Sony's new 13.3" digital paper DPTRP1 released

[saulgood]

Let's jailbreak it! Guess it's Android 4.44

[juegos]

Below is another video review of the DPT-RP1. Synopsis:

- Great hardware: very lightweight (12.3 ounces) and thin, great stylus responsiveness for writing/drawing, much sharper resolution than DPT-S1, screen texture to make it feel as if writing on paper (although this affects tip durability of the stylus) - all these things are better than on the DPT-S1 - overall great to read and write on pdfs

- Terrible software: no navigation features at all: no table of contents, no way to jump to specific page numbers, no back button to go back to the previous location (e.g. after using an embedded hyperlink), no pinch-zooming / scrolling, no keyboard option (e.g. to add text on forms or select page numbers), no dictionary, no support for epub, no internet capabilities - wifi strictly for transferring documents from/to local windows/mac pc. Question is whether Sony will add these features in future firmware updates - unlikely given that many of these features were already present in the DPT S1 but have been deliberately removed by Sony since then although some of these features have been industry standards for years - instead Sony's software team devoted its resources to creating a digital paper app for windows / mac pc.

[LarryNYC]

Not a bad video review, although the dude can't count, that's a 16 page view, not a 12 page view, LOL.

I'm absolutely blown away by the speed of writing, drawing, page turning, the device looks awesome. The guy didn't spend much time writing and erasing but you can see that it is so much faster than the S1.

The resolution and contrast of the screen is just incredible for an eInk device, to say nothing of the screen size. I would never buy a smaller eReader for working with technical documents.

EPUB is easily convertible to PDF with Calibre. No big deal, really.

The wonderful thing about industry standards is that there are so many to choose from!

[Avenger]

If the document has a table of contents can you use it to jump to the corresponding page? I assume links work. I keep reading about not having a table of contents.

[LarryNYC]

Originally Posted by Avenger

If the document has a table of contents can you use it to jump to the corresponding page? I assume links work. I keep reading about not having a table of contents.

The other video review showed links working, I believe.

[Avenger]

Originally Posted by juegos

Below is another video review of the DPT-RP1. Synopsis:

- Great hardware: very lightweight (12.3 ounces) and thin, great stylus responsiveness for writing/drawing, much sharper resolution than DPT-S1, screen texture to make it feel as if writing on paper (although this affects tip durability of the stylus) - all these things are better than on the DPT-S1 - overall great to read and write on pdfs

- Terrible software: no navigation features at all: no table of contents, no way to jump to specific page numbers, no back button to go back to the previous location (e.g. after using an embedded hyperlink), no pinch-zooming / scrolling, no keyboard option (e.g. to add text on forms or select page numbers), no dictionary, no support for epub, no internet capabilities - wifi strictly for transferring documents from/to local windows/mac pc. Question is whether Sony will add these features in future firmware updates - unlikely given that many of these features were already present in the DPT S1 but have been deliberately removed by Sony since then although some of these features have been industry standards for years - instead Sony's software team devoted its resources to creating a digital paper app for windows / mac pc.

You wrote that this is a synopsis of the video review but you added your own impressions which you've stated at least once before. Like not adding features in firmware updates. The reviewer said they probably will but you drew your own conclusion in the synopsis. Since you keep repeating the same things over and over, do you work for a rival company or something?

[digiflash]

No Pinch to zoom? No navigation at all. Wow. That's really ... crazy. Waiting and hope if there are software updates coming soon.

[digiflash]

Take a look at

http://www.gvido.tokyo/

[fgdas]

Originally Posted by saulgood

Let's jailbreak it! Guess it's Android 4.44

I would totally buy RP1 if I could jailbreak it.
Where would you start?

S1 had Android buttons, Android notification area on top and Android icons.

I don't think RP1 is based on Android.

[hskk]

Questions:
1、Can it search words with the searching function?
2、Can the marked pages be exported as a separate file?

[ManDay]

I'm afraid from all that can be gathered through the reviews I have to concur with juegos and their opinion about the software.

At first, I was enthusiastic about the device given my great experience with the DPT-S1. But it appears now that Sony has (needlessly, to all I think) removed both, features which I found useful and features which I deem outright essential for the device (see navigation).

Circucising the software, like removing the browser was a bad idea i.m.o. I, too, LarryNYC, rarely used the browser, but every now and then I actually needed it. More importantly, I did indeed often, and for a long time (off the grid, on the train, etc.) use the DPT S1 long away from any (let alone my own) computer. Transfering files via ocassional inet access from and to a shared cloud backing store was indeed essential. Now it seems this option has been removed in favour of a more complicated Windows mediated solution. A very, very unfortunate decision in my opinion and indeed, should my DPT S1 break, I would try to obtain a replacement rather than buying the new iteration.

For my purpose, and supposedly the main intended purpose of the device, being reading documents and annotating them and making sketches, a high resolution screen is not important and the speed at which I could flip pages and documents was, though not particularly awesome, at least sufficient.

Bottom line: I very much share juego's opinion on the matter and, worse, am also little confident that Sony will revert these changes to the better (Edit: apart from the puzzling lack of navigation controls, which would otherwise be nothing short of stupid).

[kingbob]

Originally Posted by LarryNYC

I noticed the mesh and figured it was just how the screen was constructed. I only see it if I look closely at the display.

We have talked about how the area around the home button at the top has seemed to develop some wrinkles. I don't think I noticed them anywhere else.

We're all in the new car phase of ownership during which we look for the smallest blemishes. :-) After a few weeks I don't think we notice these things anymore.

Thanks, LarryNYC! Yes, these issues are very minor. Glad to know they are common features of the RP1.

[fgdas]

Originally Posted by ManDay

More importantly, I did indeed often, and for a long time (off the grid, on the train, etc.) use the DPT S1 long away from any (let alone my own) computer. Transfering files via ocassional inet access from and to a shared cloud backing store was indeed essential. Now it seems this option has been removed in favour of a more complicated Windows mediated solution. A very, very unfortunate decision in my opinion and indeed, should my DPT S1 break, I would try to obtain a replacement rather than buying the new iteration.

Bottom line: I very much share juego's opinion on the matter and, worse, am also little confident that Sony will revert these changes to the better.

Sony could very easily release Android and iOS apps to sync phone folders same way as on computer but they decided against...

[LarryNYC]

Originally Posted by ManDay

I'm afraid from all that can be gathered through the reviews I have to concur with juegos and their opinion about the software.

At first, I was enthusiastic about the device given my great experience with the DPT-S1. But it appears now that Sony has (needlessly, to all I think) removed both, features which I found useful and features which I deem outright essential for the device (see navigation).

Circucising the software, like removing the browser was a bad idea i.m.o. I, too, LarryNYC, rarely used the browser, but every now and then I actually needed it. More importantly, I did indeed often, and for a long time (off the grid, on the train, etc.) use the DPT S1 long away from any (let alone my own) computer. Transfering files via ocassional inet access from and to a shared cloud backing store was indeed essential. Now it seems this option has been removed in favour of a more complicated Windows mediated solution. A very, very unfortunate decision in my opinion and indeed, should my DPT S1 break, I would try to obtain a replacement rather than buying the new iteration.

For my purpose, and supposedly the main intended purpose of the device, being reading documents and annotating them and making sketches, a high resolution screen is not important and the speed at which I could flip pages and documents was, though not particularly awesome, at least sufficient.

Bottom line: I very much share juego's opinion on the matter and, worse, am also little confident that Sony will revert these changes to the better.

You know what Lincoln said:

"You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time."

Since the S1 and the RP1 cannot replace laptop computers, how realistic is it to think that people are going to travel with just this eInk tablet? I see laptops on the train all the time. If I'm traveling for business, I have to bring my laptop.

If I'm traveling for pleasure, I would load it up with a bunch of content and be done with it.

The Windows/Mac Digital Paper App is quite simple and works well. When you turn on the RP1, the app senses that and connects to it. It then synchronizes new content based on your synch settings.

Resolution, contrast, and performance are important features on any device, even if you don't think so.

Anyway, it's not a crime to stick with your S1. Please bid up the price of my S1 when it appears shortly on eBay. I'll probably include the spare stylus, more tips than you'll use in your lifetime, and the microSD card.

[Randy11]

Originally Posted by juegos

Although the inability to download and sync documents directly from cloud services makes the device very limited for people working in teams. If colleagues want you to read or sign a document, they can't simply get the document on your device by uploading it to a cloud folder - instead they need to get hold of your device, pair it manually to their pc and then drag and drop files on it - terrible for most business users and academics.

Hello,

Be careful, my question isn't against Juegos or someone else. In my professional situation, the cloud is definitely forbidden : the risk is too big to give at someone or a government access to the documents. For a private usage, I verify that the cloud service respect some laws, and I select carefully the data that I put in my cloud. I think, even for an academic usage, the annotated PDF have a value. To have access to the list of papers of someone, can let guess the subject of the researches, the level of knowledge, who work on a subject, the level of maturity of a patent, etc.

By curiosity, nobody take care of the possibility of an unwanted access and the risks for a private or professional usage of a cloud storage ?