M90 "novice" usage test!

tsamnick · 08-02-2011, 09:10 AM

Hi you all!
Greetings from sunny Greece!
I received my M90 (my first e-reader!) 20 days ago! I took it with me on my short

holidays under the bright & warm Greek sun.

I would like to share some of my observations with all of you & particularly with Onyx guys!
1. The pearl e-ink really rocks!! No problem under the Greek sun! Not even under direct midday sunlight!

2. The IR sensor though, went .... bananas!!!!!

It kept turning pages by itself! I just looked at it and it turned the pages back & forth! It did that even under the shade of a beach umbrella! Well guys, I do believe that something must be done a.s.a.p. I kept loosing the page

3. Internet wi-fi connections is simply awful!!!

If and when I managed to connect to a nearby network (with very strong signal), the message I got while trying to get to google home page was that "host not found". I used my Nokia N95 mobile and there! I connected!!!
4. Battery life! 8,000 page turns?!?!?!?! Come on guys! Unless I'm doing something wrong, I had to charge it almost every 2.5 to 3 days, while using it for approximately 3 hours daily (Greek beaches and sea do not allow for more time to ... read!)

Am I doing something wrong with energy management?

5. Yeap, I've seen it too! There is a blind spot where the speaker is! What are we going to do about it? By the way, talking about the speaker function; I hear nothing! (Maybe some very very very very, low whispers) unless I use earphones! Is this the wat it is supposed to work?

Other than the above, so far, I have not to add.
All in all, I am quite pleased with the device, despite the fact that it is my first! I have read about 4 books (of approx 400 pages each) so far and my opinion is quite positive!
I just wish that the above issues would be resolved!

By the way, the "technician" who mentioned that the screen auto rotates should join me every time i need to turn the screen 90 degrees and then I have to make a whole circle (360) in order to bring it back! How clever is that? If I am doing something wrong, please advice!

adrhc · 09-30-2011, 01:04 PM

Nice review; can you tell more about technical pdf reading ? like programming books

Shinra tensei · 09-30-2011, 02:12 PM

About poor battery life: Don't keep on the wi-fi connection all the time. Every e-readers decrease its battery very fast if you do it.

About the other problems you mention, we know them very well and are not yet fully recovered. Actually there are other ones, such as poor dictionary and highlighting functionality for example.
I have to say that there are some M90 devices without blind spot. I have one of these devices.

I suggest you to upgrade the firmware. The latest one you can find here

http://www.onyx-boox.com/onyx-boox-f...x-m90-firmware

You can update the software by follow steps:

l Download the latest updates package from Onyx website: www.onyx-international.com

l Save the updates package in a SD card.

l Make sure the updates package is located at the root directory of the SD card. The name should be 'onyx_update.upd'.

l Insert the SD card into Boox.

l Restart Boox, press and hold the OK button. NOTE, the OK button should be pressed before the device restarts. Hold it until you see the message 'Software update request detected, checking updates…'.

l Boox updates itself automatically. It restarts after update finishes.

Reminder: Make sure Boox has enough power to finish the software update (at least 2 grids displayed)

pidgeon92 · 09-30-2011, 06:10 PM

My M90 is now giving me nothing but trouble. This began about 6 weeks ago, and is getting worse. I've upgraded the firmware, rebooted the thing countless times, turned it on, off, and upside down, but it is still not working properly.

I often have to reboot it multiple times to get it to the home screen.

I often have to plug it in to get it to reboot.

Once I get to the home screen, and and click on My Library, the M90 often freezes. Then I reboot some more.

Eventually I will get it to open a book. Then if I let it fall asleep, it will "wake up," and display the page it was on, then it won't turn the page, or do anything else.

If I try to exit the book (any book), it won't exit. I've tried with the IR button, and with the stylus. I can tap the exit button til the cows come home.

Then I reboot again. And again. And again.

It's getting to the point that I don't want to even bother trying anymore.

Is there some way to wipe the firmware and start from scratch?

Dulin's Books · 09-30-2011, 08:07 PM

ye sif you go to settings there should be a "format memory" im not looking at it this moment but if i recall that is like factory reset.

try to get a screen shot or picture of the "about device" screen too please

pidgeon92 · 10-01-2011, 05:30 PM

Here's a pic of the about screen on my M90.

I have formatted the flash. It didn't remove the book I was reading at that point, but after I shut the unit off and turned it back on it was gone.

I'll have to reboot my iMac later (I'm streaming Dateline NBC right now

)so I can boot into 32-bit and reload a book or two. Then I'll report back if things have improved.

Thanks!

pidgeon92 · 10-01-2011, 08:49 PM

I am pleased to report that my M90 is again functioning properly. No lockups since "Formatting Flash." I suspect I'll need to do this on a regular basis, but it's much less painful than having to reboot constantly.

jian1 · 10-01-2011, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I am pleased to report that my M90 is again functioning properly. No lockups since "Formatting Flash." I suspect I'll need to do this on a regular basis, but it's much less painful than having to reboot constantly.

isn't formatting flash losing all bookmarks, scribbles? haven't tried it myself. I use SD card btw.

pidgeon92 · 10-02-2011, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jian1

isn't formatting flash losing all bookmarks, scribbles? haven't tried it myself. I use SD card btw.

I would assume so. I had no bookmarks nor scribbles to lose. My loaded books were gone.

PF4Mobile · 10-02-2011, 08:41 AM

I am wondering if anybody can pass me the annotation file, I need to see if that can be hacked. From what a previous poster said it must be an sqlite format in which case making a backup copy and transfering the annotations and highlights to PC won't be a problem..

Please help me with that...

08-02-2011, 09:10 AM	#1
tsamnick Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Athens, Greece Device: Onyx Boox M90	M90 "novice" usage test! Hi you all! Greetings from sunny Greece! I received my M90 (my first e-reader!) 20 days ago! I took it with me on my short holidays under the bright & warm Greek sun. I would like to share some of my observations with all of you & particularly with Onyx guys! 1. The pearl e-ink really rocks!! No problem under the Greek sun! Not even under direct midday sunlight! 2. The IR sensor though, went .... bananas!!!!! It kept turning pages by itself! I just looked at it and it turned the pages back & forth! It did that even under the shade of a beach umbrella! Well guys, I do believe that something must be done a.s.a.p. I kept loosing the page 3. Internet wi-fi connections is simply awful!!! If and when I managed to connect to a nearby network (with very strong signal), the message I got while trying to get to google home page was that "host not found". I used my Nokia N95 mobile and there! I connected!!! 4. Battery life! 8,000 page turns?!?!?!?! Come on guys! Unless I'm doing something wrong, I had to charge it almost every 2.5 to 3 days, while using it for approximately 3 hours daily (Greek beaches and sea do not allow for more time to ... read!)Am I doing something wrong with energy management? 5. Yeap, I've seen it too! There is a blind spot where the speaker is! What are we going to do about it? By the way, talking about the speaker function; I hear nothing! (Maybe some very very very very, low whispers) unless I use earphones! Is this the wat it is supposed to work? Other than the above, so far, I have not to add. All in all, I am quite pleased with the device, despite the fact that it is my first! I have read about 4 books (of approx 400 pages each) so far and my opinion is quite positive! I just wish that the above issues would be resolved! By the way, the "technician" who mentioned that the screen auto rotates should join me every time i need to turn the screen 90 degrees and then I have to make a whole circle (360) in order to bring it back! How clever is that? If I am doing something wrong, please advice!

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09-30-2011, 01:04 PM	#2
adrhc Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 3642 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bucharest, Romania Device: PcketBook Pro 903	Nice review; can you tell more about technical pdf reading ? like programming books

09-30-2011, 02:12 PM	#3
Shinra tensei Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 116806 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Sony DPT-s1, Pocketbook 903, Onyx M90, iPad 4	About poor battery life: Don't keep on the wi-fi connection all the time. Every e-readers decrease its battery very fast if you do it. About the other problems you mention, we know them very well and are not yet fully recovered. Actually there are other ones, such as poor dictionary and highlighting functionality for example. I have to say that there are some M90 devices without blind spot. I have one of these devices. I suggest you to upgrade the firmware. The latest one you can find here http://www.onyx-boox.com/onyx-boox-f...x-m90-firmware You can update the software by follow steps: l Download the latest updates package from Onyx website: www.onyx-international.com l Save the updates package in a SD card. l Make sure the updates package is located at the root directory of the SD card. The name should be 'onyx_update.upd'. l Insert the SD card into Boox. l Restart Boox, press and hold the OK button. NOTE, the OK button should be pressed before the device restarts. Hold it until you see the message 'Software update request detected, checking updates…'. l Boox updates itself automatically. It restarts after update finishes. Reminder: Make sure Boox has enough power to finish the software update (at least 2 grids displayed)

09-30-2011, 06:10 PM	#4
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	My M90 is now giving me nothing but trouble. This began about 6 weeks ago, and is getting worse. I've upgraded the firmware, rebooted the thing countless times, turned it on, off, and upside down, but it is still not working properly. I often have to reboot it multiple times to get it to the home screen. I often have to plug it in to get it to reboot. Once I get to the home screen, and and click on My Library, the M90 often freezes. Then I reboot some more. Eventually I will get it to open a book. Then if I let it fall asleep, it will "wake up," and display the page it was on, then it won't turn the page, or do anything else. If I try to exit the book (any book), it won't exit. I've tried with the IR button, and with the stylus. I can tap the exit button til the cows come home. Then I reboot again. And again. And again. It's getting to the point that I don't want to even bother trying anymore. Is there some way to wipe the firmware and start from scratch?

09-30-2011, 08:07 PM	#5
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,806 Karma: 13500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	ye sif you go to settings there should be a "format memory" im not looking at it this moment but if i recall that is like factory reset. try to get a screen shot or picture of the "about device" screen too please

10-01-2011, 05:30 PM	#6
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	Here's a pic of the about screen on my M90. I have formatted the flash. It didn't remove the book I was reading at that point, but after I shut the unit off and turned it back on it was gone. I'll have to reboot my iMac later (I'm streaming Dateline NBC right now )so I can boot into 32-bit and reload a book or two. Then I'll report back if things have improved. Thanks!

10-01-2011, 08:49 PM	#7
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	I am pleased to report that my M90 is again functioning properly. No lockups since "Formatting Flash." I suspect I'll need to do this on a regular basis, but it's much less painful than having to reboot constantly.

10-02-2011, 08:41 AM	#10
PF4Mobile Guru Posts: 629 Karma: 3526 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kobo Touch, Nook Touch, EEE 800 Note, Entourage PE, finally M92	I am wondering if anybody can pass me the annotation file, I need to see if that can be hacked. From what a previous poster said it must be an sqlite format in which case making a backup copy and transfering the annotations and highlights to PC won't be a problem.. Please help me with that...