Review 622 / Touch

[troll05]

Originally Posted by paola

thanks Troll - if it wasn't for the fact that I've got two already, I would have bought already. Perhaps I can convince myself that I really need a 6"

You do, believe me, and if only for the sake of having one

[rkomar]

Thanks @troll05. I was about to ask you for your impressions after using it for a while, but you beat me to it. Too bad it isn't being sold in North America, as it sounds like a device I would be happy to read with and hack on.

[Raindrop]

Hi, troll05! Thanks for the review. I have several questions about the PB 622 (almost embarrassed that there are so many ). As i posted here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=177255, i am very interested in this reader and since i am not able to try any device, i have to ask for the max feedback. Hope my questions may help others when trying to decide which device to buy.

a) can you download books stored in dropbox with the reader?
b) is the internet navigation similar to the one shown in the reviews of the T1? Can you see your email, facebook, etc?
c) assuming you have seen some videos of other readers (the ones i am more interested are the T1 and the Kindle Touch), do you feel the PB 622 is the best?
d) does the reader refresh at every page-turning or does it have the option to do a partial refresh and a full refresh at every 6 (or something) pages?
e) does it have ghosting issues?
f) can we delete books directly on the device? And are we able to sort the list by collections (for example by: authors, genre, series,...)? Is it possible to create collections on the device, add/remove books to/from these collections?
g) you have the reader for some time now. Some features were enhanced since your review; are there still things that should be improved in your opinion? If so, what?
h) everyone says that Amazon is the best in terms of customer service; probably it is, but is Pocketbook far behind? I've seen some users claiming they weren't getting answers from the PB cs, but this complaints were made several months ago. Would you consider that PB's cs is more like Amazon or more like Sony? This in terms of software updates, firmware updates, help with troubleshooting, repair...

Hope i have not bored you to death and that you find me worthy of your help.

[troll05]

Whoaaa, lot of questions, I'll try to answer to my best ability

Originally Posted by Raindrop

Hi, troll05! Thanks for the review. I have several questions about the PB 622 (almost embarrassed that there are so many ). As i posted here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=177255, i am very interested in this reader and since i am not able to try any device, i have to ask for the max feedback. Hope my questions may help others when trying to decide which device to buy.

a) can you download books stored in dropbox with the reader?

I don't use dropbox myself but a test-download from my telecom cloud worked and there is another thread concerned with dropbox for PB, so "maybe", you can ask Paola for this. On the other hand I see no need to outsource data because the device can handle severe amounts of data without freezing.

b) is the internet navigation similar to the one shown in the reviews of the T1? Can you see your email, facebook, etc?

The Sony browser seems to be a bit more sophisticated than mine but function and speed appear similar. You can access every website, so why not Facebook or your mail provider, but there are no "apps" for that. Of course it doesn't play Flash-contents

c) assuming you have seen some videos of other readers (the ones i am more interested are the T1 and the Kindle Touch), do you feel the PB 622 is the best?

In my personal but somewhat biased opinion PB is superior to its competitors because it's highly customizable, it can read nearly every format you have without converting everything, there are a whole bunch of 3rd party apps like CoolReader that I sincerely hope will be adopted for the touch models as well.
Kindle and Sony have a little brighter background but deeper shadows at the edges because of the IR touch, with PB I think contrast is a little better and it doesn't turn pages if a fly sits on your device

d) does the reader refresh at every page-turning or does it have the option to do a partial refresh and a full refresh at every 6 (or something) pages?

Customizable setting, I'd recommend every page because ghosting is not to be neglected

e) does it have ghosting issues?

See above

f) can we delete books directly on the device? And are we able to sort the list by collections (for example by: authors, genre, series,...)? Is it possible to create collections on the device, add/remove books to/from these collections?

Yes, yes, maybe, maybe. The reader is able to handle complex folder structures, so you can move, copy or delete books as you like. As a standalone device you don't have the Kindle-like collections but you can help yourself with folders, if you work with a PC you may use Calibre and create the structures there and shove them all on the reader at once.
Personally I have ~ 2000 files on my reader and find everything within one minute

g) you have the reader for some time now. Some features were enhanced since your review; are there still things that should be improved in your opinion? If so, what?

Of course, there's always room for improvement, the biggest issue I had for myself was WiFi not working with special characters in SSID and this is still so, otherwise there is very little really bothering me.
The audio player is quite primitive but I rarely use it.
They started a shopping system with Obreey some time ago, and if this is finished there might be something comparable to Amazon with purchase and reading-progress synchronization on different devices, but it's far from complete by now and the range of books is presently very limited

h) everyone says that Amazon is the best in terms of customer service; probably it is, but is Pocketbook far behind? I've seen some users claiming they weren't getting answers from the PB cs, but this complaints were made several months ago. Would you consider that PB's cs is more like Amazon or more like Sony? This in terms of software updates, firmware updates, help with troubleshooting, repair...

Well, CS with Amazon is outstanding and with Sony non-existent, so --- surprise PB is somewhere in the middle.
Speaking for Germany support is fantastic although sometimes a little bit chaotic, it can happen that mails get lost or the left hand not knowing what the right hand does, but if you get on their nerves once in a while they do a very customer friendly job.
Software support for the older models 301/302 has been suspended by now, but the pro series and the newline get new FW in irregular intervals

Hope i have not bored you to death

not yet

and that you find me worthy of your help.

You're welcome

My pleasure

[Raindrop]

Originally Posted by troll05

The Sony browser seems to be a bit more sophisticated than mine but function and speed appear similar.

Nice to know. I just wanted to have an idea on what to expect; this is not a major concern, but it's always nice to have that feature at least usable. It may come in hand if i need to buy a book from a seller (not Amazon, i know) and have it instantly in the device. I believe it can be done with the PRS T1, say, from Kobobooks....

In my personal but somewhat biased opinion PB is superior to its competitors because it's highly customizable, it can read nearly every format you have without converting everything, there are a whole bunch of 3rd party apps like CoolReader that I sincerely hope will be adopted for the touch models as well.
Kindle and Sony have a little brighter background but deeper shadows at the edges because of the IR touch, with PB I think contrast is a little better and it doesn't turn pages if a fly sits on your device

The page turns problem that the Sony had earlier was awful. Until today i can't really trust the device. Perhaps i am being unfair... When i first read about the PB Touch i thought it was similar to the T1 (the reader i liked the most). I don't think the background will make me question my decision. I prefer the better contrast.

Yes, yes, maybe, maybe. The reader is able to handle complex folder structures, so you can move, copy or delete books as you like. As a standalone device you don't have the Kindle-like collections but you can help yourself with folders, if you work with a PC you may use Calibre and create the structures there and shove them all on the reader at once.
Personally I have ~ 2000 files on my reader and find everything within one minute

I'll have to explore Calibre a little more in order to deal with collections (this is one thing i like about Kindle).

Of course, there's always room for improvement, the biggest issue I had for myself was WiFi not working with special characters in SSID and this is still so, otherwise there is very little really bothering me.

Well, that's something i'll have to ask my significant half to see. He's the one who deals with the router and those things. I have no idea what's our password for wi-fi.

The audio player is quite primitive but I rarely use it.

I am curious about the TTS. I've seen that there is a download for portuguese support of this feature. For music i have a mp3 player.

They started a shopping system with Obreey some time ago, and if this is finished there might be something comparable to Amazon with purchase and reading-progress synchronization on different devices, but it's far from complete by now and the range of books is presently very limited

Well, that would be really something, but fortunately there is life beyond Amazon's ecosystem and alike.

Well, CS with Amazon is outstanding and with Sony non-existent, so --- surprise PB is somewhere in the middle.
Speaking for Germany support is fantastic although sometimes a little bit chaotic, it can happen that mails get lost or the left hand not knowing what the right hand does, but if you get on their nerves once in a while they do a very customer friendly job.

Well, this is one of my worries. There seems to be no international site; i am in Europe and the only english site that seems to have more information is the US; unfortunately i can't speak german and my french is very rusty. If i need help, i don't know where to address my questions. Do you know if the german support will answer in english?

Currently i am waiting for an answer from Pixmania (you might know the store). There's a showroom near where i live and i need to know if, in case the reader has a problem within the warranty time, i can leave in the showroom and have them send it to the repair center - wherever it is. I'm not confortable with sending it myself and have to pay for it...

Once i have that answer, i'll be waiting for the black version to be available. Hopefully not too long; the white one is supposed to be available on the 11th - but i'm not putting my money on it My mind is almost set up towards the PB.

Thanks very very much for your help, troll05. You have been the most helpfull source i have found about this device. Although the Sony interface is my favourite, this seems to be the best choice (also considering the Kindle).

[troll05]

With nearly every reader that suports Adobe DRM and has a WiFi connection you can download books from any shop of your choice, be it Kobo, Obreey, Thalia...
Only this sync-function will only work with books bought in the Obreey store, I guess.

With Calibre you can attach "tags" to your books which will show up as "genre" on the reader, that is the closest thing to the Kindle collections as far as I know, you can also build a folder structure how books are stored on the reader. Not always self-explaining, but the guys from the Calibre forum are always very helpful.

TTS is a nice to have and doesn't sound too bad, but if I want to have a book read to me I definiterly prefer a proper audiobook (which is seldom enough)

For support you can ask Forkosigan who is very active in the german part of this forum and also responsible for technical support as a PB employee here in Germany. He speaks english and I'm sure he will give you some tips regarding support in Portugal.

There was a big review in a german blog today with many and very good screenshots, maybe you want to have look at it and have it translated with google KLICK

[paola]

Originally Posted by troll05

I don't use dropbox myself but a test-download from my telecom cloud worked and there is another thread concerned with dropbox for PB, so "maybe", you can ask Paola for this. On the other hand I see no need to outsource data because the device can handle severe amounts of data without freezing.

I don't have the 622, but with my PB903 I can login into dropbox using the reader browser and download the files I need (in the browser, I can change the default download directory). I'd suggest using the mobile version (www.dropbox.com/m).

EDIT: in the UK I've been very satisfied with Greenreader - the only service issues I had required replacement, and they were resolved quickly and with no quibbles. They are selling the 622 for £144.

[Raindrop]

@troll05:

Thank's for all the tips.

I have been following your review in the german forum too with the help of google translator. But it get's really confusing Next, off to see the link you mentioned


@paola:

Thank you for sharing your experience, both with dropbox and greenreader. I have seen the store but the prices are too high. With shipment costs it gets to £159,00. Converting to euros it's €197,56. It's too much. I can buy (the white one) in Pixmania for €168,00 (including shipment). But i really would prefer the black version. Well, let's see how it goes within the next weeks.

Edit: the link that troll05 inserted above is very helpful. Thank's once again!

[Raindrop]

A good review on a french website:

http://www.lesnumeriques.com/ebook/p...2949/test.html

And Tuff-Luv already has cases for the PB 622. Check them out here

[BCotton]

Originally Posted by troll05

Note taking and working with PDFs is THE one thing where the 622 is the most advanced reader of all devices I have seen and played with so far (maybe 9XX series is similar, but no chance to try so far).
Delineation is nearly perfect and for the first time I'm quite content with the various possibilities of handling them, although a 6“ screen will always have it's problems with A4 sized documents.
But it's very close

Thank you for the wonderful review. Does the 622 allow you to extract parts of a pdf file, say, to a text file?

[troll05]

Originally Posted by BCotton

Thank you for the wonderful review. Does the 622 allow you to extract parts of a pdf file, say, to a text file?

Do you think of a kind of "copy/paste" function for text elements? In this case no, and also annotations and markings are not completely implemented as a part of the PDF (or a new file) but saved somewhere else. How to make an annotated PDF file on your computer from these different files I don't know

[BCotton]

Originally Posted by troll05

Do you think of a kind of "copy/paste" function for text elements? In this case no, and also annotations and markings are not completely implemented as a part of the PDF (or a new file) but saved somewhere else. How to make an annotated PDF file on your computer from these different files I don't know

Yes, I mean something like copy/paste text so that you do not have to note things down on paper while reading. Atleast Pro 612 and 912 models have this in description: "Mark text of interest to revisit or highlight a passage and copy it to your notes list." I wondered if the 622 has something similar and if the copied text is available as a separate file.

[troll05]

You can take notes either in PDF or EPUB and they are saved linked to the book/document and also show up in the TOC but they are saved as single files on the device (AFAIk scribble notes, but no clue which format and what they look like)

[BCotton]

Originally Posted by troll05

You can take notes either in PDF or EPUB and they are saved linked to the book/document and also show up in the TOC but they are saved as single files on the device (AFAIk scribble notes, but no clue which format and what they look like)

It looks like only Onyx has implemented exporting notes into a usable format. Thank you for clarifying Troll.

[mark00]

Hi,
do you think is a good device to read pdf ? In your opinion is better than the PB 912 to read pdf ?