What would you like to see in a firmware update?

[pdurrant]

What enhancements would you like to see in a future firmware update for the Gen3? I'm thinking of specific features rather than vague wishes like "longer battery life".

[EDIT]
Please add suggestions to the end of this thread, and every so often I'll copy them into this message for easy reference.

I've split the suggestions into two categories.
1. Those that should be easy to the existing firmware/interface
2. Those that would require large changes to the code and/or interface.

In the first category we have:
* Battery life on reading pages
* Easily read while charging
* Delete Book function
* Re-open last book on startup
* Current page number in Goto Page dialog
* Margin size preference
* Goto Page... for library view
* Library pages should wrap from last page to first page
* Sort by Author option
* Dictionary lookup to be first option in menu

In the second we have:
* Folder display in library
* Support for adding/sorting/searching tags and other meta data
* Caching of library contents for constant boot time
* Text library view - just the titles/authors, no cover images
* Global bookmarks - not just per-book
* Button configuration preferences
* Landscape mode for Mobipocket, etc.
* Upside down mode
* Notes with virtual keyboard
* Standalone dictionary lookup (using virtual keyboard)
* After a dictionary lookup, remember the word looked up, and return to that word if visible at next look up request,
* Zip archive support (treat as a folder)
* Time Display
* PDF reflow
* ePub support (full support - embeded fonts, etc)
* html/mobipocket links to other books
* Option to replace library view by index.html file
* .lit support.

[Jellby]

The possibility of turning the Cybook off, but leaving an image on the screen (maybe with some "mark" indicating that the unit is off.

[Krystian Galaj]

1. Folders

2. Constant boot time - currently it depends on how many books you have on the device. If you have thousands of ebooks, you might wait a long time (like, over an hour) until it opens them all and finally shows you the library view.

3. Ability to read when its charging.

4. Functional Delete button - some people don't need it, I like to be able to delete a book I finished reading, even if I have to connect to computer to put something in its place.

Jelby: to have what you want, just press reset button on the back of the Cybook.

[bbusybookworm]

Hmm.. Lets See...

* Resume from last position - Being able to resume from where you were when you shutoff the Gen 3 as opposed to landing back in the library.

* Folder support - So I can actually organise my books and documents properly

* List View - The ability to just see a plain list of books as opposed to covers and icons, so you can quickly see what you have.

* Name based navigation - The ability to just to a name or atleast the first letter. I'm sick of having to click through page after page to get to S or X from A or B, especially when I have a couple of hundred books in it.

* Dictionary search - Be able to look up a word directly in the dictionary as opposed to just selecting one in a book.

* Better support for HTML - The current support is basic, and doesn't treat complex pages well. And ass the ability to link to files outside the document itself.

* Battery status inside books

* When in the go to page option, show the current page number so you have an idea as to where you are.

* Unified Bookmarks menue like the sony, so you can jump directly to any of you current ongoing books without having to navigate directly to the book.

* allow the side buttons to be user configurable. I dont use the Music option and want to be able to map another function like say, dictionary lookup to it.

* Make lookup the first option in the menue FOR GOODNESS SAKE.

* Allow landscape mode outside PDF's like the sony

* The ability to add notes and export them back to the computer. They could easily use a virtual keyboard lik the one the numberpad they already use. (not that important but would be nice)

* support for zip archives, so I can keep files and images zipped to save space and organised.


A Few others, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately.

[Ortep]

Folder support isn't important if you use the mobi format and there is decent meta data support. Then you can sort/search on Author, Genre, Date, Title and even the abstract. It is all available in the file. Use it in the same way any decent MP3 player does.

1) So: Give me meta data support
2) I'd like to have the option to have the current time visible
3) Give me programmable buttons so I can choose were Lookup is and if the MP3 volume buttons are used for volume or for changeing the font size.
4) Let me select how big the white space surrounding the text is. I want more text and less white space.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Ortep

Folder support isn't important if you use the mobi format and there is decent meta data support. Then you can sort/search on Author, Genre, Date, Title and even the abstract. It is all available in the file. Use it in the same way any decent MP3 player does.

I disagree. It is much faster navigating a well structured tree then searching. And I really do not see how you fast will find the next book in a series using meta tags.

I also always use directory mode on my MP3 players...

[DDHarriman]

Said it several times before:

1 – reflow Pdf text files – but maintaining as an option the actual zoom way of visualizing these files, just with smaller increments for navigating in the page;
2 – ePub - having it’s reader the same level of quality as Mobipocket has today.

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by tompe

I disagree. It is much faster navigating a well structured tree then searching. And I really do not see how you fast will find the next book in a series using meta tags.

I also always use directory mode on my MP3 players...

Which one you use? My Creative Zen isn't even capable of that

Tag searching is extremely flexible

Depending on what I want I can choose the genre: Rock or Audio Book and then the Author/Artist and Book/song. But I also can choose to start with the Autor, or with the name of a song

With directory trees that is completely impossible. If you store something under Romance, then Author and then Book Title, you will have a problem if the same writer also wrote Horror and Non Fiction. Try finding all the books of a specific writer. Or even worse: If you have books from the same author in different translations. They'll end up all over the place.

You can try to correct that with symbolic links and virtual directories (IF they are supported). But then I'm the one doing the organizing. When I add a book (or song) I have to take care of all that info. And all that information is already availabe in the meta data. Lots of (modern) programs use it.

When you look for example to MobiReader for Windows you will see it doesn't even use a directory structure. All books are in the same one. All sorting and searching is done on the meta data. It uses the meta data to 'build' the tree you want, at a certain point in time, on the fly for you

Simply stated: I don't care were the books are stored as long as I can find them with ease. I'm as much interrested in the name of the directory as I'm interested in the exact sectors of my disk they are on. The software has to take care of that

[HarryT]

The difference is that you can rapidly screen through a long list of items on an LCD screen; you can't do that on an eInk screen with its slow refresh. On my iPod, selecting "Albums" and then scrolling through a list of 1000 albums isn't a problem. On an eInk screen it just wouldn't work.

[elena]

above all a directory view, so that I can store a decent library in my CyBook, then user configurable buttons.
I don't use ePub yet, but I'll be glad di Bookeen would add support to this open format too.

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The difference is that you can rapidly screen through a long list of items on an LCD screen; you can't do that on an eInk screen with its slow refresh. On my iPod, selecting "Albums" and then scrolling through a list of 1000 albums isn't a problem. On an eInk screen it just wouldn't work.

Is this een reaction on me?

I have about 300 books on my Cybook aprox 40 Authors, 5 Genres and 2 languages. Scrolling through all of them is bad, even now they are organised in directories by Author. I cant 'skip' anything. If I want something from Zindell it will take some time when I start with Adams. Worst case I'll have to pus 60 times on a button (5 books on a screen, 10 won't help because then I'll have to push twice to go to the next screen)

With decent tag handeling you can home in very fast on the correct item.

You only 'see' a few of them at any time.

First level: Genre,Author,Language,Title (You won't select the last one, that is the complete list)
Lets say I want to read something 'light' while traveling by train.
I select Genre. I only see the 5 (or perhaps 10) Genres I have.
I select Humor and I see only the 3 Authors left, perhaps even one I hadn't thought about
Pick an author and perhaps there are 2-5 titles of him, but thats all

Of course you can choose any other path like: I want to read a Dutch book this time, select Dutch and look what is available. Pick any of the 3 Authors and select a book.

Or you can say I know the Author. Make the selection, and you see: Genre, Language, Title and you can make your pick here.

On the average you have to go through 3 levels and choose from 10 items.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tompe

I disagree. It is much faster navigating a well structured tree then searching. And I really do not see how you fast will find the next book in a series using meta tags.

I also always use directory mode on my MP3 players...

Actually, if I was going to choose navigation for my reader I would choose tags over folders. Tags are much more flexible since you can have an ebook with more than one tag, but with folders the file is only in one place... unless you want to copy it into several folders.

BOb

[jljones]

To be able to go back from page 1 of the library to the last page. It could reduce the time needed to get to the book you want considerably.

[pdurrant]

It would be good to see this better supported, but there is a work-around.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Cybo...while_Charging

Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj

3. Ability to read when its charging.

[HarryT]

I'd like to see "author" added as a sort option on the library screen.