iRex Forum

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

Hello I am a very happy DR user. I hope it is oK to start a new threat for my experiences and wishes to the device, but it is not so easy to go through all of what is written down here.

I really like the device and the possibilities for developments in open source and so on. I never wrote programs different from C for microcontrollers and C++ or VBN asf., but maybe one day I will start to develop my own device.

For that I will now start with my Wish list:

1) Picture for the off-state: If the device is shut off, it would be very interesting to use the device as some kind of picture-frame. This is a big advantage of the e-ink paper, so why don't use it?

2) More Softkeys: The device should have at least the functionality for the given status icons on the right bottom. There are different functions, where it shouldn't be necessary to go though all the menu, like:
-Rotate the screen
-Zooming
-Eraser !!!
-Pencil !!!
-goto (I never find the function)
-keylock

3) Stylus on/off: There should be a possibility to switch the stylus on and off without going though the long setup-menu. Its worse for switching it on again, you have to use the buttons to go through all this steps. I like to use the function because the battery holds much longer, but sometimes (very few times) I need the stylus to make notes in my lecture script or sth. like that. Whats the point of don't having it inside the normal menu? Or one can programm a special combination with the many buttons, like maybe pressing both side-middle buttons.

4) Reader Mode: I would be more than happy, if the DR can go in a stage, where it don't consumes so much energy, while doing nothing. I think of a special Start-Modus, where almost nothing is loaded, than a book, that I am reading at the moment. No more functionallity and in that the device shall be able to go kind of off-stage, after a page has changed. I wonder, why the OS has to run in the background, while I don't need most of the functions. Perhaps it is also possible to do it, in the normal on-mode, but I'm not sure then, why it isn't done. There is no complicated way in reading the book out of the SD-Card and showing it. The only thing are the capacitive Buttons, but if they are checked in long periode, or working with the long-pressing possibility for the on-button, one should be able to switch the device off while reading. At least there should be an automatic stand-by mode, if the device doesn't change for a certain time.

5) Keyboard: For the Notes-Function a Keyboard like it is already programmed for the Search-Function should be used to put in nice text. Sometimes I'm not able to express enough words on one sheet of e-paper, while my script is to large. And if this would be fast enough...I can easily do my whole homework with that device-function. Drawings I can do in scetches and the description in good text format. I would be very positively supprised, if a formular-function also would be available.

Problems where I'm not able to have a good idea:
1) While writing the buttons will be pressed unmeant.
2) Menu-button changes while rotation. I find it at the beginning very confusing that the main-button for the menu also rotates. I'm more focused in the device-shape, as long as this are no softkeys. In case of hardkeys a switch is not so logical. I personnally have no problem in using the down (after rotation) button again for the enter-function and the right-hand button for the menu. Maybe one should ask it in a survey of the costomers.
3) If I have written down sth. and change back, there is a problem in changing the zoomed pages by pressing the right/down button...!? In this case I am only able to go to the next page via stylus!
4) I tried it once and was very supprised, to deaktivate the middle buttons (key lock) and the stylus. I was not able to go in a menu and to left and right to switch it on again. This shouldn't be possible in a professional device.

Thats it for the moment, but I think it is even a lot of work to be done. It all sounds very unhappy, but the opposite is the case. I love my device very much and show it to everybody how is interested, because I think it introduces the future. But I'm not sure if here people read the text, that want to program something for the device, but you can always contact me for asking or giving hints how to achive something like that. Thanks a lot for your interest.
Robert

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

Ok, now that I checked some other things, I found that at least the softkeys are added in the new Update. Thats great. I will check it. The problem is, why wasn't my device able to find the update, with the update-SW? I have started it more than once and no update was installed...!? Now I did it manually. It was not so easy, because it also started (connected to the PC) without installing it... i'm a bit confused now?...

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

Ok, after the first test.
to 2) There are very nice improvements with the softkeys. Its almost, what I want, but whats about rotating and zooming and the Goto function...?

to 4) GREAT work with the energy modes and so on. I will check what this mean to the device consumption, but it will be much better. But one can also think about having less functionallity for even more power saving, in a certain READER stage??

to Problem 1) maybe solved, while the keylock is now much easier!

to Problem 3) I think it was the "hand" mode, what is different now and oK as well.

Don't forget all the other points I mentioned and there are few things more that I forgot:

6) I like to have some kind of pedestrian guide. Where I can choose a city route and it has a nice map to show and I maybe can open my City guide in parallel. That was what I did once in Paris and found it very useful, only I need a PC to make the route!

7) What about more Grey-Scales for the writing. I think it is nice to make sketches with different colours and its already prepared. And what about more fonts. Or should I add them somewhere to have them in the menu?

8 ) Setting Notes: At the moment I try to write my music sheets with the pan on a jpg-Template, what work pretty fine although I don't understand, why it produces a pdf with 2 pages!?? What I find totaly nice is an editor for Notes. I think this is also a new spectrum, where to use such a device. Its very complicated, but I would also buy this software, for such a use it makes me.

And one more problem, I'm not sure if you solved it or not:

Problem 5) If I make sketches and need more than a certain time, the display becomes kind of dark (grey) in some areas. And if I'm writing there the stylus gets more and more out of its calibration. That is confusing, because at the beginning all is oK, but after writing a lot, it is different, seems to be a rounding problem?

Shaggy · Joined: 20 Apr 2007 Posts: 1101 Location: Maryland, USA

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

I will summarize the topic again after having installed the latest version:
My wishlist - see green font!
My Problems in red font!

to 1) I think a product don't has to be like the others, to be sold. It has to have its own character. I think it is the most frame-like device, I have seen on market. The Iliad is not so beautiful like this in case of a picture-frame. And the additional functionallity makes it much more useful, in comparison. I think the OPTION to have a page, that is shown after shutdown would be an advantage. The pic you will know and that is clear down then.

to 2) All right, thats ecactly what I wanted. Maybe a file should be also able to get into the shortcut buttons.

to 3) OK, I will try it out. I just wondered if the consumptions depends on the drawing or the on-State of the stylus. But after installing V1.5 there is a problem for having the device woken up and the stylus lost its connection and doesn't work anymore, until I restart the device. Whats this now?

to 4) Yes, this is a nice step into the right direction. The thing is, that it could be even more effective, if only page forwarding is active somehow. Let me discribe the idea once again:
4a) You start the device and choose a special book you want to read for the next days (because this is the case I'm thinking of). Maybe the SW writes the book into a bias-area of the internal storage, or prepare it to be able to read it directly onto the screen by bits and bytes. Then you choose "Go into ReadOnlyStatus" and the device will show the first page and by pressing mybe the middlebutton as usual now the page just went on forward. During all the time between the changes the device is off and consumes nothing. That means you can lay down the book as you want or take and read on, without any waiting time. For ending this reading session, you have to press something else additionally or so... That is to be honest the way a real book is used. And that should after all be comparable, isn't it?
4b) Alternatively, because 4a is much too complicated, it is necessary to have that books open after a start that were opend before shutting down. Otherwise I allways have to search them again and open it, what takes a lot of unused time.
4c) And if this too complicated it should be very good, to have at least a possibility to open very fast "RecentlyOpenedFiles" in good old windows style.

5) Keyboard: For the Notes-Function a Keyboard like it is already programmed for the Search-Function should be used to put in nice text. Sometimes I'm not able to express enough words on one sheet of e-paper, while my script is to large. And if this would be fast enough...I can easily do my whole homework with that device-function. Drawings I can do in scetches and the description in good text format. I would be very positively supprised, if a formular-function also would be available.

6) I like to have some kind of pedestrian guide (Route planer). Where I can choose a city route and it has a nice map to show and I maybe can open my City guide in parallel. That was what I did once in Paris and found it very useful, only I need a PC to make the route!

7) What about Grey-Scales for writing not only black font? I think it is nice to make sketches with different colours and its already prepared. And what about more fonts. Or should I add them somewhere to have them in the menu?

8) Creating Note sheets: At the moment I try to write my music sheets with the pan on a jpg-Template, what work pretty fine although I don't understand, why it produces a pdf with 2 pages!?? What I find totaly nice is an editor for Notes. I think this is also a new spectrum, where to use such a device. Its very complicated, but I would also buy this software, for such a use it makes me.

9) (former problem 2) Menu-button changes while rotation. I find it at the beginning very confusing that the main-button for the menu also rotates. I'm more focused in the device-shape, as long as this are no softkeys. In case of hardkeys a switch is not so logical. I personnally have no problem in using the down (after rotation) button again for the enter-function and the right-hand button for the menu. Maybe one should ask it in a survey of the costomers.

10) (former problem 4) I tried it once and was very supprised, to deaktivate the middle buttons (key lock) and the stylus. I was not able to go in a menu and to left and right to switch it on again. This shouldn't be possible in a professional device.

11) (former problem 5) If I make sketches and need more than a certain time, the display becomes kind of dark (grey) in some areas even in V1.5. Because in former versions the Stylus went out of calibration, I think now they programmed a fresh up after certain strips?? The problem ist sometimes I'm drawing something an it's freshing up und lost, what I've done. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the Sleepmode or so, but now it not better, while it needs so much time before writing again.

I hope now it's really what I have for problems with the DR1000S. Maybe ideas for the next version.

Apoorv012 · Joined: 20 Mar 2009 Posts: 2

Hi All,
I read a Latest news about software version 1.01 with some improvements, no mention of battery life, but it shows they are working on things to improve their DR. Mine arrives tomorrow but the download may be useful to members who already have the device. Best wishes.
_________________
70-270

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

12) A big error is not solved until now. If I want to make notes on a rotated pdf-file. I have tried to fix it on video.

13) There is definitely a problem with awaking the device from the sleeping mode using the stylus. Sometimes it is off, until the device is rebooted, or it at least behaves strange. A few times in this testing scenario the device also doesn't answer to the button requests.

14) What about a file search, so I can look for certain books on all the SD-Content.

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

15) The screen rotation should be more flexible that means for instance one choose the rotation in the menu and after this has to press on a corner, how to rotate. There are several positions (Lying in bed or sitting on one side of the table), where I have to adapt the position of the plug for working on powerline. Especially lying in a bed would be much more comfortable, if the device is able even to rotate the view 180° around. The plug is on the top and I can lie in front of it.

PS.: Is this wishlist also read by some stuff of Irex or should I send all the ideas seperately to them?

diegeschichte · Joined: 05 Mar 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Freiburg/Germany

16) A bug shifts the notes to a different position after closing the document and reopen it! I think it has s.th. to do with the "Page Flow" Option. Maybe it stores the position in relation to the page wrongly.