Issues with Inkpad 840

[Cereal]

Hello,

I have encountered a couple of issues with my Inkpad 840 and wanted to find out whether they're software issues or known quirks or whether i received defective hardware (and, in the former case, if anyone knows of a workaround).

1. There seems to be a screen refresh of sorts around 4-5 minutes after whatever my last action was, then another about 5-6 minutes later (i don't think it keeps going though, not sure). This also seems to cause koreader to turn the screen white. All power saving features are turned off, the "Complete Page Refresh" setting has no effect one way or the other.

I was wondering if this is intentional (and koreader just messes up when the refresh happens) or if there's something going wrong.

2. There's a fair amount of ghosting on pages with images (with the normal reader app as well as koreader), despite having set "Complete Page Refresh" to "always".

Another thing i noticed which is entirely subjective at this juncture, as i have done a lot of rebooting and the like: The battery appears to drain rather quickly (nothing completely unreasonable but at the rate it's going i'd definitely have to recharge after 3-4 days rather than weeks).

I have tried both of the available firmware versions (5.4.98 and 4.4), which made no difference regarding the first issue (i'll have another look at 4.4 to see if the ghosting is any better).

I hope somebody can offer some insight.

[Nate the great]

I've seen the battery issue (mine wasn't that severe), but I have not seen the other issues. They're new to me.

I usually got a week or more and that was with a lot of reading.

[rkomar]

I used to see a lot of ghosting when I first got my Inkpad, but I haven't noticed the problem after upgrading to the 4.4.1277 version from the website. I'm referring to ghosting in the built-in readers and pbimageviewer. I haven't used koreader in a while since I'm happy with AdobeViewer.

I think the problem with the page flashing after 5 minutes and becoming unresponsive is common to many PocketBook models. I've noticed it on the 902 and 623 as well as on the Inkpad. I think something is being put to sleep. It usually takes a touch to wake up the device before you can use the UI after that flash.

[p38lightning]

When viewing "Library" with the 840, is there any way to default to the folders using the book title rather than the author's name?

Making prodigious use of my 840 after having reverted it to the original 4.4 software. My only real annoyance is the smallness and fragility of the power button in regards to my large fingers!

There was supposed to be a new software version in May but their website is still showing 5.4 as the most recent.

[rkomar]

I'm not sure what you're asking for. By "folders", do you mean the directories (with the folder icons)? If so, then those always just show whatever name they've been given. If you mean the ebooks, then you can group and sort those in different ways using the Menu dialog in the upper right.

P.S. I agree about the power button. I have to use my fingernail to push it in, and it's hard to tell when it's lit up (to show activity).

[p38lightning]

Are you still staying with 4.4? That is what I switched mine to shortly after receiving it but just watched a demo video (not in English, of course!) of the 5.4 software and was reasonably impressed. My main concern is that I like the built in reader in 4.4 and am curious about the one in 5.4.

Was in contact with Pocketbook a few weeks ago and they are now saying September for the release of the next software update.

Also looked at a video review of the Onyx Boox i86 due out later this month in England and was very impressed with it using Android 4.0.4 with an update to 4.4 due soon after its release. It appears to be 15 mm longer, 2 mm wider, and 3 mm deeper than the 840. There is a silent video that demos both units side by side.

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...parison-video/

[rkomar]

I jump back and forth between firmware versions. I install 5.4 when I need to do some testing in firmware version 5, and then go back to 4.4 when I want to do some reading. I prefer the old UI, and I really don't like not being able to choose from various reading applications in the new firmware. Also, some older third-party applications (like mupdfview) are broken in the new firmware.

[p38lightning]

Thanks...will stay put with 4.4 until we see what (hopefully) September brings!

Any comments of the i86?

[rkomar]

Nothing new from me. As I said before, I'm slightly jealous of the better sharpness and contrast of the i86 screen, but since I don't have any trouble reading on the Inkpad, it doesn't bother me that much. The Inkpad does what I need it to do, so I'm not tempted to buy an i86. NateTheGreat has both, so he would probably be the best source of comments on the two devices.

[p38lightning]

After re-reading what I could find about the i86, I feel quite pleased with my 840. Now if I could figure out how to enlarge the power button!

Wonder if a double tap system could be added in a software update to start and stop it once you finally pushed the button?

[redchili]

hi there,

any success on hacking the power button?
i've noted right from the start that with my pb-840 (inkpad) which i love for all the other features it offers that part was somewhat cumbersome to deal with.
not only is it tiny and the shape is less than ideal for tactile feedback and easy use but the pressure-point is mediocre at best leaving me mostly without a clue if an action was triggered or not.
over the time things have gotten worse for me as turning the pb-840 on or off now takes at least 3-4 attempts no matter how hard i press rendering a simple task to an effort of minutes.

i am thinking of contacting pocketbook for a warranty-claim as this is really annoying and reduces the functionality quite a lot.
has anybody already tried something like that? how was your experience on that?

cheers,
red

[pocketbook-user]

Does anybody know how I can disable the touchscreen temporarily? I often touch the screen accidentally during reading. So this is a very annoying problem for me and the firmware 5.11 has no options for me.

[LucyOne]

You could install Coolreader as reading software and customize the touch zones to your liking.