New EZ-Reader Firmware Review Sort Of

[derrell]

This isn't intended to be a complete review just my thoughts after trying it out.

I've been testing the new firmware for the Astak 6" EZ-Reader for a couple of weeks now and have to say that it seems jinke did a better job on it than I expected. The constant system crashes that I could only avoid by using Open Inkpot seem to be gone. I've read several books now in mobi, fb2, epub and pdf and it hasn't frozen or rebooted once.

The digial editions software for reading epub has rough edges as mentioned by others here in the forums. The font sizes change in large leaps rather than being incremental, and the page numbers on the right side of screen cover some of the text. Whoever thought that was a good idea was wrong. I don't have any epub books that have drm so I don't know how it handles that but I'm assuming they are the same.

As for the pdf books I don't have any that need to make use of the reflow and I didn't really try zooming. All of the pdf books that I have are ones that I've made myself and are sized to fit on the six inch screen. One thing I did notice though was the closer you get to the end of the book the longer it takes to change pages, but that is a minor consideration it wasn't all that annoying just hit the page turn button while you are still a few lines from the bottom of the screen.

The drm free mobi support seems to be pretty good but the font size choices are limited wouldn't go quite large enough for me, my eyesight is not what it used to be. Don't know what software they are using to render the mobi files but it seems adequate.

FB2 is handled well and would be my preferred format if it was easier to perform conversions.

I'm still looking forward to the ereader support and will try that out as well once they release it. Hopefully the reading software for that new format will be a little better than this first digital editions software. I hope it will get better as time goes by and updates are released.

I'm going back to OI, for now I just prefer that firmware and since it was the only firmware that didn't constanly crash my EZ-Reader when I first bought it I've gotten used to it.

Here is the direct link to firmware page for Astak.

[wallcraft]

Calibre can now output the FB2 format. There are other ways to get FB2's but Calibre will be familiar to many ebook readers already.

My only complaint against ePub that I have not seen mentioned is that images are "zoomed" when the font size is changed. This means that an image that originally filled the screen is now much bigger than the screen. I think this is Hanlin-specific, the PRS-505 (for example) does not do this. Overall, there is nothing really wrong with the ePub support that a firmware upgrade or two can't fix.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Calibre can now output the FB2 format. There are other ways to get FB2's but Calibre will be familiar to many ebook readers already.

My only complaint against ePub that I have not seen mentioned is that images are "zoomed" when the font size is changed. This means that an image that originally filled the screen is now much bigger than the screen. I think this is Hanlin-specific, the PRS-505 (for example) does not do this. Overall, there is nothing really wrong with the ePub support that a firmware upgrade or two can't fix.

JPG files are zoomed each time however other images are only zoomed to the point where they are as large as will fit on the screen and no more.

I have requested a specific zoom ability that mimics what the PRS700 has.

Dale

[Robertb]

Dear All:

Please realize that we just got approved for ADE about three weeks or so ago. The factory worked its fanny off trying to make it a pleasant experience... but the main impetus was to get it up and running. THAT was first and foremost.

I got word from the factory last night that they have been working on the glitches and just plain sweetening ever since and they are bringing out a new firmware upgrade soon for both the 5 and 6 inch! When done, that will be on the www.theEZreader.com website for an easy process.

Dale DePriest of this forum has emailed me all the problems and I have sent them to the factory. They are planning to get it just right!

[derrell]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear All:

Please realize that we just got approved for ADE about three weeks or so ago. The factory worked its fanny off trying to make it a pleasant experience... but the main impetus was to get it up and running. THAT was first and foremost.

Dale DePriest of this forum has emailed me all the problems and I have sent them to the factory. They are planning to get it just right!

I do realize that as jinke tweaks the firmware it will get better. My main point was that whatever it was in the earlier firmware that was causing my EZ-Reader to constantly crash when I used an official firmware seems to have been fixed. Along with the extra fact that it now supports digital editions epub drm.

Robert I'm not knocking the jinke reader. It seems to be a fairly good device, I bought it instead of a sony because of the multitude of formats that it supports. I just had problems with mine which doesn't seem to be the case for the majority of people but it isn't uncommon either.

I also didn't work with your customer support department trying to fix my problem aside from one email exchange where they offered to sell me new battery, which annoyed me greatly. I don't deal well with customer support people from any company and that is totally a personal problem of my own not Astaks. At least whoever it was that replied could write understandable english. In this day and age that is a huge plus.

It's possible that I just had a defective unit but Open Inkpot worked on it fine so I kept it. Now it seems that the firmware from jinke also works fine so it seems my reader wasn't defective there was something in the firmware that was causing the problem. Hopefully if there is anyone else out there that is still fighting a reader that freezes and or reboots spontaneously this new firmware will take care of that.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by derrell

I do realize that as jinke tweaks the firmware it will get better. My main point was that whatever it was in the earlier firmware that was causing my EZ-Reader to constantly crash when I used an official firmware seems to have been fixed. Along with the extra fact that it now supports digital editions epub drm.

Robert I'm not knocking the jinke reader. It seems to be a fairly good device, I bought it instead of a sony because of the multitude of formats that it supports. I just had problems with mine which doesn't seem to be the case for the majority of people but it isn't uncommon either.

I also didn't work with your customer support department trying to fix my problem aside from one email exchange where they offered to sell me new battery, which annoyed me greatly. I don't deal well with customer support people from any company and that is totally a personal problem of my own not Astaks. At least whoever it was that replied could write understandable english. In this day and age that is a huge plus.

It's possible that I just had a defective unit but Open Inkpot worked on it fine so I kept it. Now it seems that the firmware from jinke also works fine so it seems my reader wasn't defective there was something in the firmware that was causing the problem. Hopefully if there is anyone else out there that is still fighting a reader that freezes and or reboots spontaneously this new firmware will take care of that.

Dear Derrell:

I know you were not knocking the Jinke reader. Do not worry! I appreciated your post very much and am VERY glad that the new firmware helped. A newer firmware upgrade is announced and will be coming shortly for both the 5 and 6 inch devices!! Jinke is making a maximum effort to get it all excellent!!

I like you and I love your posts!!

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Derrell:

I know you were not knocking the Jinke reader. Do not worry! I appreciated your post very much and am VERY glad that the new firmware helped. A newer firmware upgrade is announced and will be coming shortly for both the 5 and 6 inch devices!! Jinke is making a maximum effort to get it all excellent!!

I like you and I love your posts!!

Robertb,

Any chance the new firmware might include that other DRM support we are waiting for.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Musicman

Robertb,

Any chance the new firmware might include that other DRM support we are waiting for.

Dear Musicman:

The new SDK is finished and we just one hour ago got the word and the new Software License Agreement. It is in legaleeze which means it takes 82 paragraphs to say what could be said in one sentence.

We are looking it over now. IF the Agreement looks good... the SDK for the new DRM format goes to the factory and they try finishing the porting. Then we have to send two working samples with the porting to the Agreement company and then we will be ready!

It is close but I am not allowed to project when. I THINK pretty soon now!

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Musicman:

The new SDK is finished and we just one hour ago got the word and the new Software License Agreement. It is in legaleeze which means it takes 82 paragraphs to say what could be said in one sentence.

We are looking it over now. IF the Agreement looks good... the SDK for the new DRM format goes to the factory and they try finishing the porting. Then we have to send two working samples with the porting to the Agreement company and then we will be ready!

It is close but I am not allowed to project when. I THINK pretty soon now!

How nice the world would work without lawyers....

I am glad to see it is moving in forward on a positive note.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Musicman

How nice the world would work without lawyers....

I am glad to see it is moving in forward on a positive note.

Dear Musicman:

What do you call 2,000 dead lawyers at the bottom of a lake?

Answer: A Good Start

[Dragon_Well]

Posted this over in the Hanlin forum, but I think since my device is an EZ Reader, it is probably more appropriate here.

Been playing around with the new firmware, and I have to say that in my experience, the reflow works very well - for the RIGHT pdf. I read a lot of two column journal articles, and many of these render extremely well with the new firmware - whatever algorithm is being used is pretty good at breaking the text up and reflowing it in a logical way. The exception to this is if there is any kind of table on the page. And herein lies the rub...

Since the new firmware now only includes reflow, any pdf or text not capable being "reflowed" (ie. text with an embedded table) is only able to be viewed at original resolution. This means that many of the pdfs I used before which could be viewed at least reasonably well using the zoom function have been rendered useless by the new firmware.

So, in spite of my original delight when I reflowed a journal article, I have reverted to the older firmware, which lacks reflow, but at least allows viewing of pdfs containing tables.

To me, on of the great strengths of the EZReader is that it can read many different formats, including pdf. However, given the diversity of pdf formatting out there, firmware should include as many options as possible to make documents usable -ie users should be able to select reflow, zoom, or zoom and pan functions. Just my $.02.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Dragon_Well

To me, on of the great strengths of the EZReader is that it can read many different formats, including pdf. However, given the diversity of pdf formatting out there, firmware should include as many options as possible to make documents usable -ie users should be able to select reflow, zoom, or zoom and pan functions. Just my $.02.

Send robertb and PM with your post and he can see about altering the firmware.

The problem is, when you have Option A and you hear talking of people demanding Option B, you rarely hear of the people who LIKE Option A. In their haste, they may have forgotten to allow Option A to stay.

Allowing a menu option to turn Reflow PDF on and off would seem to be a good thing to have.

[cvkemp]

I have found an issue with the firmware. I may have voiced this before I cannot remember. The issue is if reading a PDF or epub and you lock the keyboard by hitting the power button you can not wake up the EzReader normally you end up powering it off then back on.

Robert can you please ask the developers if they can fix this

Chuck

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Dragon_Well

Posted this over in the Hanlin forum, but I think since my device is an EZ Reader, it is probably more appropriate here.

Been playing around with the new firmware, and I have to say that in my experience, the reflow works very well - for the RIGHT pdf. I read a lot of two column journal articles, and many of these render extremely well with the new firmware - whatever algorithm is being used is pretty good at breaking the text up and reflowing it in a logical way. The exception to this is if there is any kind of table on the page. And herein lies the rub...

Since the new firmware now only includes reflow, any pdf or text not capable being "reflowed" (ie. text with an embedded table) is only able to be viewed at original resolution. This means that many of the pdfs I used before which could be viewed at least reasonably well using the zoom function have been rendered useless by the new firmware.

So, in spite of my original delight when I reflowed a journal article, I have reverted to the older firmware, which lacks reflow, but at least allows viewing of pdfs containing tables.

To me, on of the great strengths of the EZReader is that it can read many different formats, including pdf. However, given the diversity of pdf formatting out there, firmware should include as many options as possible to make documents usable -ie users should be able to select reflow, zoom, or zoom and pan functions. Just my $.02.

Dear Dragon_Well:

Your point is a valid one and that is to build more user-selection into the process. I will pass that on to the factory!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I have found an issue with the firmware. I may have voiced this before I cannot remember. The issue is if reading a PDF or epub and you lock the keyboard by hitting the power button you can not wake up the EzReader normally you end up powering it off then back on.

Robert can you please ask the developers if they can fix this

Chuck

Dear Chuck:

I copied your post and will send it to the right people at the factory. Let them take a look and see if they cannot prevent this!!

Good finding!

Let me tell you one thing I love about the fine folks that make the EZ Reader and Pocket PRO in production and engineering... they are OPEN to hearing problems and then they solve them. Too often, companies wll themselves off from complaints as they do not want to change. I like what I hear from our factory people... they want to constantly improve!