Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only) - Page 75

Robertb · 12-01-2008, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkovak

That's strange, I would expect Japan to be ahead of the rest here. I would add another question for Robertb: What's our chances to buy the reader online and had it delivered worldwide?
For example, most of the devices are not available in my country, I have found several stores with Cybook, lowest price is 357$, but from the shop with very bad reputation when it comes to reclamations, the next lowest price is 429$. From online shop in another country, you can get it for 285$ and I didn't look very hard, so there are probably even lower prices. Lowest price for Hanlin v3? 376$. I haven't found it abroad, except your web page reads it should be priced around 300$.

Dear All:

Sorry, I have been tied up between the ER and the surgeon who will do the job and have been distracted.

The chances of buying the EZ Reader eventually in South America and Australia are very good. We have been awarded that territory. Everyplace else (including Japan) falls under Jinke's contril (the manufacturer of the Hanlin V3). We do not have any options there. We will keep trying and would LIKE to help... but we have to stay within the assigned borders.

Do not worry. About 6-7 days and I should be back at work permanently. Our new website IS up and functioning at: www.mobiebook.com.

Robert B

pkovak · 12-02-2008, 12:13 PM

Does that mean you are prohibited to send it to Europe, for example, if I buy it directly from you? Actualy, I don't even know if it's possible to buy it directly from you as a person, or you only distribute it to another companies, for example.
Because, if you are prohibited to send it abroad, are the companies you sell it to limited too? That's another concideration.

Robertb · 12-05-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear All:

Sorry, I have been tied up between the ER and the surgeon who will do the job and have been distracted.

The chances of buying the EZ Reader eventually in South America and Australia are very good. We have been awarded that territory. Everyplace else (including Japan) falls under Jinke's contril (the manufacturer of the Hanlin V3). We do not have any options there. We will keep trying and would LIKE to help... but we have to stay within the assigned borders.

Do not worry. About 6-7 days and I should be back at work permanently. Our new website IS up and functioning at: www.mobiebook.com.

Robert B

We have been told that it is permissable to sell the EZ Reader anywhere in the world to individuals only. I cannot sell to retail or commercial outlets... but we would be happy to sell one to a person in Japan or Argentina or New Zealand, or such. The person you want to email to is: rubyl@teamresearchinc.com or irish@teamresearchinc.com

The new website, www.mobiebook.com is up and fully functional now. Orders can be placed immediately and shipped within two days. It is now fully automated.

Because so many people were on the waiting lists and there was a delay in getting the shipping and paymentinfo to work (our fault) WE ARE EXTENDING THE $299 price until January 15, 2009. Keepin mind that this DOES include the crush-resistant leather case and the Ear Buds. Buy one for your spouse for Christmas.

I expect to have additional info on the EZ Reader Plus and EZ Reader Pro within the next two weeks.

If you have not been to the Support and Ordering Website lately... you would enjoy the changes. The site really gives a lot of excellent tips on using the EZ Reader and has a small (but growing) forum.

Robert B

Robertb · 12-05-2008, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkovak

Does that mean you are prohibited to send it to Europe, for example, if I buy it directly from you? Actualy, I don't even know if it's possible to buy it directly from you as a person, or you only distribute it to another companies, for example.
Because, if you are prohibited to send it abroad, are the companies you sell it to limited too? That's another concideration.

Dear Pkovak and Community:

On January 2, I head to Storage Visions and then the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There we will be meeting with our own factories and eBook Reader factories from around the world. The key question on everyone's agenda is to find WHAT to add to the next generation or two of eBook Readers that we will develope. I already know there is a lot of interest in the Epson Controller (coming) amd the 9.7 inch size (sooner or later). This forum has some of the finest minds in the world regartding eBook Readers... yet most of you have jobs that are in entirely different fields.

I would like to invite you to tell me what you wish for both short term and long term. This can be as simple as "an LED light that is on a gooseneck and is retractible into the case" or a "solar charger" or plastic display or color screen (not yet possible in E-Ink but worth discussing) and anything else including snowflake finish). I cannot guarantee results but I can get you factual answers.

This THREAD needs to ramp up again. I know it is the holidays; but I invite you to put your thinking cap on and be as bold or far out as you want to be. Get some factual answers; or provide some answers to Astak!

Robert B

RahulG · 12-05-2008, 04:54 PM

Hi Robert

I have registered here specifically to reply to your message.
In the target audience of an ebook reader, there are many who need it for .pdf files. As researchers in any stream of science will agree, handling a huge mountain of the pdf research articles is a bigtime pain. Reading and storing the files on ebook reader solves half the problem as alll files are located on the reader...BUT the organisation part is to be tackled. I have been following ebook devices and havent bought one yet as none offers all the needed features (iRex Ereader 1000S comes close). I list two main features below ...

1) Handling of the PDF METADATA. The research articles come with metadata about 'author, year of publication, Journal in which it was published, keywords etc. I dont think any ebook reader can 'read' this metadata and offer the option to rename or sort the files accordingly...say sort by author or title etc. Please see softwares like 'Papers' (for mac) and QUOSA and u will know what to do. Perhaps a toned down version of such softwares can be simply integrated in your reader and thats all- If this can be done, i can find my article much more easily.

2) Searching a keyword in text of several pdf files together. It is not the 'filename search' that i am talking about but search in the actual text of the PDF files...and in many files at a time. That will be super!

3) Of course improvements in handling bigger files, annotation capability like iRex EReader and a long battery life will be very important.

Also, do have a look at the iRex fora to see what deficiencies other people have pointed out. I also posted a similar message there sometime back.
Hope I will see some of the above features in your ebook reader...it might just make me a more efficient in my work!

regards,
Rahul Gaur, PhD.
Umea Univ. Sweden

Greg Anos · 12-05-2008, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Pkovak and Community:

On January 2, I head to Storage Visions and then the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There we will be meeting with our own factories and eBook Reader factories from around the world. The key question on everyone's agenda is to find WHAT to add to the next generation or two of eBook Readers that we will develope. I already know there is a lot of interest in the Epson Controller (coming) amd the 9.7 inch size (sooner or later). This forum has some of the finest minds in the world regartding eBook Readers... yet most of you have jobs that are in entirely different fields.

I would like to invite you to tell me what you wish for both short term and long term. This can be as simple as "an LED light that is on a gooseneck and is retractible into the case" or a "solar charger" or plastic display or color screen (not yet possible in E-Ink but worth discussing) and anything else including snowflake finish). I cannot guarantee results but I can get you factual answers.

This THREAD needs to ramp up again. I know it is the holidays; but I invite you to put your thinking cap on and be as bold or far out as you want to be. Get some factual answers; or provide some answers to Astak!

Robert B

RobertB:

Here is my view, as best as I see it. I own 1 LCD e-book reader (Cybook Gen 1) and 2 different e-ink based readers - Cybook gen 3 and Bebook. I have two set of observations.

Set 1: There are at least 3 different market rolled up into one in the e-book business.

1.) Professionals - They need large, fast, PDF readers as most of their professional work is tied to charts, tables, graphs, and illustrations. Other formats are nice, but PDF is king. This market is small but not nearly as price sensitive as the other two markets. Battery time is important to this market, as is easily replacable batteries. Irex is the dominate player in this market.

2. Students - have similar needs as professionals, but extremely price sensitive. Likes a all-in-one approach, and often substitutes a laptop for an e-book reader for cost and flexibility reasons. PDF reading also critical, but with more emphasis on other formats. The closest to a dominate player in this market is a light laptop.

3. Pleasure readers. This is the big market of e-book readers. PDF is not particularly important to these readers. Size and weight are determining factors, as well as access to a large variety of e-books. A variety of format supported is important to these readers, with excellent support of the major open-format (non encrypted) format a must, as well as excellent support of at least one major DRM'ed format. Currently, NO MANUFACTURER meets the market needs today.

Set 2: Everybody on the manufacturer is hooked on the I-tunes (DRM) model. They only offer robust software for the DRM books they sell/support. So SONY has a real good LRF reader, Cybook gen 3 has a real good Mobipocket reader, and frankly, I'm not sure what Bebooks is robust in (I think Fbreader2). The Kindle goes the whole hog and only (offically) supports its own DRM'ed AWZ format. Yet there is over 25,000 titles on open-source formats like .TXT and HTML. None of the above reader offer robust software support for those format, or even somewhat lesser ones, such as RTF.

In my honest opinion, this is a self-defeating engineering idea. Yes, provide ease-of-use, (the kindle has the best for that, and no reason no to ape it, if possible) but don't forget the open-source public domain. Could a manufacturer who is doing a one button buy/download not check (and maybe cough up some money) to rig a one-button download from Project Gutenberg?
If you're just selling hardware, letting your customer download free PD e-books shouldn't matter to you, and gives you a marketing edge over the DRM focused hardware makers. But it isn't just downloading. Your e-book reader must have robust support of open-source formats. That means embedded images, different fonts, accurate hyphenation (or no hyphenation at all) and special characters. Nobody does this in the e-ink world. (Well maybe Irex, at a very high price.)

I guess this thread has slowed down as most of us get tired of crankiong the same record over and over....

P.S. One last thing, with the Google/American Writers Guild settlement, setting up a one button download to Google e-books is going to give somebody a big marketing advantage....If you have the reader software to handle whatever format they will be made available in...

purl4peace · 12-05-2008, 07:40 PM

Robert,

My little wish list would be

1. format agnostic -- I don't mind paying for content and having it be DRM'd but I don't like being limited to one or two stores/formats or jumping through a series of hoops in order to get a book that is only sold in one format over to a reader that uses a different format.

2. I have a Cybook and a Sony PRS-505. I much prefer the Sony because:
-- Metal (solid) case
-- The buttons work better (the Cybook buttons do not feel good and is flaky)
-- better navigation
-- better book/file organization (you can create reading lists etc).
-- you can see actual page numbers and the device remembers where you were.

(perhaps you have addressed some of these annoyances but since your device looks IDENTICAL to the Cybook -- just a different logo -- I think of Cybook limitations)

That said, I do NOT like the Sony PC software support at all and prefer the Mobireader system for managing content.

3. You are definitely on the right path with the 9-inch display. Push that!

4. This one is purely tactile and aesthetics -- provide a really nice leather carrier. I'm not talking about the crappy leather one you can buy from Cybook or Sony. Those use cheap leather and are not sewn properly. I'm talking thick saddle leather like you see on a Coach purse. Team up with Coach or Dooney Bourke or Levenger since they know how to do make fine quality leather goods. If I'm going to spend several hundred bucks on a reader device, I'm willing to spring for a nice cover as well because it is part of the reading experience. Just like leather-bound books are a pure pleasure to read -- the smell of the leather, the solid feel. It just screams quality and luxury.

And speaking of the cover -- the Sony design for attaching the reader to the cover is the best there is. It is secure; it is most "book like", and it makes the most out of the book cover real estate (pockets on the back for storing extra SD cards, credit card, etc.)

Those are the things that jump out at me from a user-experience perspective. One of the main things that I hear from readers over and over who aren't interested in an ebook reader is because they just like the feel of a book. The cover, the smell, the weight. Well, Sony -- with their metal case -- addresses the weight. If you design a REALLY nice leather cover reminiscent of the old leather bound books or a nice leather bible -- you'll win people over with the smell and touch.

Oh, and I want to be a beta tester, too! But I'm sure we all do!

FizzyWater · 12-06-2008, 01:08 AM

Hi, Robert.

I, like purl4peace have both a Sony and a Cybook and prefer the more solid "feel" of the Sony Reader. I've seen much emphasis on "light", but the Cybook just feels flimsy in my hands.

I also have an eBookwise, and I'll admit I'm glad the Sony is not as heavy as the eBW, despite eBW's superior ergonomics, otherwise. So I guess I'm saying I don't mind a little extra weight if the reader feels solid.

I absolutely LOVE your comment about the idea of a built-in "solar panel". I'm picturing a "solar" calculator that I was given at work - it works in any light, not just direct sunlight. But I love the idea that the book could be recharging a little as I read. Given the average expectations, though, the panel(s) would have to be robust enough to completely charge the reader (or keep it fully charged). If it only partially contributed to the charge, I'd imagine people would think "what's the point?"

Perhaps a larger panel could be built into a nice leather cover? So, if you're sitting reading, with the cover open like a book, the panel could be on the inside left-hand cover flap?

As many in the forums have said, I'd like a better navigation system - preferably something like the typical "folders" configuration people are used to. I'm an ebook pack rat - I like to carry lots of books with me (and why make memory expandable and then leave the interface so clunky it's awkward to use that expanded space?) And - while I imagine the peripherals are the least of your concern at this point - I also prefer the Sony configuration for the cover. Tucking it into a pocket (like Cybook) or elastic bands (ye, gods! Kindle) is inelegant at best. A very small annoyance I have with Sony's, though, is that there's no quick way to tell if you're looking at the front or back of the cover! A little embossing on the front would be a nice way to either visually or by touch tell I've actually got the Reader face-up before I open it.

I like Cybook's flexibility in adding different fonts, but I've found I seldom use more than 2 font sizes (the smaller one that I'm comfortable with most of the time, and the one about 150% larger for lower-light conditions, or when I've forgotten my reading glasses!) People seem impressed, though, when there are more. I'd just be curious to see how many are really being used.

I am one of the folks who was waiting for the eReader e-Ink device. I've read your comments about Amazon playing hard-ball and not being willing to share. And yet, I have mobipocket and eReader (and uBook and Microsoft Reader) installed together on my PDA. How possible would it be to make the firmware allow the user to install additional software? So it ships with mobi only, but we have the option - if we wish - to install eReader (or Microsoft, or uBook, etc.). And yes, a built-in (and robust) HTML and RTF viewer, too. (I don't buy PDFs, so I have no preference for that format). And you might as well include ePub, too. iPhone is working with other companies to allow the addition of non-Apple apps. Couldn't you too - even if just for these other ebook format viewers?

I miss eBookwise's ability to highlight, search, and annotate. I haven't seen the difference between the Sony 505 and the 700, but given what I've heard, I wouldn't want to trade screen clarity to get it back! Seems I've read the iLiad has some form of it, though...so it must be possible.

I also miss eBW's option to change the screen orientation by 180 degrees. Sometimes, I've needed to keep a hand free, and it was nice to be able to comfortably switch my "reading hand" (possible with eBW's setup, not so much Cybook or Sony, even if the screen orientation option was available).

I'm very happy with the 6" screen - it fits comfortably in my purse or in my hand. I've always been intrigued by the idea of a larger reader, but in practicality I'd probably never use it. I could see - for technical reading or students - when it would be useful, though. (At that point, though, I'd probably be looking into a tablet PC).

Another small thing - both my eBW and the Cybook (and Sony's 500, actually) have "flaps" covering certain ports. The eBW and Cybook have what I think of as "little rubber stoppers" covering the charger input port (I know that's not exactly the right terminology - it's where I plug the reader into the AC charger). Both of the rubber flaps push on the AC adapter connector. A friend told me her eBW won't charge any more because the input port loosened because of the constant pushing of the rubber flap against the connector. Personally, I just find them annoying!

SaraD · 12-06-2008, 01:09 AM

Hi Robert B,

As a side note, I was just perusing e-bay. I do so once in a while to see if there are any e-readers besides Kindles and Sony's out there yet. To my amazement I actually saw two entries for EZ Readers! The ad's pictures and text were taken straight from Mobiebook and Astak sites. For what it's worth they were selling for the $329 and $369 prices. I also saw several Jetbook entries and a few iRex devices for the first time.

I do have a couple of wish list items for the next generation of e-book readers. The are more of the same-old same-old, but...

1) Faster page changes, but the Epson controller may already solve that. Or as my husband called it after seeing the YouTube demo of the controller, the Harry Potter wizard newspaper thing. He works in IT and finds few consumer gadgets interesting. The demo actually got a "wow - that's cool". And he started taking my interest in these devices seriously for the first time. It went so far that he asked me questions about models and capabilities because such might interest his company. Sadly I had to explain that it would not be available until spring at best for the larger size screens and PDF is currently hit&miss.

2) A plastic screen that I would worry about less than I would the glass. If I leave a p-book on a table or chair my 17 lbs. boy cat will sometimes flop on it so I have to give him more attention than my book. I close my p-books so he can't damage the spines, but I'm not sure even the sturdy case would help an e-book reader very much. Sturdy is much more important to me as a pleasure-reader than a touch screen. Dusty can lay on my mp3 player without hurting anything (except my ears if I don't check the volume before using it) and the same in an e-book reader would be great.

3) A well-done retail store presence if at all reasonable. Borders does a nice job with their Sony display and it has a "what is that?" appeal. Target (at least in Spokane, WA, US) does a very sad job and it looks about to be dismantled with no information available. The Starbucks idea somebody posted a while ago was indeed a good one and a different approach.

For sticking with this project!

moz · 12-06-2008, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

I would like to invite you to tell me what you wish for both short term and long term.

Finding myself unexpectedly in the market for a replacement for my lost 505, I have to say I'm hanging out for the 9" reader from you lot. Really, really hanging out! I'm mostly a recreational reader, and I'm (re)discovering just how much I read. Specifically, how much weight of deadwood I have to carry when I travel if I don't have a liseuse.

Immediately I'd like:

easy to use both left and right handed - I use whichever hand is free to hold the reader when I'm in bed or leaning on a wall.
good library support - no point holding 1000 books if there's no reasonable way to find one of them - Sony has this problem in spades
Ability to mark/move/delete books once they're read [1].
Calibre support. I don't care if you have to kidnap him and hold him in your secret underground dungeon. Well, I do, but seriously, bribe the guy or whatever it takes. Calibre is *good*
PDF (and other formats) margin-trimming. I didn't pay for pixels so some monkey could leave them as whitespace. Editable CSS and/or editable defaults would be nice.
battery life - longer is better. Look, on a 9" display you've got the space to include two or more of the tiny slim batteries. Use it. Make them optional if you want, but let people like me put all four in there and run for a month.
A cover that has a rigid panel covering the screen would be excellent. Just to make the device better protected when I dump it in my bag.
Adding a small solar panel to the inside of that cover would be a nice touch, provided there's a cable and it's easy to separate the two so I can read and charge at the same time. The junk Chinese-eBay 80mW panels are not worth the paper they're printed on, give me a four-six hour charge in full sun and a 5 year warranty on the cells.
Formats... I don't care, as long as Calibre can export something usable to the device. Especially font and whitespace settings - I currently use 7.2 point serif text with *no* surrounding whitespace and if I could turn off the extra new pages Calibre adds I would (chapter detection)
A touchscreen without wireless option. I only want a touchscreen if I can draw using it, and I definitely want to turn it off the other 99% of the time.
a light only if it works better than a headtorch. I already have a headtorch that gets more than 100 hours off three AAA batteries, and it's next to my bed.

Longer term... I think I've said. Broadly, a somewhat beefy netbook sized thing with an eink screen that's designed for reading but has enough networking grunt (and a small keyboard/LCD) to act as a cellphone using bluetooth and diary. But that might come only when eink hits smartphones. Who knows.

[1] Paying 3-20 seconds every time I guess wrong about whether I have already read something is annoying (I tend to buy the whole oeuvre if I like a book, so I get lost often too). Adding last access time, page number and time to the book list would be useful. Don't do the Sony thing of using a giant font because there's only 10 buttons and you feel you need to fill up the screen. Sony let you type in numbers to skip to a page, why not to select a book? Display as many as the screen will hold (for that matter, give us lots/some/few display options akin to thumbnail sizes).

pkovak · 12-06-2008, 04:47 AM

Well, RobertB, you caused an explosion of experienced users' comments with your last comment, great work. I don't have any eReader, so I can't very well comment on that, but I *am* admin in software company so I will try to go this way.

1) Betatesting is the key. Look around in computer industry and you will see great examples of *failed* testing, on software and hardware level. Good example is SATA1 versus SATA2 cables for PC's. The only difference is SATA2 learned from the errors of it's precedesor and added "safety pin" so the cable can't unplug by accident or simply by moving such PC. I had seen the problem the second I plugged first SATA1 cable in, so why noone told the engineers and developers? Few betatesters who really do their work and have a brain to use can save you lots of harsh comments and give you a headstart. It could be anything from wrong positioned button that accidently gets pressed to confusing menu design, the only way to find and eliminate these bugs is good planing and good testing. Also, people on this board are experienced and it seems to me most of the latest articles are really good and practical, from users who have experience in this field.

2) Software support - I am not sure you *can* allow custom software in your new eReader, but what about the computer side of this? For example, my Firefox is customized with several plugins which adds lots of great functionability and it's the main reason I use it.

3) I presume you will add computer-sided software, and I would love to use it for managing eReader through it. For example, complete backup of my settings, synchronization with a list or directory on the computer, library management and all those things that would be hard or time consuming to do directly in eReader. I can do it in eReader if needed, but for mass changes, full computers are simply better equiped if there is a software that allows it.

4) File convertions. If the pdf file is hard to display properly, no matter the reason, I want to convert it to another format, for example rtf, doc. To have these functions integrated in software would help a lot.

5) Durability. Truth to say, one of the biggest disadvantage I see in eReaders is that they are simply less durable then normal books. If I buy a device for 300$ or more, and then I loose it half year later because it dropped on the ground, I would think really hard about buying new one. It's just too expensive if it can't survive in good health for several years. Same goes for life expectancy. If the device is guarantied to work for 5 years and another one for only 2 years, which would you choose?

6) I want to be able to customize the accesories for the device. Simply add a list with allowed accesories and price for each one. For example, basic card has 256 MB storage space and cost 5$. I don't want it, so I switch it for 2 GB which cost 45$, but the result is only 40$ more expensive because that 256 MB card is not there anymore. Do I want a cover? Yes, this one is made of nice quality leather and cost 50$, this one is from stainless steel

and cost 5$. I can choose none, or both of them. Do I want more batteries (ability to insert more then one battery as Moz suggested to increase battery life is excelent in my oppinion)? Sumarized, I would like to have complete control on what I am ordering. For me, it's good thing because I get exactly what I want, and I can be sure that it will work together. For you - well, you are the one selling it so more profit. After I complete my order, I get one package with everything I ordered, and I am happy that I have all I need. Of course, it requires reasonable prices, if I can choose to buy an 4 GB card from you for 100$ and same card from local shop for 50$, it's easy to decide. Such buying model have more advantages for you: it attracts people, makes you more popular because of the free choice you give them, and again, improve your chances on the market. There may be even two buying models: buy our "standard package" or for advanced users, select exactly what you want.

7) If your eReader have wifi and can be connected to computers, does it mean you can browse the internet? Integrated browser, mail browser, etc. can go long way in user comfort and increased sales. Map software? If I can't find something while I am in a city, I could have map installed (eighter as simple scanned map or more complicated software found in navigation devices).

8) Software keyboard. I mentioned it before, it greatly increases the flexibility.

9) Third party aplications, if possible. If you can't allow free software modifying, maybe you can allow people to send you such software. There may be a 3rd party software option on your web, with warning that it's not supported by company, allow everyone to download it and install in the device. Let others do the hard programing work and still be praised for allowing it.

10) I am not a friend of solar panels. Maybe because I don't know good ones, I worked with some and they are (or, better, they were) very, very fragile. Maybe now you have good and sturdy panels with good effeciency that would allow the device to be near 100% solar powered, I really don't know. I would have to know more about them and how are they protected. If it worked, though, it would be another great improvement.

11) Good support for newspapers - I don't know if there is some standard they use for electronicly publicated newspapers, but one of the thing I do daily even before I go to work is reading news on the internet from several sources. I wish eReaders could make a difference, why should I power up PC or buying "paper newspapers" when I can read it like any other text on device developed for reading texts?

FizzyWater · 12-06-2008, 08:15 AM

Oops! Thought of something else! While I have yet to have had a problem with my 3-year-old eBW, in many of the other "ideal ebook Reader" threads, people have said they'd like a user-replaceable battery.

I know the ability to swap batteries was a factor in my switching from my initial Toshiba e330 PDA to the Dell Axim v51 (another was that Toshiba got out of the market before I was interested in upgrading). For what that's worth, I've passed on that old Toshiba to a friend, who's happily reading eBooks on it. So sometimes I think the desire for a swappable battery is more a "just-in-case" desire than something truly necessary.

kacir · 12-06-2008, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

This THREAD needs to ramp up again.

Yes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

I would like to invite you to tell me what you wish for both short term and long term.

Let me dream and wish a litle ....

Software-wise:

- folders support, *folders support* *FOLDERS SUPPORT*

- make an indication at the book list level where in the book I am. Currently I have quite a few books loaded up. I would like to see at the first glance where in the book I am. I want to see if the book is not yet started, finished or if I am somewhere at the first 15% of the book. It should be quite cheap software-development-time-wise to assign one of 10 icons (representing position in the book from 0% to 100%) to the book when you leave the book.

- let the user load his own font. Make a tool (preferably something that works on Windows, Linux and OS X) available to the user to make his own version of the font heavily hinted to fit to the screen pixel grid. Have a look at the sans-serif font at the Sony Reader PRS500. Almost perfect IMHO.

- include a plain text support as a supported format. Let the user assign his preferred font type, font size, first line indent and paragraph spacing for plain text files (as an option for the reading software, not on per-book basis).

Hardware wise:

Most of the readers can turn screen 90 degrees. Why not 180? This way you make just one set of comfortable page turning buttons at one side and if you want to switch from left handed page turning to right handed you simply turn screen 2x 90 degrees. This should be much cheaper than including page turning buttons on all four edges of the screen

Make an extremely sturdy unit as an option. You can have the same screen, PCB, and other parts for the "pretty" unit and "sturdy & ugly" one. Something like super rugerized military type PDA I saw the other day. Massive UGLY rubber coated ribbed aluminum cast
Something like this:
http://www.industcomputing.com/PDFs/...ilitaryPDA.pdf
http://www.amrel.com/federal_militar...ugged_pda.html
http://www.ruggedized-solutions.com/ruggadized_pda.php
(One can dream. Right?)

When designing reader make 4 threaded holes in the 4 corners of the reader so I could screw the reader to any type of sturdy home-made case. Or at least make a beveled hole through the reader in each corner. This way you can prepare ground for all kinds of covers to attach to the reader. One of the worst cover attachment systems is on Sony PRS-500. It works quite well with standard cover but it is impossible to make a cover that would hold the reader in the same way as original.
I would like to make a cover for my reader out of 8mm thick lexan sheet so I could just throw the reader into my bag, suitcase or rucksack without the fear of crushing it. And please do not tell me about the "Crush resistant faux leather cover". Phew! A faux leather cover can not provide resistance against crushing comparable to a metal case or 8 mm thick lexan sheet.

HarryT · 12-06-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchestnutt

It was pretty frustrating for me. I remember seeing an e-ink reader in the Sony showroom in Ginza a few years ago (it must have been a 500). But when I was looking to actually buy a 505 earlier this year, I couldn't find anywhere in Japan to buy one, and eventually had to order it from the US.

More likely it was a Librie, Sony's first eInk reader which was only ever officially sold in Japan.

purl4peace · 12-06-2008, 10:54 AM

I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Both the Cybook and the Sony assume you are right handed and make its controls oriented for righties. (yeah, I know...every other hardware designer does that,too).

What that means:

1. Take a page (no pun intended) from several mouse makers (especially the ergonomic mouse companies) and allow the device to be programmed for left or right handed use.

2. Make the cover be "reversible" so that you can have it open from right to left OR from left to right... (once again, look at Levengers which sets up many of its accessories to be comfortable for both righties and lefties).

I second the comment about getting the Calibre guy working for you. Calibre is great.

You should also think about teaming up with Levenger. They are specifically oriented at readers so working with them would be a natural fit. Frankly I'm surprised they haven't jumped on the ereader market yet.

Good luck...

12-06-2008, 04:47 AM	#1121
pkovak Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Earth Device: none	Well, RobertB, you caused an explosion of experienced users' comments with your last comment, great work. I don't have any eReader, so I can't very well comment on that, but I am admin in software company so I will try to go this way. 1) Betatesting is the key. Look around in computer industry and you will see great examples of failed testing, on software and hardware level. Good example is SATA1 versus SATA2 cables for PC's. The only difference is SATA2 learned from the errors of it's precedesor and added "safety pin" so the cable can't unplug by accident or simply by moving such PC. I had seen the problem the second I plugged first SATA1 cable in, so why noone told the engineers and developers? Few betatesters who really do their work and have a brain to use can save you lots of harsh comments and give you a headstart. It could be anything from wrong positioned button that accidently gets pressed to confusing menu design, the only way to find and eliminate these bugs is good planing and good testing. Also, people on this board are experienced and it seems to me most of the latest articles are really good and practical, from users who have experience in this field. 2) Software support - I am not sure you can allow custom software in your new eReader, but what about the computer side of this? For example, my Firefox is customized with several plugins which adds lots of great functionability and it's the main reason I use it. 3) I presume you will add computer-sided software, and I would love to use it for managing eReader through it. For example, complete backup of my settings, synchronization with a list or directory on the computer, library management and all those things that would be hard or time consuming to do directly in eReader. I can do it in eReader if needed, but for mass changes, full computers are simply better equiped if there is a software that allows it. 4) File convertions. If the pdf file is hard to display properly, no matter the reason, I want to convert it to another format, for example rtf, doc. To have these functions integrated in software would help a lot. 5) Durability. Truth to say, one of the biggest disadvantage I see in eReaders is that they are simply less durable then normal books. If I buy a device for 300$ or more, and then I loose it half year later because it dropped on the ground, I would think really hard about buying new one. It's just too expensive if it can't survive in good health for several years. Same goes for life expectancy. If the device is guarantied to work for 5 years and another one for only 2 years, which would you choose? 6) I want to be able to customize the accesories for the device. Simply add a list with allowed accesories and price for each one. For example, basic card has 256 MB storage space and cost 5$. I don't want it, so I switch it for 2 GB which cost 45$, but the result is only 40$ more expensive because that 256 MB card is not there anymore. Do I want a cover? Yes, this one is made of nice quality leather and cost 50$, this one is from stainless steel and cost 5$. I can choose none, or both of them. Do I want more batteries (ability to insert more then one battery as Moz suggested to increase battery life is excelent in my oppinion)? Sumarized, I would like to have complete control on what I am ordering. For me, it's good thing because I get exactly what I want, and I can be sure that it will work together. For you - well, you are the one selling it so more profit. After I complete my order, I get one package with everything I ordered, and I am happy that I have all I need. Of course, it requires reasonable prices, if I can choose to buy an 4 GB card from you for 100$ and same card from local shop for 50$, it's easy to decide. Such buying model have more advantages for you: it attracts people, makes you more popular because of the free choice you give them, and again, improve your chances on the market. There may be even two buying models: buy our "standard package" or for advanced users, select exactly what you want. 7) If your eReader have wifi and can be connected to computers, does it mean you can browse the internet? Integrated browser, mail browser, etc. can go long way in user comfort and increased sales. Map software? If I can't find something while I am in a city, I could have map installed (eighter as simple scanned map or more complicated software found in navigation devices). 8) Software keyboard. I mentioned it before, it greatly increases the flexibility. 9) Third party aplications, if possible. If you can't allow free software modifying, maybe you can allow people to send you such software. There may be a 3rd party software option on your web, with warning that it's not supported by company, allow everyone to download it and install in the device. Let others do the hard programing work and still be praised for allowing it. 10) I am not a friend of solar panels. Maybe because I don't know good ones, I worked with some and they are (or, better, they were) very, very fragile. Maybe now you have good and sturdy panels with good effeciency that would allow the device to be near 100% solar powered, I really don't know. I would have to know more about them and how are they protected. If it worked, though, it would be another great improvement. 11) Good support for newspapers - I don't know if there is some standard they use for electronicly publicated newspapers, but one of the thing I do daily even before I go to work is reading news on the internet from several sources. I wish eReaders could make a difference, why should I power up PC or buying "paper newspapers" when I can read it like any other text on device developed for reading texts? Last edited by pkovak; 12-06-2008 at 06:05 AM.

12-06-2008, 10:54 AM	#1125
purl4peace Mommy of Many Interests Posts: 139 Karma: 660 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Device: Kindle DX, Sony PRS-505, Cybook Gen3	Thought of one more thing.... don't assume your users are right-handed I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Both the Cybook and the Sony assume you are right handed and make its controls oriented for righties. (yeah, I know...every other hardware designer does that,too). What that means: 1. Take a page (no pun intended) from several mouse makers (especially the ergonomic mouse companies) and allow the device to be programmed for left or right handed use. 2. Make the cover be "reversible" so that you can have it open from right to left OR from left to right... (once again, look at Levengers which sets up many of its accessories to be comfortable for both righties and lefties). I second the comment about getting the Calibre guy working for you. Calibre is great. You should also think about teaming up with Levenger. They are specifically oriented at readers so working with them would be a natural fit. Frankly I'm surprised they haven't jumped on the ereader market yet. Good luck...

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12-02-2008, 12:13 PM	#1112
pkovak Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Earth Device: none	Does that mean you are prohibited to send it to Europe, for example, if I buy it directly from you? Actualy, I don't even know if it's possible to buy it directly from you as a person, or you only distribute it to another companies, for example. Because, if you are prohibited to send it abroad, are the companies you sell it to limited too? That's another concideration.

12-05-2008, 04:54 PM	#1115
RahulG Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: non	Hi Robert I have registered here specifically to reply to your message. In the target audience of an ebook reader, there are many who need it for .pdf files. As researchers in any stream of science will agree, handling a huge mountain of the pdf research articles is a bigtime pain. Reading and storing the files on ebook reader solves half the problem as alll files are located on the reader...BUT the organisation part is to be tackled. I have been following ebook devices and havent bought one yet as none offers all the needed features (iRex Ereader 1000S comes close). I list two main features below ... 1) Handling of the PDF METADATA. The research articles come with metadata about 'author, year of publication, Journal in which it was published, keywords etc. I dont think any ebook reader can 'read' this metadata and offer the option to rename or sort the files accordingly...say sort by author or title etc. Please see softwares like 'Papers' (for mac) and QUOSA and u will know what to do. Perhaps a toned down version of such softwares can be simply integrated in your reader and thats all- If this can be done, i can find my article much more easily. 2) Searching a keyword in text of several pdf files together. It is not the 'filename search' that i am talking about but search in the actual text of the PDF files...and in many files at a time. That will be super! 3) Of course improvements in handling bigger files, annotation capability like iRex EReader and a long battery life will be very important. Also, do have a look at the iRex fora to see what deficiencies other people have pointed out. I also posted a similar message there sometime back. Hope I will see some of the above features in your ebook reader...it might just make me a more efficient in my work! regards, Rahul Gaur, PhD. Umea Univ. Sweden

12-05-2008, 07:40 PM	#1117
purl4peace Mommy of Many Interests Posts: 139 Karma: 660 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Device: Kindle DX, Sony PRS-505, Cybook Gen3	Robert, My little wish list would be 1. format agnostic -- I don't mind paying for content and having it be DRM'd but I don't like being limited to one or two stores/formats or jumping through a series of hoops in order to get a book that is only sold in one format over to a reader that uses a different format. 2. I have a Cybook and a Sony PRS-505. I much prefer the Sony because: -- Metal (solid) case -- The buttons work better (the Cybook buttons do not feel good and is flaky) -- better navigation -- better book/file organization (you can create reading lists etc). -- you can see actual page numbers and the device remembers where you were. (perhaps you have addressed some of these annoyances but since your device looks IDENTICAL to the Cybook -- just a different logo -- I think of Cybook limitations) That said, I do NOT like the Sony PC software support at all and prefer the Mobireader system for managing content. 3. You are definitely on the right path with the 9-inch display. Push that! 4. This one is purely tactile and aesthetics -- provide a really nice leather carrier. I'm not talking about the crappy leather one you can buy from Cybook or Sony. Those use cheap leather and are not sewn properly. I'm talking thick saddle leather like you see on a Coach purse. Team up with Coach or Dooney Bourke or Levenger since they know how to do make fine quality leather goods. If I'm going to spend several hundred bucks on a reader device, I'm willing to spring for a nice cover as well because it is part of the reading experience. Just like leather-bound books are a pure pleasure to read -- the smell of the leather, the solid feel. It just screams quality and luxury. And speaking of the cover -- the Sony design for attaching the reader to the cover is the best there is. It is secure; it is most "book like", and it makes the most out of the book cover real estate (pockets on the back for storing extra SD cards, credit card, etc.) Those are the things that jump out at me from a user-experience perspective. One of the main things that I hear from readers over and over who aren't interested in an ebook reader is because they just like the feel of a book. The cover, the smell, the weight. Well, Sony -- with their metal case -- addresses the weight. If you design a REALLY nice leather cover reminiscent of the old leather bound books or a nice leather bible -- you'll win people over with the smell and touch. Oh, and I want to be a beta tester, too! But I'm sure we all do!

12-06-2008, 01:08 AM	#1118
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Hi, Robert. I, like purl4peace have both a Sony and a Cybook and prefer the more solid "feel" of the Sony Reader. I've seen much emphasis on "light", but the Cybook just feels flimsy in my hands. I also have an eBookwise, and I'll admit I'm glad the Sony is not as heavy as the eBW, despite eBW's superior ergonomics, otherwise. So I guess I'm saying I don't mind a little extra weight if the reader feels solid. I absolutely LOVE your comment about the idea of a built-in "solar panel". I'm picturing a "solar" calculator that I was given at work - it works in any light, not just direct sunlight. But I love the idea that the book could be recharging a little as I read. Given the average expectations, though, the panel(s) would have to be robust enough to completely charge the reader (or keep it fully charged). If it only partially contributed to the charge, I'd imagine people would think "what's the point?" Perhaps a larger panel could be built into a nice leather cover? So, if you're sitting reading, with the cover open like a book, the panel could be on the inside left-hand cover flap? As many in the forums have said, I'd like a better navigation system - preferably something like the typical "folders" configuration people are used to. I'm an ebook pack rat - I like to carry lots of books with me (and why make memory expandable and then leave the interface so clunky it's awkward to use that expanded space?) And - while I imagine the peripherals are the least of your concern at this point - I also prefer the Sony configuration for the cover. Tucking it into a pocket (like Cybook) or elastic bands (ye, gods! Kindle) is inelegant at best. A very small annoyance I have with Sony's, though, is that there's no quick way to tell if you're looking at the front or back of the cover! A little embossing on the front would be a nice way to either visually or by touch tell I've actually got the Reader face-up before I open it. I like Cybook's flexibility in adding different fonts, but I've found I seldom use more than 2 font sizes (the smaller one that I'm comfortable with most of the time, and the one about 150% larger for lower-light conditions, or when I've forgotten my reading glasses!) People seem impressed, though, when there are more. I'd just be curious to see how many are really being used. I am one of the folks who was waiting for the eReader e-Ink device. I've read your comments about Amazon playing hard-ball and not being willing to share. And yet, I have mobipocket and eReader (and uBook and Microsoft Reader) installed together on my PDA. How possible would it be to make the firmware allow the user to install additional software? So it ships with mobi only, but we have the option - if we wish - to install eReader (or Microsoft, or uBook, etc.). And yes, a built-in (and robust) HTML and RTF viewer, too. (I don't buy PDFs, so I have no preference for that format). And you might as well include ePub, too. iPhone is working with other companies to allow the addition of non-Apple apps. Couldn't you too - even if just for these other ebook format viewers? I miss eBookwise's ability to highlight, search, and annotate. I haven't seen the difference between the Sony 505 and the 700, but given what I've heard, I wouldn't want to trade screen clarity to get it back! Seems I've read the iLiad has some form of it, though...so it must be possible. I also miss eBW's option to change the screen orientation by 180 degrees. Sometimes, I've needed to keep a hand free, and it was nice to be able to comfortably switch my "reading hand" (possible with eBW's setup, not so much Cybook or Sony, even if the screen orientation option was available). I'm very happy with the 6" screen - it fits comfortably in my purse or in my hand. I've always been intrigued by the idea of a larger reader, but in practicality I'd probably never use it. I could see - for technical reading or students - when it would be useful, though. (At that point, though, I'd probably be looking into a tablet PC). Another small thing - both my eBW and the Cybook (and Sony's 500, actually) have "flaps" covering certain ports. The eBW and Cybook have what I think of as "little rubber stoppers" covering the charger input port (I know that's not exactly the right terminology - it's where I plug the reader into the AC charger). Both of the rubber flaps push on the AC adapter connector. A friend told me her eBW won't charge any more because the input port loosened because of the constant pushing of the rubber flap against the connector. Personally, I just find them annoying!

12-06-2008, 01:09 AM	#1119
SaraD Groupie Posts: 161 Karma: 2670 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mead, WA, USA Device: Sony 650, Basic Kindle 7th generation	Hi Robert B, As a side note, I was just perusing e-bay. I do so once in a while to see if there are any e-readers besides Kindles and Sony's out there yet. To my amazement I actually saw two entries for EZ Readers! The ad's pictures and text were taken straight from Mobiebook and Astak sites. For what it's worth they were selling for the $329 and $369 prices. I also saw several Jetbook entries and a few iRex devices for the first time. I do have a couple of wish list items for the next generation of e-book readers. The are more of the same-old same-old, but... 1) Faster page changes, but the Epson controller may already solve that. Or as my husband called it after seeing the YouTube demo of the controller, the Harry Potter wizard newspaper thing. He works in IT and finds few consumer gadgets interesting. The demo actually got a "wow - that's cool". And he started taking my interest in these devices seriously for the first time. It went so far that he asked me questions about models and capabilities because such might interest his company. Sadly I had to explain that it would not be available until spring at best for the larger size screens and PDF is currently hit&miss. 2) A plastic screen that I would worry about less than I would the glass. If I leave a p-book on a table or chair my 17 lbs. boy cat will sometimes flop on it so I have to give him more attention than my book. I close my p-books so he can't damage the spines, but I'm not sure even the sturdy case would help an e-book reader very much. Sturdy is much more important to me as a pleasure-reader than a touch screen. Dusty can lay on my mp3 player without hurting anything (except my ears if I don't check the volume before using it) and the same in an e-book reader would be great. 3) A well-done retail store presence if at all reasonable. Borders does a nice job with their Sony display and it has a "what is that?" appeal. Target (at least in Spokane, WA, US) does a very sad job and it looks about to be dismantled with no information available. The Starbucks idea somebody posted a while ago was indeed a good one and a different approach. For sticking with this project!

12-06-2008, 08:15 AM	#1122
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Oops! Thought of something else! While I have yet to have had a problem with my 3-year-old eBW, in many of the other "ideal ebook Reader" threads, people have said they'd like a user-replaceable battery. I know the ability to swap batteries was a factor in my switching from my initial Toshiba e330 PDA to the Dell Axim v51 (another was that Toshiba got out of the market before I was interested in upgrading). For what that's worth, I've passed on that old Toshiba to a friend, who's happily reading eBooks on it. So sometimes I think the desire for a swappable battery is more a "just-in-case" desire than something truly necessary.