Elonex EB511 - Questions

suecsi · 03-30-2010, 04:35 PM

Succumbed to temptation and bought one of these via EBay - and though I was a little sceptical initially, it's actually not at all bad.

The screen is very clear.

The keyboard is a little redundant other than the number keys and some others but the interface is very intuitive. I do like being able to put things in folders (Calibre kindly creates them for you if you do Save to Disk). Adobe Digital Editions does recognise the device but if you do the drag and drop from there it will put it in an 'author' folder called adobe digital editions. I tend to 'release' books anyway so will make sure to get them into Calibre from now on as it is very easy to manage that way. The folders thing is something I miss from the Sony.

I'm going to use this one when I am out and about and keep my precious 505 in its padded case with the skulls and roses on (via AnnesAddictions at Etsy) for bedside reading.

Does anyone know of a good case for the Elonex? I guess something generic for 5" readers might do?

Does the new firmware update fix pdf reflow - as that is the main negative point - it doesn't. I have some pdf ebooks that come from the library and they don't reflow, it wants you to pan across the page. The Sony reflows.

I did convert the pdf in question to EPUB via Calibre but its a bit messy so I am going to try editing in Sigil.

Thanks for all advice!

Geppetto · 04-01-2010, 04:21 PM

Noreve makes Hanvon N520/526 leather cases (a bit expensive, though). http://www.noreve.com/langue/en.html

Since Elonex EB511 is Hanvon N520 rebranded, it should fit perfectly.

Regarding pdf, I think Sony PRS300 handles them much better than Hanvon N520 (I have both). I think that Sony 300 is the best 5" choice if you want to read a pdf - by landscape mode.

suecsi · 04-12-2010, 09:53 AM

After some more time with the device, thought I'd publish an update.

- the new firmware doesn't really fix the PDF reflow. It appears to try, and it changes the size of the fonts, but you still have to scroll around the page. I've kind of given up on pdfs on it, which is a bit of a pain with some ebook libraries tending to use pdf. I'm trying to stick to libraries that offer epub. Epub renders fine.
- no way to navigate links in a book - i.e. chapter links. So if your contents page is 5 pages long, it is probably 10 pages on a 5" reader, so you either have to page forward one at a time or take a random guess at where the book actually starts
- I definitely like the folders idea! Works really well with Calibre, save to disk
- one odd thing I found - the Elonex does not appear to have any internal memory, OR it is not detectable as a drive. I think it is the former. If you take out the mini SD card, and you have been 'saving to disk' via Calibre, you'll find all your files are on there, not on the device itself. If you leave the card out and attach it to your computer, the screen shows the message 'SD card not detected' and refuses to go any further. I found this a bit strange as I assumed it would be like the Sony, where the choice was between device memory and card.

Geppetto · 04-19-2010, 01:46 PM

Just found it. I-nique is selling a Tuff-Luv leather case cover for Elonex 511EB at £ 24,99 http://www.i-nique.com/model.asp/cn=6/c=523

Graham · 04-19-2010, 02:12 PM

I've been using my Elonex 511EB for over a month now, and I have to add here it gets full marks for battery life. I charged it fully on the day I bought it, 10th March, and it finally ran out of power on 17th April. In that time I'd read four novels and 6 copies of Asimov's SF magazine, including the double issue. That's about 2,500 ePub pages, or 7,500 page refreshes. Given that I was also going back and forth and navigating around the device, I reckon that fully supports the quoted battery life of 8,000 'pages'.

On top of that, I looked at some pdfs, listened to a couple of podcasts, and a few tracks of music, recorded a voice memo and played with the text to speech.

Impressive.

I can live with charging it up once a month!

Graham

Traye · 04-21-2010, 02:32 PM

Graham, how is for reading PDfs? Just novels, no pictures.
I like the look of it and the price is decent.
I want a Sony 505 really but don't want to get it from ebay so looks like that option is out.

Graham · 04-21-2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traye

Graham, how is for reading PDfs? Just novels, no pictures.

I've only really tried it with pdfs formatted for US Letter paper and with two columns. I'm impressed by the way it crops these to the margins, but you'd have to peer really close to actualy read them on a 5" screen. The reflow sort of works and allows for much more readable text, but is easily corrupted by boxed text, etc.

I've not tried pdf novels, and at the moment I've not got any examples to try out for you. I'd expect the reflow function to work much better in this case. I'll try to download some examples and try this out.

For novels in ePub format, I think it's excellent.

Graham

Graham · 04-21-2010, 03:16 PM

OK, I downloaded "A Tale of Two Cities" as both a tagged and an untagged PDF (which should make a difference to how well the document reflows).

Looking at the untagged version on the 511EB first:

With the reader set to display the width of the pdf, the text is small but would be readable in good light.
There are four font sizes, but the three larger ones would require you to scroll right with the arrow key then back to read every line.
The page down button pops up the "Processing" dialog, and the page turn takes noticeably longer than a full refresh using ePub.
If you change the reader to the Reflow setting, the control of the font size is much more useful, as the text now all fits within the screen, but there are odd blank lines inserted, and the text is ragged right margin. You still get the "Processing" dialog on the page turn.
Page numbers (from the pdf footer) are included in line with the text.

I couldn't see anything working better with the tagged pdf version in this instance.

So, my opion is that if you can get the books you want in ePub format you'd have a much better reading experience.

Graham

Traye · 04-21-2010, 03:39 PM

Thanks for taking the time to check pdfs on it Graham, Much appreciated.

suecsi · 04-23-2010, 05:25 AM

Agree with Graham - pdfs are a mixed bag. My Sony PRS505 displays them much better. I download quite a few library books in pdf format so it is important to me (I don't need tech pdfs anymore as I have completed my MA finally). Some libraries are moving towards EPUB, thankfully, but there are still a lot of pdfs out there.

I have picked up a lightly used PRS300 which flows in the same way as the PRS505, and will be selling the EB511 (will upload some photos here at the weekend).

For EPUBs though, it is really good, particularly for the price. They are back at Waterstones again for £129.99.

elcreative · 01-14-2011, 12:21 AM

If you're in the UK, check Waterstones, it was selling factory refurb 505s for about £105 last time I looked (a couple of weeks ago)... standard warranty I think as well...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traye

Graham, how is for reading PDfs? Just novels, no pictures.
I like the look of it and the price is decent.
I want a Sony 505 really but don't want to get it from ebay so looks like that option is out.

03-30-2010, 04:35 PM	#1
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	Elonex EB511 - Questions Succumbed to temptation and bought one of these via EBay - and though I was a little sceptical initially, it's actually not at all bad. The screen is very clear. The keyboard is a little redundant other than the number keys and some others but the interface is very intuitive. I do like being able to put things in folders (Calibre kindly creates them for you if you do Save to Disk). Adobe Digital Editions does recognise the device but if you do the drag and drop from there it will put it in an 'author' folder called adobe digital editions. I tend to 'release' books anyway so will make sure to get them into Calibre from now on as it is very easy to manage that way. The folders thing is something I miss from the Sony. I'm going to use this one when I am out and about and keep my precious 505 in its padded case with the skulls and roses on (via AnnesAddictions at Etsy) for bedside reading. Does anyone know of a good case for the Elonex? I guess something generic for 5" readers might do? Does the new firmware update fix pdf reflow - as that is the main negative point - it doesn't. I have some pdf ebooks that come from the library and they don't reflow, it wants you to pan across the page. The Sony reflows. I did convert the pdf in question to EPUB via Calibre but its a bit messy so I am going to try editing in Sigil. Thanks for all advice!

04-12-2010, 09:53 AM	#3
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	Elonex EB511 - little foibles After some more time with the device, thought I'd publish an update. - the new firmware doesn't really fix the PDF reflow. It appears to try, and it changes the size of the fonts, but you still have to scroll around the page. I've kind of given up on pdfs on it, which is a bit of a pain with some ebook libraries tending to use pdf. I'm trying to stick to libraries that offer epub. Epub renders fine. - no way to navigate links in a book - i.e. chapter links. So if your contents page is 5 pages long, it is probably 10 pages on a 5" reader, so you either have to page forward one at a time or take a random guess at where the book actually starts - I definitely like the folders idea! Works really well with Calibre, save to disk - one odd thing I found - the Elonex does not appear to have any internal memory, OR it is not detectable as a drive. I think it is the former. If you take out the mini SD card, and you have been 'saving to disk' via Calibre, you'll find all your files are on there, not on the device itself. If you leave the card out and attach it to your computer, the screen shows the message 'SD card not detected' and refuses to go any further. I found this a bit strange as I assumed it would be like the Sony, where the choice was between device memory and card.

04-21-2010, 03:16 PM	#8
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,742 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	OK, I downloaded "A Tale of Two Cities" as both a tagged and an untagged PDF (which should make a difference to how well the document reflows). Looking at the untagged version on the 511EB first: With the reader set to display the width of the pdf, the text is small but would be readable in good light. There are four font sizes, but the three larger ones would require you to scroll right with the arrow key then back to read every line. The page down button pops up the "Processing" dialog, and the page turn takes noticeably longer than a full refresh using ePub. If you change the reader to the Reflow setting, the control of the font size is much more useful, as the text now all fits within the screen, but there are odd blank lines inserted, and the text is ragged right margin. You still get the "Processing" dialog on the page turn. Page numbers (from the pdf footer) are included in line with the text. I couldn't see anything working better with the tagged pdf version in this instance. So, my opion is that if you can get the books you want in ePub format you'd have a much better reading experience. Graham

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Elonex EB600	launcap	More E-Book Readers	0	10-07-2010 08:52 AM
Elonex 511EB - Help	Rotha	More E-Book Readers	4	09-23-2010 11:47 AM
Ended Elonex EB511	suecsi	Flea Market	2	08-09-2010 09:45 AM
Sell Elonex EB511	suecsi	Flea Market	3	05-28-2010 09:33 AM
Sell Elonex 511EB	luser	Flea Market	0	05-04-2010 07:43 AM

04-01-2010, 04:21 PM	#2
Geppetto Addict Posts: 232 Karma: 748 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Sony PRS600, Cybook, Hanvon N520, Sony PRS300, Onyx Boox, Kindle 3	Noreve makes Hanvon N520/526 leather cases (a bit expensive, though). http://www.noreve.com/langue/en.html Since Elonex EB511 is Hanvon N520 rebranded, it should fit perfectly. Regarding pdf, I think Sony PRS300 handles them much better than Hanvon N520 (I have both). I think that Sony 300 is the best 5" choice if you want to read a pdf - by landscape mode.

04-19-2010, 01:46 PM	#4
Geppetto Addict Posts: 232 Karma: 748 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Sony PRS600, Cybook, Hanvon N520, Sony PRS300, Onyx Boox, Kindle 3	Just found it. I-nique is selling a Tuff-Luv leather case cover for Elonex 511EB at £ 24,99 http://www.i-nique.com/model.asp/cn=6/c=523

04-19-2010, 02:12 PM	#5
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,742 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	I've been using my Elonex 511EB for over a month now, and I have to add here it gets full marks for battery life. I charged it fully on the day I bought it, 10th March, and it finally ran out of power on 17th April. In that time I'd read four novels and 6 copies of Asimov's SF magazine, including the double issue. That's about 2,500 ePub pages, or 7,500 page refreshes. Given that I was also going back and forth and navigating around the device, I reckon that fully supports the quoted battery life of 8,000 'pages'. On top of that, I looked at some pdfs, listened to a couple of podcasts, and a few tracks of music, recorded a voice memo and played with the text to speech. Impressive. I can live with charging it up once a month! Graham

04-21-2010, 02:32 PM	#6
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Graham, how is for reading PDfs? Just novels, no pictures. I like the look of it and the price is decent. I want a Sony 505 really but don't want to get it from ebay so looks like that option is out.

04-21-2010, 03:39 PM	#9
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Thanks for taking the time to check pdfs on it Graham, Much appreciated.

04-23-2010, 05:25 AM	#10
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	Agree with Graham - pdfs are a mixed bag. My Sony PRS505 displays them much better. I download quite a few library books in pdf format so it is important to me (I don't need tech pdfs anymore as I have completed my MA finally). Some libraries are moving towards EPUB, thankfully, but there are still a lot of pdfs out there. I have picked up a lightly used PRS300 which flows in the same way as the PRS505, and will be selling the EB511 (will upload some photos here at the weekend). For EPUBs though, it is really good, particularly for the price. They are back at Waterstones again for £129.99.

Advert

Advert