PocketBook 360° - new 5" ebook reader

[msundman]

I hate the current craze of accelerometers. I certainly want to be able to flip the page (at least 180 degrees in this case since the controls seem to be only on one side on this device), but I even more certainly don't want it to automatically do anything no matter which way I hold it. I want to be able to lay in bed on my side and read it without it flipping wrong way up, and while I do that I want to be able to switch hands and manually rotate the orientation so that it's the correct way.

I don't mind the actual accelerometer, I just don't want it doing anything unless I tell it to do something. I wouldn't mind having an "orientation" button that, when pressed, orients the display so that "up" is the direction of the acceleration. However, since there are only 4 directions the button might as well make it rotate 90 degrees at each button press and thus getting rid of the accelerometer completely (not that such sensors are big, resource hungry or expensive, but still).

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have to agree that 5" is too small and 6" should be the minimum size.

Who are you agreeing with? No one said that 5" is too small.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

...I would like it more with 8" screen though, the same design but with bigger screen. I don't have much use for these teensy-weensy displays.

Yep. I agree.

Once you get to 5", you are starting to compete with smart phones, which are pushing 4" nowadays (the iPhone is 3.5"). Both are too small for extended pleasant reading, IMO, so the back-lit phone screens are less of an issue.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

You can tell the price from just looking at it?

I can!
$180

(yes, I have cheated a little bit, I have also read a discussion in Russian in the linked article )

By the way,
I want this very much, and if the price is really $180 I am going to get one. Especially if it is true that it runs the same software as its big brother, the legendary PocketBook 301 http://www.pocketbook.com.ua/
See video at the bottom of the page tor demonstration of software.
Copying, moving and deleting files,
collecting snippets of text from books and saving them into separate file,
fine tuning text size,
searching for text strings (with working on-screen keyboard in Russian, Ukrainian and English (see user manual at http://pocketbook.com.ua/index.php?id=200)),
themeable user interface,

See Video:
at 2:36 he demonstrates opening book by pressing OK button
at 3:05 he demonstrates that by holding OK button you get the context menu for copying, moving and otherwise manipulating files (3:13)
at 3:30 the most frequently used files under one menu item
at 3:45 putting file under "most frequently used" using context menu
at 4:15 removing the book from the "most frequently used" books
at 4:25 photos
at 5:58 Settings
at 7:07 turning pages, and turning pages by steps of 10 by holding Right or Left
at 7:35 changing font size by pressing Up, there are 5 sizes, you can fine-tune zoom factor in "Quick menu"
at 7:50 Quick menu. Just hold OK in book
at 8:09 Quick menu - going to the direct page number. Also first and last page
at 8:35 Quick menu - displaying book in Portrait or Landscape mode
at 9:00 Quick menu - Zoom in pdf and similar formats, 4 or 9 pages on one screen, scale entering or reading columns of text
at 9:35 Quick menu - Clippings Collecting fragments of text into separate file, with possible user comment via on-screen keyboard
at 10:30 Looking at clippings
at 11:00 Quick menu - Find text in book via on-screen keyboard
at 11:30 Press the Off button briefly and the list of five most recently visited books appears
at 11:53 go to the http://bookland.net.ua and legally shop for books (**)
HAPPY READING

(**) Go ahead and visit http://bookland.net.ua and see prices. If you want to convert prices type into google search box:
12 ukrainian grivna in USD
or
12 ukrainian money in USD
You won't believe those prices.
A typical book is in epub, fb2, isilo, lit, pdf, prc, rb, rtf, txt format

[Abelturd]

@ Kacir
Stop tempting me!!
Like my craving isn't big enough as is.

You seem to know your stuff, please, can you tell me if it supports Czech, Slovak an Polish?

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by nelsonescorcio

I think he meant (I know I did) dedicated devices (which is the case).

Off course you can read in a 5" device. Even in a 4" or 3" one! And off course you can enjoy it (millions do everyday)! But that does not change the fact that for a dedicated reading device 6" is, as far as I am concerned, the minimum for reading with real confort. Why do you think paper books have the size thay have? How many paper books smaller than 6" are out there?

Well, as I pointed out earlier, I have a 5" dedicated device, and would not want a device that was physically larger. I personally would hate not being able to easily bring my reader with me. I very much doubt that the 6" devices would be able to fit in the front pocket of my jeans.. and certainly don't want to put any of my reading devices in the back pocket of my jeans.

My question was and remains for those who denigrate the 5" screens.. how many of you have actually spent serious time reading with them. A 5" screen has twice the screen real estate as a similarly proportioned 3.5" screen and 56% more than a 4" screen. Having migrated from an iPod Touch, I can tell you that the reading experience is night and day.

As for paper back books, you have to remember that the paperback book size is a compromise on a lot of factors.. and I expect that storage versus visibility played a bigger role in the size of mass market paperbacks than how easy they were to read.

Mind you, I am not saying that anyone is wrong to desire a larger reader. What I am saying is that there is clearly a subset of the e-book reading community that really likes and appreciates the smaller form factor that a 5" screen allows and are glad that some manufacturers are producing dedicated e-book readers in that size range.

--
Bill

[Pulp]

Some of the menues showed english text - does this mean the language can be changed to english?

[tompe]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

As for paper back books, you have to remember that the paperback book size is a compromise on a lot of factors.. and I expect that storage versus visibility played a bigger role in the size of mass market paperbacks than how easy they were to read.

Well, an old rule of thumb for optimal readability is that a line should be around 60 characters (8-10 words). And that is what the random mass market paperback I just checked had.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Yep. I agree.

Once you get to 5", you are starting to compete with smart phones, which are pushing 4" nowadays (the iPhone is 3.5"). Both are too small for extended pleasant reading, IMO, so the back-lit phone screens are less of an issue.

Again, I ask, how much time have you spent with a 5" dedicated reader? I will tell you right now, that the difference between reading on the Jetbook and the iPod Touch is dramatic. I can easily spend 2-3 hours at a stretch reading on the Jetbook and most of the time I barely notice the device. That was never the case with the iPod... though it was ok for reading stints of 30 minutes or so.

--
Bill

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

@ Kacir
Stop tempting me!!
Like my craving isn't big enough as is.

You seem to know your stuff, please, can you tell me if it supports Czech, Slovak an Polish?

I do not know.
I have got all my info from those few pages.

Perhaps Igorsk might be able to get more information from Russian and Ukrainian forums.

I have downloaded user manual and the on-screen keyboard can be switched to Ukrainian, Russian and English.
I think Ukrainians are much more likely to include support for fonts featuring other languages than ... let's say ... Sony.

So I *think* that it might support of texts in 1252 code page or perhaps ISO 8859-2
I also think that the "ustrojstvo" - device - is very unlikely to have Czech, Slovak or Polish menu. If we are lucky there might be English menu.
On the other hand there is a Theme file available for PocketBook 301 where you can change quite a lot of things.

There is no trace about PocketBook in Czech republic or in Slovakia. I have no idea about Poland.
My Russian is quite rusty and I never learned Ukrainian or Belorussian. Those languages have, however, so much in common with a few other Slavic languages I speak / understand ... ;-)

If you want some temptation
http://www.jinke.cz/index.aspx
http://www.bookeen.cz/index.aspx

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Again, I ask, how much time have you spent with a 5" dedicated reader? I will tell you right now, that the difference between reading on the Jetbook and the iPod Touch is dramatic. I can easily spend 2-3 hours at a stretch reading on the Jetbook and most of the time I barely notice the device. That was never the case with the iPod... though it was ok for reading stints of 30 minutes or so.

I get your point, but...
I would love to have a sturdy, impact resistant pocket size reader which I could carry with me at all times.
Then I would like to have another reader, light enough to hold conveniently in one hand with big enough screen that could provide for a pleasant reading experience similar to reading a pbook.
Thirdly, I would like an A4 size device for reading textbooks, pdfs, static web content.
With my budget I can't have them all. So this is where compromise comes in.
When I sum up the amount of time I spend reading on the move, the small device seems to be sheer luxury for me.

[Ice]

Abelturd, Pulp
It supposed to have the same software as PB 301 has. That means everyone can easily translate the whole interface into their preferable language - there is just some set of special files to translate...

Regarding to the text in different languages - it all depends on the fonts you are using.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

I get your point, but...
I would love to have a sturdy, impact resistant pocket size reader which I could carry with me at all times.
Then I would like to have another reader, light enough to hold conveniently in one hand with big enough screen that could provide for a pleasant reading experience similar to reading a pbook.
Thirdly, I would like an A4 size device for reading textbooks, pdfs, static web content.
With my budget I can't have them all. So this is where compromise comes in.
When I sum up the amount of time I spend reading on the move, the small device seems to be sheer luxury for me.

I understand budget issues.. and I understand choosing according to what is most important to you. Certainly if you are reading A4 sized PDFs and other documents where a large format is desirable, then 5" and even 6" ebook readers would be just too small. But, if like me, you are interested in reading mostly novels and other almost wholely text based books, I think there are enough advantages of a 5" inch reader to outweigh the disadvantage of the smaller screen. That being said, if you prefer the 6" screen, more power to you. All I am arguing against is the proposition that some are advancing which is that 6" is the smallest reasonable size for a dedicated ebook device. I honestly feel that a 5" screen is a wonderful size for an ebook reader.

--
Bill

[wallcraft]

I always used my Nokia 770 (4.1" screen) in landscape mode, but have never needed to do this with 6" EInk screens. With a 5" screen I might want to switch to landscape, but to me the major issue would be control over line spacing and margins. The smaller the screen the more important this is. If you are willing to live with (or, better yet, prefer) small line spacing and margins a 5" screen will display more text per page than a Kindle 1.

[snipenekkid]

I am still thinking that Mentor is going to have the most innovative, diverse and actually available family of ereading devices out there. I really like this look of this none. I like it not just because it has that campy look from the old Woody Allen movie Sleeper combined with 70s, ahem, style, but if the buttons function as I am hoping this would be a great recreational reading device. And a sub $200 price is imperative in that type of reader. Ideally sub-$150 would be the sort of device that people, even today, would impulse buy or buy as a gift for people who they know who are readers.

Like all current reading devices, a breakable glass layer over the display is the primary reason I would pass on one. Though my PDAs are all glass but a lot stronger simply because the size of the display allows for less flex in the display.

Nice device for sure.