Love Pocketbook but I am about to give up on it

[doremifaso]

When I first got my PB360 over the weekend, I was pretty excited about it, so I installed and downloaded everything I could find:
- downgraded firmware to 14.2 to make sure it's stable
- installed fbreader180 v0.92 and modified extension.cfg file to use fbreader as the default reader
- installed hack Adobe reader to use custom fonts
- installed asian fonts, new themes, and new apps
- downloaded Weber and Oxford dictionary
- downloaded Wikitravel and Wikipedia epub files
- created logos for the power-on/off screens

There are lots to love about PB360:
- very light and portable
- the snap-on cover is very convenient
- key mapping is great
- fbreader let user to customize book format, which is invaluable
- display is very crisp and clear, even sharper than my PRS-505

BUT!! The main thing that I really need is not working properly. I have a collection of Chinese books, which I want to read on PB360. I heard that PB360 supports a lot of languages including Chinese, that's why I brought it. After testing it for a while, I found there are so many bugs on how the system handle Chinese that makes it unusable for me.

First, I tried to open the Chinese epub in fbreader. I found that the text are running off on the right edge. It seems that fbreader interpret the whole sentence as one word. Even turning on/off hyphenation doesn't work. Then, I tried Adobe Reader. The original version doesn't show Chinese words at all. So, after fiddling with the hacked Adobe Reader, I finally can read Chinese with it. I thought that's the last of my problem, but there are more to come.

I have one directory where I have more than 100 files in it. These files have Chinese title and author names. I was able to browse through the first 100 items in the book list, but when I go to the next page to show the 101th and the rest of the item, the device freezes. I have to do a soft reset. This happens not just once, but every single time. Also, the book list and table of contents doesn't show the Chinese text correctly. Some have extra spaces and some have overlap words.

If those are the only problems, I would have coped with it, but the system is too unstable to cope with. All the Chinese books I have are in epub format. They are all working fine with my PRS-505, so I expect them to work on PB360 as well. However, I got a lot of crashing and rebooting opening/reading those files. Some files won't open at all; when PB360 tries to open it, it freezes. I was able to open some other files, but after reading a few pages, it suddenly jumps back to the book list page.

I love PB360. I really do. I was even thinking of buying the 90x when it comes out. I think PB360 would be my perfect ebook reader if I only use it for English or other European languages. But with so many bugs and instability with Chinese, I am not so sure anymore.

I suspect the system doesn't support Asian language very well. I guess no one has ever tested it with Asian language and just assumes it works. Pocketbook really should hire someone to test out the device with other languages to make sure they work.

Would Pocketbook make any effort in improving the support for other languages? How long do I have to wait? Since most of the PB's customer are in Europe/US, I don't think they would make much effort on this front. Right now, I am leaning toward returning the device, because I can't justify myself buying a $200+ device that doesn't meet my expectation. Please tell me otherwise.

[Zel]

As you know, doremifaso, I got the same problems like you..
I'd love to use my PB360 for studying (where I need chinese texts..) and to improve my Chinese by reading literature. But it's not possible due to the reasons you've already described.
It got even worse when I tried to open a pdf-file in Korean: The PB freezes and the reset button doesn't work.. I had to eject the micro-sd card (where I saved the book) and then to reset it (which now works)..

I hope that Pocketbook will fix these bugses soon, coz as you said it was an advertisment for the PBs that they can handle a lot of different languages even asian ones...

[speedtouch]

Would you consider sending me a Chinese book of yours so I can test it on a PB 301+? Possibly the PB 360 just can't do it, but maybe a 301+ can.

[doremifaso]

@Zel: Thanks for the comments. It's always good to know that someone else is experience the same thing

@speedtouch: Sure, I will PM you my file. Maybe sometime tomorrow. Thanks!

[Marcy]

I'm pretty sure the PB360 doesn't adequately support Chinese. Another guy was selling his in the flea market a while back for that reason.

They really should make that clear.

-Marcy

[GeoffC]

According to the specs in the Mobileread Wiki, it doesn't support Chinese (though the Wiki could be out of date), although the 301 does ...

[doremifaso]

Well, according to the following links, it does:
http://www.pocketbook-usa.com/support/faq/
http://pocketbook.reader-ebook.org/faq/

I mean if they don't really support it, isn't it false advertisement?

Is there any PB representative here who can answer my questions?

[GeoffC]

"Quote ....
Yes. For books in Chinese or other languages with extended character-set, you will need to install your own font on PocketBook to decode them (doesn’t realate to PDF files). Please check "How to install a new font on PocketBook?".

.....

although it doesn't stipulate which pocketbook ....

A PB rep would be the best point of call on this, seeing we appear to have some conflicting info ....

[GeoffC]

PocketBook 360

Posted on May 7th, 2010 in PocketBook Readers by admin

PocketBook 360° is a new cool E-Book Reader with 5” screen, accelerometer and protective cover capable of understanding virtually all known electronic books formats and languages.
PocketBook 360° is available in Black and Ivory (White) colors.

[tvpupsik]

doremifaso, PocketBook doesn't support 3rd party applications (like fbreader not created by PocketBook and hacked Adobe reader) that you have installed.
PocketBook supports and tests Asian languages as well as European ones.
Please work with PocketBook USA service center and I am sure they will be able to help.

PocketBook USA service center contact information:
email: service@pocketbook-usa.com
phone: 1 877 326 0196, ext 2
hours: 8am-6pm CST, Monday to Friday

Thanks,
Tatiana

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by tvpupsik

doremifaso, PocketBook doesn't support 3rd party applications (like fbreader not created by PocketBook and hacked Adobe reader) that you have installed.
PocketBook supports and tests Asian languages as well as European ones.
Please work with PocketBook USA service center and I am sure they will be able to help.

PocketBook USA service center contact information:
email: service@pocketbook-usa.com
phone: 1 877 326 0196, ext 2
hours: 8am-6pm CST, Monday to Friday

Thanks,
Tatiana

What Tatiana means: We can't guarantee that Chinese will be working on a customized FBReader. So if you read mainly in asian languages, please stay with the original reading software or choose the original software to read in those languages.