Opus Opus, a few first thoughts

AnemicOak · 09-05-2009, 01:02 PM

My Opus arrived yesterday, sooner than I had expected. Books On Board did a great job of getting it shipped quickly. My main impressions will be compared to the K2 as that's mostly what I've been using lately.

My initial impressions on opening the box were favorable. It's a neat little device and is truly what I'd call a 'pocket' device. It actually fits, with it's cover/pouch, in the front pocket of my jeans (barely).

The screen is everything we've come to expect from a Viziplex e-ink screen. Even thought it's an inch smaller than my K2 it displays almost as much text due to the large margins Amazon has put on the K2.

The housing is a bit plasticy feeling (more so than the K2), but not bad. I like how small & light weight it is (about half the K2's weight).

The buttons are a bit stiff, but not overly so. I don't care for the noise they make when depressed.

The accelerometer is cool. When I read I tend to switch hands and positions a fair amount and with the accelerometer I could do this and still easily and comfortably turn pages.

I absolutely love that it has folders. One thing I dislike about the K2 is it's lack of organization options. Are folders better than Sony's collections? I don't know. I think it'll depend on the user, they both have their good points and drawbacks.

Bookeen's implementation of ADE seems quite good to me. When Sony first put out ADE support on the 505 I wasn't crazy about it. I dislike the distraction of the side page numbers when reading an ePub. On the Opus these numbers are still there, but it's like bookeen made them a lighter shade of gray so they're barely noticeable and not distracting at all. Also Bookeen's ADE displays ePubs fully justified. Not as big a deal for me as for some.

I've just finished my first book on it so I'm going to give it a few more days, but my initial impression is that it's a nice device that I'm not sure I'm going to keep.

Why?

Well the button's clicking noise when depressed is pronounced and bothers me at this point (I'll give it a bit more time).

I don't really care for the way it goes back to the last folder I was in on boot up. I'd prefer it go right back to where I left off reading, although I can get used to it the way the Opus does it. It's not a deal breaker.

I don't care to the need to wait for it to boot up each time, although it's not a deal breaker either.

One of my big issues is that while reading my first book on it the device locked up four times and needed resetting. To do this you must remove the battery cover (the gray part of the back) to get at the reset button. I'm a bit worried that all that on and off of the cover might eventually break one of the tabs that hold it or wear them down enough to make the cover loose. I read 4-6 books a week and if that one book is indicative that will be an awful lot of resetting.

After having it a short time I really want a device this size for at work and being out and about. Carrying it around is much more comfortable than the K2 or even the 505.

mgmueller · 09-05-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

My Opus arrived yesterday, sooner than I had expected. Books On Board did a great job of getting it shipped quickly. My main impressions will be compared to the K2 as that's mostly what I've been using lately.

My initial impressions on opening the box were favorable. It's a neat little device and is truly what I'd call a 'pocket' device. It actually fits, with it's cover/pouch, in the front pocket of my jeans (barely).

The screen is everything we've come to expect from a Viziplex e-ink screen. Even thought it's an inch smaller than my K2 it displays almost as much text due to the large margins Amazon has put on the K2.

The housing is a bit plasticy feeling (more so than the K2), but not bad. I like how small & light weight it is (about half the K2's weight).

The buttons are a bit stiff, but not overly so. I don't care for the noise they make when depressed.

The accelerometer is cool. When I read I tend to switch hands and positions a fair amount and with the accelerometer I could do this and still easily and comfortably turn pages.

I absolutely love that it has folders. One thing I dislike about the K2 is it's lack of organization options. Are folders better than Sony's collections? I don't know. I think it'll depend on the user, they both have their good points and drawbacks.

Bookeen's implementation of ADE seems quite good to me. When Sony first put out ADE support on the 505 I wasn't crazy about it. I dislike the distraction of the side page numbers when reading an ePub. On the Opus these numbers are still there, but it's like bookeen made them a lighter shade of gray so they're barely noticeable and not distracting at all. Also Bookeen's ADE displays ePubs fully justified. Not as big a deal for me as for some.

I've just finished my first book on it so I'm going to give it a few more days, but my initial impression is that it's a nice device that I'm not sure I'm going to keep.

Why?

Well the button's clicking noise when depressed is pronounced and bothers me at this point (I'll give it a bit more time).

I don't really care for the way it goes back to the last folder I was in on boot up. I'd prefer it go right back to where I left off reading, although I can get used to it the way the Opus does it. It's not a deal breaker.

I don't care to the need to wait for it to boot up each time, although it's not a deal breaker either.

One of my big issues is that while reading my first book on it the device locked up four times and needed resetting. To do this you must remove the battery cover (the gray part of the back) to get at the reset button. I'm a bit worried that all that on and off of the cover might eventually break one of the tabs that hold it or wear them down enough to make the cover loose. I read 4-6 books a week and if that one book is indicative that will be an awful lot of resetting.

After having it a short time I really want a device this size for at work and being out and about. Carrying it around is much more comfortable than the K2 or even the 505.

I've read a lot about Opus crashing quite frequently. No problem for me, though.
Did happen maybe 3 times in 5 weeks. Can you re-produce the crashes? Can it be your source material?

AnemicOak · 09-05-2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've read a lot about Opus crashing quite frequently. No problem for me, though.
Did happen maybe 3 times in 5 weeks. Can you re-produce the crashes? Can it be your source material?

It could be, and I'm going to try another book today or tomorrow to see. It seems to freeze after about 50-70 "pages", I don't know exactly how many page turns that ends up being since each "page" is several screen flips. It's good to know not everyone is having the problem.

One thing I kinda wish it had was a battery meter you could see while reading.

lisreed · 09-05-2009, 01:28 PM

You don't have to take the battery cover off. Push the turn on button and the back button for about 10 seconds and it will reset. Also if you set the device to auto shut off it should take care of most of the reasons why it crashes.

AnemicOak · 09-05-2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisreed

You don't have to take the battery cover off. Push the turn on button and the back button for about 10 seconds and it will reset. Also if you set the device to auto shut off it should take care of most of the reasons why it crashes.

Thanks, didn't know about the other way of resetting. It is set to auto power off (it was by default), or am I not understanding.

lisreed · 09-05-2009, 01:52 PM

No problem. I took the battery cover off once before I read the manual and found and easier solution. Auto shut off is correct. I guess when you turn that feature off, it was causing a lot of crashes.

Vesper · 09-05-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

The buttons are a bit stiff, but not overly so. I don't care for the noise they make when depressed.

The button is stiff and noisy? I just hope it will get better on Opus, because on my Cybook it is still stiff after almost 2 years of constant use

I hear newer Cybooks have better button - easier to press and not that noisy as first generation...

DrS

rlauzon · 09-05-2009, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisreed

You don't have to take the battery cover off. Push the turn on button and the back button for about 10 seconds and it will reset.

That method doesn't always work. While it will reset the Opus, for me, it always hangs on bootup when I do that reset.

rlauzon · 09-05-2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisreed

Also if you set the device to auto shut off it should take care of most of the reasons why it crashes.

I've had auto shut off turned off for a while now and the lock ups still happen but only about once a week.

JSWolf · 09-05-2009, 04:52 PM

Some people complain about ADE on the Sony Readers because it does not do full justification. But other then not having full justification, it seems to be more stable then anyone else's version of ADE on a reader. It doesn't lock up/crash like it does on the Opus & Cool-er. It doesn't have the annoying bugs that is present on the V3 & clones (Astak, Eco, V3, BeBook, etc.). It just seems to work.

Elsi · 09-05-2009, 05:41 PM

Since I prefer left justification, I'd like to see a device that supports ePub that gives the user the choice instead of me having to pick a product based on such a superficial "feature".

tompe · 09-05-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsi

Since I prefer left justification, I'd like to see a device that supports ePub that gives the user the choice instead of me having to pick a product based on such a superficial "feature".

Well ragged left as an option does not seem so useful... Or I thought the term was "ragged right" for what you talk about.

AnemicOak · 09-05-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisreed

You don't have to take the battery cover off. Push the turn on button and the back button for about 10 seconds and it will reset. Also if you set the device to auto shut off it should take care of most of the reasons why it crashes.

Well, it just froze again and unfortunately this doesn't work to reset for whatever's causing mine to lock up. :shrugs:

Elsi · 09-05-2009, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsi

Since I prefer left justification, I'd like to see a device that supports ePub that gives the user the choice instead of me having to pick a product based on such a superficial "feature".

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

Well ragged left as an option does not seem so useful... Or I thought the term was "ragged right" for what you talk about.

Yes, left justified with ragged right. Not "full" justification. Problem with full justification in these devices -- at least from my experience -- is that they don't adjust the kerning and you can wind up with distracting white space within a line to force the last word over to the right margin. I'd just rather have all that white space gathered up in one place at the end of the line.

sassanik · 09-06-2009, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Well, it just froze again and unfortunately this doesn't work to reset for whatever's causing mine to lock up. :shrugs:

Is freeze stuck on a start on startup or on a book? Reset button and removal of battery do not cause the device to reset?

I am curious because I had my Cool-ers hard freeze up on me, they got stuck on a start up page and nothing I could do would fix the problem.

I am curious if this Opus problem is related because as I understand it they use the same hardware and possibly even the same firmware.

Amy

09-05-2009, 01:02 PM	#1
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Opus, a few first thoughts My Opus arrived yesterday, sooner than I had expected. Books On Board did a great job of getting it shipped quickly. My main impressions will be compared to the K2 as that's mostly what I've been using lately. My initial impressions on opening the box were favorable. It's a neat little device and is truly what I'd call a 'pocket' device. It actually fits, with it's cover/pouch, in the front pocket of my jeans (barely). The screen is everything we've come to expect from a Viziplex e-ink screen. Even thought it's an inch smaller than my K2 it displays almost as much text due to the large margins Amazon has put on the K2. The housing is a bit plasticy feeling (more so than the K2), but not bad. I like how small & light weight it is (about half the K2's weight). The buttons are a bit stiff, but not overly so. I don't care for the noise they make when depressed. The accelerometer is cool. When I read I tend to switch hands and positions a fair amount and with the accelerometer I could do this and still easily and comfortably turn pages. I absolutely love that it has folders. One thing I dislike about the K2 is it's lack of organization options. Are folders better than Sony's collections? I don't know. I think it'll depend on the user, they both have their good points and drawbacks. Bookeen's implementation of ADE seems quite good to me. When Sony first put out ADE support on the 505 I wasn't crazy about it. I dislike the distraction of the side page numbers when reading an ePub. On the Opus these numbers are still there, but it's like bookeen made them a lighter shade of gray so they're barely noticeable and not distracting at all. Also Bookeen's ADE displays ePubs fully justified. Not as big a deal for me as for some. I've just finished my first book on it so I'm going to give it a few more days, but my initial impression is that it's a nice device that I'm not sure I'm going to keep. Why? Well the button's clicking noise when depressed is pronounced and bothers me at this point (I'll give it a bit more time). I don't really care for the way it goes back to the last folder I was in on boot up. I'd prefer it go right back to where I left off reading, although I can get used to it the way the Opus does it. It's not a deal breaker. I don't care to the need to wait for it to boot up each time, although it's not a deal breaker either. One of my big issues is that while reading my first book on it the device locked up four times and needed resetting. To do this you must remove the battery cover (the gray part of the back) to get at the reset button. I'm a bit worried that all that on and off of the cover might eventually break one of the tabs that hold it or wear them down enough to make the cover loose. I read 4-6 books a week and if that one book is indicative that will be an awful lot of resetting. After having it a short time I really want a device this size for at work and being out and about. Carrying it around is much more comfortable than the K2 or even the 505. Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 10-01-2009 at 03:23 PM. Reason: added thread prefix for testing

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09-05-2009, 01:28 PM	#4
lisreed Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 1301 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Upstate NY Device: Nook GlowLight 3	You don't have to take the battery cover off. Push the turn on button and the back button for about 10 seconds and it will reset. Also if you set the device to auto shut off it should take care of most of the reasons why it crashes.

09-05-2009, 01:52 PM	#6
lisreed Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 1301 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Upstate NY Device: Nook GlowLight 3	No problem. I took the battery cover off once before I read the manual and found and easier solution. Auto shut off is correct. I guess when you turn that feature off, it was causing a lot of crashes.

09-05-2009, 04:52 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,887 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Some people complain about ADE on the Sony Readers because it does not do full justification. But other then not having full justification, it seems to be more stable then anyone else's version of ADE on a reader. It doesn't lock up/crash like it does on the Opus & Cool-er. It doesn't have the annoying bugs that is present on the V3 & clones (Astak, Eco, V3, BeBook, etc.). It just seems to work.

09-05-2009, 05:41 PM	#11
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	Since I prefer left justification, I'd like to see a device that supports ePub that gives the user the choice instead of me having to pick a product based on such a superficial "feature".

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