Portable Ebook Reader

The BeBook was released in late 2007. Since then it has been rebranded and sold as different names in countries around the world – lBook, DigiBook Reader, Apollo-Hanlin, Walkbook, Papyre, HanLin eBook, Astak EZ Reader, and Eco Reader.

But the company who created this portable ebook reader, HanLin, has been in the game since the year 2000, so they definitely aren’t a fly-by-night startup.

The BeBook is of average size and weight for an electronic reading device. It use eInk technology for its screen display and has buttons on the bottom and side to navigate and control the display.

Specs

• Weight – 7 oz
• Thickness – 0.4″
• Size – 7.25″ x 4.75″
• Screen Size – 6″
• Battery Life – 9000 page turns
• Storage – 512 MB internal + SD external slot
• Price – $280

The BeBook comes stock with a leather case, which is a welcome change from many other portable ebook readers that require you to pay extra for this accessory. Upon turning on the BeBook, the first thing I decide to play with is the interface. There’s a Menu button, “return” button, and 10 number keys. In order to choose a menu item or select a book it’s as simple as pushing the corresonding button. Not very difficult!

You can also move through pages by pressing the appropriate button on the left side of the device.

Where the BeBook really shines it with all the different file formats it can handle. A heck of a lot more than most competitors, that’s for sure! The list includes: PDF, TXT, RTF, EPUB, LIT, PPT, WOLF, DOC, CHM, FB2, PRC/MOBI, HTML, DJVU, MP3, TIFF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, RAR, ZIP. Wow.

It has a decent battery life, and with the external SD slot it’s doubtful you’ll ever fill it up completely with books.

Summary

The BeBook is a pretty darn good device. It’s simple to use, works exactly as advertised, and it’s obvious from its evolution that HanLin is willing to continue its improvement in future versions. Also, it has excellent support for many different ebook formats. It you want a decently priced ebook reader that doesn’t force you to use a proprietary format (like Sony and Amazon), you’d likely be satisfied with the BeBook.

If you’d like to read more or buy a BeBook, you can here.

Rating:
(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
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For those of you that find the the Sony Reader too clunky, or the Amazon Kindle DX too large and cumbersome, this may just be the ideal portable ebook reader for you. Its very affordable price tag is bound to attract a lot of customers too.

The Interead Cool-er (yes, the name of the device is actually hyphenated) is small, light, and has the look and feel of an Apple iPod. It even has a circular navigation button that’s similar to the one on an iPod. I guess it’s always a safe bet to mimic a company that is well known for their trendy and eye-catching product design. 😉

Specs

• Weight – 6.3 oz
• Thickness – 0.4″
• Size – 7″ x 5″
• Screen Size – 6″
• Battery Life – 8000 page turns
• Storage – 1 GB internal + SD external slot
• Price – $250

The E Ink Vizplex screen mimics a matte book page and many owners have said they can read for hours without feeling any eye strain. A side button also lets you flick between portrait and landscape to suit your reading style or if the document your viewing requires a different layout.

With its 6″ screen size, this means you need to turn the page twice as often as you would with a typical paperback but most people find that easy to adapt to.

The Cool-er can hold around 300 books (that’s approximate based on the 1 GB internal storage). While this is far less than the Amazon Kindle 2 and DX, do most people even read that many books in their lifetime?

You can use the Cool-er to play audiobooks or music in MP3 format off the SD card. The eReader also lacks wireless connectivity which means all downloads have to be done via a USB connection. You download books onto your computer before moving them to the Cool-er. There is no automatic syncing like with the iPod.

Here’s a funny quote…Neil Jones the founder of Interread said, “Cool-er is designed – and priced – for people who love to read and share books. ‘This is the first ereader that people won’t be embarrassed to be seen with in public.” You know what, I can definitely see his point! I have noticed people staring when I’ve pulled out my Kindle DX on the subway.

Books can be bought from Interead’s own online bookshop (coolerbooks.com), or from other sites that sell ebooks.

Summary

While the Cool-er isn’t the most feature-packed electronic reading device, that’s not its purpose. It’s supposed to be an ebook reader for the masses. And it does that well. It’s quite affordable, well designed, and includes enough hardware and features for the average person. Heck, it even comes in 8 cool colors!

Keep in mind though, if you’re looking for something to read larger media like newspapers and magazines, or if you simply must have the latest technology like a touchscreen or WiFi, perhaps the Cool-er isn’t for you.

If you’d like to read more or buy a Cool-er you can here.

Rating:
(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
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The Kindle 2 was released by Amazon on Feb 23, 2024 and has many improvements over the original Kindle.

These improvements include:

• Better battery life
• 20% faster page refresh speed
• Text-to-speech
• Thickness reduced from 0.8 to 0.36 inches
• Storage; can hold 1500 books compared to 200

Details:

The Kindle 2 would be suitable for you, if:

1. You commute to work on a train or bus and enjoy spending time reading
2. You travel a lot and are fed up with having to purchase printed books at the airport (not to mention how much space they take up)
3. You just plain read a lot of books!
4. You’re a student and want to save money on textbooks (who wouldn’t? )

Various opinions from Amazon users:

Ben C. Hobson – I love reading the newspaper every day, but reporters love to push the boundaries of our vocabularies, but the Kindle 2 dictionary is right there to keep us reading, and make sure we know exactly what we are reading so we don’t misinterpret anything. The improved dictionary lookup is amazing.

Gadget Queen – I have a tremendous volume of Kindle content (public domain and Amazon). I discovered that I could not directly transfer from my computer backup for Kindle 1 to the new K2 (why my backup is on the computer is addressed later in this review). All my content had to be reformatted by Amazon and re-downloaded from their site specifically for and to the Kindle 2 (I am NOT in a Whispernet area). Major pain. Major time-investment. Major inconvenience. Major turn-off.

Kacheek – Sleeker look and feel (it feels solid in your hands), sharper screen, no longer accidentally depressing the next page button by accident and having to find your place in the book again…you can read about these from various sources)
– Page loads are much faster. I can feel that the delay between pages is much less. Only issue is I need to recalibrate now–in general, I try to anticipate how much time it will take the next page to load, and when I’m two lines from the bottom, I would hit the next page button. Now I need to push the button later.
– Dictionary is improved. Now you can highlight a word and it automatically gives you a definition at the bottom of the screen.

I hope this review was helpful! I personally like reading as many reviews as I can before purchasing a product, so I’d recommend you find out more by reading Kindle 2 reviews at Amazon.

Rating:
(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
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Rating:
(1 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)
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The PRS-700 is Sony’s 3rd generation ebook reader. It comes with some fancy new features, like a touch screen, side lighting (for reading in the dark), and a much improved user interface. It retails for approximately $349 USD.

Some of the other improvements from previous Sony Reader generations include: increased speed for page turns, faster CPU (now 532 MHz, like the Amazon Kindle 2), larger font sizes, and better PDF viewing. Unfortunately not everything can be seen as an improvement. The new touch screen functionality requires a layer on top of the eInk display, as well as frame-mounted LED side lights. This all adds up to worse contrast and glare and takes away from the eInk viewing experience.

Features of the Sony Reader PRS-700

Advanced Design

• Small size – 6.8″ x 5.2″ x 0.4″
• Light weight – only 10 ounces!
• Both internal and expansion memory – 512 MB internal, up to 36 GB SDHC expansion card
• Long battery life – Li-Ion battery provides up to 7500 page turns between charges

Enhanced Reading

• Touch screen – allows users to annotate by way of a virtual keyboard
• LED lighting – better reading in low light conditions

File Formats Supported

• DRM-free Text – LRF, PDF, TXT, RTF, ePub
• DRM Text – LRX, Secure PDF, ePub
• DRM-free Audio – MP3, AAC
• Images – GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP
• RSS – limited to 20 featured blogs

Sony Reader PRS-700 Recommendation

The Sony Reader PRS-700 is a big improvement over Sony’s previous ebook readers (PRS-500, PRS-505), but it still leaves a bit to be desired. Some folks may find the touch screen useful and trendy, but we think it’s ahead of its time if it conflicts with the readability of eInk technology.

Considering that its nearest competitor is the Amazon Kindle 2, Sony has definitely thrown down the gauntlet, as it beats the Kindle 2 in the areas of PDF viewing and having a touch screen (if you consider that a good feature, of course). On the other hand, the Kindle 2 is arguably easier to read and has more internal memory (more storage for books). So in our opinion, it’s a toss-up as to which of these two devices is better. We’d recommend that you try to find a friend who has each device and take them for a test drive to make your own decision.

Rating:
(1 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)
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The Sony Reader PRS-505 was released by Sony on Oct 2, 2007. It has been a big success since, primarily because there hasn’t been a whole lot of competition.

Specs

• Weight – 9 oz (250 g)
• Thickness – 0.3″
• Size – 6.9″ x 4.8″
• Screen Size – 6″
• Battery Life – 7500 page turns
• Storage – 256 MB internal + MMC/SD/SDHC/Memory Stick Pro Duo expansion slots
• Price – $250

The screen on the PRS-505 is very easy on the eyes. This is likely due to a 20% improvement in contrast from the last Reader (the 505).

Sony also made improvements to the controls, which have been rearranged to that the menu list is aligned with the buttons. This definitely improves the usability of the PRS-505.

Direct page access is now possible simply by pushing a number button. The numbers cycle around the three digits shown on the screen, so if you accidentally select the wrong button just keep pushing the page number. Again, this a noticeable improvemnet over the previous general Reader.

Here’s a few more features that Sony added new to the PRS-505:

• USB mass storage – The internal memory can be accessed just like any mass storage device.
• Menu power off – You can now turn the device completely off simply by using the menus.
• Updated design – Comparing the 505 and 500 side by side, it’s obvious that the 505 looks like a newer, more attractive design.

Summary

The PRS-505 is a huge improvement over its older sibling. The better contrast ratio, the improved button design, and the addition of USB are a few changes that make a large difference in user experience and enjoyment. You’d be hard pressed to find a better portable ebook reader for the price.

Editor’s Note – [June 2009] The rating of the PRS-505 has been updated to reflect its comparison against current ebook readers.

Rating:
(1 votes, average: 6.00 out of 10)
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