I don't know whether Onyx will take notice of these propositions here, but Booxtor - if you agree with them, feel free to relay them
They're a bunch of minor details, but I think that future products could profit by considering them:
- possibility to attach pen to reader itself... imho reduces the chances of loss, and at least Irex used a trigger sensor in the slot to disable the wacom tablet and save power whenever the pen was not in use (should be configurable, though - to allow the use of other pens
)
- reverse volume + and - buttons (scale increases from left to right... the buttons are reversed... not very intuitive
)
- put plugs from which cables may protude to the upper or left side (figure yourself reading in bed or on a sofa with the device resting on your belly -> high chance for physical strain on the plugs, if you have headphones or the charger cable attached) (I actually already ruined a laptop headphone plug this way several years ago - creating a loose contact - paying attention since then
)
- the cut space around the headphone plug suffices only for plugs of small headphones... big headphones (e.g., Beyerdynamics DT-770pro) fit only via adapter (unless one intends to enjoy HiFi-Mono-sound
)
- provide some means to press the reset button without additional hardware (e.g., paper clip
)... one could design either the hole or the stylus to allow a reset per stylus
- include some pockets in the cover for small notes/business cards/papers/memory cards/a regular pen
- offer (please do this even for the M92) some tough bag/cover protecting the M92 from torsion and accidental damage in full backpacks etc. (a hard plate woven into the front (and possibly the back) may considerably increase weight - but some people may very well be willing to accept that (protecting their work equipment)
Furthermore, if they target professional users (which I think they should do with the M92), (imho) they need to:
- provide quick access to replacement styli
- (probably also offer more stylish/multifunctional styli)
- improve their customer communication: Right now, I would have a hard time getting in touch with them personally, and I'm not even sure their bug tracking system is operative ; receiving firmware exclusively posted by a vendor in some (more or less
) arbitrary forum works out perfectly for us geeks... but...
- consider the offering of carepacks (extended warranty and quick replacement contracts)
Last, but not least (on a strictly personal note), I see them repeating the same mistake iRex did over years... they intended to be open, but then closed down at crucial points.
I understand that the risk of helping competitors by releasing source code is always in the back of one's mind (and I sympathize).
But raising people's hope by using GPLed software (attracting geeks), then only reluctantly releasing source (annoying geeks) only gives them the disadvantages, barring them from the advantages they could have:
It is likely to have a negative impact on their reputation on the middle run _and_ bars the community from helping.
They could have chosen to produce something completely proprietary (which they did not) - so closing down is no real option anymore (and neither will it be for competitors using this software - things go both ways with GPL).
So I'd say they only have to gain by proactively supporting developers working with the GPLed parts of their firmware.
Please understand that I'm not ranting against Onyx here. But I seriously like their product and the fact that they're investing time into improving the firmware - so I'm trying to give (hopefully productive) feedback.
Cheers.