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Joined: 07/03/2010 18:44:13
Messages: 196
Location: The Heart of Texas
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I think a lot of us watching for ebook developments would like to see a general purpose color ereader
with notetaking. In other words a civilian non-academic Color jetBook.
The features that might replace some of the academic functions could be worth exploring here, IMHO.
To get started:
For a eCookbook device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A portions adjustment app.
3. An indexed recipe database.
4. A "Shopping List" app. that takes several recipes into account.
5. A "Checklist" app.
For a DIY/Hobby/Construction/workplace device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A simple diagraming app. like DeltaCAD
3. A parts/components listing and manipulation app.
4. A scheduling app. A "Checklist" app.
For a Gardening device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A record keeping app.
3. A plant disease recognition database.
4. A "Checklist" app.
There are plenty of outdoor activities that a color eInk device with a little extra CPU power
but not a full fledged laptop/netbook/slate, could be just the thing. There is a good deal of
information needed by technicians, installers, repairmen, utility workers, ect... A dedicated
device that can be read outdoors could meet a need. Not to mention the recreational sports
and hobby markets.
Luck;
Ken
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 01/03/2012 11:10:14
Ken Maltby wrote:
I think a lot of us watching for ebook developments would like to see a general purpose color ereader
with notetaking. In other words a civilian non-academic Color jetBook.
The features that might replace some of the academic functions could be worth exploring here, IMHO.
To get started:
For a eCookbook device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A portions adjustment app.
3. An indexed recipe database.
4. A "Shopping List" app. that takes several recipes into account.
For a DIY/Hobby/Construction/workplace device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A simple diagraming app. like DeltaCAD
3. A parts/components listing and manipulation app.
4. A scheduling app.
For a Gardening device;
1. A units conversion app.
2. A record keeping app.
3. A plant disease recognition database.
There are plenty of outdoor activities that a color eInk device with a little extra CPU power
but not a full fledged laptop/netbook/slate, could be just the thing. There is a good deal of
information needed by technicians, installers, repairmen, utility workers, ect... A dedicated
device that can be read outdoors could meet a need. Not to mention the recreational sports
and hobby markets.
Luck;
Ken
Hey Ken,
Thanks for the feedback! I will send a message to the product manager with some of the suggestions. Hopefully they will be able to implement some of the features. I personally like the 'eCookbook' idea, i have seen it thrown around a few times in the past and definitely think their is a market for it.
If you have any other suggestions feel free to post them!
Jerry C,
Ectaco Inc
www.ectaco.com
Please make sure you review each threads unique RULES before posting.
Joined: 07/03/2010 18:44:13
Messages: 196
Location: The Heart of Texas
Offline
I was hoping that over time there would be some more posts with similar/better ideas for
the existing device. Things that your programming teams might be able to implement, if
and when they get some time away from adapting the firmware to meet the needs of the
existing school systems contracts.
The examples I provided were just that, and I really think the device could meet many
existing needs, as a more general purpose device. Perhaps with an SDK, there might
even develop a community of programmers that would be adapting the firmware to all
kinds of dedicated uses/hobbies.
For Ectaco developed customizations, I would think that branded devices for the major
stores supporting an activity/sport/hobby, would offer the best exposure and return.
(For example; a DIY/home maintenance/gardening optimized device for "Home Depot"
and "Lowe's", [for the USA] ; an outdoor sports version for various "Sporting Goods"
chains; ect... Then there various trade organizations and tool manufactures that might
be interested in devices tailored to the activities of their members/customers.)
Academia is not the only, or even, the most potentially profitable home for the device.
I placed the original post into the jetBook forum at "MobileRead Forums", and maybe
there will be some replies there as well.
I only wish an Open/Freeley distributed SDK available to everyone, if the device supports any kind of interpreted language (Javascript, Perl, Python, ...) and the ability to start programs from the SD card, it should be fine for any small program like the above mentioned.
With such an openess in mind, Ectacto can drive a site for the device and small programs written from third party programmers.
As programmer I wish to have a programmers learning toy, the ability to use an external keyboard plus a LOGO interpreter for my kids.
Regards. I wish you a happy new year!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 12/27/2011 03:44:32
nerve_net wrote:I only wish an Open/Freely distributed SDK available to everyone, . . .
Ditto on the SDK.
Entourage had a nice dual-screen eReader that was supposed to be based on Android and open -source, but in spite of developer interest they waffled on releasing an SDK, so no third party apps ever appeared. Now the company is bankrupt.
By the way: do we track bugs also in this forum (other thread perhaps, or shell we mail them directly to the support).
Reflow is a nice function but mashes up some pages in at least one PDF I read. I can provide details including the reference to the file.
It would be very interesting to be able of making notes in different colours and to erase drawings more easily than as it is done at the moment. But it would be necessary to be able of open our notes or drawings in other platforms such as Windows or Unix by importing the files modified. For my specific usage of the device, it should be mandatory.
On the other hand, the file system suffers when in the SD card or in the in-built memory there are a lot of files. For instance, I have a tree of folders named from A, to Z. Inside each folder there are several directories, one for each author. For instance C:/My eBooks/S/S. King/Misery.epub.
When the number of files grows, the device shows a warning dialog three times when you are trying to acced to the library or the recent readings. This warnings says that the device can spend too much time indexing the library data base. Maybe, this limitation should be supressed, since I consider that in 32 GB is quite probable to have a tree of directories quite large.