902 Few questions about the PB 902/3

[corgorav]

Hello folks,

for the past couple of days I've been lurking on these forums and around the net, reading about large e-readers and I've come to the conclusion that I want my first e-reader to be able to handle two things: 1. regular ol' ebooks and 2. manga/b&w comics.

Now from what I've come to understand, it would seem that the PB 902 should be able to handle those things more or less in satisfactory manner.

But I've got a few questions I couldn't find answers to:

1. How does the 902 handle manual panning of image files and pdfs (the manga)? In that kinda "digital" snapping way or the smooth, "analog" way, if y'all know what I mean (sorry for my lacking terminology, I'm new to this e-reader scene thing)

2. Does the 903 utilize it's touch-features in the manual panning, in that "digital" way?


Any answers will REALLY be appreciated!

[rkomar]

E-Ink displays have a very low refresh rate (something like one or two frames per second). So, there is no smooth scrolling on these devices. There can even be 'flashes' where the display inverts the previous image to clear it properly before the new image appears. Their strength lies in looking something like ink on paper, and low power usage so batteries last weeks without needing to be recharged. There are plenty of video clips on YouTube showing E-Ink displays in action. You should have a look at those if you can't actually try one out yourself first.

[machinogodzilla]

PocketBook 902 works just as rkomar described. What I can add is that when you display a page it initially fits width of the screen. Then if you decide to zoom in it will get centred widthwise so that you will eventually see no side margins. This is good for books but may be an issue for you, as any attempt of panning to the sides will result in the previous or next page being displayed. The screen is quite large though, so you may not need to zoom in that much, unless you want to appreciate the fine art of manga from up very close.

However, there is another potential problem also applicable to books with diagrams, images, maps etc. - the scroll amount is fixed. The reader will first show you the top of the page, then the next chunk, and so on until you get to the bottom. So if your comic has three rows of pictures and the screen happens to accommodate half of the page you will first see the first row and half of the second, and after you scroll the other half of the second and the third. There is no way to scroll so that you can see the middle of this page.

This could be easily resolved with a software enhancement. Don't expect any official updates though as apparently the developers decided to abandon their ereaders and confront Apple by shifting their attention to a subprime iPad clone whose most exciting feature is that it looks like a wing of a Boeing.

Anyway, this is my experience with scrolling, the manual says nothing much about it (or anything else for that matter). If someone knows some trick then please correct me.

[corgorav]

Ok, thanks for those answers.

Also, I've read something about mapping buttons to different functions on PBs, so I was
wondering if it's possible to map the orientations to a button for quick re-orientation?

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by corgorav

Ok, thanks for those answers.

Also, I've read something about mapping buttons to different functions on PBs, so I was
wondering if it's possible to map the orientations to a button for quick re-orientation?

You can map a key to "Rotate", but I suspect it just rotates counterclockwise by 90 degrees each time (I haven't tried it). You can't map a key to a particular orientation as far as I can see. It also depends on whether an application is programed to use the system key mapping. Some do, some don't.

You can define a system preference for orientation (one of "Automatic" or each of the four fixed directions). I find that most apps obey the system "Automatic Orientation" setting and switch orientation using the G-sensor automatically. So if you want a particular orientation, you just turn the device that way et voila!