Tolino eReaders Update: Landscape Mode, Enhanced Browser, and Intuitive Navigation

Today, Tolino eReader owners can look forward to the new software update with version number 1.6.0. This update replaces the current 1.5.x firmware and is set to appear soon for the Tolino Vision 2, Vision 1, and Shine. It brings a host of new software features that have been much requested (some have been long overdue!).

Perhaps the most important feature for many will be the implementation of the landscape mode. From now on, you can rotate eBooks (and the browser) by 90 and 270 degrees, improving readability depending on document formatting (especially with PDF files).

A new convenience is the swipe navigation within the library. Until now, users had to click the virtual arrow keys at the bottom to see the next library pages. Now, this process is significantly more intuitive and faster with a simple swipe—just like with all other providers. Also new is the context menu in the library, which offers a few additional options after a long press.

Browser Freed

The internet browser now finally supports bookmarks

The biggest surprise is the expansion of the internet browser’s functionality. Android typically has an excellent browser, but on Tolino devices, it was severely limited in two key areas: there were no bookmarks, and the text reflow function was removed.

That is now a thing of the past, as both functions are now available. With bookmarks, users can save favorite websites and access them with a few clicks. This is convenient for those who use library services as well as for people who want to shop directly from eBook stores on the device or regularly check news sites.

The latter now makes even more sense thanks to the text reflow function, because once the web page display is enlarged using pinch-to-zoom, the text adjusts to the screen width. This allows you to comfortably read longer text passages on the E-Ink display without constantly having to scroll horizontally.

The expansion of browser functionality is surprising because it likely required little work and a conscious decision was made against these features in the past. In both cases, these are standard uses of the Android web browser. It almost seems like the responsible software developers had a (welcome!) change of heart.

Further Improvements

The newly implemented landscape mode can be used by rotating 90 and 270 degrees, both in normal reading mode and in the browser.

Also new is the font size adjustment via pinch-to-zoom, which now operates smoothly and very intuitively thanks to the on-screen display.

Additionally, the chapter display in the reading application has been improved. With one click, the remaining pages to the end of the chapter are shown. While this is not as practical as the remaining reading time displayed by some competitors, it is a useful innovation for all current Tolino users and gives hope for further improvements in this area.

Apart from that, according to the changelog, the scrolling behavior in the browser and PDFs has also been improved, although I couldn’t notice it at first glance (and without a direct comparison).

Software 1.6.0 for the Tolino eBook Readers brings long-desired features, especially with the landscape mode and browser improvements, which have often been criticized for their absence. Clearly, the Tolino team has taken the criticism to heart and is trying to meet customer wishes. Moving away from the previous strategy of restricting the browser and now enabling regular Android functions is certainly commendable in my eyes and simplifies the use of alternative eBook sources as well as news reading.

The update isn’t officially available yet but is expected to be released later today for all three Tolino models—either via an Over-The-Air update via Wi-Fi or with a manual update directly from the Tolino homepage.

UPDATE: The new firmware is now officially available.

Official Changelog

Below is the official changelog:

• Reading in landscape mode: Read and browse in landscape orientation.
• New swipe gesture navigation: Now all content on the homepage and in the library can be flipped through with a swipe gesture.
• Change font size: Increase or decrease the font size while reading by pinching on the display.
• Zoom in the web browser: Enlarge or shrink web pages by pinching on the display.
• Bookmarks in the web browser: Create bookmarks for your favorite websites.
• Smoother scrolling and zooming: in the web browser and in PDF documents.
• Simplified chapter navigation: You can now jump from chapter to chapter more easily and also see how many pages in the chapter haven’t been read yet.
• Context menu: Long press on a title in the library opens a context menu that lets you find out more details, upload the document to the Tolino Cloud, add it to a collection, or delete it from the library.
• Linking in PDFs has been improved.
• Bug fixes