What should I get that is similar to the i62 I loved?

Doranwen · 01-02-2017, 02:43 PM

I had an Onyx Boox i62 Firefly which worked wonderfully for years till I accidentally dropped it on a tile floor last week (and it ceased to function). I purchased an Onyx Boox C67ML Carta and have tried it but am very disappointed for the following reasons:

- It acts more like a tablet than an e-reader. I have no interest in a tablet; I only want a very good device for reading the books I have on my SD card. I liked that the Firefly let me touch the SD card and poof - I was in it looking at directories. I don't need a bunch of apps to browse the 'net (I have a smartphone for that) or do fancy things - I just want to browse my directories and choose e-books to read easily.

- It's not as easy to navigate the directories on my SD card. I have to go into Storage, then touch the SD card directory, and then I can't even see more than 5 or 6 things at a time - the spaces between each line are ridiculously huge! My Firefly let me see quite a few more things on each screen. Plus it doesn't even show the file sizes for each file, which I use to gauge length of story for the many epubs I've got which have no pics to inflate file size.

- It requires holding hands on both sides of the e-reader to be able to advance forward and backwards through pages, with the right button being forward and the back button being backwards. The Firefly had two buttons on each side so I could lie in bed on my side and use one hand to advance forward and backward by adjusting where my thumb was on it. I think the two-button system is far superior in that regard.

Is there any other Onyx e-reader that's 6" (so it fits in my purse) and is more like the i62? Failing that, where can one obtain another i62? I've kicked myself over and over for not having a good grasp on it when I dropped it, but I can't bring it back and I can't find anywhere to get it repaired, so I really want to find another if possible.

Dr. Drib · 01-03-2017, 05:08 AM

Is there a reason you wish to stick with an Onyx device?

Doranwen · 01-03-2017, 10:46 PM

Hmm, not necessarily, though these are my criteria:

- Must present me straight off with a file system to browse, NOT sorting by author/title/etc., nor a screen requiring two touches to get into the browsing. My collection of e-books includes a ton of fanfiction as well as small text files of music lyrics, etc. I have to be able to browse them comfortably. I used the Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro before the Onyx Boox i62 Firefly; at the time I switched (which was due to the Pocket Pro just dying suddenly on me) the Onyx brand, I was told, was the only one that would have this sort of browsing as default. The C67ML Carta lets you do it, but it acts more like my phone (and I'm not as impressed with its e-Ink screen--there's a lot of overlays from the previous pages, which I never had with my i62); you can get to the directory, but you have to go through here and there to get to them, and each file or folder was in a gigantic entry row, as if the table of rows were two or three times the size they should be. Whereas with the i62 you just had to choose Internal or SD card (they were options on the main page, not through a menu or secondary page) and you were immediately in a system that was designed for directory browsing, as if I were using a flash drive or computer. My parents thought it was small print when they saw it, but they need glasses to read anything; each page of the directory browsing held like a dozen entries or so (compared to the Carta's five gigantic entries--ridiculous! takes forever to get through a directory with 100 entries, which shouldn't be the case).

- It needs to handle a lot of e-book formats. I have more epub than anything, but I also have mobi, html, pdf (though I try to avoid that because 6" readers don't handle those all that well), txt, even rtf and doc sometimes. Possibly others, but not sure about that.

- No ties to any stores; I'm definitely steering clear of Nook/Kindle. Most of what I read is freely available on the Internet, but I download it on my computer, sort it, and copy the epubs (or the next best option) to a folder to transfer to the e-reader (the fanfics are usually available in html, pdf, and often epub as well, and I download all three because on my computer I prefer to read in pdf, and that's where I discover them in the first place). No interest in buying anything on the device itself. I turned off the wifi on my i62 the first day I got it and never turned it back on. I don't mind the e-reader having the ability to get online, but I don't want it in my face, because I'm just going to turn it off and never use that feature.

- I'm looking for something that is specifically just an e-reader, not an e-Ink tablet of sorts. Which I think I sort of said in my first criteria, but yeah. I was rather disappointed with the Carta, that's for sure! If I want a tablet I'll buy one with an LCD screen. But I can't see myself using one all that often; I tend to prefer a device be very good at its specific function and not try to get an all-in-one. (I run big desktops but I use a small flip phone for voice calls, and my smartphone is on wifi only, mainly for texting and a few key apps.) The Carta feels like an e-reader trying to be a tablet as well, and that's definitely not what I'm looking for. I have no need for a page with all the apps--half of which are designed for the 'net--or anything like that; the only thing I want to do on it is read.

- Must take a microSD card - I have a 32GB one that I've been using and would like to continue to use, which has all the books on there organized and ready to plop into a device. These days I gather that's more common that it used to be, which is good.

- I can't say that it's an absolute must, but after having gotten used to the two-buttons-on-each-side feature of the i62, I really miss that. It was nice to lay in bed and use one hand to turn pages back and forth. The C67ML requires a hand on each side because you only have one button on each side. If I want to go forward, I have to press the button on the right, backward, the button on the left. There's no way to easily use my right hand (without awkwardness) to hold and press a button to go backwards if I should desire, nor the converse with my left hand to go forward. Having experienced that system and finding it very logical, I wish I could find another e-reader that would do the same thing.

I suppose I should post all this in the "Which should I buy?" forum, lol. I hadn't thought I'd need to go outside the Onyx brand, but perhaps I do - maybe there's something better out there.

Honestly, though, I still want my i62 back and am angry with myself for not thinking of how I was holding it that evening. And am very sad that I can't find mention of anywhere to repair it, or any used one being sold anywhere. But if you think of one that you think I might like just as well as the i62, I'm willing to check it out.

Dr. Drib · 01-04-2017, 10:46 AM

I can move this thread there, if you wish.

Don
(Moderator)

Doranwen · 01-04-2017, 02:58 PM

Yes, please.

Thank you!

If it's possible to change it to the title I tweaked my first post to, that would be appreciated, since the direction of this thread is now "what should I get that is similar to the i62 I loved" rather than just comparing the i62 with the C67ML.

Dr. Drib · 01-04-2017, 03:08 PM

Now moved and Title changed, as requested.

Don
(Moderator)

Doranwen · 01-09-2017, 07:12 PM

Thanks.

Hopefully someone has some ideas of what might be similar, if there is anything. I'd also take "here's where you can buy one", but I'm betting that's not very likely these days. :/

mbovenka · 01-10-2017, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doranwen

Thanks.

Hopefully someone has some ideas of what might be similar, if there is anything. I'd also take "here's where you can buy one", but I'm betting that's not very likely these days. :/

Energy Sistem Pro HD?

Icarus Illumina?

Doranwen · 03-01-2017, 03:54 AM

(Apologies for the late reply! Life got a little crazy)

The real issue is that I can't tell until I fiddle with it whether it'll do two of the things that the C67 did not do correctly, and these were:

- To have a link straight off to the SD card. For me, the SD card is not a secondary thing, it's the primary usage for the e-reader. I'm not browsing the 'net, I'm not playing games, I'm only reading books that I have stored on the card (or else the internal drive). So both of those should be accessible immediately from the main screen. Anything else is poor design in my book.

- To be able to change the size of the fonts (and the space around them) listing items in a directory. The C67 had gigantic amounts of space between each line so one could only see 5 or 6 books per "page", which was ridiculous (and there was no way to change that setting!) - the Firefly let me shrink it to see 12 or 13 at least. When you've got 200 files in a directory (and some of them, I do, because there's no better way to break it down), I don't want it to take 40 page turns to see them all! (And due to the types of files I read, a library system with search would not be very helpful - I wouldn't remember the names of half of them without seeing them, and I go by self-determined category first, then winnow from there.)

Thankfully I did find an Angel Glow (which is sort of like the Firefly? I forget what the exact differences are but they're not enough to be an issue, I don't think) on eBay and I'm back in business using it (and being very very careful about not dropping it), but it would be nice if there were other e-readers with the same features out there.

01-02-2017, 02:43 PM	#1
Doranwen Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 470252 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none, sadly, they all died	What should I get that is similar to the i62 I loved? I had an Onyx Boox i62 Firefly which worked wonderfully for years till I accidentally dropped it on a tile floor last week (and it ceased to function). I purchased an Onyx Boox C67ML Carta and have tried it but am very disappointed for the following reasons: - It acts more like a tablet than an e-reader. I have no interest in a tablet; I only want a very good device for reading the books I have on my SD card. I liked that the Firefly let me touch the SD card and poof - I was in it looking at directories. I don't need a bunch of apps to browse the 'net (I have a smartphone for that) or do fancy things - I just want to browse my directories and choose e-books to read easily. - It's not as easy to navigate the directories on my SD card. I have to go into Storage, then touch the SD card directory, and then I can't even see more than 5 or 6 things at a time - the spaces between each line are ridiculously huge! My Firefly let me see quite a few more things on each screen. Plus it doesn't even show the file sizes for each file, which I use to gauge length of story for the many epubs I've got which have no pics to inflate file size. - It requires holding hands on both sides of the e-reader to be able to advance forward and backwards through pages, with the right button being forward and the back button being backwards. The Firefly had two buttons on each side so I could lie in bed on my side and use one hand to advance forward and backward by adjusting where my thumb was on it. I think the two-button system is far superior in that regard. Is there any other Onyx e-reader that's 6" (so it fits in my purse) and is more like the i62? Failing that, where can one obtain another i62? I've kicked myself over and over for not having a good grasp on it when I dropped it, but I can't bring it back and I can't find anywhere to get it repaired, so I really want to find another if possible. Last edited by Doranwen; 01-04-2017 at 02:59 PM. Reason: Changed title

01-03-2017, 05:08 AM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,411 Karma: 59504381 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Is there a reason you wish to stick with an Onyx device? Last edited by Dr. Drib; 01-03-2017 at 05:11 AM.

01-03-2017, 10:46 PM	#3
Doranwen Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 470252 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none, sadly, they all died	Hmm, not necessarily, though these are my criteria: - Must present me straight off with a file system to browse, NOT sorting by author/title/etc., nor a screen requiring two touches to get into the browsing. My collection of e-books includes a ton of fanfiction as well as small text files of music lyrics, etc. I have to be able to browse them comfortably. I used the Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro before the Onyx Boox i62 Firefly; at the time I switched (which was due to the Pocket Pro just dying suddenly on me) the Onyx brand, I was told, was the only one that would have this sort of browsing as default. The C67ML Carta lets you do it, but it acts more like my phone (and I'm not as impressed with its e-Ink screen--there's a lot of overlays from the previous pages, which I never had with my i62); you can get to the directory, but you have to go through here and there to get to them, and each file or folder was in a gigantic entry row, as if the table of rows were two or three times the size they should be. Whereas with the i62 you just had to choose Internal or SD card (they were options on the main page, not through a menu or secondary page) and you were immediately in a system that was designed for directory browsing, as if I were using a flash drive or computer. My parents thought it was small print when they saw it, but they need glasses to read anything; each page of the directory browsing held like a dozen entries or so (compared to the Carta's five gigantic entries--ridiculous! takes forever to get through a directory with 100 entries, which shouldn't be the case). - It needs to handle a lot of e-book formats. I have more epub than anything, but I also have mobi, html, pdf (though I try to avoid that because 6" readers don't handle those all that well), txt, even rtf and doc sometimes. Possibly others, but not sure about that. - No ties to any stores; I'm definitely steering clear of Nook/Kindle. Most of what I read is freely available on the Internet, but I download it on my computer, sort it, and copy the epubs (or the next best option) to a folder to transfer to the e-reader (the fanfics are usually available in html, pdf, and often epub as well, and I download all three because on my computer I prefer to read in pdf, and that's where I discover them in the first place). No interest in buying anything on the device itself. I turned off the wifi on my i62 the first day I got it and never turned it back on. I don't mind the e-reader having the ability to get online, but I don't want it in my face, because I'm just going to turn it off and never use that feature. - I'm looking for something that is specifically just an e-reader, not an e-Ink tablet of sorts. Which I think I sort of said in my first criteria, but yeah. I was rather disappointed with the Carta, that's for sure! If I want a tablet I'll buy one with an LCD screen. But I can't see myself using one all that often; I tend to prefer a device be very good at its specific function and not try to get an all-in-one. (I run big desktops but I use a small flip phone for voice calls, and my smartphone is on wifi only, mainly for texting and a few key apps.) The Carta feels like an e-reader trying to be a tablet as well, and that's definitely not what I'm looking for. I have no need for a page with all the apps--half of which are designed for the 'net--or anything like that; the only thing I want to do on it is read. - Must take a microSD card - I have a 32GB one that I've been using and would like to continue to use, which has all the books on there organized and ready to plop into a device. These days I gather that's more common that it used to be, which is good. - I can't say that it's an absolute must, but after having gotten used to the two-buttons-on-each-side feature of the i62, I really miss that. It was nice to lay in bed and use one hand to turn pages back and forth. The C67ML requires a hand on each side because you only have one button on each side. If I want to go forward, I have to press the button on the right, backward, the button on the left. There's no way to easily use my right hand (without awkwardness) to hold and press a button to go backwards if I should desire, nor the converse with my left hand to go forward. Having experienced that system and finding it very logical, I wish I could find another e-reader that would do the same thing. I suppose I should post all this in the "Which should I buy?" forum, lol. I hadn't thought I'd need to go outside the Onyx brand, but perhaps I do - maybe there's something better out there. Honestly, though, I still want my i62 back and am angry with myself for not thinking of how I was holding it that evening. And am very sad that I can't find mention of anywhere to repair it, or any used one being sold anywhere. But if you think of one that you think I might like just as well as the i62, I'm willing to check it out. Last edited by Doranwen; 01-03-2017 at 10:54 PM.

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01-04-2017, 10:46 AM	#4
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,411 Karma: 59504381 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	I can move this thread there, if you wish. Don (Moderator)

01-04-2017, 02:58 PM	#5
Doranwen Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 470252 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none, sadly, they all died	Yes, please. Thank you! If it's possible to change it to the title I tweaked my first post to, that would be appreciated, since the direction of this thread is now "what should I get that is similar to the i62 I loved" rather than just comparing the i62 with the C67ML.

01-04-2017, 03:08 PM	#6
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,411 Karma: 59504381 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Now moved and Title changed, as requested. Don (Moderator)

01-09-2017, 07:12 PM	#7
Doranwen Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 470252 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none, sadly, they all died	Thanks. Hopefully someone has some ideas of what might be similar, if there is anything. I'd also take "here's where you can buy one", but I'm betting that's not very likely these days. :/

03-01-2017, 03:54 AM	#9
Doranwen Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 470252 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none, sadly, they all died	(Apologies for the late reply! Life got a little crazy) The real issue is that I can't tell until I fiddle with it whether it'll do two of the things that the C67 did not do correctly, and these were: - To have a link straight off to the SD card. For me, the SD card is not a secondary thing, it's the primary usage for the e-reader. I'm not browsing the 'net, I'm not playing games, I'm only reading books that I have stored on the card (or else the internal drive). So both of those should be accessible immediately from the main screen. Anything else is poor design in my book. - To be able to change the size of the fonts (and the space around them) listing items in a directory. The C67 had gigantic amounts of space between each line so one could only see 5 or 6 books per "page", which was ridiculous (and there was no way to change that setting!) - the Firefly let me shrink it to see 12 or 13 at least. When you've got 200 files in a directory (and some of them, I do, because there's no better way to break it down), I don't want it to take 40 page turns to see them all! (And due to the types of files I read, a library system with search would not be very helpful - I wouldn't remember the names of half of them without seeing them, and I go by self-determined category first, then winnow from there.) Thankfully I did find an Angel Glow (which is sort of like the Firefly? I forget what the exact differences are but they're not enough to be an issue, I don't think) on eBay and I'm back in business using it (and being very very careful about not dropping it), but it would be nice if there were other e-readers with the same features out there.

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