An IDEAL POCKETBOOK - what is it? Throwing your ideas in:) - Page 3

brecklundin · 01-13-2010, 03:52 PM

FYI, here are examples of waterproofing in cameras of significantly different price points:

Standard cheap $300 point & shoot (fittingly in Russian):

DSLR which currently retails for ~$1000 (and is dropping)

My slightly "last year" Pentax K20D DSLR has the same sort of sealing as the K7 in the image above and cost me about $600...remember the tech in an ereader is no more complicated that a can-opener meaning you can't point to the price...cameras cost tons more to produce.

poshm · 01-13-2010, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the waterproofing explanation, brecklundin. The myth has now been blown out of the water.

And if waterproofing the device is not going to add substantially more to the cost and wasn't detrimental to the clarity and readability of the screen - then it would be a useful addition indeed.

brecklundin · 01-13-2010, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poshm

Thanks for the waterproofing explanation, brecklundin. The myth has now been blown out of the water.

And if waterproofing the device is not going to add substantially more to the cost and wasn't detrimental to the clarity and readability of the screen - then it would be a useful addition indeed.

You betcha!! Glad it made sense is some fashion!

When that fishing video came along over on the photography board we are STILL laughing at it. At first most of thought "....boy this guy really hates his new Optio..." then he catches that beast and they still had video to boot!

So, yeah, my point about waterproofing is probably better said as weather/water resistant and dust proofing. To me if mfg's want the reading experience of a paperback then these sort of things are a must because who wants to take a $200-$300 reader to the beach, poolside or for reading in the bathtub. I for one use long baths as part of my physical therapy when my RA is acting up...and, well, it gets dull as, oh forgive me here...dull as dishwater just sitting in the tub for an hour with nothing to do but drain out cooler water to add hot water.

For now I use my PDA in a ziplock, never used the Kindle near the tub, beach or otherwise.

Hope someone eventually makes this happen. Heck I rinse my K20D off under the sink every time I go for a hike or beach...but since those are not pressure seals care needs to be given to low water pressure, just a sprinkle not a power wash!!

JSWolf · 01-13-2010, 05:11 PM

Now here are a couple of things that no reader really has that would be most excellent...

Proper kerning
Proper hyphenation support

And have these work across all reading formats the device supports. If you do this, you'll have the best looking full Justification of any reader.

sassanik · 01-13-2010, 11:26 PM

Yeah I have to agree that I would not worry about adding in more features. Wireless access is nice, but I would rather have a lower price than wireless.

Keep it simple and improve the features that it has currently. Overall the device is very well designed IMO and other than alittle tweaking I don't think you need to do that much with it.

Though a bigger 360 type device would be nice :-)

Amy

Alilas · 01-14-2010, 12:36 AM

Count my support on waterproofing and get-away-from Wifi/3G idea!

I also have few things to add...note taking, main menu personalizing, and a bit strong plastic case. The latter one just popped up this morning when I twisted my PB...for no reason...and the screen case is start to open (Oops) It's just a matter of time before I crack it open, again, for no reason...

Alilas · 01-14-2010, 12:37 AM

Count my support on waterproofing and get-away-from Wifi/3G idea!

I also have few things to add...note taking, main menu personalizing, and a bit strong plastic case. The latter one just popped up this morning when I twisted my PB...for no reason...and the screen case is start to open (Oops) It's just a matter of time before I crack it open, again, for no reason...

Yar-PocketBooker · 01-14-2010, 12:38 AM

Hmmm, some of those wishes are already there, functioning fully or partially at PocketBooks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Plastic based instead of glass based.
Larger then 6" screen. maybe 10 inches diagonally with high resolution

Fully open software so it is easy to add more software to the device - this is already realized at PB

A plugin based reading system so users can add in more formats
A larger capacity battery for more time between charges
A user replaceable battery with a battery that's easy to get without being expensive

ePub, Mobipocket, MS Reader, LRF, HTML, CHM, RTF, & text (at the least) with full functioning readers and not FBReader which is not fully functioning enough

All these formats are read by PB, by FBReader which is functioning well enough here
no cell phone compatibility at all
True wifi

Ability to change default fonts - it's already done and working - you can add and use as many fonts as you want

Ability to change some hard coded settings such as margins, line spacing, fonts - the same, as with fonts above - you can change them in PB.

rogue_ronin · 01-14-2010, 06:07 AM

The only eInk reader I would buy right now is a Pocketbook 360.

The thing that keeps me from buying an ebook reader right now is that none of them support CSS. Dependence on FBReader limits the display to a somewhat primitive rendering of text. (If firmware supported CSS, you'd start to see some beautiful books, I think.)

Add some magic code to FBReader to support CSS in ePub and (X)HTML and you'd be doing a great thing. Bookmarks are a must, too, but FBReader doesn't support them either.

Or better yet, write your own ePub/XHTML reader using code from the Dillo project. Dillo is super-fast, standards-compliant and very small. Just avoid their bookmarking system, it's insane.

The water-resistant idea is good. Keep the ergonomics -- the old REB1100 was rockin' and the PB360 is the next best thing. I sorta like the jog wheel idea, but where would it go? Rotating the device and changing hands would put it at the bottom corner, wouldn't it?

You don't need wireless. You don't need 3G. But Bluetooth might make sense for keyboards, etc., and data-exchange. It'd be nice to be able to send someone a book, or receive one. Or receive other data (as suggested below.) If you did do wireless, support for mesh networking would be awesome.

I do think that you need a touchscreen (and hyperlink support if it's not there already.) Touchscreen allows you to add useful PDA apps. And it allows you to remove the d-pad as you replace everything it can do with screen input. (Keep the new, quiet wing-buttons, of course.)

Developing some excellent note-taking and checklist apps is a great idea. Think early Palm, as was implied previously: Memos, Contacts, and Checklists. Maybe you could skip a Calendar -- but not if you add wireless: if you do add wireless, you must add Google calendar support.

I see this form-factor as a reader/writer. You're carrying it; it's bigger and a lot more legible than your cellphone; use it productively. It's a "book" and a "notebook". It should be like carrying an infinite pad of paper and a complete library. Displaying high quality images and diagrams are important too.

But it doesn't need to check my email or help me chat, nor play videos or music. It shouldn't be a video gaming system, a photo-manipulation suite, or a web browser. Just something excellent for reading, writing, sketching and research.

$0.02,

m a r

LDBoblo · 01-14-2010, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

I see this form-factor as a reader/writer. You're carrying it; it's bigger and a lot more legible than your cellphone; use it productively. It's a "book" and a "notebook". It should be like carrying an infinite pad of paper and a complete library. Displaying high quality images and diagrams are important too.

But it doesn't need to check my email or help me chat, nor play videos or music. It shouldn't be a video gaming system, a photo-manipulation suite, or a web browser. Just something excellent for reading, writing, sketching and research.

$0.02,

m a r

I have yet to see any ebook reader device with competent enough touch input to be useful for much of anything except marking typos and errors in ebooks for easier future editing, or word selection for things like search/dictionary use. I guess perhaps that's enough for some people to justify the expense, but writing and sketching functions are pretty useless, and I have a hard time imagining anyone actually using ebook readers for this purpose, unless they truly hate paper and will use even the most pathetic technology available to avoid it.

I'd be all for writing/sketching functions if they weren't so reminiscent of a child trying to draw notes in MS Paint while holding the mouse with their teeth.

fjtorres · 01-14-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

Hmmm, some of those wishes are already there, functioning fully or partially at PocketBooks!

True, on most of the bolded items but on the file formats... not quite.
The list includes a few that are not working on the PB360. (MS Reader and lrf jump out.) Not saying anything now about feasibility or desirability...

... or maybe I *will* point out that the code for decoding LIT is out there and works wonderfully in Calibre for conversions. (Fast clean conversion to epub--no shock given that they're close kin.)

There may be *some* competitive value in supporting the "legacy" ebook formats (lit, docReader, lrf, eReader) since none of the "big names" (Kindle, Sony, and Nook) do, but it should be done well or not at all. Don't want to end up with a Hanlin scenario of half-hearted/flaky/neglected support.

But *if* it can be done at least as well as the MS DOC support, *then* it might sell a few thousand PB360s to those of us who've been doing ebooks since the last century. Not sure if its worth the effort but it sure would be nice...

Just planting the thought.

language gamer · 01-14-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

Wow...!!! I love this forum))))

What do you folks think about adding a wi-fi and/or 3G to small device like PB360?

Personally, I don't find wireless all that interesting. It's really very easy to use the USB cable to get books, and if I want to browse the internet, I'll just use a laptop.

If an e-book reader can do everything I want with books, I don't care about the bells and whistles.

mtravellerh · 01-14-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by language gamer

Personally, I don't find wireless all that interesting. It's really very easy to use the USB cable to get books, and if I want to browse the internet, I'll just use a laptop.

If an e-book reader can do everything I want with books, I don't care about the bells and whistles.

Absolutely positively right! And better buttons

!

language gamer · 01-14-2010, 04:36 PM

I absolutely agree with those who want better note-taking. This thread has good timing for me, as I just finished writing up a review of these features, which I posted to another thread here

The short version is that I think the notebooks should include text (not just images) of the notes and should include a static numbering system that would enable academics to cite the sources. Also, I mention improvements in backing up notes, highlighting, annotation, and PDF support.

Other Wishes:
Durability I'd be willing to put up with a few extra ounces for a device that seemed a little stronger. I also agree with whoever suggested a plastic based screen instead of glass.

Better design on larger screen sizes: Although I love the size and design of the 360, it seems like users who want larger screens have to put up with clunkier designs and worse ergonomics. That should be fixed.

Improve Button presses: As many have mentioned, easier and quieter buttons would be nice. I also think the wing design that requires the plastic to bend on each press is a bit suspect.

Additional buttons: I love the simple interface of the 360, but a few discreet mappable buttons would be nice. Right now, mapping new features to keys requires eliminating old ones, so an extra button or two would be handy.

More applications: Although reading is always the most important thing, a few more apps wouldn't hurt. A simple notepad and a more interactive calender (with some personal planning options) might be nice.

More navigation options: The navigation is pretty nice so far, but being able to toggle between the two most recent books while reading would be nice. Also, a longer list of the most recently opened books would be nice, even if it had to be accessed through the books menu.

Customizable main menu: Customization is a very nice feature of the Pocketbook, but could be improved by allowing customization of the main menu. As for myself, I have never once used the news or photo options, so I'd be happy to have other options. I would also be happy to reduce the menu size to six boxes and extend the last open books menu down further.

To all the designers out there: Great work making this one of the most user-friendly devices around. Thanks for listening!

Ulli · 01-14-2010, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by language gamer

More applications: Although reading is always the most important thing, a few more apps wouldn't hurt. A simple notepad and a more interactive calender (with some personal planning options) might be nice.

More apps can be found @ http://pocketbook-free.sourceforge.net/

Quote:

Originally Posted by language gamer

Customizable main menu: Customization is a very nice feature of the Pocketbook, but could be improved by allowing customization of the main menu. As for myself, I have never once used the news or photo options, so I'd be happy to have other options. I would also be happy to reduce the menu size to six boxes and extend the last open books menu down further.

Try the themes, which extend the Booklist exactly as you like (e.g. minifred)

01-13-2010, 11:26 PM	#35
sassanik Guru Posts: 774 Karma: 1211741 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oregon Device: EB1150, iPhone, Cool-er Purple, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Fire	more features Yeah I have to agree that I would not worry about adding in more features. Wireless access is nice, but I would rather have a lower price than wireless. Keep it simple and improve the features that it has currently. Overall the device is very well designed IMO and other than alittle tweaking I don't think you need to do that much with it. Though a bigger 360 type device would be nice :-) Amy

01-14-2010, 06:07 AM	#39
rogue_ronin Banned Posts: 475 Karma: 796 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Honolulu Device: Nokia 770 (fbreader)	PB360+ The only eInk reader I would buy right now is a Pocketbook 360. The thing that keeps me from buying an ebook reader right now is that none of them support CSS. Dependence on FBReader limits the display to a somewhat primitive rendering of text. (If firmware supported CSS, you'd start to see some beautiful books, I think.) Add some magic code to FBReader to support CSS in ePub and (X)HTML and you'd be doing a great thing. Bookmarks are a must, too, but FBReader doesn't support them either. Or better yet, write your own ePub/XHTML reader using code from the Dillo project. Dillo is super-fast, standards-compliant and very small. Just avoid their bookmarking system, it's insane. The water-resistant idea is good. Keep the ergonomics -- the old REB1100 was rockin' and the PB360 is the next best thing. I sorta like the jog wheel idea, but where would it go? Rotating the device and changing hands would put it at the bottom corner, wouldn't it? You don't need wireless. You don't need 3G. But Bluetooth might make sense for keyboards, etc., and data-exchange. It'd be nice to be able to send someone a book, or receive one. Or receive other data (as suggested below.) If you did do wireless, support for mesh networking would be awesome. I do think that you need a touchscreen (and hyperlink support if it's not there already.) Touchscreen allows you to add useful PDA apps. And it allows you to remove the d-pad as you replace everything it can do with screen input. (Keep the new, quiet wing-buttons, of course.) Developing some excellent note-taking and checklist apps is a great idea. Think early Palm, as was implied previously: Memos, Contacts, and Checklists. Maybe you could skip a Calendar -- but not if you add wireless: if you do add wireless, you must add Google calendar support. I see this form-factor as a reader/writer. You're carrying it; it's bigger and a lot more legible than your cellphone; use it productively. It's a "book" and a "notebook". It should be like carrying an infinite pad of paper and a complete library. Displaying high quality images and diagrams are important too. But it doesn't need to check my email or help me chat, nor play videos or music. It shouldn't be a video gaming system, a photo-manipulation suite, or a web browser. Just something excellent for reading, writing, sketching and research. $0.02, m a r

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01-13-2010, 03:52 PM	#31
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	FYI, here are examples of waterproofing in cameras of significantly different price points: Standard cheap $300 point & shoot (fittingly in Russian): DSLR which currently retails for ~$1000 (and is dropping) My slightly "last year" Pentax K20D DSLR has the same sort of sealing as the K7 in the image above and cost me about $600...remember the tech in an ereader is no more complicated that a can-opener meaning you can't point to the price...cameras cost tons more to produce.

01-13-2010, 04:19 PM	#32
poshm Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1003580 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cambs, UK Device: PocketBook 360, Sony Reader Touch, Ipod touch & Kindle 2	Thanks for the waterproofing explanation, brecklundin. The myth has now been blown out of the water. And if waterproofing the device is not going to add substantially more to the cost and wasn't detrimental to the clarity and readability of the screen - then it would be a useful addition indeed.

01-13-2010, 05:11 PM	#34
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,983 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Now here are a couple of things that no reader really has that would be most excellent... Proper kerning Proper hyphenation support And have these work across all reading formats the device supports. If you do this, you'll have the best looking full Justification of any reader.

01-14-2010, 12:36 AM	#36
Alilas Text Transformer Posts: 30 Karma: 16 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Device: ivory PB360 and Nook Wifi	Count my support on waterproofing and get-away-from Wifi/3G idea! I also have few things to add...note taking, main menu personalizing, and a bit strong plastic case. The latter one just popped up this morning when I twisted my PB...for no reason...and the screen case is start to open (Oops) It's just a matter of time before I crack it open, again, for no reason...

01-14-2010, 12:37 AM	#37
Alilas Text Transformer Posts: 30 Karma: 16 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Device: ivory PB360 and Nook Wifi	Count my support on waterproofing and get-away-from Wifi/3G idea! I also have few things to add...note taking, main menu personalizing, and a bit strong plastic case. The latter one just popped up this morning when I twisted my PB...for no reason...and the screen case is start to open (Oops) It's just a matter of time before I crack it open, again, for no reason...

01-14-2010, 04:36 PM	#44
language gamer Member Posts: 22 Karma: 245 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: California Device: Nook Touch, Pocketbook 360, ebookwise 1150 (retired)	I absolutely agree with those who want better note-taking. This thread has good timing for me, as I just finished writing up a review of these features, which I posted to another thread here The short version is that I think the notebooks should include text (not just images) of the notes and should include a static numbering system that would enable academics to cite the sources. Also, I mention improvements in backing up notes, highlighting, annotation, and PDF support. Other Wishes: Durability I'd be willing to put up with a few extra ounces for a device that seemed a little stronger. I also agree with whoever suggested a plastic based screen instead of glass. Better design on larger screen sizes: Although I love the size and design of the 360, it seems like users who want larger screens have to put up with clunkier designs and worse ergonomics. That should be fixed. Improve Button presses: As many have mentioned, easier and quieter buttons would be nice. I also think the wing design that requires the plastic to bend on each press is a bit suspect. Additional buttons: I love the simple interface of the 360, but a few discreet mappable buttons would be nice. Right now, mapping new features to keys requires eliminating old ones, so an extra button or two would be handy. More applications: Although reading is always the most important thing, a few more apps wouldn't hurt. A simple notepad and a more interactive calender (with some personal planning options) might be nice. More navigation options: The navigation is pretty nice so far, but being able to toggle between the two most recent books while reading would be nice. Also, a longer list of the most recently opened books would be nice, even if it had to be accessed through the books menu. Customizable main menu: Customization is a very nice feature of the Pocketbook, but could be improved by allowing customization of the main menu. As for myself, I have never once used the news or photo options, so I'd be happy to have other options. I would also be happy to reduce the menu size to six boxes and extend the last open books menu down further. To all the designers out there: Great work making this one of the most user-friendly devices around. Thanks for listening!

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