Portable Ebook Reader

Foxit eSlick Review

Posted by Jennifer Wang On January - 13 - 2009 ADD COMMENTS

Who the heck is Foxit, you may ask? Well, to those in the PDF world, they’re known as an Adobe competitor, having developed a lightweight PDF reader in 2007 which had a great reception and is still used by many. So they definitely have some “cred” when it comes to the ebooks arena.

Their first portable ebook reader is known as the Foxit eSlick and could be considered an entry level device due to its very affordable pricetag ($289), yet it still manages to offer users a great set of features.

Features of the eSlick

Design

  • e-Ink screen - Nothing unusual, pretty much every ebook reader uses this technology
  • Thin profile - A svelte 0.4 inches…nice!
  • Lightweight - 6.4 ounces (think 2 average sized cell phones)
  • Long battery life - A single charge lasts up to 8000 page turns (wow!)
  • Quick recharge - The battery can be recharged in only 3-4 hours
  • Internal memory - Only 128 mb, fairly weak compared to competitors (some offer > 2 GB)
  • External memory - An SD slot is available, so this gives you the option of adding up to 8 GB of dat
  • Colors - Available in white, grey, or black

Audio

  • Built in MP3 Player - You can transfer music to the eSlick via a USB port and listen while you read.

PDF

  • Create - The eSlick of course uses Foxit’s great PDF generation technology (their PDF Creator software is included) so you can convert and download many file formats
  • Zoom - You can easily zoom between 50-400%
  • Reflow - The font size can be controlled and text is automatically resized for optimal viewing

Price

  • Price - Hold the phone!! $289? No way! This is the cheapest ebook reader we’ve seen so far!

Summary

The Foxit eSlick is a very affordable ebook reader that offers all the bare essentials one would need to read electronic books. If you need all the fancy bells and whistles, such as Wi-Fi, a web browser, or “Read-To-Me”, the eSlick is likely not for you. But if you’re looking for a cheap (pricewise, not design!) electronic reading device that does everything most people require, or if you just want to dip your toes in the ebook reader pool…you should be quite content with the Foxit eSlick.

Rating:
1 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 101 vote, average: 7.00 out of 10 (7.00 out of 10) Loading ... Loading ...

Popularity: 23% [?]

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$200-$300 Devices 6" Devices

E-Book Reader Matrix

Posted by Jim Swanson On January - 3 - 2009 ADD COMMENTS

The MobileRead Wiki has an excellent matrix showing all the available electronic reading devices as well as a picture and details for each one such as:

  • Display size
  • Screen refresh time
  • Battery life
  • Weight
  • Operating System
  • Memory
  • Support formats
  • …and much more

Preview:

ebook_reader_matrix

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Learn

What E-book Devices Are Available?

Posted by Jim Swanson On January - 3 - 2009 ADD COMMENTS

Many people have heard about about ebook readers but don’t know:

  • What companies make these devices?
  • What models are available, their features, and the pros & cons of each?
  • Where to buy them?

Let’s start by looking at the current list of companies/models of e-book devices:

  • FLEPia by Fujitsu (April 2009)
  • Kindle 2 by Amazon (February 2009)
  • eSlick by Foxit Software (2009)
  • PRS-700BC Reader Digital Book by Sony (October 2008)
  • Digital Reader 1000 by iRex Technologies (2008)
  • Kindle by Amazon (2007)
  • Cybook Gen3 by Bookeen (2007)
  • GeR2 by Ganaxa (2007)
  • Star eBook STK-101 by Star eRead (2007)
  • Hanlin eReader by Jinke (2007)
  • Sony Reader by Sony (2006)
  • iLiad by iRex Technologies (2006)
  • Libri� by Sony (2005)

Source: Wikipedia

As you can see, Sony pioneered these devices in 2005 which opened the doors for some healthy competition since then.

Note: There are other Ebook Readers available on the market but they have simply been rebranded from the original units listed above.

Popularity: 4% [?]

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What is a “Portable Ebook Reader”?

Posted by Jennifer Wang On January - 3 - 2009 3 COMMENTS

Portable Ebook Readers, also known as e-book devices, are used to display electronic (e) books. These devices are portable (well of course!) and typically have a long battery life. Most PDAs can be categorized as e-book readers because of their ability to display text on a screen. (note - this site is devoted primarily to dedicated ebook devices; there’s plenty of other sites out there for PDAs )

E-book Devices are becoming more and more popular, and make great gifts for friends and family. Some of the reasons for their increasing popularity are:

  • More and more magazines and books are becoming available in e-book format (such as PDF files)
  • Companies and consumers are embracing the movement to “green” technologies, and these devices are a great way to conserve paper (trees)
  • The Ebook Reader technology is constantly improving, and devices are getting thinner, lighter, use less power and are easier-to-use
  • Prices are coming down as more units are being manufactured at a lower cost

Popularity: 4% [?]

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