MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Initial thoughts about my new PocketBook 302

brainycat · 05-12-2010, 02:08 PM

Two weeks ago, I purchased a new 302 via tvpupsik's ebay site. The box arrived exactly on schedule, and the product was exactly as described. I was very impressed with the care and quality that went into the packaging. I wish all "by the mail" retailers put this much effort into protecting their products during shipping. I would happily buy from tvpupsik again. My only regret is that ebay is not getting along with my browser and/or email provider, and I am unable to login and provide him with a positive recommendation.

I am very impressed with the device. I have been using a Sony PRS-600 for the last 8 months or so, and this absolutely feels like an upgrade. The speed of the device, the rich featurset and ergonomic buttons definitely make the 302 much nicer to use over long periods than the PRS-600. I think my favorite feature, so far, is the screen rotation.

The device mounts effortlessly in linux, and it was trivial to copy my books over. See another post about how I created categories on the device.

The screen is definitely shiny, but after the dull, vaguely fuzzy PRS-600 screen it's a welcome tradeoff. The text is crisp and the screen is responsive to the stylus. I have read on the device while sitting on my patio in the afternoon sun over my shoulder, and it was not difficult. I find it easy to read for extended periods of time without any fatigue. Being able to change the font size by scrolling is a very nice feature.

I was able to connect the device to my WLAN effortlessly. A nice feature, IMHO, is that if I want to connect, I have to initiate the device. I appreciate that it doesn't burn my battery while trying to connect unless I know it's in range. It appears the bluetooth connectivity is via modem only; I have not tried any bluetooth HID devices to see if they are recognized. Nor have I tried the USB host feature.

Being able to export my notes was definitely one of the main selling points for me. They show up on the device's filesystem in HTML format. I have not looked into the possibility of a script that would export notes directly to my blog, but that's on the list of things to do.

It's been mentioned before, but the options for customization are amazing. As a cardcarrying geek, having lots of options to twiddle with makes me very happy. I've gotten the device to a point where I feel comfortable with it, but I have yet to really start digging into it. I haven't installed any apps or customer pictures for it yet.

I have 4GB Kingston card, and so far I've only saved a configuration backup file to it. I have not seen any issues with rebooting.

Unfortunately, it's not a perfect device. I'm not sure if these are known issues, or I haven't found the fix for them yet:

When I rotate the device, the button assignment changes - it seems the internal button pointers rotate along with the text orientation.
Everytime I power up the device, it asks me to calibrate the screen. I have to click the round button to exit the calibration screen, which also takes me out of my book and back to the mainscreen.
I cannot find a way to create a new note. (not a scribble, a note)

All in all, I am extremely satisfied with the device and feel it's a fair value.

05-12-2010, 02:08 PM	#1
brainycat PocketBook 302 FTW! Posts: 141 Karma: 398 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle Device: Pocketbook 302, upgraded from PRS-600	Initial thoughts about my new PocketBook 302 Two weeks ago, I purchased a new 302 via tvpupsik's ebay site. The box arrived exactly on schedule, and the product was exactly as described. I was very impressed with the care and quality that went into the packaging. I wish all "by the mail" retailers put this much effort into protecting their products during shipping. I would happily buy from tvpupsik again. My only regret is that ebay is not getting along with my browser and/or email provider, and I am unable to login and provide him with a positive recommendation. I am very impressed with the device. I have been using a Sony PRS-600 for the last 8 months or so, and this absolutely feels like an upgrade. The speed of the device, the rich featurset and ergonomic buttons definitely make the 302 much nicer to use over long periods than the PRS-600. I think my favorite feature, so far, is the screen rotation. The device mounts effortlessly in linux, and it was trivial to copy my books over. See another post about how I created categories on the device. The screen is definitely shiny, but after the dull, vaguely fuzzy PRS-600 screen it's a welcome tradeoff. The text is crisp and the screen is responsive to the stylus. I have read on the device while sitting on my patio in the afternoon sun over my shoulder, and it was not difficult. I find it easy to read for extended periods of time without any fatigue. Being able to change the font size by scrolling is a very nice feature. I was able to connect the device to my WLAN effortlessly. A nice feature, IMHO, is that if I want to connect, I have to initiate the device. I appreciate that it doesn't burn my battery while trying to connect unless I know it's in range. It appears the bluetooth connectivity is via modem only; I have not tried any bluetooth HID devices to see if they are recognized. Nor have I tried the USB host feature. Being able to export my notes was definitely one of the main selling points for me. They show up on the device's filesystem in HTML format. I have not looked into the possibility of a script that would export notes directly to my blog, but that's on the list of things to do. It's been mentioned before, but the options for customization are amazing. As a cardcarrying geek, having lots of options to twiddle with makes me very happy. I've gotten the device to a point where I feel comfortable with it, but I have yet to really start digging into it. I haven't installed any apps or customer pictures for it yet. I have 4GB Kingston card, and so far I've only saved a configuration backup file to it. I have not seen any issues with rebooting. Unfortunately, it's not a perfect device. I'm not sure if these are known issues, or I haven't found the fix for them yet: When I rotate the device, the button assignment changes - it seems the internal button pointers rotate along with the text orientation. Everytime I power up the device, it asks me to calibrate the screen. I have to click the round button to exit the calibration screen, which also takes me out of my book and back to the mainscreen. I cannot find a way to create a new note. (not a scribble, a note) All in all, I am extremely satisfied with the device and feel it's a fair value.