http://www.ectaco.com/posts/list/185.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net 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



]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80042.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80042.page GMT 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



[/quote]

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!]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80234.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80234.page GMT 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.

Luck;
Ken]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80237.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80237.page GMT
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!]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80238.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80238.page GMT A downloadable User's Manual, in English, would be nice.

( My Russian never got much farther than "Sto Eta"? "Eta Carendash" )

I think it might be embarrassing for someone as prominent in the translation business to not
have a manual for the English speaking markets.

Luck;
Ken
]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80835.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80835.page GMT A downloadable User's Manual, in English, would be nice.

( My Russian never got much farther than "Sto Eta"? "Eta Carendash" )

I think it might be embarrassing for someone as prominent in the translation business to not
have a manual for the English speaking markets.

Luck;
Ken
[/quote]

Hey Ken,

I have to ask about the instruction manual, i'm sure we will have one once the item is released this month. ]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80838.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/80838.page GMT
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.]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/81439.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/81439.page GMT http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/83882.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/83882.page GMT
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.]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/83885.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/83885.page GMT
just some Ideas / Dreams how a software for the JBC could look like.

Real Notepad App instead of 1 Page empty PDFs:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1yxYXMPXA0&feature=related[/youtube]

And how it could be in PDF.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8cbTFlKtQ&feature=related[/youtube]

The references should be ezPDF and Quill on the Android platform.

Apps with that look and feel and the display of our reader is the perfect combination.

Daniel

]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85686.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85686.page GMT
I will show this to some people internally.
]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85687.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85687.page GMT
please also have a look at the user interface of ezPDF:
[url]http://www.unidocs.com/download/ezPDF_Reader_%28Android%29_Brief_Guide.pdf[/url]

Especially erasing hand written notes is really good there.

[b]Situation on our JBC:[/b]
[list]Writing (now halfway ok, still a bit slow and only 1 colour)[/list]
[b]Erasing wring text [/b]
[list]Too many clicks to get the eraser.[/list]
[list]Eraser has low diameter making it hard to hit the line to delete.[/list]
[list]Extremely slow.[/list]

[b]In ezPFD:[/b]
[list]Every note gets its own object (removing pen separates).[/list]
[list]Each object can be selected and easily deleted.[/list]

Other nice features: Highlight in different colours, etc.

Daniel
]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85688.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85688.page GMT 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.



Jorge]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85690.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85690.page GMT
just some Ideas / Dreams how a software for the JBC could look like.

Real Notepad App instead of 1 Page empty PDFs:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1yxYXMPXA0&feature=related[/youtube]

And how it could be in PDF.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8cbTFlKtQ&feature=related[/youtube]

The references should be ezPDF and Quill on the Android platform.

Apps with that look and feel and the display of our reader is the perfect combination.

Daniel

[/quote]

No one stops you from creating your own PDF's, like I did:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179130]]> http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85696.page http://www.ectaco.com/posts/preList/76241/85696.page GMT