Need advice from Pocketbook 902 Users

Anthony.h80 · 08-13-2011, 08:35 AM

Greetings to all in MR!

I have been doing research since the beginning of this month after realizing the importance of a e-book reader that will aid in shortening the overall dependence on LCD laptops for reading and increase the overall learning satisfaction.

After narrowing my choices to either PB 902 or Kindle DXG, and much careful considerations, I decided PB902 had the closest technical specifications that I needed. Over 90% of covered materials on my reading list included technical guidebooks and academic textbooks which are formatted in PDF, and so all the more reason a 9.7" screen would be better suited for this purpose.

Here's the dilemma:
+PB902 hung and entire screen becomes blank after firmware update. The user had to remove battery, and placed it back before restarting the system.
+Fully functional dictionaries became trial software after software conflict with newly updated firmware. The issue remained the same even after the new firmware was downgraded to previous working version.

There might be other issues I am unaware of but it raised serious concerns for me that the firmware might not be stable yet. To be fair, there are also PB902/3 users who seem happy with their products. I would be glad for anyone to prove me wrong or at least shared their experiences. It can be quite a daunting experience if I would to spend over $400 and received a less than satisfactory performance in the device.

Looking forward to replies!

Billi · 08-13-2011, 10:05 AM

Hi Anthony, welcome to MobileRead!

All in all I'm a satisfied user of the Pocketbook 902 and I'm trying to answer your questions a little bit.

- Considering your reading material you're right that a 9,7" device should fit you best. There are three choices, Kindle DXG, Pocketbook 902/3, Onyx M90/91.

- Pocketbook 902-903: 903 has a wacom touch screen and a pencil, it has 3G and wifi, 902 only wifi, 903 is a lot more expensive.

- Yes, this devices sometimes don't work and you have to restart them (and sometimes take such drastical messures as taking out the battery) but I think that happens with every brand.
One known problem that hangs a pocketbook is deleting the delivered library from a PC (you should do this on the reader). The device then needs a very long time to reorganize the internal database.
But in general, there are different firmware versions, version 2.04 works stable and the higher ones don't offer any remarkable advantage for the 902 device, only for the 903.

- The dictionaries: When the new Pocketbook line came out in the end of 2010 they contained a lot of dictionaries. Afterwards it showed that there has been a misunderstanding or something worse between Pocketbook and Abbyy Lingvo, that Pocketbook didn't have the right to publish all the dictionaries as full versions but had to publish some as trial versions. Without announcing anything Pocketbook changed the character of these dictionaries in later firmware upgrades which caused a lot of disgust by their users.
But as a new buyer you should not ask which dictionaries are lost now but which dictionaries are still delivered and which language combinations are important for you. Unfortunately I can't tell you this as I have never upgraded past 2.04. But I think you can ask this question directly in the Pocketbook subforum.

- All in all: it is a very good device for reading pdf files and you have a lot of ways to customise your reader yourself.

Anthony.h80 · 08-14-2011, 05:22 AM

Thanks for sharing, Billi!

I will be sure to take note of the stable firmware version as there might be essential revised changes for the device. This is good news than having an unstable firmware installed in place.

Looks like PB developers should focus on improving the library database more efficiently or at least allow editing library from PC and sync off to PB902 without hassle. Imagined the amount of time taken for 533MHz in PB902 for re-arranging 1500 truckload of books, it is comparable to a snail strolling through the garden!

I think u are right about what dictionary is available right now. English is my native language and widely accepted as one of the global languages, so this should be fine. I would be disgusted too if I am one of those previous users facing such issues.

08-13-2011, 08:35 AM	#1
Anthony.h80 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: PocketBook 902	Need advice from Pocketbook 902 Users Greetings to all in MR! I have been doing research since the beginning of this month after realizing the importance of a e-book reader that will aid in shortening the overall dependence on LCD laptops for reading and increase the overall learning satisfaction. After narrowing my choices to either PB 902 or Kindle DXG, and much careful considerations, I decided PB902 had the closest technical specifications that I needed. Over 90% of covered materials on my reading list included technical guidebooks and academic textbooks which are formatted in PDF, and so all the more reason a 9.7" screen would be better suited for this purpose. Here's the dilemma: +PB902 hung and entire screen becomes blank after firmware update. The user had to remove battery, and placed it back before restarting the system. +Fully functional dictionaries became trial software after software conflict with newly updated firmware. The issue remained the same even after the new firmware was downgraded to previous working version. There might be other issues I am unaware of but it raised serious concerns for me that the firmware might not be stable yet. To be fair, there are also PB902/3 users who seem happy with their products. I would be glad for anyone to prove me wrong or at least shared their experiences. It can be quite a daunting experience if I would to spend over $400 and received a less than satisfactory performance in the device. Looking forward to replies!

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08-13-2011, 10:05 AM	#2
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	Hi Anthony, welcome to MobileRead! All in all I'm a satisfied user of the Pocketbook 902 and I'm trying to answer your questions a little bit. - Considering your reading material you're right that a 9,7" device should fit you best. There are three choices, Kindle DXG, Pocketbook 902/3, Onyx M90/91. - Pocketbook 902-903: 903 has a wacom touch screen and a pencil, it has 3G and wifi, 902 only wifi, 903 is a lot more expensive. - Yes, this devices sometimes don't work and you have to restart them (and sometimes take such drastical messures as taking out the battery) but I think that happens with every brand. One known problem that hangs a pocketbook is deleting the delivered library from a PC (you should do this on the reader). The device then needs a very long time to reorganize the internal database. But in general, there are different firmware versions, version 2.04 works stable and the higher ones don't offer any remarkable advantage for the 902 device, only for the 903. - The dictionaries: When the new Pocketbook line came out in the end of 2010 they contained a lot of dictionaries. Afterwards it showed that there has been a misunderstanding or something worse between Pocketbook and Abbyy Lingvo, that Pocketbook didn't have the right to publish all the dictionaries as full versions but had to publish some as trial versions. Without announcing anything Pocketbook changed the character of these dictionaries in later firmware upgrades which caused a lot of disgust by their users. But as a new buyer you should not ask which dictionaries are lost now but which dictionaries are still delivered and which language combinations are important for you. Unfortunately I can't tell you this as I have never upgraded past 2.04. But I think you can ask this question directly in the Pocketbook subforum. - All in all: it is a very good device for reading pdf files and you have a lot of ways to customise your reader yourself.

08-14-2011, 05:22 AM	#3
Anthony.h80 Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: PocketBook 902	Thanks for sharing, Billi! I will be sure to take note of the stable firmware version as there might be essential revised changes for the device. This is good news than having an unstable firmware installed in place. Looks like PB developers should focus on improving the library database more efficiently or at least allow editing library from PC and sync off to PB902 without hassle. Imagined the amount of time taken for 533MHz in PB902 for re-arranging 1500 truckload of books, it is comparable to a snail strolling through the garden! I think u are right about what dictionary is available right now. English is my native language and widely accepted as one of the global languages, so this should be fine. I would be disgusted too if I am one of those previous users facing such issues.

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