A detail: Discussion of Cybook screens should continue at http://www.teleread.com/blog/2008/07/21/hows-your-cybook-screen-help-out-other-e-bookers-and-take-our-poll-whether-youve-had-good-luck-or-bad/ . That’s where the main thread is. No prob!

Many thanks,
David

I purchased a Cybook Gen3 from Booken. I was pleased with the promptness of the shipping and the pre-sale service I received.

Unfortunately, the unit failed in less than a week. The display no longer worked and would show a random series of horizontal lines. This happened after I had been using the unit for an hour or so after lunch. I turned it off and placed it face down on top of a paperback book to protect the screen. About two hours later, I turned it on and it no longer worked. The unit had no had any trauma such as being dropped, hit, or placed in an improper environment.

Booken has declined to repair or replace the unit under warranty saying that “the warranty does not cover broken parts”. I wonder what, if anything, the warranty does cover?

They have offered to repair the unit for 100 Euros plus shipping each way (I live in Brazil). I suspect this is about their cost for a new unit.

I was fairly satisfied with the product, but reliability seems to be an issue. The company ethics also seems to be a major problem. If you are considering this eBook reader, I would give some serious thought as to whether you could afford to deal with a situation like this.

As for me, I have owned, used and outgrown:

- The Clie. It stopped being able to hold a charge while changing the battery, and the Sony memory sticks were too expensive to justify investing in to keep my files. If I had other Sony devices which needed them, I might have changed my mind.

- Palm m125. I love that it uses regular batteries so one can change on the go. It’s a good little device and I still have it. I had even bought a second one after my first one broke. I don’t use it right now, but I have it for a rainy day.

- Alphasmart Dana: I got it last year, used, on ebay. It is way over-priced new. I read a few books on it, but found after awhile that I disliked the excessive glare on the screen. I seem to do better with backlit devices like me macbook, ebookwise and EEE. I still have the Dana and use it for other things, but it is not my go-to reading device anymore.

My current e-toolkit consists of my new and already beloved eee pc OR the ebookwise, depending on where I am going (e.g. if I face a long subway ride, I may bring the ebookwise because I can read it one-handed. And it is great for babysitting because the battery lasts for ages and I can read it in the dark if I have to sit with the baby until he falls asleep.

The MS LIT ebook format is actually built on the OEBPS standard, which is a good thing. What makes it proprietary is the compression wrapper and optional DRM. You can repurpose your existing LIT ebooks by using ConvertLIT.

The thing is, I think that MS Reader is a very nice piece of software. As far as the reader interface goes, it is probably one of the best currently available. On the Tablet PC, the program supports inking for annotations, which is very nice. I’m not sure about inking support on current PDAs, as I no longer have one. MS Reader also has support for multiple dictionaries. Most readers don’t even support one.

If anyone of influence at Microsoft is reading this, I would like to make a recommendation. Embrace the new OPS (epub) standard (afterall, it is an evolution of OEBPS). Update your reader software to support this new standard, while still supporting the LIT format (don’t add proprietary extensions that don’t degrade gracefully on other epub readers). Port your reader software to as many platforms as possible, regardless of which OS it runs. Work with dedicated ebook reader manufacturers to integrate your new software. If this is done, while keeping the current nice feature set of Reader, I think that such a new version would rival any competing readers.

The first (and major) drawback is the price. Although this may eventually come down, $700 is only for someone with an expense account or a hardcore enthusiast. The second drawback is that the iLiad is only being targeted to niche groups (like select businesses), instead of the mass market. Sure, an individual can buy one, but you’re sort of on your own, or at best, a beta tester. I don’t mean to pan the iLiad, as it appears to be a device I would find useful if I could afford the price.

I use their general-computer features often, particularly web-surfing (Flash, and color, and sound) and drifting into telephony, so I think them the nonpareils of the e-book world.

But the hardware alone does not suffice. FBReader has continuously offered a great reading experience, and the combination of NIT and FBReader is simply remarkable.

Oh, one more thing: FBReader has a great many wonderful features, but not least among them is the ability to open/display e-books in non-DRMed Mobipocket format (just a note for the record).

My next reading device was an Ebookwise 1150, which I still have. Although the screen resolution isn’t great, the screen size is larger then the PDA and is adequate for reading. The unit is a good size for handheld use and has pretty good ergonomics. My main problem with it is having to convert everything into the proprietary IMP format (proprietary formats and the need for conversion are probably why I will never buy a Sony or Kindle reader).

What I am currently using are a Nokia N800 and a Fujitsu Tablet PC. The Nokia is very portable, has great battery life and an excellent screen. For strictly reading, it is not ideal, but much better than any PDA. Of course, I use FBReader on it.

I originally got the Fujitsu for other purposes, but also use it for reading. It has some advantages and disadvantages. The larger screen is a definite advantage when reading PDF. We all know the agony of trying to read PDF on a small screen. Even reading fiction in non-PDF formats, the larger screen is more enjoyable than the Nokia or a PDA. The drawbacks are the weight and battery life (although I can get up to 4 hours). If someone made a color tablet that was only a half-inch thick, weighed one pound and had a long battery life, that would be spectacular. For reading, I use FBReader, CoolReader, MS Reader and PDF Annotator on the tablet.

Of the current and upcoming crop of e-ink readers, the only one I would consider is the CyBook. The new Sony is nicer than the previous one, but still is too limited in format support, without conversion. The Kindle appears that it may be even worse. Also, unless the Kindle looks a lot different than the pictures we all saw, it is too clumsy and ugly looking. The CyBook is committed to supporting several, non-propriety formats, which ranks high on my list.

I still would like to see a color ebook device. Some postings on MobileRead indicate that we may see such a device in another year. Although I hope this is true, I’m not holding my breath, as we’ve heard these predictions before. I may just wait another year and see.

There are two features that I think all ebook readers should have. One or both are usually missing, however. Annotation capability and a dictionary lookup feature (with multiple dictionaries available for purchase).

The old Ebookwise 1150 had both, although the hardware limited its abilities. The CyBook seems to have a dictionary. I don’t know about annotations. I don’t think the Sony has either (someone who owns a Sony can correct me).

On my Fujitsu tablet, PDF Annotator takes care of annotating a PDF, but no dictionary. MS Reader does a great job at both annotating and a dictionary, but only with LIT files.

Furthermore, with the time needed to get the PW blog off to a good start, I especially appreciated your pitching in at this busy time. I hope that other contributors can do the same.

And for e-book-hip people who aren’t writing for the main part of the TeleBlog–we’re always looking for new talent.

Thanks again,
David