[bookport] Re: Bookport Speaker, Recharging, etc.
- From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 14:36:39 -0500
Bookport Speaker, Recharging, etc.Pete, I like your list. If the BP is
redesigned, these would be good features.
I wonder, with the existing unit, whether we might make fuller use of the beep
which now plays for key presses when the unit is locked. Could it not beep
twice to indicate recording and three short ones for recording stopped? Perhaps
this kind of functionality would be helpful in the notetaker as well - any
place where you might want to use the unit but not be wearing headphones.
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: ptorpey
To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 1:58 PM
Subject: [bookport] Bookport Speaker, Recharging, etc.
Since APH has been soliciting people's thoughts for a possible new version of
the Bookport and there has already been lots of discussion on user desires for
future units, here is my two cents worth:
1. Recent Files List - The Bookport enables users to carry around lots
of books, music, etc. at one time. Various material may reside in different
folders and sub-folders. It would be nice if one had something like a "recent
files" list to quickly navigate to different material which the user might want
to access at different times. An idea for such an interface might be something
like this:
a. Press the "0" key to cycle between "Reading Keypad",
"Settings", and "Recent Files List"
b. When in the Recent Files List, use "2" to move upward in the
list, "8" to move down in the list, and "5" to select the file and
automatically put the user in the Reading Keypad and open the selected file.
2. Selecting Values in the User Settings - Often when the Bookport needs
to be rebooted, settings can be lost and the user must re-set customized
values. I like to have the Sleep Timer set at 5 minutes and the Voice Pitch
set to 80. Currently, one must hit the "4" and "6" keys many times to move to
these values from the default values. It would be nice if there was a "hold
down for one beep" function of the "4" and "6" keys during these selections so
that holding down one of these keys would move the value to the appropriate
end-point or move by larger increments (sort of like the "Volume UP and
"Volume" down keys, "D" and "F", in the Reading Keypad).
3. Speaker - If a new hardware version for the Bookport is made, I think
it would be a very good idea to include a built in speaker. Although its fine
(and probably best for most of the time) to use headphones or one of the mini
external speakers people have discussed on this list, some additional audio
feedback for occasional use (other than the beeps) would be very helpful and
functional. Here are some situations I am thinking of where a small speaker
would afford much improved user feedback:
a. Making a memo - Currently, if the user does not have the
headphones or external speaker plugged in and wants to make a quick audio memo,
this can be done, but one can not be certain if the recording was actually made
and/or how it came out. Also, unless one plugs in headphones/speakers, one
cannot be certain if the recording mode was reliably turned off (we've seen
some users on this list fill their CF cards inadvertently!).
B. A similar situation holds if the user wants to make a quick note with
the notetaker function - There is absolutely no feedback.
c. Occasionally, a user might want to quickly check some info on
the Bookport - Either a phone number, a recorded memo or short note, etc.
Again, the user must pull out headphones/speakers before this can be done.
This means that the Bookport is not as portable and useful as it can be for
such quick, short, functions.
I am not recommending a large speaker which users would use for long or
continuous listening instead of headphones or external speakers. What I am
recommending is something small enough so that it minimally impacts (if at all)
the size and/or power drain of the Bookport, has acceptable quality to be
"functional" in terms of making use of the output, and wouldn't be considered
the "main" audio output for best listening. When I see the size and volume of
most cell-phone speakers/output, I think something like this would be quite
acceptable and afford users with greatly improved functionality. Also, this
built-in speaker should automatically be silenced whenever either a headphone
or external speaker is plugged into the headphone jack of the Bookport.
4. Rechargeability / Power - There has been much discussion of the use
of rechargeable versus non-rechargeable batteries and the pros and cons of each
on this list. I would like to see future hardware versions of the Bookport
make use of the power naturally available in USB connections. The USB should
be used to either charge rechargeable batteries in the Bookport itself and/or
at least not drain the unit when plugged into the USB for a long time. As CF
cards get bigger, people put more data on their Bookports (audio, Podcasts,
etc.), transfer times will increase and there is a tendency of the user to want
to plug in the Bookport to start a transfer and then walk away. The unit
should not be drained when the user finally remembers to check the transfer and
comes back to unplug the unit.
5. Note Taker - Hopefully if the hardware is upgraded, the note taking
functions can be made more intuitive and in line with other common Windows
applications. For example, Control + C to copy, Control + V to paste, etc.
APH indicated that this was not possible with the current hardware limitations.
I can never remember the functions of the note taking keys without going back
and forth to the documentation since this isn't a function I use routinely.
Thus, although it's a great feature, and I would very much like to use it
occasionally, I find myself not using it at all. Part of this is also related
to the fact that when I have the desire to take a quick note, I often don't
have the headphones handy and don't have reliable feedback when taking a note.
I think unless one uses the note taker with the current function key
arrangement frequently, its difficult to use at all. Implementation of more
standard editing keystrokes would make it much easier to be an occasional user.
6. On the Fly Audio Speed Change - This will hopefully be an exciting
addition to any future hardware upgrade! Please don't miss this one.
7. Audio Memos - I find it frustrating not to be able to go backward or
forward in audio memos. Sometimes I'll take audio notes when having a phone
call. The important info (like the caller's contact info, product numbers,
etc.) may be spread out through an audio note which can occasionally get long
enough so that it's a pain going through the recording several times to re-hear
the information one wants. I would like to see audio memos be treated like
other audio files - i.e., ability to go back and forth, put in bookmarks, and
hopefully, in the future, speed it up or down.
7. Naming of Audio Memos - Would it be possible to rename audio memos to
something that would make more intuitive sense or be more meaningful to the
user? I find that the date/time of a memo (now the title) is not helpful in
reminding me of its contents. Also, these numbers fly by so quickly (since I
use a fast reading speed for books by default), that its difficult to catch the
exact time/date relationships of similar memos.
Anyway, as most others, I think the Bookport really is the best thing to come
along since sliced bread, so, none of this is a knock against the Bookport.
This is truly a wonderfully handy and useful device. APH does a great job of
integrating user's feedback in maturing the functionality and usefulness of
this device and I'm sure the developers will continue to do so.
-- Pete
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