Sony's unannounced Reader PRS-T3 leaks out at the FCC

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by parkher

Another thing about T2 (and all 6" readers) - it is much better to use landscape orientation with it. Not only it is more pleasant to read with wider margins and the usual text width as in printed books, but also the way you can hold it in your hand with the cover turned all the way back.
It just hangs on your fingers, you can have your hand relaxed fully. And no danger of dropping the reader whatsoever.

Another way we differ. I don't like reading landscape on anything. Nor do I like holding the T2 in landscape mode. It doesn't fit my hand well.

I did try CoolReader, and didn't care for it at all. Been a while, and I've tried a lot of others since then, so can't remember why. For me, it was easily forgettable.

The original Sony OS on the T2 had the fonts and size choices I needed. It organizes by collections with Calibre, so that's working well for me. I like the home screen, and really could care less about a 'last read' or 'recently added' list The hack was interesting to play with, but not worth messing around with in the end.

So, no, I can't get all excited about rooting a machine that already does most of what I want. I didn't get it to hack it, and I don't use it that way.

Yet, they're still my favorite machines. It'd be nice if the next gen tweaks some things, and I could try a front-lit version (although I don't really care for the Paperwhite or Nook Glow light.) But they'd have to do it right.

[booklover6]

I had a rooted T1 and used it that way for quite some time. I did a lot of modifications, was fun. But I did experience crashing, freezing, etc. I set it back to stock. Then before I sold it, factory reset.

I have a rooted Paperwhite, would be terrible without root. But I prefer not to have to hack a device to get it to do what I need. That's where Kobo has the clear advantage. It does everything I want as is, no hacking necessary, just a bit of plugin and tweaking of Calibre settings.

[Kaitou Ace]

I'd rooted my T1 for a bit, played with the other reader apps, but honestly, between Calibre and the default Sony software, it worked just fine, so I ended up reverting to the default setup.

[parkher]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

Another way we differ. I don't like reading landscape on anything. Nor do I like holding the T2 in landscape mode. It doesn't fit my hand well.

I explained in detail how to hold it in landscape. With finger numbers like how to play piano.
The whole point is that you don't even have to hold it - it hangs by itself on a completely relaxed hand, no chance of dropping it.

For me, landscape itself is crucial on 6" (simply the screen is too narrow for portrait, end of story), but no need to hold it - another HUGE plus.
I have Aura, so it is too large for landscape, its size is just enough for portrait.It doesn't even have landscape. So I got it precisely for that reason - so that I could read in portrait. Turns out, I now have to hold it. Really hold it. And still it might drop from my hands. This is a very big problem for me. I need a cover for Aura that opens at the top - that would be the best solution.
Of course, there are serious issues with Aura's software. But I already installed some hacks, things are looking a bit better. But holding it - it is terrible.
So that is becoming almost the main reason I don't like it.

As to portrait on 6".
Let's take a typical mass market paperback and measure the width of text in it: 8.8 cm.
And how wide is the screen of T2? 9 cm. So how much is left for margins?
1mm on each side. Not acceptable.
How much I get in landscape? The length of screen: 12.2 cm or so.

So, I can have 1.7 cm + 8.8 cm + 1.7 cm - great!

If you are using portrait, you can have at best 4 mm + 8.2 cm + 4 mm
8.2 cm - the lowest number I found only in a very few real paperbacks.
I do have some tiny books < 8 cm, but I don't count them, they are clearly not regular paperbacks.
That 8.2 cm text width requires to use also a pretty small font, size = 18 points (that is screen points, not paper points). And still 4 mm margin is not quite enough when the bezel is black. It might be acceptable if your T2 is white. I do have one white T1. It better handles narrow margins but makes the screen look unpleasantly gray.

But I prefer the typical 8.8 cm text width and the font size that goes with it or just a bit smaller (the font size depends on the width of text and vice versa - usually the line length is calculated by the number of alphabets that can fit into a line of text for the chosen font)
So, if you are using very narrow line of text (as in portrait) you have no choice but to use very tiny font too.

On Aura, the screen width is 10.2 cm - so I can have
0.7 cm + 8.8 cm + 0.7 cm
0.7 cm margin is acceptable. Not as good as on T2 in landscape, but I can live with it. And have the magic number 8.8 cm (as in real books!!!) for the text.

NOTE: I consider 8.8 cm to be the typical text width, I am used to it. I do have some paperbacks that goes over 9 cm, and even to 9.5 cm sometimes.
Also, trade paperbacks and hardcover books may have larger pages and longer lines and larger font. But I don't have many of those, so I am using on my readers to what I am accustomed to from the pre-e-ink era.
BTW., You can afford 1 cm + 10 cm + 1 cm on T2 in landscape - like in hardcover books , probably. So much more flexibility.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by parkher

I explained in detail how to hold it in landscape. With finger numbers like how to play piano.
The whole point is that you don't even have to hold it - it hangs by itself on a completely relaxed hand, no chance of dropping it.

I'm sorry, but you have no idea how large my hand is, what condition my joints are in, what my finger span is, nor how the style/shape/thickness of the case I have for the machine changes those aspects for me.

I don't like portrait on any of my devices. I don't hold them that way and won't read them that way. No matter how many times you explain how it works for you.

Originally Posted by parkher

As to portrait on 6".
Let's take a typical mass market paperback and measure the width of text in it: 8.8 cm.

Why?

Seriously, I didn't get an eReader to exactly replicate a MMPB. Nor a hardback or trade size. I don't care for hardbacks or tradesize and don't buy them when I don't have to. I'd rather hold any of my eReaders than a MMPB, although those are the ones I buy for my 'keeper' shelves.

The importance is the look/feel/handling/fonts and size choices of each machine, not in any comparison to printed books.

I have not had a problem with portrait on any of my machines. I have a Trekstore Pyruse, a Kobo mini, kindlewhite, Nook glow, Sonys (prs-350, T1, T2) and have tried a few others as well.

Portrait or screen size isn't a concern for me under a certain size. I don't like the larger tablets, and just traded my full sized Ipad for an Ipad mini, which fits me much better. However, font style, size, the OS system and contrast are important, no matter what size of screen. The proportions must work, or it's not a machine I'll use.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by parkher

The power of advertising, I guess...

That's a bizarre comment. Just because in your own personal opinion you need a certain reader with a certain app to make your reading pleasure just so, doesn't mean everyone else doesn't know what they are missing and are suckers for glossy ads!?

[parkher]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

I don't like portrait on any of my devices. I don't hold them that way and won't read them that way. No matter how many times you explain how it works for you.

On the contrary, I explained to you that on 6" I am NOT using portrait orientation. You say you don't like portrait on any of your devices.
I use portrait on 6.8" and on 9.7", I only don't use it on 6".

And it is not just the question what I like. When I convince my friends to try landscape with wide margins, they are at first reluctant to do so, and then they all, 100% like it very much. They express their disbelief how much better their reading experience became, they read more hours because of that and never go back to portrait.
I had tested this with multiple people. Well, 4-5 people.
So it is not just my preference. What is really interesting that they all, 100% liked it very much. They say that they liked T2 already, but now it is like day and night, so much better.

So I say to all who dismiss landscape with wide margins without trying it:
you don't know what you are missing. And you are missing a lot.

Again, it is not just landscape. It is a combination of landscape with wide margins, at least 1 cm, perhaps 1.5 cm margins.
I prefer smaller font, but at least two people like very large font, and still they liked landscape with wide margins - I am surprised myself.
I think it is perfect for smaller size font (the printed book size).

[medard]

I miss the T3 right now.

I'd prefer a larger reader, 8-inch or bigger. 6-inch is too small for daily reading, at least for me. I tried landscape mode, but for me that feels even more different than a normal book.

[parkher]

Originally Posted by l_macd

That's a bizarre comment. Just because in your own personal opinion you need a certain reader with a certain app to make your reading pleasure just so, doesn't mean everyone else doesn't know what they are missing and are suckers for glossy ads!?

That means exactly that. They don't know what they are missing.
Yes, advertising is causing it - in USA everybody knows only Kindle and Nook. And nobody even heard of Sony readers. Also, those who heard, they think (wrongly) that you cannot buy and read Kindle books with T2.

I would not go anywhere near Kindle because it does not have a card slot - deliberately no card slot in all models. That is evil.
But am I correct that you can install Cool Reader on it? Then it perhaps can be salvaged to a certain degree.
I also read serious reviews that all Kindles before PaperWhite had inferior rendering quality compared to Sony. Cool Reader has its own renderer, so perhaps it fixes that problem. But I am not sure.
PaperWhite, finally is on par with T1/T2 in rendering quality, but it has no buttons, it has two additional layers, and perhaps they affect contrast so badly that they keep the light always on. So you see, PaperWhite is out of question too.

On the other hand, rooted T2 is so great. I advised some friends to get it, and they were very happy, then their friends saw it , and they also got it and so on. Throwing Kindles away and getting T2s.
So, again, it is not only my own opinion - confirmed by others whom I personally know.

Perhaps I also don't know what I am missing, but I really don't think so.
And I already have Aura HD - so I experienced first hand how terrible it is without buttons and also that the light is best kept always off.

[parkher]

Originally Posted by medard

I miss the T3 right now.

I'd prefer a larger reader, 8-inch or bigger. 6-inch is too small for daily reading, at least for me. I tried landscape mode, but for me that feels even more different than a normal book.

In landscape you also need a bit wider margins, at least 1 - 1.5 cm - then you actually have a part of a printed book page. Not the whole page, but 19-20 lines, which is almost half of a page. 19 lines - a pretty regular size font, like in the majority of printed MMPBs.

So I'd rather have half of a page that really looks and feels like half of the real book page. Alternative - still not a complete page, only a few lines more, but no feel of a real book because the text is too narrow and the margins are too narrow too. And the huge advantage of hanging the reader on your finger is also absent in portrait.

As to the size: yes, I would like 8" too. But 6.8" Aura is almost there:
I can have the usual for MMPBs text width and still have 7mm margins on both sides. Such margins are more or less sufficient. So I get the feel of reading a real book on Aura. The problem is that the screen should be the same width but longer/taller - on Aura the whole page still does not fit.
I got rid of the bottom line with the page number, but still can fit only 32-35 lines of text, depending on the font size. And printed books have at least 38 lines, often more like 43 lines or so. So 8" could be in one direction, really. Although I would not mind having wider margins either.

On 9.7" I actually have the whole page of a real printed book in its natural size and very wide margins around it on all four sides, 2cm+ margins.
It is really great. The only thing I don't like about 9.7" is its weight. I prefer T2 in lanscape because it hangs on the finger end weighs nothing compared to 9.7" which is 0.5 kg + 0.5 kg cover = 1 kg.

T3 will be the same 6", it seems.
But I read that Sony is going to release a reader with 13.3" flexible screen.
Also a bit strange - way too large for fiction books, but not yet A4 which is 14.3" or so.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by parkher

On the contrary, I explained to you that on 6" I am NOT using portrait orientation. You say you don't like portrait on any of your devices.
I use portrait on 6.8" and on 9.7", I only don't use it on 6".

And it is not just the question what I like. When I convince my friends to try landscape with wide margins, they are at first reluctant to do so, and then they all, 100% like it very much. They express their disbelief how much better their reading experience became, they read more hours because of that and never go back to portrait.
I had tested this with multiple people. Well, 4-5 people.
So it is not just my preference. What is really interesting that they all, 100% liked it very much. They say that they liked T2 already, but now it is like day and night, so much better.

So I say to all who dismiss landscape with wide margins without trying it:
you don't know what you are missing. And you are missing a lot.

Again, it is not just landscape. It is a combination of landscape with wide margins, at least 1 cm, perhaps 1.5 cm margins.
I prefer smaller font, but at least two people like very large font, and still they liked landscape with wide margins - I am surprised myself.
I think it is perfect for smaller size font (the printed book size).

I set a bit of a margin on the Aura, around 2 cm, but I don't actually know how to set landscape on the Aura without using PDFs (How do you do it?) and I only do PDF for technical books and drawings etc. not for most books. I've tried reading books landscape on two tablets, 9" and 7" and on my desktop and laptop numerous times, and I just don't like it. I sort of use landscape in most applications such as browsers, word processors etc. and I do read faster using a computer monitor than with an ereader or even a regular book, so I am inclined to concede that point to you.

I would be willing to try landscape on the Aura if it can be done with non PDFs.

I have nothing against rooting an ereader, I just haven't bothered, although I am a big one for having two or three operating systems on my tablets and PCs, but I might give it a go on the Kobos because of their numerous undocumented 'features'.


Helen

[parkher]

Aura does not support landscape for books, only for pdf.
Actually, Aura would be a bit of an overkill for landscape if it supported it.
I think that the text should be about 8.8 cm wide as in printed paperbacks. Provided you are using a similar size font as in printed paperbacks. Then on Aura you still have some margins left. More would be better, but enough. I got Aura specifically so I don't have to use landscape. But without landscape it is difficult to hold the reader for a longer time, no way to hang it on a finger.

If you have a 6" reader, try landscape on it.
6" in landscape orientation becomes 12cm wide, so you can have:

1 cm margin + 10 cm text + 1 cm margin
1.5 cm margin + 9 cm text + 1.5 cm margin
etc.
See which feels better for you - it depends on the font size, if you are using smaller font you might want to have wider margins and narrower text, if larger font - wider text.

The width of text should depend on the size of letters. But nobody can agree what is the best ratio: 1.5 alphabets - 1.75 alphabets - 2 alphabets - 2.25 alphabets - 2.5 alphabets - even 2.75 alhpabets are mentioned.
In mass market paperbacks the requirement seems to be 40-60 letters per full line of text. Correspondingly, there is some range of font sizes in paperbacks too.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by parkher

I would not go anywhere near Kindle because it does not have a card slot - deliberately no card slot in all models. That is evil.

Here I was under the mistaken assumption that Lord Voldemort, Hitler, Stalin, etc. were evil. Thanks for pointing out that it is the lack of a card slot in Kindles that are evil.

Seriously, I'm glad that you like your T2 in landscape. But you really need to stop acting like people who don't read like you, want the same things in an ereader as you, etc. are doing things wrong.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by parkher

The rooted T2 is needed so you can have Cool Reader 3 on it, GoldenDict dictionary.

How do you run a dictionary with Cool Reader?

[parkher]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Here I was under the mistaken assumption that Lord Voldemort, Hitler, Stalin, etc. were evil. Thanks for pointing out that it is the lack of a card slot in Kindles that are evil.

Seriously, I'm glad that you like your T2 in landscape. But you really need to stop acting like people who don't read like you, want the same things in an ereader as you, etc. are doing things wrong.

I'm fine if you try it and still don't like it. But try it on any 6" reader, even on Kindle. I'm not fine if somebody does not like landscape without trying it with wide margins. That's what I need to work on. To stop caring about people