Icarus Illumina XL 8-inch E Ink eReader with Android 4.2

[iatheia]

Originally Posted by takaya

Any chances that someone of XL's owners will post a video showcasing Moon Reader Pro and pdf reading?

Thank you, bye.

M

Ask and you shall receive


As I said before, to get Moon+ Pro on it you need to sideload the apk file. And you definitely need to customize the fonts the first time after opening, otherwise it is very much grey on grey.
After experimenting with several pdf readers, I found I prefer Foxit PDF, it has the most clear buttons, and easily accessible options, unlike Adobe. Reflow does work well, even on complex multi column text with figures spanning several columns, unfortunately, the images don't render in the reflow as they should. In general, pdf reading is not ideal even at the reader of this size, but it definitely works.

It is impossible to set any program you instal yourself as a default reader, and anything you open in these programs does not show up in the Recently Read. So for Moon+ you either need to rely on the internal organization within the app, or Calibre Companion. Using Nova Launcher (which I didn't show) it is possible to completely change how the home page looks and use the Calibre Companion widget to make a working Recently Read list.

Although if you do install Nova Launcher, suddenly all the hidden programs will be seen, and you should not touch DeviceTest. I played around with it a bit, and it screwed being able to tap to change pages (swiping did work, but tapping changed every other page). I think I was able to fix it and recalibrate, but it was an unpleasant day.

I've installed DeepSleep, it says that on the full charge the device has 50 hours active use. If I don't use frontlight or wifi or anything else to actively drain the battery, I think that this is more or less spot on. With the screen off, not using the device at all but not turning it off completely, battery drains ~5% in a day, though.

[takaya]

Hi iatheia,

thank you for the video, seeing the XL in action is buying it, altought not at the price Amazon, was proposing it yesterday, 19,999,95 euros!!! Not it has been fixed to 199,95...

I'm not keen on Android, "sideload" an app means... ahem!... find the apk on the web and copying it on the device?

Thank you in advance for your reply and wish you all an happy new year...

[404 Not found]

Hi, thanks again for helping. I did all these steps and was glad to finaly have my google account accepted by Playstore. Unfortunately, it ended with "No connection [retry]".

Account settings notify a "sync error" : "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly".

I tried all the clear cash/data, force stop stuff (but couldn't do account deleting and reseting), checked date and time, and even deleted the system\etc\"hosts.txt" (oops ?), checked the wifi (no proxy, DHCP)...

Some say you have to edit "hosts" and add somthing #"series of numbers"

Two things : 1° after turning on "Root Explorer", I chose "One key install". Maybe I schould have gone with another option ? 2° I did not "install" the three apks : just pasted them and changed the permissions as shown in the screenshot.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by 404 Not found

Hi, thanks again for helping. I did all these steps and was glad to finaly have my google account accepted by Playstore. Unfortunately, it ended with "No connection [retry]".

Account settings notify a "sync error" : "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly".

I tried all the clear cash/data, force stop stuff (but couldn't do account deleting and reseting), checked date and time, and even deleted the system\etc\"hosts.txt" (oops ?), checked the wifi (no proxy, DHCP)...

Some say you have to edit "hosts" and add somthing #"series of numbers"

Two things : 1° after turning on "Root Explorer", I chose "One key install". Maybe I schould have gone with another option ? 2° I did not "install" the three apks : just pasted them and changed the permissions as shown in the screenshot.

The hosts file is not a text file, it has no extension and the only line in it is

127.0.0.1    localhost

Are you able to get a wifi connection in any app? Did you follow my instructions exacty - especially factory reset?

[Dan23]

Originally Posted by iatheia

Ask and you shall receive

Does the bottom bar where it shows the battery life and buttons have to be visible or is there a way to make text go full screen with either moonreader or fbreader. Thanks.

[404 Not found]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

The hosts file is not a text file, it has no extension and the only line in it is

127.0.0.1    localhost.

My mistake, it had no extension. I tried " 127.0.0.1 localhost " (without final dot), checked the Play store, rebooted, checked again ; so I deleted it and checked and rebooted again to see, but I still had that "No connection" I then recreated a new file which I called "hosts" to replace the one I had deleted, in which I typed the code you just gave me (with a final dot AND without) : still nothing.

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Are you able to get a wifi connection in any app? Did you follow my instructions exacty - especially factory reset?

Yes, I scrupulously followed your instructions : did the factory reset with ADB (there was no "reset" button in "backup and reset" submenu, only "erase SD card" and "delete account") :

adb shell
adb wipe data

copied the three files and changed their permissions to rw- r-- r-- rebooted, I had the nice suprise to see the Play Store confirm it got my credentials and signed in my device (and I can see "new android device" in my Google account on my computer) but... I've got "no connection", although... I have : I can browse the web, etc...

Some posts suggest to use "recovery mode"...
Also, not sure it's worth mentioning, but I get this Google message, for instance when I grant access to SuperSu, proposing to keep an eye for me on possibly dangerous applications (agree/decline).

Just did a second "adb wipe data", and found out that there was now the "reset device" button. Nothing changed this second time, nor the third which I just performed using the proper reset button this time after deleting the three apps : they're back in system\app and my "hosts" file is just like I made it.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by 404 Not found

My mistake, it had no extension. I tried " 127.0.0.1 localhost " (without final dot), checked the Play store, rebooted, checked again ; so I deleted it and checked and rebooted again to see, but I still had that "No connection" I then recreated a new file which I called "hosts" to replace the one I had deleted, in which I typed the code you just gave me (with a final dot AND without) : still nothing.



Yes, I scrupulously followed your instructions : did the factory reset with ADB (there was no "reset" button in "backup and reset" submenu, only "erase SD card" and "delete account") :

adb shell
adb wipe data

copied the three files and changed their permissions to rw- r-- r-- rebooted, I had the nice suprise to see the Play Store confirm it got my credentials and signed in my device (and I can see "new android device" in my Google account on my computer) but... I've got "no connection", although... I have : I can browse the web, etc...

Some posts suggest to use "recovery mode"...
Also, not sure it's worth mentioning, but I get this Google message, for instance when I grant access to SuperSu, proposing to keep an eye for me on possibly dangerous applications (agree/decline).

Just did a second "adb wipe data", and found out that there was now the "reset device" button. Nothing changed this second time, nor the third which I just performed using the proper reset button this time after deleting the three apps : they're back in system\app and my "hosts" file is just like I made it.

I'm out of ideas here, sorry. For the factory reset I expected that to be an option in settings. On my T62 there is a Restore factory settings choice - I guess yours doesn't have that?

The Google message for dangerous apps is normal when installing an app outside of the Play store.

It seems like there may a problem with the version of the Play store for this device. The T62 is Android 4.2.2 - is yours only 4.2? Maybe that's the difference. I didn't order one of these because of the low resolution, but if you can't install the Play store I definitely don't want one.

[iatheia]

Originally Posted by takaya

I'm not keen on Android, "sideload" an app means... ahem!... find the apk on the web and copying it on the device?

More or less. I have an Android phone, and I have bought and installed Moon+ Pro and CC on it, so I extracted those apk and put them on the ereader. Getting apk for free apps is quite easy online, I'm guessing the official app store . Getting paid apps without having a different Android device, legally, is a bit more of a challenge. "Finding" them is not something that I would personally recommend, but I guess it is an option.

Originally Posted by Dan23

Does the bottom bar where it shows the battery life and buttons have to be visible or is there a way to make text go full screen with either moonreader or fbreader. Thanks.

It is possible, but only globally. There is an option to hide the bar in Moon+, but it just turns it black. But there is an option in settings that would hide this bar completely in all displays. This makes navigation marginally more difficult, I think, since it removes the Home button, but there is a physical Back button, so it is possible to make your way around without the bar.

[404 Not found]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I'm out of ideas here, sorry. For the factory reset I expected that to be an option in settings. On my T62 there is a Restore factory settings choice - I guess yours doesn't have that?

Nope, only "Reset device". This device is very well locked up...

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

It seems like there may a problem with the version of the Play store for this device. The T62 is Android 4.2.2 - is yours only 4.2? Maybe that's the difference. I didn't order one of these because of the low resolution, but if you can't install the Play store I definitely don't want one.

It's definitely 4.2.2. Do you think it is merely impossible to unlock or is there a chance we see some Xda dev eventually come out with a solution ? I understand your disappointment : I'm seriously considering returning it back to the Netherlands.. Thanks a lot anyway and happy new year

[iatheia]

Hah. While the Google Play doesn't work, Amazon app store works well, and it is possible to properly get paid apps from it without resorting to secondary devices.

[404 Not found]

Hi, just to say : it seems "Docs" version 1.3.251.9 is working well on the device : it allows offline saving, editing and syncing. After trying several versions, I found that it was the only one working properly.

Am I right to guess that we may have other apps working with the same API frame ? :

Minimum Android version: Android 4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich, API 14)
Target Android version: Android 4.4 (KitKat, API 19)

[piruvato]

Hello ,
I have received my new XL reader and I'm quite satisfied. but I'm trying to add an spanish dictionary. I tested several dicts in stardic format that worked fine in other devices but does not work. In addition I deleted some other that I don't use and no effect in the dicctionary, it seems that the path that is indicate in manual does not work. In addition although the english dictionary works properly, the dict app is not listed with the other apps. Anybody knows how add the dictionary ??

Thanks in advance

[404 Not found]

Try colordict / goldendict, works well with all sorts of reader apps (coolreader, ezpdf...).

[ozone]

I just got my Illumina XL and it's pretty cool.

Is there any way to root it and install some kind of font darkening utility? In some of the apps I use the text is VERY light compared to say the text in the settings which is nice and dark.

[404 Not found]

Could flashing a ROM be a good solution for Play store sign in ?