ProDigit wrote:Hi all,
I've spent quite some time chatting with customer service (Greg, and others) concerning the Jetbook color.
The second FW upgrade (April) was not really what most would have expected.

Here's my resume of the device so far:

What the device is VERY good at:
- Reading Epub Files

What the device is good at:
- Reading PDF files
- Reading LIT/mobi files
- TXT, RTF,
- Listening to music or audio books

What the device is ok/less good at:
- displaying pictures
- HTML (reads HTML, but no internal hyperlinks supported, nor external pictures.


Fileformat needs improvements:
- PDF could support margin removal and better internal hyperlinking.
- LIT/MOBI/RTF also suffer from non working hyperlinks, and the progress bar on the bottom is too small to read.


(software) Improvements I requested on the device:
- CBR/CBZ support
- PDF margin removal
- TTS improvement on reading full pages or books (remove long pauses between sentences; TTS works ok on selected text, even multiple sentences).
- Graphical calculator with at least 2 variables (Graph for one variable already implemented
- Games like Sudoku (already implemented), minesweeper, cardgames (like patience and poker), Mahjong, and other non-time based, non 3D or vector graphics based games, chess, dams, monopoly, a simple pawn game based on dies doing random numbers, Yahtzee, Starquest-like game, text based games, etc...
- Basic paint program, basic notepad, Table of Mendeleev (implemented), currency convertor, weight/size/surface/acceleration/temperature convertor
- Support for .HLP/CHM files, DOC, ODT, docx, DJVU
- OGG/WMV/aac audio support
- PDF landscape reading for 2 pages
- Image browser (there's just a file browser, but if images are unpacked in a directory, the slideshow function does not really work).
- Basic web browser (We are waiting for Oh-Per-A)!
- An internal dictionary (words + meaning); already implemented
- Calendar / Agenda
- A Basic File browser with commands to 'open'/'copy'/'move' and 'delete' a file (implemented in the menu)
- Long press buttons: 'back' going to main menu or 'home' screen, 'Menu' going to options instead of recording audio, 'ok' record audio, Left/right: 10 pages back/ahead; Up/Dn: 5 pages back/ahead.
- Within image viewer: by default center zoom,and stretch/shrink image to fit screen. Give option to stretch/shrink without keeping aspect ratio (good for scanned documents with text).
- Improve the GUI (menu structure) in books (use icons instead of large text menu's).
- Improve menu structure to get faster where the user wants to be.
- Loading the library takes too long when there are files on the SD card.
- When using the scribble pen, to scribble on the page, a full page refresh is necessary when skipping to a new page. As the pen uses a brownish red, not black, as a base color, so it has ghosting.
- Use black as base color for the scribble.
- Increase memory for scribble, device ceases to operate after writing 2 sentences on the screen.
- Change tapping behavior with the stylus: Center tap the screen=refresh page, tap on top= menu bar(displays TTS, pen style (drawing/selecting/erasing), dictionary..), tap bottom = in book menu(chapter, bookmarks, history), tap left and right= previous and next page.
- Graphical driver update to display colors more vibrantly
- OS sometimes tend to get stuck (and the blue led remains on). This causes battery depletion.
- PDF zoom in on the center, not on the top left. Enable panning with stylus.

Bugs within the device:
- TTS sometimes reads in another language.
- JPegs of exactly 1600x1200 pixels sometimes don't display at all (white screen with ghosting)

Hardware changes requested:
- Lower price to $300, $250 preferably.
- Using flexible e-ink screen could lower price significantly,as it also allows for a lighter, more flexible body/frame.
- Placing the speakers on the left and right side of the device, somewhere on the top, instead of on the bottom of the device.
- Placing the buttons somewhere 1/4 away from the top on the left and right, instead of on the bottom.
- Improving the design of the sleeve, so the JBC can stand straight instead of hang in an angle in the sleeve when using it as a stand.
- Improve the sleeve so nothing will pushes the buttons or the glass substrate screen (the stand is pressing on the screen)
- Improving device ergonomics (place batteries under hand, so the device can balance out like the Jetbook Light.
- Shiny white frame replacing with matte black (already implemented).
- Sell stickers to color the Jetbook Color (to make the white border less bright)
- Improve the pixels on the screen. Colors Red and Blue need to be lighter. Green needs to be more visible (as it looks like grey) See, the RGBW filters can be optimized for less color absorption (making the reds and blue's less deep, and more bright, and gives an overall whiter background).
- Keyboard support from external HUB connected to the USB port
I personally would recommend this device only as a PDF reader, or comic book reader.
It's price is too high to buy it for schools or kids, even at $300.
Unfortunately the device does not support the comic book formats CBR and CBZ, that's why it's missing out on perhaps it's greatest potential!

Therefor it's only good for reading PDF files and epub files.
With no margin removal, pdf documents are displayed at 50% of their original size.
For the Jetbook Color to have the right size, it will have to increase it's screen to 14", 1600x1200 pixels.
At it's current size, 1023x768 is good enough of a resolution to read PDF files.
PDF text is quite small, but readable. But not too far from the eyes.

Epub displays very well, and fast! It's probably the best epub reader I've ever had!

ProDigit wrote:Thanks for replying Jerry,
Selecting book language seems to have fixed the problem.

In case you haven't noticed, I've done some minor upates,and put extra marks on CBR/CBZ file support, and PDF border removal, as I think these are the 2 things that will make this device even more popular amongst third party users; even more than a web browser (as the device mainly shines as an offline device, and wifi takes too much battery)!
Nevertheless having a browser to browse forums, wiki pages, and perhaps basic mobile websites also is awesome!

I would also like like to expand the thread with following suggestions:

Optimizing code:
- Try to organize menu's to display as few popups, and as few sub-menu's as possible.
when entering into 'stylus mode' one needs to see somewhere that one is within stylus mode.
Now I click on stylus mode,and I get another menu saying the stylus types available, but it is not clear enough that I am in the stylus menu.
Even though it's only natural to be in the stylus sub-menu when you see the sub-menu choices (drawing, text selection mode,...); for improved user friendliness, it's always important to still visibly see the previous menus (like a directory tree, still see the parent folders in the tree, suggestions below could fix this menu issue).

Get rid with as many words in the menu within a book, by placing them as icons in the menu bar (on top), just like you did with the battery information, clock, or stylus; for PDF's that would mean:
- Have TTS language in an icon in the menu bar (able to read by clicking icon, change language by double clicking it or something)
- Have stylus mode in an icon in the menu bar (able to directly change the stylus mode by clicking on icon in the menu bar)
- Have the option to let the menu bar float on top of the document (in PDF), so that the whole pdf does not get rescaled when fullscreen view is off.
- Have fullscreen view icon in the menu bar

For images:
- Have stretch to fit screen, and zoom to fit screen icons in the menu bar (zoom to fit screen zooms page to fit screen. Stretch to fit zooms image to fit screen without maintaining the picture's aspect ratio).
- have drawing/panning mode icon in the menu bar (allow switching between reading and writing on scribble files)

General:
- Use the 'ok' as general 'enter', confirm, or left mouse click; the back button as general backspace, cancel, or refute,or right mouse button. (in most cases it works like this, but not in all).

Bug april Updates:
- I've already reported this, but in the april update a lot of things got messed up, perhaps because I did not have enough time to test the march update, that I have not seen certain errors in the march update that just migrated. Either that, or the April update came with a whole set of new bugs:
The TTS reads every other sentence in SOME pdf documents ,meaning it reads the 1st, 3rd, 5th,... and skips the 2nd, 4th, 6th...
It does also freeze after the first sentence in an epub. I've noted it's connected to the same issue as below:
- I've noticed that for some awkward reason the Jetbook sometimes gets into this state where it does not open PDF files which it used to open before, displaying tens if get into a loop of hundreds or indefinite error messages "unable to open the file; ok". Only option is to 'ok' the message, or to cancel it, either way it does not stop giving these popups and the reader needs to be reset. I've also noticed the same on epubs, where it would only open the title screen,or could not open the book at all.
Remarkably most files it did not open, where files I opened in the march update. So I wondered if there are some 'traces' left by the march update that make these books incompatible with the April update**

- When the stylus is in drawing mode within a PDF file, and an epub file is opened, the stylus remains in drawing mode, eventhough drawing is not supported on epub files.
When selecting 'text selection mode' whatever scribble that has been drawn or written disappears.

** I looked on the SD card, and internal memory and removed everything but the scribble files (meaning I removed the thumbnail and .jb files), reloaded the library, and it fixed the issues of a non-working book. It even opened the Epub files like normally.
It however, did not fix the TTS issue reading every other line on some pdf's.
For this reason, not knowing if the error resided within the .JB files, or in the thumbnails, i think it's important to have a feat to clear and rebuild all those thumbnails and jb files!

m0rdant wrote:I'd like to have an option not to display page numbers when reading epub (blurs some of the txt) - and would also like to see the centered page for pdf or comic files (and native support for cbz / cbr files). Also, a non-education focused menu option would be nice.

As far as speed goes the latest update seems to have done a good job. My page turns seem the same speed as on my sony. The device works well.

It is wonderful that the Jetbook comes with a case, but not so wonderful that the case is so heavy, that it can not support the reader without a tilt, and that it causes buttons to be pushed. A sleep mode based off a quick swipe of the power button would be great.

I'd really like to see a replacement for the back of the unit that has a stand built in (like some of the Archos tablets). I've taken the cover off my Jetbook Color and am using a pouch meant for a 10.1" netbook - which fits great and feels more protective than the included case. I miss the stand though and a built in stand would solve this.

ProDigit wrote:Jerry,

I think I may have identified a bug,

When the Jetbook's blue light is off, and I plug in the USB cable, it starts the charging process, but the computer does not read the SD card nor internal memory.

I haven't had too much time identifying this bug, so don't take my word for it if this is the definite reason, but I think when the CPU is dormant, the USB to computer connection does not get activated.

For the mean time, easily avoided by pressing a button before plugging in the USB cable.

I've also come across an issue again where the JBC does not load certain epub files.

As well as the April update brought the annoying message of scanning the library for new files.
Those popups are always there since the April update, every time I access the library.
Pressing 'yes' or 'no' results in the same, about 3 seconds lost due to scanning the library.
I think scanning the library should go automatically, when the reader is passive, and when not much cpu is requested, (eg: not when scribbling, TTS reading, or loading a book).
It should also only request to scan the library when the SD card has been ejected, or the device has been connected to the computer,the 2 most likely scenarios when books would have been added.




On a side note, I just opened a large street map in GIF format, the resolution was 6144x5632, that's a ~35MegaPixel picture (although it's only a 256 color map,not a 16/32bit JPEG).
It loaded the GIF file in 3 seconds, zoom in or out also takes 3 seconds each, works quite ok, but the device battery depletes quite quick that way!
I'll probably cut the map into 9 pieces, having ~4Mpix maps instead

ProDigit wrote:Concerning the page numbers on the right,that has to do with Adobe ADE. I've read in other forums of other devices also using ADE, they explained it's adobe, that doesn't want to fix the issue.

I'm not expecting a fix on that, since there are devices having this issue since 2008.


PC-device connection:
I personally have XP Media Center Edition.
The issue is sporadic. Like said, one time you can plug in the device, another time it doesn't function.
I don't know if it's a windows issue per se,as the JBC has the issue quite often (unlike my other devices).



Concerning the epub, it's one of the files I've opened before I deleted the thumbnails and .jb files.
I tried opening the library, and at that time the epubs where shown as a paper page icon, with a white 'e' in; the icon of an epub file.
I had to reset the device, because it froze.
As soon as I opened the directory again, all the icons where replaced with an icon of the first page of the book (cover picture).
Perhaps the jbc was just re-creating the jb files and thumbnails.
Now, a day or two later, I tried again, and it opens the book immediately.

anyway, some weird activity.



Concerning scanning the library, I get that popup every time I want to open the library.
Sometimes 2 popups when I try opening the recent files (because then it asks to scan recent files as well as library files).
My fw is version 1302 spanish 1257
PLATFORM REVISION 49.37.509




I'm currently trying to determine the best resolution for maps.
It opens large maps, but it's not beneficial to zoom in and wait for 3 seconds before the map becomes visible, only to wait another 3 seconds for another zoom,and another 3 for a pan.

Concerning the resolution,
At 35Mpix, the map just looks like snow on a TV, and too many zoom ins are necessary to know where you are on the map.
at 1600x1200 (native resolution) the maps are too small, and contain too little info, also the street names are displayed too small, and a zoom in is necessary.
At 800x600 there's way too little info on the screen although the street names are perfectly visible.
The higher the resolution, the worse the street names display (due to the scaling effect),and the more zoom in's are necessary to be able to read street names.

At 3200x2400pix, there's too much information on the screen.

I'm still fine tuning, but so far the best maps I have are 1800x2400 pix, or 1,5x zoom from the native resolution.
I'm still looking anywhere between 1,2 and 1,8x should give a good resolution for maps.

I want to balance the amount of information per map, with the readability of street names.

Zoom in and pans require cpu processing power. Best is we can have a GIF loaded, zoom once, and have it display that piece of map for as long as useful, to save battery.

Here's a sample to test on your JBC(see att):
Here's an example from Google maps (though maps are proprietary, there are other mapping programs out there to do a free job, but I prefer google maps).

ProDigit wrote:Hi Jerry,

The message only appears from the main screen when entering the library,
And when inside the library, connected to the computer, and the computer connection disconnects, and the device finds that the lib has to be rescanned.

The second message is only when (either inside the library, or from the main screen), I enter into the recent readings list.


I know it's a fw specific issue, as I did not have this popup in the march update.

ProDigit wrote:I have a few thousand ebooks on my card, divided in multiple directories and sub directories.
I don't have anything stored on the internal memory, as I try to keep that available for OS upgrades and the likes (perhaps I have this habit from the day I ran out of disk space on an android tablet, and was unable to do a firmware upgrade due to space constraints