Tolino Page – First impressions

[rcentros]

I realize that the Tolino Page is not new, but to me it is. I'm too new of a user to really review it, so I'm just going to throw out some first impressions.

First impression, it's not going to win any eReader beauty contests. "Utilitarian" would probably be the best word to describe the Page. Its case is slick plastic, the on/off button seems like it's fighting you and the the flap that covers the microUSB port (and LED/Reset switch) seems like the sort of thing that will probably break off in a year or two. In my opinion the light brown (tan) color seemed like an odd choice. But I actually like the feel of it in my hand and the screen is the best I own (Carta instead of Pearl makes a pretty big difference). I like the screen quite a bit (even though it's only 167ppi which, for some, seems to be an issue).

I knew what the Page looked like before I bought it, so I'm not really complaining (I kind of like the "feel" in my hands), though I would like to find a solid case for it (not as easy in the U.S., I'm finding).

Speaking of the U.S. – I realize the Tolino is not fully supported here, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I know, for example, that if you don't register the Kindle, you don't get the use of dictionaries and I was afraid the Tolino Page would have these kinds of limitations.

It doesn't. Even though it prompted me to register in one of three countries (Germany is one, but the I can't remember the others right now) it also allowed me to bypass Setup (which I did, after setting up WiFi).

The next thing that came up was an Update screen. I was so surprised to see that (without registering) that I just went ahead and upgraded (without checking what the old software was). It upgraded to 10.1.0. I can't tell you if this upgrade was a good idea, or a bad one, though I've read that custom fonts worked better with older versions of the firmware.

I then loaded a book on it and started reading. It was an ePub that I had formatted for my Sony PRS-T2 and I was impressed with how it was rendered. No extra space, the Tolino didn't try to think for me, it just displayed the document the way I formatted it. Fantastic!

Should also mention, no issues whatsoever connecting to my Linux Mint computer or using Calibre. I like the fact that it just connects, instead of waiting for you to choose "Connect" or "Keep Reading" that the newer Sonys and Kobos seem to think necessary (after not originally doing it).

When I started reading, I decided to try out the dictionary. None had been loaded but the Page prompted me to download one. I thought, "well, this is where it's going to force me to register." Nope. Just downloaded my dictionary of choice (English) and that was it. I don't know how good the Wicktionary dictionary is, but I would definitely give the Kindle the nod here, with it's Oxford dictionaries.

Reading is nice on the Tolino, the screen is very responsive and the Bitter font is relatively dark – though I would like it to be a bit darker. I'm also not crazy about the blank Bookmark icon appearing at the top, right all the time. At first it was a bit of a distraction, but I got used to it.

Font size selection, margins, line spacing, all work well. One thing that threw (and still catches me) is that you have to "Apply" after making choices in the font menu. I'm used to readers that just automatically save the changes as you make them. I think the margin width settings are more realistic than the settings in the Kindle, the widest margins are not much wider than the narrowest on the Kindle.

After doing some reading I tried the Web Browser. It had the eInk limitations but it was pretty fast. I downloaded a Public Domain book at Feedbooks and tried it out. Worked fine, but the top and lower margins are a bit too big for my taste. I can see that I'll probably reformat books I download for the Page (the way I do for my Sony readers). But this won't be possible for books from the library.

Speaking of which ... the biggest positive surprise with the Page was that, after enabling Adobe DRM, I could download and download and read Overdrive books from my library, directly downloading to the Tolino Page via its Web Browser. And it seems to work flawlessly. I downloaded one book (at random), returned it, put one on hold and downloaded another (which I'm reading now). I never dreamed this was going to be a possibility. This is a rarity in the eBook world. I'm surprised Tolino doesn't advertise this feature more widely.

The biggest negative ... so far ... has been the inability to use my two favorite fonts in the Tolino. Deja Vu Serif didn't work at all. All the fonts were put in "Incompatible" folder. Constantia worked, but only for the Regular font (bold, italic, and bold italic didn't work). I'm going to study the fonts that DO work and see if I can figure this out. I'm wondering if OTF fonts might work better than TTF fonts. At this point I'm going to have to embed my fonts in Calibre (if I want them solid and dark) which won't work with library books.

Sorry to ramble. Overall, my initial impressions of the Tolino Page are positive. Since I can't use front-lit eReaders for some reason, the 167ppi Carta screen seems to be my best option. I was surprised to see that Pocketbook and Inkbook both provide Carta screens on their low-end eReaders as well. It appears Amazon is the only laggard here. I've still got a lot to learn. For example, I would like to know if I can find Latin to English translation dictionary and find out if there is a way to get my favorite fonts to work.

I'll probably have some questions for Tolino users. I appreciate this forum. Thank you.

BTW, Cyfranek, thanks for your link. I read your review and liked it. It answered some of my questions. I'm sure I'll have a few more.

[Cyfranek]

Originally Posted by rcentros

(...) I would like to find a solid case for it (not as easy in the U.S., I'm finding).

You can take a look for Tolino Shine case since both Tolinos have the same size and shape. Anyway it could be quite hard to find it in US. Maybe Aliexpress could be a good place.

[Morioh]

If you use calibre to delete book content the metadata(cached thumbnails) remain which is so annoying.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Morioh

If you use calibre to delete book content the metadata(cached thumbnails) remain which is so annoying.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what thumbnail image belongs to each book. A name is generated for the thumbnails and there is no accessible mapping for them.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Cyfranek

You can take a look for Tolino Shine case since both Tolinos have the same size and shape. Anyway it could be quite hard to find it in US. Maybe Aliexpress could be a good place.

It looks like Forefront has a shell case (like Fintie) for it. And it looks like the seller will ship to the United States (via Amazon U.K.). So that's probably what I'll do. (Searching for Shine cases usually just brings you the new Shine model.) For now I've just got the Page in a Belkin Verve pouch and use it without a case for reading. (Which works okay, except when I want to use my M-Edge reading light – for that I'll need a case.)

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Morioh

If you use calibre to delete book content the metadata(cached thumbnails) remain which is so annoying.

Originally Posted by davidfor

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what thumbnail image belongs to each book. A name is generated for the thumbnails and there is no accessible mapping for them.

Well, that's not good news. Is there any work-around for this? Does deleting the book from the Tolino result in a clean removal?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Well, that's not good news. Is there any work-around for this? Does deleting the book from the Tolino result in a clean removal?

I would assume so, but I've never bothered to look. It would mean working out which is the thumbnail image, deleting the book and then checking if the thumbnail was still there. Though I suppose It might be enough to simply count them before and after the delete.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Well, that's not good news. Is there any work-around for this? Does deleting the book from the Tolino result in a clean removal?

On a Tolino epos, deleting the book from the epos seems to clean up the images. Firmware is 11.2.2 (latest from Tolino's site) for the epos.

[bonnerable]

I'm also not crazy about the blank Bookmark icon appearing at the top, right all the time.

Were you able to find a way to disable it?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by bonnerable

Were you able to find a way to disable it?

No. Sorry. I just don't "see it" any more. It's there on my Shine and Vision 2 as well.

[AnimalOfArt]

I can confirm that it's not possbile to disable the bookmark icon on any Tolino device at this time. I used to be disturbed by this, but now I don't even notice that it is there! However, it would be nice to have a full screen feature!