06-05-2010, 02:30 AM | #1 |
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Received pocketbooks 302 today. This is the review thread.
Hi everybody,
My wife and I received our PB302 today. They are currently charging as the instruction manual advices to charge the devices during 8 to 12 hours before first use. So, the first real test will be tomorrow. I'll update this post. However, I can already comment on the non-electronic parts that come with the PB302:
A few pics to illustrate all that (click for bigger): The white PB302 with the light pouch. It's charging and you can see that it can't be completely in the pouch. The pouch of the black PB302 (next to a pencil to get an idea of the size) The black PB302 with its strap, charging. Running the device: First impressions Please note two things: First, I believe that we have the new versions of PB302, with more memory, and possibly a bigger battery. So if you have the previous version of the Second, we updated the devices to firmware 15.2 a few hours after switching them on the first time. My comments apply only to the upgraded 302 with firmware 15.2 Reading: Loading files is in general, fast and flawless. The default (Adobe) reader failed to properly display Polish characters in PDF files, but the other one (pdfviewer) didn't have this problem. I had to stop the crashed reader (and sometimes the browser or the bookstore) application, and that's really easy, just long press the round button. It's instantaneous, and the reader itself doesn't need to be rebooted. Linux ftw. Books have to be read in good luminosity conditions (obviously), but even more so because the e-ink screen background is not white but grey. This is a good point in high luminosity (outside, sun) as it's less tiring than a white page. But you have to be extra careful in the evening at home. Other applications: Connecting to the home wifi was impossible without shortening our 63 characters WPA-PSK passphrase at home. This is ok while at home, but it may be an issue at work. A great point though (if you have some knowledge of GNU/Linux environments) is that you're able to read a system log in case of failure, which allowed me to determine that the issue was indeed the password lengh It seems like the graphical interface that allows inputing the passphrase chokes on long strings, because the underlying wpa_supplicant complains about not receiving any passphrase. In any case, this is not a major problem and once you're connected, it works great. You have the possibility to store several AP parameters, so if you move with your PB, no need to reconfigure everything each time. In the same vein, you can have user profiles, and several users sharing one PB will not complain about their "last open books" not being theirs, etc... The English online (bookland.net) store is accessible from the device, with a dedicated icon in the Books section, but it's embryonic. The good point is that it's not empty, you can download project Gutenberg books directly from your device. The less good point for now is that it's all you can do. On the Ukrainian website, http://bookland.net.ua/ , you can register, login, search books or browse them by various categories and whatnot, but it's all in Ukrainian. However, my wife found that a great news source is the Ukrainian PB website. If, like me, you don't read Ukrainian, just use Google Translate (it will pop-up automatically in Chrome, otherwise got to translate.google.com) to translate from Russian to English. For instance, the specs page becomes: translation Note: how to flash your 302 with the latest firmware: 1) Backup all your data. 2) Download and unzip the following file: http://pocketbook-global.com/downloa...de_ws_15_2.zip, or whichever file is the latest firmware for PB302 (there is a sticky thread about it, read it) 3) Place the .BIN file at the root of a microSD card 4) Switch off the 302, plug it to the power. insert the microSD 5) Hold down the two larger buttons ("next page" by default) on the side of the device, and at the same time switch on the device. Keep these two buttons pressed until the machine has booted and tells you that it'll update the firmware. 6) Follow the on-screen instructions. Reboot in the end. I also reset before rebooting, just in case. For that, use the stylus to press the small button on the back of the 302. (to be continued) Last edited by agravier; 06-16-2010 at 01:17 PM. Reason: update on the warranty issue by Tatiana |
06-05-2010, 02:31 AM | #2 |
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More testing:
My wife and I are pretty happy with the devices. I tried several file formats, and a few notes that I took:
Finally, I saw in the comment thread that there was a debate on the "inward buttons" that are not easy to press when the device is no the pouch. Yes, on my device the right buttons are a little covered by the pouch, while on my wife's the pouch is relatively symmetrical. She has small finger, and that with long nails make that she didn't notice any problem to use the buttons. However, it's too hard for me to use the right scrolling buttons so I mostly use the touchscreen to turn pages. Last edited by agravier; 06-16-2010 at 10:50 AM. |
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06-05-2010, 09:55 AM | #3 | |
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Quote:
Warranty coupons that came with the new 302 inventory have a typo. PocketBook USA warrants all models for 2 years. I sent you the correct warranty coupon via email. Thanks, Tatiana Last edited by tvpupsik; 06-05-2010 at 01:59 PM. |
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06-05-2010, 10:48 AM | #4 |
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Thanks Tatiana, I received your email and replied to you. I update the review thread accordingly.
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06-09-2010, 09:33 PM | #5 |
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Regarding my remark about the bookstore, does anyone know when bookland.net will be as functional as bookland.net.ua? Meaning that we would be able to log in from the website and device, etc...
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06-10-2010, 03:21 AM | #6 |
book creator
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As soon as webkit is up to scratch, we will have a many bookstores available on the device. Target for this is around September.
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06-11-2010, 11:56 AM | #7 |
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That's nice, looking forward to this
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06-11-2010, 03:10 PM | #8 |
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The case looks awesome.
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06-11-2010, 05:05 PM | #9 |
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06-12-2010, 10:20 AM | #10 |
Chocolate Grasshopper ...
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It is...... (sorry it doesn't look awesome . it IS awesome .... imho) When I remember the hoohaa we had a couple of years ago with my Gen3 and the is it or isn't it leather - it's a welcome sight to see the PB in a leather case - and it's a very robust one that allows access to each and every port .... (bit of a dinky wrist-strap though .... ) |
06-14-2010, 08:38 PM | #11 |
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06-14-2010, 08:49 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
There does not seem to be any firmware at all listed for download on the USA site. |
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06-14-2010, 09:03 PM | #13 |
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I got my 302 today, and I concur with all that the OP said.
I have found a few funny things though. Transferring books to the internal memory with Calibre is painfully slow. It took 15+ minutes to transfer 700 books. I have only done it once - not game to have another go as life is just too short! The touch screen is a bit funny sometimes - does not always pick up the finger movement. Works fine with the stylus though. I have not found the screen itself to be a problem. It does not have the contrast of some eink screens I have seen - ie the background is not as white as some. But no reflective glare that some users report. The leather case is great - I might not even need to get a screen protector. It opens up (vertically) though, which seems a bit strange. It would have been more 'book like' to open horizontally. It is not as easy to hold as a Kindle, for example because of this. Also - it is a bit hard to charge the unit - you have to remove it a bit from the case to do this. Still, it is a big selling point. I have not been able to get the WiFi to connect yet. Dunno why. The Linux debug stuff is too cryptic to read. But I guess I will get it working eventually. I also have not been able to get the cover images to come up in Detail listing. May have to play with the settings or something there - or in Calibre. Dunno. They come up inside the book when you open it - so the images are actually there. I am currently using FB2 format. Might try a few other formats to see which is best. It looks a good unit. |
06-14-2010, 10:24 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
PB302 firmware version 15.2 |
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06-14-2010, 10:37 PM | #15 | |
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Quote:
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pb302, pocketbook 302, review, unboxing, warranty |
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