New 6.8 inch eReader from Onyx now available in the US

[geekaren]

Originally Posted by pierro78

also here : https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=153 Geekaren says that Kindle app v4.2.0.101 works better than the newest one
(she also wrote an article on her blog : http://karenclassic.wordpress.com/20...l-impressions/ )

I've been messing around with this a bit more today since Kindle Android app v4.2 doesn't provide font choices.

Today, I downloaded and installed Kindle Android app v4.4.0.71. Not only does 4.4.0.71 include font choices (yay!), I was delighted to find it also seems to *minimize* the page turn lag and distracting artifacting displayed during the page turn process.

Note: The artifacting doesn't go away completely, but it's much improved over what I saw with Kindle apk v4.2 or 4.5

Edited later: Okay, 4.4 works but after my Kindle (Cloud) library loaded, the page-turn artifacting seemed to return. Oh well, at least 4.4 includes different font choices.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Randy11

I don't understand why you don't test the applications allready installed in the device. I'm not very suprised to know that an application build for a specific device like Kindle or Kobo haven't the better performances on an other device.

I'm glad mgmueller mentioned the slow page turns. I just compared the T68 to the Aura HD. Both were running the stock reading app from their respective companies, and the latter is almost twice as fast.

I need to go update my review.

[booklover6]

With regard to loading the Kindle app, that appears to be no slower than trying to load it on my Android tablets. The kindle app is slow. Once it is loaded and a book is opened, of course, then page turns are fine (on my android tablets).

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by booklover6

With regard to loading the Kindle app, that is no slower than trying to load it on my Android tablets. The kindle app is slow. Once it is loaded and a book is opened, of course, then page turns are fine.

I've just checked a few of my Android tablets with the Kindle app:
Google Nexus 7 (2013), Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Kobo Arc.
And Dell Venue 8 Pro and iPad mini Retina.
None of those has been as slow in turning pages. All have been at least twice as fast (significantly below 1 second for turning a page).

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

None of those has been as slow in turning pages. All have been at least twice as fast (significantly below 1 second for turning a page).

Sorry, I've clarified my post. My only intent was to describe that the Kindle app is slow to load on Android tablets, and the the video showing the kindle app opening on the T68 did not appear any slower.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pierro78

also here : https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=153 Geekaren says that Kindle app v4.2.0.101 works better than the newest one
(she also wrote an article on her blog : http://karenclassic.wordpress.com/20...l-impressions/ )

I had to remove the link to that video. It's just annoying as heck. It spends most of the time on a bible app and we learn noting at all about the reading apps that come with the T68.

[tomsem]

I returned the one I got Friday. It was pretty much dead on arrival, would only work with external power, and even then acted strangely: wifi kept disconnecting, Play Books crashed. I stopped playing with it once it became clear it was not a keeper. I won't be re-ordering one.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've tested more or less all settings for the Kindle app. The page turn did seem the same for all settings. I don't have those old units anymore. But from what I remember, I'd compare the speed of the page turn in the 3 reading apps I've tested with my old (but beloved) Sony 505. Back then, it didn't bother me, to wait for a second. But now, being used to Paperwhite 2 and the likes...

"Washed out" probably is a bit too harsh.
A more accurate description probably would be:
The text appears dark grey, not black. Again, this reminds me of what I've had on my readers a few years ago.
This "washed out" effect is everywhere, not just in specific apps.
The text is legible without any problems at all. But it didn't seem quite on par with what I'm used to nowadays.
But like I wrote: I didn't have Paperwhite 2 or any other recent reader with me for comparison.
Maybe I was overcritical about the display, because of my disappointment with speed and build quality.

Since the screen is Pearl, it should still look good though.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I'm glad mgmueller mentioned the slow page turns. I just compared the T68 to the Aura HD. Both were running the stock reading app from their respective companies, and the latter is almost twice as fast.

I need to go update my review.

Is it possible for you to post a picture of the T68 next to the Aura HD(or another eink device) with both open to a book? I'd like to be able to compare how the text looks like on each. I just remember how bad the fonts while reading looked on my Boox 60 and I'd like to see if it has improved. The fonts were gray instead of black and looking at the Boox next to my Sony 950 the difference was striking.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Since the screen is Pearl, it should still look good though.

I guess it's all about the fonts.
In 2010, Nook classic for a while was my favorite. Same display as the others, but obviously bolder fonts or something like that.
Here it seems the same. The display seems fine, but for whatever reason it seems a bit different from my other readers with light: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Nook GlowLight, Kobo Aura HD.
Like I wrote: No disaster, but not perfect either,

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Is it possible for you to post a picture of the T68 next to the Aura HD(or another eink device) with both open to a book? I'd like to be able to compare how the text looks like on each. I just remember how bad the fonts while reading looked on my Boox 60 and I'd like to see if it has improved. The fonts were gray instead of black and looking at the Boox next to my Sony 950 the difference was striking.

I don't see how that could be done with any assurance of fairness. I know with my AuraHD reading a book in Koreader I have a tremendous number of options to effect differences in how the page looks.

Luck;
Ken

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I often enough have the opposite situation: Shipping from the US to Germany. Unfortunately, lots of gadgets are launched in the US first. Next one might be NVIDIA Shield 2 in a few months.
I'm not too worried about ordering hardware. Of the tons of gadgets I've bought over the years, only few ever failed. And those few usually from the very beginning. Meaning: Arriving already with a defect.
I've decided, to take that risk for the gadgets I'm really interested in.

But there's still an enormous problem: Customs and shipment are bearable for a gadget > $ 200. But for accessories?
I'm not ordering a cover, costing $ 20 in the US and ending up in Europe for $ 60...

In a thread I started about the lack of choice in the N.American market for e-readers, some people responded that it's a global market. $60 for a $20 case shows that in practice, if you are working to a budget, it is not a global market. I hope to see the Onyx or a comparable product being sold directly in the American market at some point in the near future, but I'm not hopeful.

[HarryT]

I've received my T68. An interesting device, with obvious strengths and weaknesses. The Kindle App works pretty well on it; the built-in reading apps are, to my mind, rather poor. This is assuredly not a "switch it on and use it" device, but I think it has great potential. It'll be interesting to find out over the coming weeks what it can do.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've received my T68. An interesting device, with obvious strengths and weaknesses. The Kindle App works pretty well on it; the built-in reading apps are, to my mind, rather poor.

Even CoolReader? I've tried this one on my tablet, and it does seem to have a ton of options, after you get used to the jumbled user interface (which seems to be a given with open source software....). Have you tried the 'professional ones' such as Mantano and Moon+ yet?

[HarryT]

I've tested the four built-in apps with my ePub edition of "Pride and Prejudice" from the MR library. The results are:

AIReader:

Centred text is not centred. Ignores hard page breaks. Ignores font size changes. Ignores italics. Very bad.

FBReader:

Respects hard page breaks, centred text, font changes, etc, but (a killer) ignores first-line text indents .

OnyxReader:

The best of the bunch. Respects all formatting, but pictures blow up with font size and overflow the page.

Cool Reader:

Centred text is not centred. Italics are ignored. Page breaks are shown properly.

The only half-way decent reader among them is OnyxReader, to my mind.