It's definitely a keeper

NNolan · 04-24-2010, 03:40 PM

OK, I've gotten past the setup issues, which were 75% my fault for trying to hurry through it Wednesday night, and 25% a battery issue. Just because the green light was on and the battery indicator said fully charged didn't mean the battery would really last through the first setup process, especially with the WiFi on. Since I gave it a full 8 hour charge it's been great, though. Once you get the WiFi set up you just turn it on and off with a tap (or two) on the icon.

Even though the user manual focuses mainly on explaining how to use the Android apps on the lcd, the ereader app is intuitive enough that I was able to muddle through it without calling Customer Support

.

I like this a lot; it does everything I expect from an ereader and I haven't had any nasty surprises like I got from the Nook. The buttons work with a fairly light touch and the page turns approach Kindle speed. It doesn't cold-start as fast as a Kindle but it's faster than my Nook (still on v1.2). The screen contrast is comparable to the Kindle and Nook. I haven't found a way to change the actual font yet, but it has 5 font sizes: tiny, small, normal, large and extra large. I'm using "small" right now, because "normal" actually looks bigger to me than the "large" on my Kindle.

While you're reading a book the lcd screen displays the name of the book, the author, year of publication and the file type (epub, etc), plus a row of little icons to use for changing the font size, adding bookmarks and notes, starting up the dictionary, displaying the chapter list, and the "go to page" function (YAY!). You can turn the LCD on and off as you need it. There's not a lot of drill-down through submenus involved, although I do think the "Do you really want to do this?" verification prompt when you touch the bookmark icon is overkill. I haven't tried to add notes, either verbal or text, to anything yet, though, so I don't know how well that works.

I haven't spent a lot of time with the apps yet, either, but I did manage to bring up "Thursday Night Basset Blogging" on the browser and switch it back and forth between the eInk screen and the lcd. I also used the bookstore icon, which connects you directly to Smashwords, Project Gutenberg and/or Google Books. I got a copy of "The Moonstone" off of Gutenberg downloaded instantly. By the way, the lcd is higher resolution than the one on the Nook. You wouldn't think that would be noticeable on a 3.5" screen but it is.

Spring Design appears to have put a lot of thought and effort into making this a really good ereader, at least by my criteria. I think it's time to get an out-of-state library card for the Philly Library.

Oh, and it does "Collections". It has some built-in, like 'Author", and you can also make your own. I'm still playing with this.

SCION · 04-24-2010, 11:40 PM

Sounds like you made the right choice. Enjoy!!!

jen6060 · 04-25-2010, 02:41 AM

Thanks for your thoughts, NNolan! Sounds like it has most of the functions for e-reading that I'd want, unlike the Nook, where I'm disappointed with the latest 1.3 upgrade. Now I need to get over the hump of a price for Alex! Can you pls update us on battery life. The web browsing on Nook 1.3 is not v good, and doesn't have apps to take you directly to feedbooks or gutenberg which would really increase reader utility. Thanks again!

NNolan · 04-25-2010, 04:57 PM

I've been using it off and on now since I got home from work Friday night and the battery indicator is still completely green. I'll let you know when it changes.

NNolan · 04-27-2010, 08:35 PM

The LCD is a bit of an energy hog; I watched it go from 65% charged to 50% in about 10 minutes while I was playing with the Settings options. Also, the little icons on the lcd and eink screens really aren't good gauges; you need to check the battery info in the Settings menu to see what's really what. I'll be charging this every week, I think.

kennyc · 04-27-2010, 08:38 PM

Wonderful. Thanks for posting this. And keep us up to date!

kejia · 04-27-2010, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NNolan

The LCD is a bit of an energy hog; I watched it go from 65% charged to 50% in about 10 minutes while I was playing with the Settings options. Also, the little icons on the lcd and eink screens really aren't good gauges; you need to check the battery info in the Settings menu to see what's really what. I'll be charging this every week, I think.

I know. Is there a shortcut to the battery info? It's odd to waste power on the lcd clicking on settings/about your ereader/status to find out how much power you have left.

And of course "about your ereader" is at the end of the menu

04-24-2010, 03:40 PM	#1
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	It's definitely a keeper OK, I've gotten past the setup issues, which were 75% my fault for trying to hurry through it Wednesday night, and 25% a battery issue. Just because the green light was on and the battery indicator said fully charged didn't mean the battery would really last through the first setup process, especially with the WiFi on. Since I gave it a full 8 hour charge it's been great, though. Once you get the WiFi set up you just turn it on and off with a tap (or two) on the icon. Even though the user manual focuses mainly on explaining how to use the Android apps on the lcd, the ereader app is intuitive enough that I was able to muddle through it without calling Customer Support . I like this a lot; it does everything I expect from an ereader and I haven't had any nasty surprises like I got from the Nook. The buttons work with a fairly light touch and the page turns approach Kindle speed. It doesn't cold-start as fast as a Kindle but it's faster than my Nook (still on v1.2). The screen contrast is comparable to the Kindle and Nook. I haven't found a way to change the actual font yet, but it has 5 font sizes: tiny, small, normal, large and extra large. I'm using "small" right now, because "normal" actually looks bigger to me than the "large" on my Kindle. While you're reading a book the lcd screen displays the name of the book, the author, year of publication and the file type (epub, etc), plus a row of little icons to use for changing the font size, adding bookmarks and notes, starting up the dictionary, displaying the chapter list, and the "go to page" function (YAY!). You can turn the LCD on and off as you need it. There's not a lot of drill-down through submenus involved, although I do think the "Do you really want to do this?" verification prompt when you touch the bookmark icon is overkill. I haven't tried to add notes, either verbal or text, to anything yet, though, so I don't know how well that works. I haven't spent a lot of time with the apps yet, either, but I did manage to bring up "Thursday Night Basset Blogging" on the browser and switch it back and forth between the eInk screen and the lcd. I also used the bookstore icon, which connects you directly to Smashwords, Project Gutenberg and/or Google Books. I got a copy of "The Moonstone" off of Gutenberg downloaded instantly. By the way, the lcd is higher resolution than the one on the Nook. You wouldn't think that would be noticeable on a 3.5" screen but it is. Spring Design appears to have put a lot of thought and effort into making this a really good ereader, at least by my criteria. I think it's time to get an out-of-state library card for the Philly Library. Oh, and it does "Collections". It has some built-in, like 'Author", and you can also make your own. I'm still playing with this. Last edited by NNolan; 04-24-2010 at 04:40 PM. Reason: Collections/Folders!

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04-24-2010, 11:40 PM	#2
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	Sounds like you made the right choice. Enjoy!!!

04-25-2010, 02:41 AM	#3
jen6060 Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Device: sony prs505 (given away); Sony prs300; Nook	Thanks for your thoughts, NNolan! Sounds like it has most of the functions for e-reading that I'd want, unlike the Nook, where I'm disappointed with the latest 1.3 upgrade. Now I need to get over the hump of a price for Alex! Can you pls update us on battery life. The web browsing on Nook 1.3 is not v good, and doesn't have apps to take you directly to feedbooks or gutenberg which would really increase reader utility. Thanks again!

04-25-2010, 04:57 PM	#4
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	I've been using it off and on now since I got home from work Friday night and the battery indicator is still completely green. I'll let you know when it changes.

04-27-2010, 08:35 PM	#5
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	The LCD is a bit of an energy hog; I watched it go from 65% charged to 50% in about 10 minutes while I was playing with the Settings options. Also, the little icons on the lcd and eink screens really aren't good gauges; you need to check the battery info in the Settings menu to see what's really what. I'll be charging this every week, I think.

04-27-2010, 08:38 PM	#6
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Wonderful. Thanks for posting this. And keep us up to date!

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