Accelerometer

[bart34]

Hi,
I have yet to decide on my first ereader and am still gathering info.
Can someone tell me if the accelerometer or plumb bob or whatever it's called can be switched off? I can see the need for landscape and portrait modes for different documents and automatic switching is fine, but what if I want to read in bed, lying on my side? I would want the text to remain in portrait mode with the text now vertical even while the ereader is turned 90 degrees from normal.

[kjk]

The accelerometer-sensitive orientation in the Kindle DX and the iPad can both be locked, if you prefer, for just that situation.

[kacir]

In PocketBook 360 the accelerometer can be switched off if you wish, or used for turning pages instead of rotating screen.
To use accelerometer for turning pages you have to install third-party e-book reading program - just drag & drop one file, no hacking required.

[HarryT]

Same with the CyBook Opus. I don't know of any device with an accelerometer that doesn't allow you to switch it off.

[bart34]

Great news! Thanks guys. When I finally make my choice I'll make sure to test the thing for that function. The lack of it would be a killer for me.

John.

[mapmike]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Same with the CyBook Opus. I don't know of any device with an accelerometer that doesn't allow you to switch it off.

I have a Sony Vaio P second edition computer with an accelerometer and I spent a few hours trying to figure out how to turn it off--websearching and searching the device itself--without any luck, so if there's a way to turn it off it's pretty obscure!

It's kind of relevant to this forum, because when I got the Vaio P I thought it would be a serious general-purpose device, notably including service as an e-reader where I could accept the compromise of the non-e-ink screen given all the other advantage like being able to type real notes and use real apps while reading. (So this little post is turning into a review of the Vaio P as a reader!) Having proper multi-language support and integration with the normal computing environment is a huge advantage, shared by tablets, but the Vaio P has a huge advantage of input efficiency with a real keyboard instead of a virtual touchscreen keyboard.

Overall, it's probably the best thing I've ever bought, mainly as a travel computer that I used exclusively during a three-month trip last year. Its form factor and SSD quickness made it as handy as a smart phone I could whip out in any situation; the keyboard was totally functional for fast typing; and I managed to do all kinds of real tasks with various apps, even audio and photo editing. I put it to use round the clock. It's simply fantastic in every way except as a reader. Anytime I've ever tried to get into a comfortable position and do some real reading, I've had endless frustrations with the accelerometer being accidentally triggered by small body movements. Likewise, the automatic switching between landscape and portrait has been a major disaster because it isn't compatible with very many comfortable bodily positions and it's painfully slow. I did find a way to manually control the landscape vs portrait orientation but it's buried in a very inconvenient OS menu with no ready options for hotkey-style control. The Vaio P is perfectly comfortable to hold for reading and the battery life is excellent, but those issues and the LCD screen really don't make it suited for general reading.

So that's what brings me to your fine community here on mobileread--I've gotten so fed up with the Vaio P as a reader that I'm shopping for a dedicated e-ink reader. (I'm deciding between the Sony PRS-350 and PRS-950 at the moment.)

-Mike