[machinogodzilla]

Hey increduloussus, thanks for all the feedback. I'm considering upgrading from M96 to N96ML and I *believe* they should be pretty much the same when it comes to the software with only slight differences (like you presumably get an icon to dim the light in N96ML). So if you have trouble with N96ML that makes me worried because you should have a comparable experience to M96 if not better.

My comments are therefore from M96 user's point of view, let's see if our experiences are comparable.

Originally Posted by increduloussus

I'm also testing out multi-tasking apps, since there does not appear to be any simple way to switch between apps (someone please let me know if there is a way after all!).

I have recently installed Switchr and it looks promising. Lots of options are disabled in the free app but the "pro" version isn't expensive.

It didn't want to install straight from Play Store (insufficient storage apparently) so I installed in on my phone first, copied the apk to the reader, and installed manually from there. No problems this way, go figure. Here is a screenshot using the "Slide" style (you drag the menu in from the left edge):



You may also want to see this thread.

Originally Posted by increduloussus

I think one of the biggest errors of the N96 ML (not the capacitive touch model) hardware is the lack of a five-way navigation key, like the one on the M96. If you loose your stylus and don't have a bluetooth mouse or trackpad, you are SOL for even the most basic functions, like going to the home screen, navigating menus, selecting/tapping an icon, etc. Someone correct me if I'm missing some hardware button key-combinations or something.

Hmm... doesn't sound too good. I've never had the need to use that joystick but I tested it to see if I could still use the reader in case the stylus went missing, and yes, it could be done. So looks like a regression here unless someone knows the way...

Originally Posted by increduloussus

Gmail works fine, although with some display glitches. I'm always able to read & send emails, though sometimes I long-press the hardware "Menu" button to refresh the screen. My calendar syncs up fine with Google Calendar.

Try K-9 Mail, it's an excellent email client and works well on my M96.

Originally Posted by increduloussus

But one remaining issue for me is annotating .pdf files. So far the experience is not so great. Not very high fidelity. I don't see the pressure sensitivity working all that well. Sometimes the calibration feels off--and I have tried recalibrating a number of times in the Settings menu.

Hmm... The question is is it worse than M96 or doesn't it meet your fidelity requirements. Here are screenshots from Onyx Scribbler (which I think uses the same note taking "engine" as Onyx Neo Reader) and Papyrus (or Squid now). Also see this post.

I can use Onyx Scribbler in "quality" mode no problem, and it does some magic to make the stroke width vary as you write, I find the experience really smooth, almost no different to regular note taking. Papyrus on the other hand is clearly not optimised for the reader and the experience is not great but acceptable (you have to use the "performance" mode otherwise the lag is unbearable). I use Papyrus but some people just upload a blank multi-page pdf with the background of their choice (lines, grid, blank, etc.) and use Onyx Neo Reader for taking notes.

Originally Posted by increduloussus

However the Neo Reader doesn't sync up with any cloud service, and it doesn't seem to allow a simple way to make ongoing annotations over multiple sessions, since you can only "export", not "save". There may be a simple method to make this manageable, but I don't know it.

Regarding the multiple sessions issue, doesn't it just save the annotations when you close the book? It does on my M96, you don't have to do anything. Just press the "back" button, open the book again, and your notes should be there. Doesn't it work like this in N96ML?

As for cloud sync, you could back up the Onyx Neo Reader database but I think you need your reader rooted to access it. Mine is not and I cannot find it anywhere so I think it's stored somewhere on the system partition. Yes, some built-in cloud sync would be nice, maybe the new K-Reader will have it?