Onyx Boox i86

[Sweetpea]

Can somebody tell me what the OS is? Whenever I search for that I got pages that say 4.0 and pages that say 4.4...

And to those that also have the T68, how does the light compare with that one, can you dim it a lot more (one of the problems I have with the T68 is that the brightness at lowest level is still way too bright for me in a dark room, I compared it to my husbands PW and when I got my T68 at lowest, he has his at about halfway full...)

[mdp]

@Pureaxis:
for some reason, the device feels in general more responsive than the T68. Also the touchscreen does.
For the PDF, I use Ivan Ivanenko's PDF Reader (com.foobnix.pdf.reader), and the experience is QUITE good (with possibly the exception of imperfect control during page dragging, but this may be the software application). Page "turning" is quite fast.

EDIT: I have not checked the native application for PDF

[mdp]

@EldRick:
For FBReader (can't do without), I install a repackaging changing the manifest
(the 'package' attribute of the 'manifest' tag and the 'android:label' attribute of the 'application' tag... )
One could note, this is what Onyx should have done!
Incidentally: I would use my own hacking of FBReader anyway, because I want two columns also on portrait.

Fonts, I use plenty - each application (I do not know about the Onyx ones) has its own way to use more...
You would create a folder populated with fonts and specify it in your application preferences, or some applications have their own fonts folder

Converting .otf to .ttf should be quite easy... I was considering it earlier to try Google's Literata

[mdp]

@Nate
Browsers: on the T68 I would mainly use Dolphin
(but I remember having also used Opera Mini... I cannot check right now. May be a certain version?)

[mdp]

@Sweetpea:
Current version is 4.0.4
Kernel version 3.0.35
Built on 6 June 2015

The light, at minimum setting, is (correctly) quite dim... I checked and I would say that 5 or 6/10 of the i86 is comparable to 1/10 of the T68 (notoriously a torchlight).
Note that the two lights are quite different: the i86 is very blue

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by mdp

@Sweetpea:
Current version is 4.0.4
Kernel version 3.0.35
Built on 6 June 2015

The light, at minimum setting, is (correctly) quite dim... I checked and I would say that 5 or 6/10 of the i86 is comparable to 1/10 of the T68 (notoriously a torchlight).
Note that the two lights are quite different: the i86 is very blue

Thanks, at least one problem is then not so much a problem (indeed, that torchlight )

The other, the OS version... Why stick with 4.0!

[pierro78]

Originally Posted by mdp

@Pierro78: I think I saw over 5GB free in the auto-mounted /sdcard ...
This promises plentiful space. Of course, you also have the SD card slot

According to settings interface,
-- in the (/data) Internal Storage I have a total space of 496MB, of which around 100MB already used - which include non out-of-the-box applications I also installed today - and around 400MB free. I suppose out-of-the-box it may have been 40MB used and 460MB free.
-- in the (/sdcard) Internal Storage I have a total space of 5.94GB, almost completely available.

The df returns:

/dev                   488M    32K   488M   4096
/vendor                  7M     2M     5M   1024
/mnt/asec              488M     0K   488M   4096
/mnt/obb               488M     0K   488M   4096
/mnt/shm              1024K     4K  1020K   4096
/system                364M   273M    90M   4096
/data                  495M    92M   403M   1024
/cache                 247M     6M   241M   1024
/mnt/sdcard              5G    61M     5G   32768

thanks for the info mdp !
... I've added it to the wiki : https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/BOOX_i86

[361]

Originally Posted by mdp

@Sweetpea:
Current version is 4.0.4
Kernel version 3.0.35
Built on 6 June 2015

The light, at minimum setting, is (correctly) quite dim... I checked and I would say that 5 or 6/10 of the i86 is comparable to 1/10 of the T68 (notoriously a torchlight).
Note that the two lights are quite different: the i86 is very blue

the light can or can not be switched off - please confirm?

[EldRick]

Converting .otf to .ttf should be quite easy... I was considering it earlier to try Google's Literata

@mdp: I have both .otf and .ttf versions - neither works by simply placing them in a /fonts folder, as they did on the M96.
I'll now use calibre to embed the Caecilia font when I convert docs, but it's not the ideal solution.

@361: you can set the light to zero for always-off, or just long-press the Back button to toggle on and off.

BTW, the Users Manual supplied is pretty rough - a lot of settings and options described that don't seem to be available, and a lack of description for some of the artifacts. No mention of any of the supplied apps either.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by 361

the light can or can not be switched off - please confirm?

Yes, of course. Default is off.
Long press of the [back] button (round button at the bottom centre) turns it on, at last value.
"Lightbulb" icon in the toolbar at the launcher sets the intensity value

[mdp]

I just created a new package of one of the latest versions of FBReader, renaming the "package" so that it can be installed along another version of the same (such as, along the one installed by Onyx as part of the system of the i86)

Since I did it, I also modified the source to enable two-column view in portrait mode also: if the i86 ain't big enough for that...

Please rename the file, removing the final '.zip' (that was needed to upload it)

You can install it with a standard

adb -d install FBReaderJ_ice-cream-sandwich_ALT.apk

after having enabled debugging in the settings.
I am sure there must be other ways: copying it in the memory and opening through the device should do...

Please note that FBReader has by default a grained texture set as a background wallpaper: it is just sensible on an EPD display to disable it; please go in
(menu) > Settings > Colours n Wallpapers > Background
and set it to 'Solid Colour'.
Do not forget to do it: you may not notice it immediately on greyscale

Also note: you can install your chosen fonts and have FBReader use them; default path is /mnt/sdcard/Fonts (you can find and edit the default paths in the Settings, first option row)

Enjoy!

NOTE: I was notified recently that the attached did not work properly. I just uploaded (19 Jul) a version that surely works. I may try to get a newer version working, if people here want it. Still, the real thing to do is to ask Onyx «Please rename your bundled application so that it does not conflict with the original one, thanks».

[Anavim]

Originally Posted by EldRick

I've got two related issues: ORreader seriously sux re. font support - choice of four, all horrible.
(...)
It also won't use Caecilia .ttf or .otf files, at least not in the fonts directory in the root, as worked on the M96.

Onyx recently moved font directory for their applications, including Oreader
From the catalog:
.../fonts
to catalog:
.../adobe/resource/fonts

[markom]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Thanks, at least one problem is then not so much a problem (indeed, that torchlight )

The other, the OS version... Why stick with 4.0!

When reading in the dark on my iPad 1 torchlight (brightness setting on minimum) and using pdf or ebook reader without additional brightness dimming capability (not just fake color dimming) lower than the system' default for the lowest, I would simply use yellow sunglasses like outdoors in the sun, and instead of 15 minutes would read for couple of hours without an eye strain

[EldRick]

Onyx recently moved font directory for their applications, including Oreader
From the catalog:
.../fonts
to catalog:
.../adobe/resource/fonts

Perhaps so, but when I created such a directory and put the .otf and .ttf fonts in it, they did not appear in the fonts menu of FBReader 1.6.7, which appears to be the default reader app.

Also, does anyone know where I can delete one of the "screen-saver" images?

There is one that says in large letters "YOU BE MY GLASS OF WINE I'LL BE YOUR SHOT OF WHISKEY" which I could do nicely without. It looks like it belongs on a 1930's cocktail napkin.

Anyone seeing it displayed would question one's taste, at the very least. I'm wondering what moron chose that particular image.

[aceflor]

Re fonts. The system apps (installed with the FW) will only pick up fonts installed in the system/fonts and/or system/adobe/resource/fonts folders. In order to paste the fonts you like in both folders, your device has to be rooted.