ICARUS Illumina E653 (Carta) Google Play Firmware

[revoke]

A few (hopefully) quick questions here...

1) Has anyone tried ICARUS's Google Play firmware for the Illumina E653 (for Carta models manufactured after April 2015)?

2) Has anyone tried ICARUS's Google Play firmware on other T61D clones?

3) (If yes to either 1 or 2) How does ICARUS's firmware compare to the Boyue T61D firmware from 20 June 2016? ICARUS's update.zip file is dated 2 March 2016, so it is slightly older, but does have Play Store access built-in and is in English by default, rather than Chinese. ICARUS also sells the reader now with Google built-in by default.

ICARUS Google Play FW Link: http://faq.icarusreader.com/index.ph...198&artlang=en

The new firmware was also mentioned by Carlo from ICARUS Support here as well: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...3&postcount=18

I am asking because I have an inkBOOK Onyx and I'm curious if (1) the ICARUS firmware runs on it, or (2) if I should just leave well enough alone. I currently have the inkBOOK-Ereader_V1.0.1-201510121 (October 2015) firmware/patch loaded and it's OK (pretty stable actually), but the Midiapolis App Store is not great, and side-loading apps is a hit-and-miss or trial-and-error affair. Google Play would give me easy access to my Kindle Books, my Google Play Books (admittedly I have only a few), and OverDrive for Library Books as well as the built-in EPUB reader for sideloads.

inkBOOK Onyx Link V1.0.1 FW & Patch: http://my-midia.com/en/aktualizacja-...-inkbook-onyx/

I've searched around quite a bit here, and have yet to find any reviews of it (at least, none in English).

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[timeslip1974]

Well i can confirm it doesnt work with a pearl screen......

[revoke]

Originally Posted by timeslip1974

Well i can confirm it doesnt work with a pearl screen......

Yes, it's definitely for the later Carta/8GB models. My inkBOOK has the specs to run the Icuras firmware (Carta+8GB), but I'm really only interested in trying (and risking bricking my device) if it is actually a good ROM.

I've seen complaints of battery drain on any firmware with Google Apps loaded, so I am definitely curious about the Icarus ROM, especially since all current shipping units have appear to that firmware loaded as evidenced here:

• https://www.icarusreader.com/Icarus-...ee-cover-promo
• https://www.icarusreader.com/Icarus-...Ereader-E653BK (without the case)

I would hope that a shipping ROM would not have a battery drain issue... but I suppose stranger things have happened in the world of tech.

Also, those older Icarus Pearl units are just 39.95€ right now... presumably with older firmware, but not a bad little deal for a hackable unit.

Right now, I'm just to doing the sideload thing for the Kindle app on my inkBOOK Onyx and using the built-in reader for EPUBs until I build up the courage to try the Icarus ROM.

[FOV]

Originally Posted by revoke

2) Has anyone tried ICARUS's Google Play firmware on other T61D clones?

Yes. Full firmware for ICARUS Illumina E653 can now be found here

[IcarusAorus]

Originally Posted by FOV

Yes. Full firmware for ICARUS Illumina E653 can now be found here

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[mising]

The Icarus firmware works pretty good on my Inkbook(T61D). The Play Store still doesn't work, but the Google Services do so sideloaded apps like Play Books and Google Drive actually sync properly which is all I really needed.

The following also works on the stock Inkbook firmware the same way:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=289229

[shak3800]

Regarding the update.

My Icarus works great with the Google Play Store. I have the Carta model and used the official firmware from the Icarus site. The update went ok.

Haven't noticed any serious battery drain.