how i found the definitive ereader - Page 4

pdurrant · 11-02-2016, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fozzedout

Tip: if you find that apps are not compatible with it, the issue is that your Play Store is out of date. To update it, open up the Play Store, go to settings, scroll to the bottom of the menu, and you'll see the build version 5.1.xxxx.

Just tap on the build version, and a message box will pop up stating that it will update the version of the play store. And then nothing *appears* to happen (no notifications). It is actually downloading and installing in the background. After it's finished updating (a couple of minutes), the version will update to 7.xxx and you will be notified about all the other google apps that need updating (20+ apps).

Update all and you're good to go!

My play store won't even connect, nor can I find the settings menu. I forsee some googling in my future!

pdurrant · 11-02-2016, 04:56 PM

Hmm... It seems that I have the Chinese firmware which doesn't allow for system updates. I'll need to do something complicated with a windows machine to be able to flash it to the latest EU firmware, which should then enable things.

I suppose I shouldn't complain, seeing at it was on sale at about 25% of retail price!

Mathiew.pellerin · 11-03-2016, 12:07 AM

Good plan mate! I have hear of another alternative, one friend of mine bought some kind of phone case that has an eink screen on it which converts your phone in eink ereader name inkcase. I went on youtube and their website it look pretty cool but I never tried it. When my friend received his I will probably talk about my impressions.

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 01:52 AM

Somehow the playstore updated on its own, so I've now installed the Kindle app. It seems to work well in mirrored mode (start it on the main screen, then mirror it to the E-Ink screen),

Obviously not as sharp as my Kindle Voyage, and a lot smaller (because it's got a different aspect ratio).

But I'm pleased so far. We shall see how it goes on my commute today - I charged it fully overnight, so it will be interesting to see how much two+ hours of reading drains it.

HarryT · 11-03-2016, 04:52 AM

Would you consider it to be "the definitive ereader"?

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Would you consider it to be "the definitive ereader"?

I don't think I'd consider anything that.

But, on very brief use, I'm impressed. It was certainly well worth the (just under) £110 I spent on it.

The 4.7" E-Ink screen is even smaller than the size would lead you to believe, because it's not 4x3 but 16x9. That is, the 6" Kindle has an area of 17.28", but the 4.7" screen on the Yotaphone has an area of 9.4" - only just over half the area.

However, the narrower screen isn't an problem with the Kindle reader, since it stops trying to justify text when the line length gets too short to do it well.

Having a capable smart phone and E-Ink ebook reader all in one does looks like it'll be a good thing. My Voyage might get relegated to being a bedtime reader (for the front light).

fozzedout · 11-03-2016, 05:50 AM

In short: For me, yes.

The power of the chip shows (it uses a high end 2 year old chip, the Snapdragon 800, same as what is in the LG G3) - using the eink display is slower than lcd, but compared to the other android eink devices, it shows that the processor of the other android ereaders are woefully lacking in that department. Calibre Companion is wonderfully fast on it ^_^

I have tried playing some games on the eink using the mirror function, and yes, the eink struggles to keep up, and eink trails are everywhere as it doesn't do full screen refreshes often, but other than that, the rendering is completely acceptable at 10fps.

But you're really here for the ereader

I have gotten more used to reading in a tight column due to reading on a phone display, more than book pages and the wider e-ink devices, so the ereader being a narrow column of text suits me fine.

The built in ereader app is good quality at the default settings, though, I have to note - settings are awfully sparse. You get font size, Serif or Sans and whether to use a black or white theme. And yes, the black theme does have noticeable ghosting. If you want to do lots of customisation (i.e. add in more line space), you will have to look else where, and use the yotamirror so you are running the android app on the back screen.

There isn't a light for the back screen, but considering that you have a amoled screen at the front... what do you need a light at the back for?

Finally, using it:

It feels like they have worked some sort of black magic voodoo into this phone. If you hold it in your hand with the front screen facing you and press the power button, the front screen lights up. If you hold it with the back facing you and press the power button, it activates the back screen. Truly strange and yet wonderful at the same time.

Also, you will want to get a silicone case. It's way to slippy for my butter fingers, and if from what I've read is true, the screens (both of them) are essential for the structural integrity. If one breaks, the other will soon warp. Protection then is a must.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with this device - I now have a device that is my phone (rarely used), messenger, camera, audio player, and now, I can integrate my ereader into this.

When this phone dies, I will be very sad, because I doubt we will see anything like this again. I'm sorely tempted to buy a second one. Just in case this one dies.

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fozzedout

When this phone dies, I will be very sad, because I doubt we will see anything like this again. I'm sorely tempted to buy a second one. Just in case this one dies.

I must admit, that although I've had it for less then 24 hours, I'm rather tempted to do just that.

But I've bought too many gadgets 'just in case' to do that again!

I hope that by the time this one breaks, there'll be something better available.

Oh - and I just noticed that the Yotaphone 2 can be charged wirelessly. So I've just ordered a wireless charging plate from Amazon (Nokia DT-601 - 'Used/Very good, fulfilled by Amazon) for just £4.99!

Being able to just put it on my bedside table and get it topped up every night is an unexpected bonus. If it works well.

fozzedout · 11-03-2016, 06:19 AM

The unfortunate truth is that eink, outside of the kindles, are a very niche product. The fact that Yotaphone company was swallowed up with the promises of the Yotaphone 3 this past summer shows that it suffered losses.

There just isn't a mass market for this sort of device, which is why it was priced at a ridiculous price when it was released - they have to recoup the expense.

Unfortunately, the pricing launched it out side of the budget of all but those who have money to burn on expensive gadgets. It was far cheaper to buy a similar spec'd phone, plus an ereader, and still have saved money compared to the original price point.

Thus, my feelings here: I don't think we will be something like this again - the money just isn't there, no matter how we want it to be otherwise. :'(

Btw pdurrant, how was your two hour reading commute?

fozzedout · 11-03-2016, 06:36 AM

Oh, as a side note, the device comes with Android 4.4.

Do *not* upgrade it to 5.0.

The released 5.0 rom causes the battery to drain a lot quicker than 4.4.

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fozzedout

Btw pdurrant, how was your two hour reading commute?

Well the one hour this morning went very well. The Kindle reader worked well
on the e-ink screen in mirror mode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fozzedout

Oh, as a side note, the device comes with Android 4.4.

Do *not* upgrade it to 5.0.

The released 5.0 rom causes the battery to drain a lot quicker than 4.4.

Mine came with a Chinese 4.3.3. I've found some instructions on-line about how to update to a later EU firmware, but I'll need to find a friendly Windows PC to do that.

I'll consider moving to 4.4 instead of 5.0, if possible.

fozzedout · 11-03-2016, 07:17 AM

I think I'll have to eat humble pie. From what I've found on xda, there *used* to be a battery problem with 5.0, however, now that seems to have been fixed with the latest version.

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 07:24 AM

Well, that's good news, once I manage to get it in a position to be updated.

RobertPS · 11-03-2016, 09:33 AM

I have the YD201 international model and this comes with Android 5.0 and an additional 4G band.
If you search you can still find this around the 145 euros mark.
It works fine and battery life is good, but I'm not a heavy user. I charge it every 2 days and it has plenty left in the tank when I charge it.

As a phone without taking the e-ink screen in consideration, I would rate it middle class in the current market. Add the e-ink screen and it becomes a one of a kind device. Great if you want to travel light with decent e-ink reading capabilities.
However, size-wise it is not a substitute for a normal 5" or 6" e-reader.

The Yotareader app on 5.0 gives you a choice of 8 different fonts, font size selection, 2 formatting options, black or white theme, an index and quotations.

You can customize the back e-ink screen by filling templates with supplied building blocks like clock (digital/analog), weather, calendar/appointments, mail/calls/messages notifications, background pictures etc.
Most icons will open dedicated e-ink apps after double tapping, some seem to open the default app on the e-ink screen.

You can have several back screens and you can swipe through them after activating the screen by double tapping.

I'm very happy with mine.

pdurrant · 11-03-2016, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertPS

The Yotareader app on 5.0 gives you a choice of 8 different fonts, font size selection, 2 formatting options, black or white theme, an index and quotations.

That's good to hear. Another reason to try to get mine updated to the latest 5.0 release.

11-03-2016, 05:50 AM	#52
fozzedout Guru Posts: 632 Karma: 2143019 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Manchester, UK Device: Onyx M96, Kindle Basic 2014, Onyx T68 Lynx, Icarus Illumina E653	In short: For me, yes. The power of the chip shows (it uses a high end 2 year old chip, the Snapdragon 800, same as what is in the LG G3) - using the eink display is slower than lcd, but compared to the other android eink devices, it shows that the processor of the other android ereaders are woefully lacking in that department. Calibre Companion is wonderfully fast on it ^_^ I have tried playing some games on the eink using the mirror function, and yes, the eink struggles to keep up, and eink trails are everywhere as it doesn't do full screen refreshes often, but other than that, the rendering is completely acceptable at 10fps. But you're really here for the ereader I have gotten more used to reading in a tight column due to reading on a phone display, more than book pages and the wider e-ink devices, so the ereader being a narrow column of text suits me fine. The built in ereader app is good quality at the default settings, though, I have to note - settings are awfully sparse. You get font size, Serif or Sans and whether to use a black or white theme. And yes, the black theme does have noticeable ghosting. If you want to do lots of customisation (i.e. add in more line space), you will have to look else where, and use the yotamirror so you are running the android app on the back screen. There isn't a light for the back screen, but considering that you have a amoled screen at the front... what do you need a light at the back for? Finally, using it: It feels like they have worked some sort of black magic voodoo into this phone. If you hold it in your hand with the front screen facing you and press the power button, the front screen lights up. If you hold it with the back facing you and press the power button, it activates the back screen. Truly strange and yet wonderful at the same time. Also, you will want to get a silicone case. It's way to slippy for my butter fingers, and if from what I've read is true, the screens (both of them) are essential for the structural integrity. If one breaks, the other will soon warp. Protection then is a must. All in all, I'm extremely happy with this device - I now have a device that is my phone (rarely used), messenger, camera, audio player, and now, I can integrate my ereader into this. When this phone dies, I will be very sad, because I doubt we will see anything like this again. I'm sorely tempted to buy a second one. Just in case this one dies. Last edited by fozzedout; 11-03-2016 at 05:54 AM.

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11-02-2016, 04:56 PM	#47
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,946 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Hmm... It seems that I have the Chinese firmware which doesn't allow for system updates. I'll need to do something complicated with a windows machine to be able to flash it to the latest EU firmware, which should then enable things. I suppose I shouldn't complain, seeing at it was on sale at about 25% of retail price!

11-03-2016, 12:07 AM	#48
Mathiew.pellerin Banned Posts: 5 Karma: 18010 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Usa Device: magflalmVE	Good plan mate! I have hear of another alternative, one friend of mine bought some kind of phone case that has an eink screen on it which converts your phone in eink ereader name inkcase. I went on youtube and their website it look pretty cool but I never tried it. When my friend received his I will probably talk about my impressions.

11-03-2016, 01:52 AM	#49
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,946 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Somehow the playstore updated on its own, so I've now installed the Kindle app. It seems to work well in mirrored mode (start it on the main screen, then mirror it to the E-Ink screen), Obviously not as sharp as my Kindle Voyage, and a lot smaller (because it's got a different aspect ratio). But I'm pleased so far. We shall see how it goes on my commute today - I charged it fully overnight, so it will be interesting to see how much two+ hours of reading drains it.

11-03-2016, 04:52 AM	#50
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Would you consider it to be "the definitive ereader"?

11-03-2016, 06:19 AM	#54
fozzedout Guru Posts: 632 Karma: 2143019 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Manchester, UK Device: Onyx M96, Kindle Basic 2014, Onyx T68 Lynx, Icarus Illumina E653	The unfortunate truth is that eink, outside of the kindles, are a very niche product. The fact that Yotaphone company was swallowed up with the promises of the Yotaphone 3 this past summer shows that it suffered losses. There just isn't a mass market for this sort of device, which is why it was priced at a ridiculous price when it was released - they have to recoup the expense. Unfortunately, the pricing launched it out side of the budget of all but those who have money to burn on expensive gadgets. It was far cheaper to buy a similar spec'd phone, plus an ereader, and still have saved money compared to the original price point. Thus, my feelings here: I don't think we will be something like this again - the money just isn't there, no matter how we want it to be otherwise. :'( Btw pdurrant, how was your two hour reading commute?

11-03-2016, 06:36 AM	#55
fozzedout Guru Posts: 632 Karma: 2143019 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Manchester, UK Device: Onyx M96, Kindle Basic 2014, Onyx T68 Lynx, Icarus Illumina E653	Oh, as a side note, the device comes with Android 4.4. Do not upgrade it to 5.0. The released 5.0 rom causes the battery to drain a lot quicker than 4.4.

11-03-2016, 07:17 AM	#57
fozzedout Guru Posts: 632 Karma: 2143019 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Manchester, UK Device: Onyx M96, Kindle Basic 2014, Onyx T68 Lynx, Icarus Illumina E653	I think I'll have to eat humble pie. From what I've found on xda, there used to be a battery problem with 5.0, however, now that seems to have been fixed with the latest version.

11-03-2016, 07:24 AM	#58
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,946 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Well, that's good news, once I manage to get it in a position to be updated.

11-03-2016, 09:33 AM	#59
RobertPS Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DXG, PB 360 plus, Yotaphone 2	I have the YD201 international model and this comes with Android 5.0 and an additional 4G band. If you search you can still find this around the 145 euros mark. It works fine and battery life is good, but I'm not a heavy user. I charge it every 2 days and it has plenty left in the tank when I charge it. As a phone without taking the e-ink screen in consideration, I would rate it middle class in the current market. Add the e-ink screen and it becomes a one of a kind device. Great if you want to travel light with decent e-ink reading capabilities. However, size-wise it is not a substitute for a normal 5" or 6" e-reader. The Yotareader app on 5.0 gives you a choice of 8 different fonts, font size selection, 2 formatting options, black or white theme, an index and quotations. You can customize the back e-ink screen by filling templates with supplied building blocks like clock (digital/analog), weather, calendar/appointments, mail/calls/messages notifications, background pictures etc. Most icons will open dedicated e-ink apps after double tapping, some seem to open the default app on the e-ink screen. You can have several back screens and you can swipe through them after activating the screen by double tapping. I'm very happy with mine.

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