First sample units arrived - review by Friday or Monday!

[hello]

wh y did you get a review unit if youre going to be waiting for it to be developed further before reviewing it? nobody is expecting you to describe the future or maybe next time you should wait till its in the store. or wait after that until you know the company has gone bankrupt so you *really* have the final word about it.

[MikeF74]

I don't want to speak for Derek, but I think the reason he was waiting was because not only was his firmware old, but really lacking in many areas. He wasn't waiting for further development, just delivery of a newer existing firmware that really was a better reflection of what the device would finally become. Then a damaged screen sidelined his review efforts. Was it delayed damage from when he dropped it? Was it a manufacturing defect that finally revealed itself? Who knows. But you certainly can't do a proper review with photos if the device is damaged. Besides, I wasn't even 100% comfortable with him doing a review on pre-release hardware anyway. The electronics might have been finalized, but the outer shell wasn't.

[jasonkchapman]

Originally Posted by MikeF74

I don't want to speak for Derek, but I think the reason he was waiting was because not only was his firmware old, but really lacking in many areas.

As long as we're not speaking for Derek , part of the reason might also be that it's not, in the normal sense, a review unit. As an employee of NAEB, Derek's interests go beyond just doing a quick review.

[MikeF74]

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

As long as we're not speaking for Derek , part of the reason might also be that it's not, in the normal sense, a review unit. As an employee of NAEB, Derek's interests go beyond just doing a quick review.

True. While his self-interest has always been a small personal concern to me, I never felt so bothered as to express such an opinion. I always figured he'd put such a disclaimer in his review. If he didn't, I would certainly say something. Since they seem to be enthusiasts first, resellers second... I'm not overly concerned.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MikeF74

True. While his self-interest has always been a small personal concern to me, I never felt so bothered as to express such an opinion. I always figured he'd put such a disclaimer in his review. If he didn't, I would certainly say something. Since they seem to be enthusiasts first, resellers second... I'm not overly concerned.

Send me a review unit. I'll give a very impartial review.

[jasonkchapman]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Send me a review unit. I'll give a very impartial review.

Just to keep myself from looking like a jerk, here, I should mention that my intention was not to question Derek's honesty or impartiality. I was merely mentioning why a delay for a firmware upgrade made sense.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

Just to keep myself from looking like a jerk, here, I should mention that my intention was not to question Derek's honesty or impartiality. I was merely mentioning why a delay for a firmware upgrade made sense.

It does make sense to wait. But, it also makes sense to review the firmware he has so he can comare it to the newer one and show that Bookeen is working on the software and doing a good job.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

... I should mention that my intention was not to question Derek's honesty or impartiality.

I took your comment to mean that you recognized that as a representative of the company, Derek would want to deliver as complete and accurate a review to his prospective customers as he was able.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It does make sense to wait. But, it also makes sense to review the firmware he has so he can comare it to the newer one and show that Bookeen is working on the software and doing a good job.

True, but when the firmware he has is not the firmware the device will ship with, and that newer firmware will become available to him imminently, I think I'd choose to wait too.

Among other things, why review a firmware that's already obsolete? Seems like a waste of time and effort to me.

[picker]

delphidb96: It would be nice to know the largest image supported by Bookeen (or iRex iLiad for that matter :-). Perhaps you can load http://rob.com/airports/test/ and then click on each of the images and tell us what happens?

[delphidb96]

Guys, guys, guys!

Please! As anyone who's received and read the latest Bookeen newsletter knows, there are significant upgrades/changes in the upcoming firmware update. So should I give you a *really* bad review based upon firmware that I *KNOW* is out of date? Or should I present you with a review based upon up-to-date features, features and fixes which change my opinion? Or what if I give you a *glowing* review based upon the older firmware and the newer firmware turns out to be a total dud - maybe locks up my machine like a brick?

Which would you rather have? If I tell you I hate the reader and then come back with high praise, do you figure Bookeen's gotten its act together or do you decide I've been bought off? And if I tell you I love it, pointing out all there is good about it, then turn around and point out the terrible flaws in new update, do you then decide I'm wishy-washy and can't be trusted to know when it's daytime?

We here at NAEB expected firmware that was a bit further along - it wasn't. And we promised reviews based upon what we expected, not what we received. So we've been querying Bookeen as to just *when* we'd get our updated firmware. We now have a better idea of that. Plus, they've taken the feedback we and other previewers have given them to make hardware changes as well. I cannot tell you what they are, but I believe the production units will be improved enough to make them quite marketable.

Now, can I be more honest? You tell me.

Derek

[JSWolf]

So will there be a firmware past 0.96 before you review the gen3?

[guguy]

I guess bookeen will launch a new firmware (0.98? 1.0?) since 0.96 is
already done for a week or two.

[hello]

if i understan d correctly in 1 month they will be making software and hardware design changes and mass produce them? i hope they will take off all printed distracting elements. i would like to see only what im reading surrounded by pure calmth. they can do branding on the back and startup screen i guess.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by guguy

I guess bookeen will launch a new firmware (0.98? 1.0?) since 0.96 is
already done for a week or two.

I downloaded the grayscale test HTML and ran it through BD and then uploaded it to my Cybook. It looks to me as if the 16 levels are 'dithered' in, but I cant' tell for sure as the square of bars displayes at about 1" wide. So I may be seeing true 16-level grayscale or 4-level that's been 'smart-dithered'. I believe I read somewhere that the Cybook uses a 'smart-dither' process. If so, it's pretty darned good.

As for the text mods - bold, italic, super/subscript, etc... the four basic ones, sub/superscript, underline, bold and italic show up. But nix on special strikouts, quotation, citation and variable definition font changes within the text. Also, I'm not seeing grayscale backgrounds for the letter groups across and down the side of the grayscale square.

You have to understand that - at least with the current version of firmware, 0.91 - when you select one of the seven font families, *ALL* text within the book displays in that font. Now the vast majority of the text will be in the selected size, but some of it will increase or shrink a bit depending if it's been marked as a 'heading' or such.

Derek