Possible new Sony ereader with Glo

[Kaysclie]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I agree! I got one recently, and it was pretty nice, but when I rooted it, it became excellent! I have Mantano on it. Love it! It's better than the T1 I had, and better than the Kobo and Paperwhite--except for their lights.

I have the nook glowlight and love it....so far so good! Which method did you use to root your nook and can I use that same method on the glow? Also, I have never rooted anything so naturally I am cautious with my glow

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Kaysclie

I have the nook glowlight and love it....so far so good! Which method did you use to root your nook and can I use that same method on the glow? Also, I have never rooted anything so naturally I am cautious with my glow

I used Nook Manager, that Nathan talked about on his blog here.

It was pretty easy. Then I loaded Mantano (the free one, I think) and my favorite font, and now I am VERY happy with it. (I didn't do the google apps package, I just want to read on it, not run apps)

I would have to see a Nook Glow in person....and then if I liked it, my hubby would go nuts if I got one...I have bought far too many ereaders and tablets this year! Still, if I could find one dirt cheap, I might get one.

[Kaysclie]

It was pretty easy. Then I loaded Mantano (the free one, I think) and my favorite font, and now I am VERY happy with it. (I didn't do the google apps package, I just want to read on it, not run apps)

I would have to see a Nook Glow in person....and then if I liked it, my hubby would go nuts if I got one...I have bought far too many ereaders and tablets this year! Still, if I could find one dirt cheap, I might get one.[/QUOTE]

If you did get your hands on one(nook glow) I am sure you would like it. I am trying to talk my self into rooting mine. The description of how to do it sounds doable, as long as nothing goes wrong in the process. Which memory card did you use? I have read that one should use a class 6. Is that the type you used? Sandisk, of course, I would imagine.

[booklover6]

I used a Sandisk class 4.

[DStyle]

Sony is the 1st company to intro e-reader to the world and it seems that now, Sony is lacking behind in technology (judging from Sony T1 and T2 users, software is still the best) among its competitors. Among are glo light and screen size.

Come on Kaz, smartphone is making profit now, is time to look into the e-reader. Bring us bigger screen and glo light, if possible color as well. Be No.1 in e-reader again.

[uboot]

I for myself have many doubts on glo light screens. There have been reports on fragile, easy to scratch display surfaces and I've already seen a reader from a friend which had sorts of dead pixels, i.e. tiny bright holes in the lighting plane that where a pain to the eyes in the dark.

Also, in the dark I prefer yellow or red light over pure white or blueish. I'm currently using a small red LED lamp for reading in the dark, which is much more comfortable to my eyes and does not disturb night vision.... But surely a reader with red backlight would be anything but mainstream...

[soulfuldog]

The only reader that had had problems with a fragile, easy to scratch surface is the Nook Glowlight, and consequently it has suffered with bright spots. I'm not sure if it's improved at all on the Nook but you don't seem to hear as much about it now? It is the poorest of the available lighted readers, but that's because it's the oldest and the quality/tech of the lighted layer on the screens has improved quite a bit since it was released.

The Kobo Glo (and to a lesser extent I *think* the Aura) can also have issues with 'dead' pixels but it's a different issue (more a manufacturing defect and not down to poor design/fragility) and they are noticeable right from the start so you can easily exchange it if it has this fault. The Kindle Paperwhite has had issues with a blotchy screen, same as the Kobo, it's not something that develops over time but more of a manufacturing fault. The light on the Kobo Glo was more blue/harsh tint when it was first released, but doesn't seem to be an issue anymore and has perhaps been tweaked via firmware updates, the light on the Glo does tend to be a little harsher than the Kindle, which has a slightly warmer look to it.

Most (but not all) people who have bought any of the lighted readers wouldn't go back to a non-lighted reader, and think the built-in light (ereaders can't be backlit due to the opaque eink screen, technically they are side lit) is far superior to using a non-lighted reader with a clip on light. That is generally with some ambient light though, in a completely dark room, there are some that find even with the light turned to its lowest, they don't like it.

The only real issue is that you lose a little bit of clarity with the lighted readers when you don't have the light on. Many people don't even notice it though, or think it's a minimal difference that is easily ignored, or even overcome by having the light on all the time (which is the way they are designed to be used).

It's all quite subjective though. Some people will just not like them and feel it will affect their night vision.

[uboot]

So there are different user profiles...

1.) Reading in daylight - no need for glo light

2.) Reading in dim light - glo light is definitely usefull, especially outdoors. Indoors, I prefer a regular reading lamp that lightens not only the reader, but my surroundings too.

3.) Reading in darkness - glo light is as uncomfortable as reading a regular tabled / computer screen. The best thing IMHO would be something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lightwedge-NV1...pr_product_top

I'm afraid, sooner or later I'd build my own clip-on reading lamp with red LEDs.... just need to find a way to get a smooth/uniform illumination..



Anyways - the death of my PRS-T1 was somewhat a relief to me - I just realize how much overhead is caused by the Android base. Of course it gives you much more flexibility - you may choose between different reading apps and so on. I didn't like the stock reading app - it crashed on some of my ebooks and was slow on complicated PDF files. I finally sticked with coolreader and APV PDF Viewer. Also, I was glad to have the Kindle Android app on my T1. Meanwhile I got myself an Android tablet, so there was no need anymore to use the T1 for something different than e-reading.

Now - with the more handy Kobo Mini and the calibre DRM plugin making Kindle app obsolete - I realize that it is much more comfortable to have a operating system dedicated solely to e-reading - less battery drain, no crashes at all, faster bootup, less distraction due to fewer tweaking options And if I get bored, there is no need for rooting and internal flash memory can be easily dumped and altered because it is a simpe µSD card

If I needed better PDF support, I'd go for the Pocketbook 623 Touch Lux. It even has hardware page turn buttons.

Here in Germany, there is also another Android based eReader that even has glo light: Toline Shine. It is very easy to root and pretty cheap (99EUR).


But I'm not a friend of Sony anymore because
1) they are lazy on firmware updates and the firmware is buggy (letting the standby screen crash by imcompatible ebooks is plain stupid - software can be made more robust with e.g. reasonable exception handling, timeouts, watchdogs, etc. Also the fact that the data partition is never checked for file system errors is a no-go. Many crashes / issues could be easily prevented with a fsck on boot - like regular linux does. And finally the kernel was buggy with usb charging / usb connection, occasionally causing battery drain over night.)
2) they patronize advanced customers by closing rooting backdoors

Both - Kobo and Pocketbook - are much more active on fixing firmware bugs and adding new features.

[Gilmartin]

"they are lazy on firmware updates and the firmware is buggy (letting the standby screen crash by imcompatible ebooks is plain stupid "
I must say that, as time passes, I too am getting p£$%%^d off with the crashes I am experiencing on my T1. Admittedly the majority (but not all) of these freezes occur with "free" ebooks I've downloaded from usenet; some continue to lock-up the reader even after an epub to ebub convertion with Calibre. Absolute nonsense. If my Pc encounters a software error or incompatabilty it does not lock up or shut down. It exits the program with an error message. Besides which, surely e-pub is e-pub no matter the source?
Yesterday I had to resort to the paperclip method of getting my device back to life 3 times in the space of 2 hours.
Are Kobo and Amazon devices any more stable? If so I might be tempted to ditch my T1, although I'll likely wait until autumn to see what the market has to offer then. Probably the T3, PW2 and "new" Kobo will be on the market by that time, if past years are anything to go by.

[DStyle]

To be honest, buying electronic equipment depend on luck. For example, I have 2 Samsung cellphones, 1st one died just after one year. Try my luck the with a 2nd Samsung. This time, slightly better. It died after 2 years. Bought a hTC, been using it for 4.5 years and now since I have a new Xperia Z, my wife is using my hTC. The funny thing about my hTC is that it has dropped in the river twice and still usable. This is what I called luck. In the end, nothing last forever.

Talk about firmware, I have heard that Sony is not the best in firmware updates. Sometimes, once a year. So many customers hate it. Not sure about e-reader cos I have not own a Sony e-reader yet. I guess must be the management issue. They did fix it in the smartphone section with frequent firmware updates and I hope they also fix it in the e-reader department as well.

Will wait and see.

[uboot]

Originally Posted by Gilmartin

Are Kobo and Amazon devices any more stable? If so I might be tempted to ditch my T1, although I'll likely wait until autumn to see what the market has to offer then. Probably the T3, PW2 and "new" Kobo will be on the market by that time, if past years are anything to go by.

My Kobo Mini was 25% the price I once paid for the T1.... It crashed on none of my ebooks yet. Some are free, some have Adobe DRM and some have been converted to epub from PDF or Kindle via Calibre.

The question is, which screen size do you want. I fell in love with 5 inches and there are not many options in that region. Pocketbook has just released a new 5 inch reader, but it doesn't have a touch screen.

For 6 inches, there will be new devices soon, but I think they won't beat the Pocketbook 623.

More than 6 inches - different story.



Regarding updates - the T1 received 5 updates - until the T2 appeared - nothing fancy, no new features, just minor bug fixing and finally closing the jailbreak backdoor.

Kobo does update older devices, too.

I have a Sony Smartphone, too - but luckily there is Cyanogenmod, Freexperia, Legacyxperia and friends. Otherwise I'd still be bound to Sony's bloated, slow and buggy ICS 4.0.4. At least, Sony provides an option to unlock the boot loader, so rooting is not a problem there...


But build quality is definitely on of Sony's biggest strengths.

[manfred63]

Originally Posted by uboot

But build quality is definitely on of Sony's biggest strengths.

That's one strengths.

The other one is: design.



I can fully understand that advanced users are frustrated that the T1 and the T2 aren't rootable anymore with their latest firmwares. But see it this way: Sony needs to fix their issues on their own now. Calibre already made the Reader for PC software obsolete. There's no reason for Sony to develop a better Reader for PC software since nobody uses it. We should give Sony their chance to fix their firmware on their own. I'm sure it's annoying now when you had fun with the Sony firmware over a long period. But most people need their Sony Reader just for reading some files once per week or so. These deveices are cheap now. People buy them and throw them away some months later.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by uboot

So there are different user profiles...

1.) Reading in daylight - no need for glo light

2.) Reading in dim light - glo light is definitely usefull, especially outdoors. Indoors, I prefer a regular reading lamp that lightens not only the reader, but my surroundings too.

3.) Reading in darkness - glo light is as uncomfortable as reading a regular tabled / computer screen. The best thing IMHO would be something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lightwedge-NV1...pr_product_top

I'm afraid, sooner or later I'd build my own clip-on reading lamp with red LEDs.... just need to find a way to get a smooth/uniform illumination...

No, reading in bright sunlight is the only time there is no need for the light. In anything other than bright sunlight, the light can be useful. During the day, if it's a slightly overcast even sitting outside you will benefit from the light. Sitting on a bus or train on your way to work, sitting reading at home, you might not feel you need the light in those instances, but the light being on will make the screen appear much clearer.

In dim lighting indoors, even with a light on to lift the gloom, the light on your reader makes a big difference too, again the screen will appear clearer. And I only said some people aren't happy with the light in a completely dark room, not that it is as uncomfortable as LCD.

You may well be one of the few people who decides a lighted reader is not for you, you clearly don't want to like them so it wouldn't surprise me if that turns out to be the case

[Ripplinger]

I never had the T1 or T2 as a comparison. My first reader was the 350 and it's still my favorite reader of choice. As far as being lazy about firmware updates, it works perfectly as it should, period. There's no need for firmware updates every month like Kobo does (in fact, that's one of the things I absolutely hate about the Kobo, they don't fix current bugs and introduce new ones with each firmware, and finally changed the UI to something I think is just ugly). When the reader is rock solid and functions as it should, there's no need to keep changing the firmware.

I bought the Kobo Glo for the light, there are a lot of times when I need it and don't want the bulk of carrying an extra light with me plus the extra batteries. I love the light on the Glo, I think it's the most even and best lighted reader out there right now. But in everything else, the 350 blows the Glo away. One of the most annoying issues with the Glo is that Calibre keeps disconnecting the reader when transferring books if you use WinXP and AMD processors. So if I don't want to be plagued by errors and disconnecting/re-connecting the reader constantly for book swaps, I need to dig out a netbook with Windows 7 that I only use for traveling, update the Calibre library there first, and then transfer books.

I know about the article that said Sony will never have a built-in light, but I'm still hoping it's wrong and they will give in. I'd buy a new Sony in a heartbeat and get rid of the Glo if the next one had a built-in light.

[hwlester]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I never had the T1 or T2 as a comparison. My first reader was the 350 and it's still my favorite reader of choice. As far as being lazy about firmware updates, it works perfectly as it should, period. There's no need for firmware updates every month like Kobo does (in fact, that's one of the things I absolutely hate about the Kobo, they don't fix current bugs and introduce new ones with each firmware, and finally changed the UI to something I think is just ugly). When the reader is rock solid and functions as it should, there's no need to keep changing the firmware.

I agree with you, for the most part, but Sony does occasionally leave bugs that they never fix. The 600 was my first one and it would occasionally take a notion to corrupt/delete all of your annotations even though I was running the last released firmware. I have the T1 and haven't rooted mine (mainly because its my main reader). I'm not on the most recent firmware which patches the root exploit, but the one before. The T1 occasionally will skip pages. There are two issues around this:

1. Press the page forward button and it will go forward 2 pages instead of 1 (you can see the two pages flip in quick succession). Press the page back button and you're back to where you're supposed to be. This is almost like a key debounce issue although some have theorized it might be something on the infrared touch screen causing spurious page turns (which I have seen if a cat hair or crumb of food gets on the screen).
2. You'll be on page 137 by the display and press the page forward button and get page 139. Pressing page forward and back will completely skip the intervening pages. Exiting back to the home screen and re-opening the book fixes this one.

Both happen just frequently enough to be annoying, but not so frequently that they're a major frustration. From what I've heard, the last released firmware was more to plug the root exploit than fix known issues like these. For the most part, I would say the Sony readers have been rock solid, though.

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I know about the article that said Sony will never have a built-in light, but I'm still hoping it's wrong and they will give in. I'd buy a new Sony in a heartbeat and get rid of the Glo if the next one had a built-in light.

This was Sony France. I believe that the person speaking was expressing a personal opinion and may not even be in the know about what Sony is planning globally. I also hope they will include front lighting. They were innovators in the ereader field and have slipped behind.