot |
| Memory | 256MB |
| Architecture | armv7 |
| Software | |
| Original software | Kobo Firmware |
| FOSS bootloader | yes |
| postmarketOS | |
| Category | testing |
| Pre-built images | no |
| Mainline | yes |
| Flashing | |
|---|---|
| USB Networking |
Works |
| Internal storage | |
| SD card | |
| Battery |
Works |
| Screen |
Works |
| Touchscreen |
Works |
| Multimedia | |
| Camera Flash | |
| Connectivity | |
| WiFi |
Works |
| NFC | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| FDE |
Works |
| USB OTG |
Works |
| HDMI/DP | |
| Sensors | |
| Magnetometer | |
| Ambient Light | |
| Proximity | |
| Hall Effect | |
| Haptics | |
| Barometer | |
Contributors
Users owning this device
Warning
There seem to be different versions out there, Kobo Nia Rev. A and Revision C.
Kobo Nia A is known to have issues with touchscreen reads if the data is read during a screen refresh; doing so introduces jitter and warps the coordinates in the corners towards the center. This makes it very hard to use onscreen keyboards for example. It is currently not known if revision C has the same issue.
Installation
An original Kobo Nia SD card or a copy (e.g. via dd) is recommended. The unpartitioned space at the beginning of the SD card contains the E-ink panel waveform information. This information is device specific and is copied to /lib/firmware/imx/epdc/epdc.fw on boot. See the pmaports!2334for more information.
Replacing internal µSD
Internal µSD card can be replaced by something bigger.
A recommended practice to install software is to clone the SD card and keep the old one as backup or have at least the hidden waveform partition in place. before doing pmbootstrap install
So basically pull out µSD and connect to your PC and do:
dd if=/dev/sdX of=nia-backup.img
replace with something bigger (in reality only the waveform is needed but for simplicity) and do:
dd if=nia-backup.img of=/dev/sdX
and then use that sdcard with pmbootstrap install --sdcard
Hardware
Wireless
The Kobo Nia contains a wifi chip.
Display
USB
By default the USB port is in gadget mode. This enables rdnis (USB networking) and storage when plugged into a PC.
The USB can be changed to host mode, allowing a keyboard or storage to be plugged in. This requires a Micro USB OTG adapter. As root, you can change the USB role.
echo gadget > /sys/bus/platform/devices/ci_hdrc.0/role
Note: For some devices, external power may be required via the USB adapter.
UART
Software
GUI support
Display servers
Display managers
Note that this device is heavily RAM limited, even more so than the Kobo Clara. Most DEs will struggle.
Plasma Desktop
Does not run, looks like it's short on RAM.
Other
Mobile DEs need to be tested, but they likely require GPU acceleration.
See also
Applications
- InkBox, Open-source Alpine based firmware for Kobo E-readers, mirror on Github.
Other
- E-reader information
- Some installation notes/mainlining status information
- Electronic Paper Displays (EPD) / E-ink introduction
- E-ink waveforms