Tolino Shine Update 1.2.0 Adds Dictionaries, Blocks Root Access
Initially, the Tolino Alliance had promised ongoing updates when the Tolino Shine was launched. However, since its release in March, there has only been one update (1.1.0) and a subsequent bug fix (1.1.1). Fortunately, this is likely to change soon, as visitor peterle66 reports in the forum that new Tolino Shine eBook Readers are already being sold with firmware version 1.2.0.
The new firmware includes the much-requested dictionary feature, providing three monolingual dictionaries and four translation dictionaries:
- Italian Dictionary (19 MB)
- English Dictionary (140 MB)
- German Dictionary (89 MB)
- English-German (96 MB)
- Italian-German (11 MB)
- French-German (12 MB)
- Spanish-German (3 MB)
This makes the Tolino Shine the first eBook reader to sensibly offer direct translations from other languages (aside from English) to German right out of the box. It’s important to consider, though, that these dictionaries currently seem relatively modest in scope, being significantly smaller than the German and English dictionaries.
It’s likely that the new update will also include a bookshelf feature. However, this isn’t entirely confirmed yet.
No OTA Update Yet; Root Access Blocked?
In any case, this sounds promising, even though the Tolino Alliance took, in my opinion, too long to release this update. For the next product launch, they might want to adopt a more reserved approach regarding this aspect.
At the moment, the software is only being shipped with new devices, meaning there isn’t an update for existing customers yet. However, it is expected to be released in the coming days—likely in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair.
But there seems to be a downside, too, as peterle66 reports that his 1.2 version Tolino Shine cannot be rooted. Of course, we still need to wait for the official update to see further developments, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the security loophole has been closed. This could mean a significant advantage for tinkerers and modders would be lost. However, there’s hope that a previously set up root access will remain intact with an OTA update (as has been the case before).
It is also clear by now that the Tolino Alliance will present a new device at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Since the current Tolino Shine is already being equipped with new firmware, it’s fair to assume that the device will continue to be sold. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have bothered updating the stock. The new Tolino eBook Reader is likely not to directly succeed the Tolino Shine but instead be positioned similarly to the Kobo Glo and Kindle Paperwhite, around 119-129 euros. This aligns with the Weltbild survey showing the “Tolino Shine 2” priced at 119 euros. However, the current Kindle Paperwhite 99-euro price promotion could impact the Tolino Alliance’s pricing strategy.
The new Tolino device will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 9, at around 10:45 AM. We’ll keep you updated.
