I've got my hands on the elusive Panasonic Words Gear!

[Azayzel]

Thanks for the questions Bob. Yes, the WG is pretty darn good with PDF's, though for the larger A4-format, they're best viewed in landscape mode, though it's really crisp. Some books I have from Syngress (the paper-edition came with a an eBook version) looks great and is easisly readable in portait-mode. While I haven't loaded any HTML on it yet, I'll give this a whirl tomorrow and test it out along with some CHM's as well.

The bad thing about the WG is that Panasonic really locked it down in many aspects:

1. You have to use their PDF convertor to get PDFs on the device. From what I can tell, it doesn't change, resize, or do anything to the PDF except create a directory structure on the SD card for keeping track of cover photo, history, and bookmarks. While the FAQ for the PDF convertor says you cannot back up the conversion software, I proved this wrong and made/tested an a copy myself.

2. Getting video on this device is another story altogether, I still haven't been able to find the right conversion format that it accepts. This is too bad, since the screen is a pretty good size for a PMP. Perhaps some Japanese speaker on the forum can find what specs this thing wants. I've tries ASF in an MP4 wrapper, but I'm sure there's a bit more I need to get it to work.

3. Everything pertaining to getting content onto the device is tied to thier "My Bookcase" software, which has a link to their bookstore similar to Connect. When you put a book on the device it literally moves it off your bookshelf and onto the device. When you're done with it, you need to move it back using the software. This tries to inherently make it impossible to have more than one copy of the book floating around among your devices.

Lastly, while the scrolling mechanism is pretty cool and easy to use, I wish the device was smart enough to see what was on the screen and scroll appropriately; i.e., not just 5 lines at a time, it's a bit annoying to have to scroll so much. The quality of the image is the excellent, so no compaints there.

[igorsk]

How long does the battery last?

[SeNS]

Azayzel, could you please test these files and post screenshot(s)? I want to know is the Cyrillic (with embedded font) supported or not.

http://sens.boston.googlepages.com/pelevin_omon_ra.pdf
http://sens.boston.googlepages.com/p...n_ra_solid.pdf

(first built with PrimoPDF printer, second one with Solid, both formatted for Reader and have embedded cyrillic font Times New Roman)

Also could you test the battery life at "reading-only" mode?

Thanks a lot, man!

[JSWolf]

I just had a look at one of them using Ebook Library and it looks fine.

[SeNS]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just had a look at one of them using Ebook Library and it looks fine.

It's OK but before purchase this expensive guy (what I found $480.50 at RedOrbit) I wanna be sure You know, Japanese devices some time very tricky. Who knows how they render PDF's inside?

Truly I don't like to use PDF's at all but with Vadim Zaliva's server it's can be a (probably) painless.

[Azayzel]

Sorry guys, I hadn't been intentionally ignoring this thread (quite the opposite actually), I've just been quite busy the past 2 weeks. I'll check the files on Sunday. As for battery life... it auto-shuts off if it's not being used and typically stayed running about 3 days for me. On the down side, it drains juice when not being used too. Yikes!

Still haven't found compatable video settings for it yet.

And don't bother getting ripped by some import company, I can pick you up one and have it shipped for my actual cost; e.g., train fare, shipping, cost of unit.

[illerate e-worm]

Azayzel, about the video. I've converted a clip to ASF/MPEG4 and it doesn't even play on the computer's media player. I changed the video codec to WMV v.9 and it's OK. A bit of useless info, perhaps (considering I haven't got wordsgear), but it's worth a try.

Details in English are hard to come by... here's a link that gives more of those precious specs. http://translate.google.com/translat...GB244%26sa%3DX

[Azayzel]

SeNS - The PDF software I had to pick up with it can most probably be, er... peeked into and its process replicated. Whatever it does, it only takes a few seconds to do and then it's done, so I don't think it recreates it or anything. You're not supposed to be able to make a backup of the software, but I did and have only been using the backed-up version. Anyway, here is what both of your PDF's look like on the WordsGear. I couldn't tell any difference (if one looks blurrier or brighter, it's an unfortunate result of my mad camera skillz). I zoomed in for a close-up, in case you wanted a closer look. Looks cyrillic to me!

As to paying $480 for the device... in actuality it's ~$370 + shipping. If you decide to pick one up, I can do so for actual cost plus train fare. You might save some money this way depending on your shipping address.

illiterate e-worm - Regarding the video... Hmm, I'll have to try that then. I assumed it required ASF in an MPEG4 container for DRM purposes. What settings did you use, I'll throw a file into MediaCoder and see if it kicks out anything this guy can handle.

[illerate e-worm]

ASF container/MS-mpeg4 video codec... perhaps it didn't work for me because it was a microsoft codec. Have you tried Xvid? My conversion tool is a programme called SUPER, it only throws up four codecs for the ASF container: MS-mpeg4.v1 and v.2, and Windows mpeg4 codecs WMV8+9. I guess it's about trying different combinations to unlock the bugger.

Azayzel, can you give a rough estimate of shipping to the UK?

[SeNS]

Thanks a lot, man! Looks cool and really cyrillic :-) I'll contact you soon about save some $$ ;-)

[casty]

Azayzel,

My boss is actually in Japan and I asked him to buy that piece of heaven. But I want to use it mostly (if not only) as PDF-viewer. So I'm worried about the PDF issue.

Could you please tell me what is exactly that "PDF Connector". Where and how did you bought it? If it is sold in the same store than the WG, What should I ask for?

thanks!

[jack staff]

thank you very much for your review!!!!!!!!!!!

it is great to have found someone who have one of those...
and if would be even greater if you could answer me this one:

do you think it is a good way to read american comics???

I love comics ( european , indie american...) and I am looking for a machine to carry with me when travelling by train or tube and keep reading.

I am mainly interested in :

-display quality?
-size of the pages? readable text?????zoom????
-How long does it take to go from one page to the next one?



thank you very much for your help...some images showing comics or even a small video would be just PERFECT! what I need to decide...

[Azayzel]

Originally Posted by casty

Azayzel,

My boss is actually in Japan and I asked him to buy that piece of heaven. But I want to use it mostly (if not only) as PDF-viewer. So I'm worried about the PDF issue.

Could you please tell me what is exactly that "PDF Connector". Where and how did you bought it? If it is sold in the same store than the WG, What should I ask for?

thanks!

Sorry for the late response, I've been off the main island for a little over a week and just got back. Pretty fun, but the Internet connect was a bit spotty. Anyway, here we go...

Casty: You cannot buy the PDF connector in the stores, it must be purchased online via the Saidoku Online Store You can either pay via CC, webmoney (pick these cards up at local quick stop), or a few other options I'm unfamiliar with. Then you'll download the connector, but if I remember right it had to be directly to the device through their web interface. It will be copied onto an SD-card, and while they say you cannot make a backup of it, I had no problem copying it from the original SD-card to another and used that copy instead . You will have to create a Saidoku account, as that user information will be registered into the connector and needed if you want to transfer it to a different PC. To further complicate matters, you can only have the connector installed on one PC (though if you follow my method you can have it on multiple PC's w/o any problems).

Oops, sorry... Basically all the PDF converter does is plug into the "My Bookshelf" software (downloaded from Saidoku for free, though only available in Japanese) and modifies the PDF by creating a few extra files, changing names, etc. It happens too quickly to be any kind of full-on conversion and the PDF looks the same on the WG as it does on your PC, embedded fonts and all. I was a bit ticked I needed to buy the connector, but it makes the WG fulfill the purpose I bought it for. You should d/l and install the "My Bookshelf" software as soon as you get a chance, though you'll need to configure your Windows OS to support the Japanese language (only Windows is supported, from what I gathered). If you need help with this, let me know. However, you must do this or the install scripts will crash and it won't install. Believe me, I fought this issue for a few days before I figured what was going wrong; imagine having to troubleshoot a problem with a simple "installation failed" response, not very useful. After installation, you can set Windows back to normal without any issues (though you will probably see a few boxes indicating an unsupported font).

illiterate e-worm: Send me a PM with your area and I'll check the Post Office for shipping rates, it will be coming from the U.S. I already checked the USPS website and have a general idea, it should be around $17-26 for First Class and $24-32 for Priority (once I have the actual weight I can firm up definite postage). Not sure how VAT works, but I can ask as the Post Office tomorrow too. I'll be off the main island again at the end of next week, but I can take care of this before I go.

[newrome]

Az,

I was wondering about bookmarking -- does the WG do bookmarking? If so, can you create names / titles for bookmarks? Do PDFs paginate quickly? On eInk units, it appears that moving through a PDF is very SLOW.

Do you know of any sites that sell the WG for export, other than Dynamism?

Thanks,

Michael

[Pirivan]

Let me first preface my post by saying that I hope this is the proper thread; there seem to be many that relate to what my quandary is, so I thought that it would be better to add to this thread rather than make a new one.

So, based on reading this thread, I think I may have found it. The Words Gear might be the exact device I'm looking for. But before I make such an expensive decision (assuming I could even purchase a device that is only in Japan and that Dynamism seems to be out of stock of) I would like to know if it really IS what I am looking for. First I'll explain my criteria and then why I have issues with my other options so you can judge if the Words Gear is truly the perfect device I have been looking for. So, my criteria is:

1. Primary usage is to view American Comics, CBR or CBZ files (which can be translated into JPEG images as need be)
2. Less than $500. If I am spending more than this I might as well get a nice multifunction UMPC/laptop/tablet that can do other things
3. Has a screen large enough to do comics justice in a readable fashion
4. Any other device functions are pretty much of little concern to me, if the device can view comics REALLY well I will get my value out of it

I tried to use my Nintendo DS Lite to view comics but the problem was it was too hard to read and it necessitated a lot of zooming and scrolling making the experience tedious. In a similar vein I thought about getting a PSP or GP2X but I think I would run into the same issue.

I've looked SERIOUSLY at a Nokia n800 or n810 but based on what I have read on the web I am nervous that though the screen runs at a high resolution, in the end it is simply going to be too small. I really would love to believe that it would work for reading comic books but somehow I bet the screen is just too small; a shame because it looks like a wonderful DRM free Linux device. I felt the same way about the iPod Touch; looks like a wonderful device but with a tiny screen and worse resolution than the Nokia for viewing comics.

Everything else I have seen thus far that would do the job has 1 of 2 problems. The first being the device is too large to sit somewhere or lay in bed and read. I don't want to read comics on a laptop, I need a flat device like a book (if the eee PC was a tablet it might work). The second issue being that the devices I feel really meet all my visual qualifications are too darn expensive. I don't want to spend $1000 and buy a Fujitsu Lifebook Tablet PC JUST to read comics, or $800 on some UMPC just to read comics (especially when my opinion of UMPC's is pretty low beyond the fact that they have nice, large color screens).

So, is the Words Gear the device I am looking for? Is it going to be a killer comic book reader? Is it easy to get CBR/CBZ/JPEG files loaded onto the device? Is it worth paying a bundle to try import it from Japan sight unseen (sounds like Dynamism really charges a premium to import it)? Or should I give up and wait two more years for some kind of color e-ink device to appear?

I appreciate any thoughts and I ESPECIALLY appreciate all the information you have given about this device in all your posts Azayzel. In terms of real information about this wonderful sounding device you are pretty much it; all your posts have been highly informative.