Next1

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The Nextbook Next1 is a nice 7" color TFT LCD ebook reader, that seems to have been discontinued before it got anywhere. It has been advertised (Dec. 2010) in liquidation stores in Canada and the US. It is brand new (Aug. 2010 manufacture date) and not a refurbished unit. It is the first in a family that now includes the Next2 and Next3.

"Nextbook Next1 is virtually identical to the Prestigio PER3072B"

Contents

[edit] Specifications

  • CPU Rockchip RK2729 ARM9
    • Internal Clock Rate 560 MHz
  • Display:
    • 7" TFT LCD (not touch), high-glossy black trim but white LCD background hides reflections
    • Resolution: 800 x 600 (Color)
  • Memory:
    • Internal RAM: 32MB
    • Internal Flash Memory: 2GB (used for storage)
    • External Micro SD Card: Up to 16gb
  • Supported formats:
  • Built in Lithium Ion battery. Full charge time 4 hours.
    • Playback time: eBook upto 10 hours, music up to 8 hours.
  • Size: L 195.1mm x W 145.7mm x H 13mm (5.74 in x 7.68 in x 0.51 in)
  • Weight: 375g (13.23 oz)
  • Available color options: Black
  • Connectivity: USB version: 2.0, Wi-Fi: No, Audio out: 2.5mm - Built-in speaker

[edit] Features

  • Auto rotates the screen to any direction you rotate the device (g-sensor can be turned on and off).
  • Comes with a nice fake-leather case, wall charger and USB cable.
  • The only installed app is Adobe Reader Mobile (version 9?).
  • Real Page jump (not a % jump)
  • Bookmarks (Save/Open/Delete)
  • Menu System supports up to 20 Languages
  • 4 font sizes (S M L XL)
  • 5 brightness levels (Level 1 the dimmest, to Level 5 the brightest)
  • 6 auto page turn options (10 sec, 15, 20, 25, 30 and Manual Page Turn Mode)
  • 6 auto shut down options (3 mins, 5, 10, 15, 20 and No auto shutdown)
  • 7 zoom level for pdf ebooks (To Page, To Width, To Height, S, M, L, and "Selection Zoom" that allows the user to crop, with adjustable crop marks, but fails to properly work.)

[edit] Tips:

  • For .epubs, the 'Catalog' menu item (hit 'Menu' button and scroll up with D-pad) lists all the toc.ncx entries, even the nested level 2 and 3 items that are hidden from view. They appear as a different icon and can be easily expanded using the 'Menu' button when the highlight is on such entries. This works for the Next1 as well as the PER3072B! Try this with the Adobe EPUBBestPractices.epub
  • On-screen Music Lyrics (using .lrc files) can be displayed for any music file as noted in this thread
  • Hold 'Return' button for two or more seconds for a quick return to Main Menu can be accomplished from nested sub-menus

[edit] Pros:

  • ePub format (Adobe DRM supported, incl. B&N epubs); also handles TXT, FB2 and PDF (Adobe Digital Editions DRM supported).
  • MP3's work fine - can play one song in the background and listen to/pause music while reading.
  • You can drag & drop your files from your PC into which ever folder is required; EBook, Music, Photo, Digital Editions.
  • has a built in File Explorer, so you can create your own folders (externally from your computer) on the device all you want, browse through them and select-to-view any of its supported formats
  • Calibre recognizes the Next1 as a generic Sovos device
  • embedded fonts in ePubs support as well as base font size supported. When creating .epub's a base font of 12 point may appear larger than expect, but a 10 point base font allows the text to shrink down to a true small size
  • makes good use of the page (no huge margins), except for the small bar along the bottom that shows the file name, time and battery charge icon
  • good clear display for pictures (even hires ones) and allows them to be viewed in a Slide Show (5 sec, 10, 20 and Turn off Slide Show). G-sensor allows easy rotation of landscape photos!
  • unit looks well-built

[edit] Cons:

  • the power button has to be held for 5 to 7 seconds each time I turn it on or off. (however, when USB cable plugged in, only need to press the "On" button for no more than two seconds)
  • another complaint is that it doesn't go back to the page you left off at after you turn it off. It always starts back at the menu. Once you reselect the book,though, it does go to that page again.
  • has only one serif type font, similar to Times New Roman.
  • there is no way to navigate (i.e. click) on-screen links like footnotes or links to diagrams/images. Only ePub and PDF TOC entries (toc.ncx) can be accessed using the 'Catalog' Mebu item (which supports nested TOC levels!)
  • Page loading speed isn't too bad, but there is a noticeable pause especially at the first page of each chapter.
  • Next1 can crash i.e. screen gets all messed up while reading complicated .epub/.pdf with many hyperlinks causing the Next1 to automatically shut down. If not, use reset button.

[edit] Documentation

Here is the (hidden) website URL for it. You cannot access it anywhere from their homepage (Yep, no specs, nothing, listed, just blank text boxes.)

- The box and manual all point to Zero Corporation (Hong Kong); Manufacturer name in the Settings lists NEXTAR, Production Name: NEXTBOOK v2.0.0.

- It seems like it comes from E-Fun, and is/was to be distributed through Nextbook USA.

User Manual:

- The NextBookUSA site doesn't seem to have it available for download, but you can find it here

Photo/Video Gallery:

- lots of good pictures of the Next1

- YouTube video of Next1

[edit] Similar Devices

[edit] Firmware

  • How to update a firmware FAT .img onto the Device is explained at the bottom of this post.
    • That post includes Win7/Vista 64-bit drivers support for Firmware Update Tool, RK28DM_Setup.exe
  • Original Next1 firmware v2.0.0 i.e. v0.4.16 (has no video support, nor support for .html, .pdb, .png)
  • Pre-release Prestigio PER3072B firmware v2.1.3 (GOOD firmware to use on the Next1 for ebook support (including .pdf ebooks) and video support, but has audio sync issues!!!)
    • play .mkv videos files by renaming the video file; just add the extension .avi to your .mkv video, for example video.mkv becomes video.mkv.avi
  • Original Prestigio PER3072B firmware v2.2.2 (BEST firmware to use on the Next1 for additional ebook support ( .HTML / PalmDOC .pdb ), but lacks good video support and has audio sync issues)
    • v2.3.2 added PDF Reflow as new menu item Re-alignment, but in doing so replaced the much needed Catalog menu item used to navigate the TOC (Table of Contents) in .pdf ebooks.

[edit] Hacking

  • How to Backup/Access the Next1's hidden partitions first noted in this thread, then with a Tutorial here
  • Cursory overview of contents of firmware partition noted here
  • How to Authorize or re-authorize ADE (Adobe DRM using Adobe /B&N .epub) noted here

[edit] Niche Uses

  • Read Google scanned .pdf ebooks/magazines and any related .epub version (probable JPEG 2000 issues)
  • another GREAT use is a comic book (.cbr or .cbz) viewer. First you have to unzip the files to their own directory and extract those individual .jpg's, but it's worth it, seeing it rendered in hires 800x600 color.
    • It's better, though, to recombine those .jpg's into a .pdf using a utility like img2pdf_v0.2. For best results, use manual setting, a custom screen size of 768 x 1024, no grayscale, etc..
    • Then view that .pdf in landscape mode, zoomed "To Width" and hold down left D-pad arrow to finely increment the page down to the bottom of page. A Page turn (D-pad down button or Right Page Turn button) will bring you the the top of the next .pdf page! Check out this YouTube video of similar unit

[edit] Where to buy

  • www.geeks.com (US) Original Price: $89 as low as $79 plus shipping (SOLDOUT - Jan. 2011)

[edit] For more information

  • See forum thread Nextbook Next1 7" TFT $89 by DeadMan (12-18-2010)
  • Very detailed (and visual) review of Prestigio PER3072B (a twin of the Next1) available here (with original Russian text here)
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