A Netherlands company is putting out a 6" e-ink reader called BEBOOK.



The BEBOOK is capable of reading all popular digital document formats like .doc, .txt, .pdf, .jpg, .htm and .rtf files. It features a 6-inch reflective screen, a SD card slot, 512MB of internal storage and a USB connector. The BEBOOK's dimensions are 184mm (length) x 120mm (width) x 10mm (height) and it weighs just 220 gr including the battery.
http://mybebook.com/index.html


Nothing too exciting, but thought it might interest some folks.

Good Morning! I disagree - it is exciting to me that so many companies are bringing readers to market. Competition will force prices down, and hopefully stimulate publishers to push for even more e-book editions.

i agree completely. hope we start to see these effects really soon...

Good Morning! I disagree - it is exciting to me that so many companies are bringing readers to market. Competition will force prices down, and hopefully stimulate publishers to push for even more e-book editions.

I agree it's great there's another device, that's why I posted it. But this particular device doesn't seem all that exciting. It doesn't handle any of the popular ebook formats or anything so I don't see it encouraging publishers & it seems pretty expensive for what it does.

It'd be great to see overall prices drop. If 6" readers were in the $150-$200 range & something Iliad sized in the $300-$350 range you'd really see the market expand I think.

Looks like the Hanlin v3.

I agree it's great there's another device, that's why I posted it. But this particular device doesn't seem all that exciting. It doesn't handle any of the popular ebook formats or anything so I don't see it encouraging publishers & it seems pretty expensive for what it does.

It'd be great to see overall prices drop. If 6" readers were in the $150-$200 range & something Iliad sized in the $300-$350 range you'd really see the market expand I think.

quite true. (come on Astak, hurry up !)

I agree it's great there's another device, that's why I posted it. But this particular device doesn't seem all that exciting. It doesn't handle any of the popular ebook formats or anything so I don't see it encouraging publishers & it seems pretty expensive for what it does.

It'd be great to see overall prices drop. If 6" readers were in the $150-$200 range & something Iliad sized in the $300-$350 range you'd really see the market expand I think.

They say it's going to support mobipocket soon, and that would be a good step forward.

Yep, it's just a [not?] rebranded V3.

More sellers means that many more steps toward economies of scale kicking in on the displays and bringing the cost of making them down, so that the prices will drop too. So yeah, I may not be excited about this particular device, but I am encouraged to see another device, even if it's just rebranded. :nice:

When I think that just two years ago e-ink readers were still just so much vaporware ....

Is this an eInk device? The description says "It features a 6-inch reflective screen" - that, to me, suggests LCD.

Is this an eInk device? The description says "It features a 6-inch reflective screen" - that, to me, suggests LCD.

Looks like the Hanlin V3 to me.

its eInk and its 330€, compared to the new iliad book edition, I'd gladly pay the 170€ extra to get so much more than that.

Otherwise nothing revolutionary to the market, compared to the current market.

However it got an SD card slot, something iRex doesn't give us :(

And the BEBOOK page says it includes a paper user manual with it, thats so paradox... :smack:

Add Chinese marks at upper right corner and you will have Hanlin V3. Maybe it will be release 2 with 512 MB internal RAM.

A Netherlands company is putting out a 6" e-ink reader called BEBOOK.

http://mybebook.com/index.html


So, from reading this site, a couple of noteable things:

1. It states you can install any TrueType font... so thats cool. But only 3 size levels.
2. It supports up to 4GB memory cards.
3. "Future" support for Mobireader. Of course, when is important?
4. It doesn't mention dictionary support.
5. It seems to have a page indicator.
6. Can you only turn the pages with the buttons on the left?
7. €329 ($508) seems like alot... $200 more than a Sony and basically the same features (or less) from some obscure Dutch company... at least obscure to me.

Yes, it is nice to have more of these devices in the market... less chicken/egg arguments from book publishers.

BOb

quite true. (come on Astak, hurry up !)

Is this part of that worldwide Netronix/PVI/"Your national distributor here" thing that seems to be going on?

If so, it is much more expensive than the 6" version that Astak says it will have.

the BEBOOK has nothing to do with Astak, as far as I know. but astak should soon be selling an e-ink device with far more features for a much lower price (unless something changes). i mentioned them in the context of "more is always better but this particular one doesn't seem to bring much to the table."

Huh. This device will only lead to more confusion in the "Which one should I buy" section. Glad I bought mine so MY fuses won't be blowing ...

And the BEBOOK page says it includes a paper user manual with it, thats so paradox... :smack:

Think, my friend. How do you get to the user manual on the device if you don't know how to use the device?

So, from reading this site, a couple of noteable things:

1. It states you can install any TrueType font... so thats cool. But only 3 size levels.
2. It supports up to 4GB memory cards.
3. "Future" support for Mobireader. Of course, when is important?
4. It doesn't mention dictionary support.
5. It seems to have a page indicator.
6. Can you only turn the pages with the buttons on the left?
7. €329 ($508) seems like alot... $200 more than a Sony and basically the same features (or less) from some obscure Dutch company... at least obscure to me.

1. That's odd. The lBook firmware, which is a close derivative of the original Hanlin V3 firmware, offers 5 size levels.
3. Tentatively, end of May last I heard.
4. Nope, unless they do further tweaks to the firmware, there is no dictionary support.
5. Yup.
6. No. You can also use the "9" and "0" buttons.
7. It's a normal price for Europe. I haven't seen the V3 significantly cheaper anywhere in Europe, or in fact anywhere, full stop, when you factor in customs, import VAT, S&H, banking fees, etc. And with free worldwide shipping, the offer actually isn't bad if you're in Europe. For the USians, the offer admittedly sucks compared to, say, the Sony Reader, but then, you guys have toy money right now...

Looks like the Hanlin V3 to me.
have a look at their list of supported file formats
Supported file formats: pdf, doc, txt, wolf, html, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg, bmp
*Definitely* rebranded Hanlin.

It looks just like this one
http://www.walkbook.net/en/index.html
Even the price is identical. :D

BeBook at least supports quite a few languages
Built-in menu language support: English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Chinese, Russian, Ukraine, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Estonian, Polish

Think, my friend. How do you get to the user manual on the device if you don't know how to use the device?


Depends on how deep one thinks. Since you don't have "iLiad" in your device list, you can't know. If you buy an iLiad you get a DIN A4 paper with it which holds all necessary info you need to get to the user manual with all the details in the device.. I consider this a very smart idea.

When I visit the website, I see a generic CRE LOADED page:
You have just successfully installed CRE Loaded Oscommerce version 6.2 Business to Business Edtion!

Login to your admin here with the username and password you set up during installation.


CRE Loaded B2B Version is the perfect application to power your e-Commerce websites. However, if you need features that only a Pro-level application can deliver, please take a look at all the powerful options our Pro Version adds. If you are looking to deploy a powerful Business to Business solution, our Pro B2B has added features to enhance sales and productivity.

Not very reassuring!

Is this an eInk device? The description says "It features a 6-inch reflective screen" - that, to me, suggests LCD.I would agree with this too Harry.

And why do all these manufacturers put the friggin page turn buttons on the left side? Paper Book pages are turned with the right hand, don't they know or are they illiterate?:inquisiti

Awesome! The more devices, the better for us Mobile Readers! :)

I would agree with this too Harry.

And why do all these manufacturers put the friggin page turn buttons on the left side? Paper Book pages are turned with the right hand, don't they know or are they illiterate?:inquisiti

Because you usually hold the book in your left hand at the spine so your thumb will fall generally where those buttons are... Makes perfect sense to me.

BOb

I was expecting this to be a budget model as I looked at it, but it costs $500+? I'll pass.

I would agree with this too Harry.

And why do all these manufacturers put the friggin page turn buttons on the left side? Paper Book pages are turned with the right hand, don't they know or are they illiterate?:inquisiti

Yes, but think about what hand you (and most people) use to hold a book. The idea is that you can hold and operate the device with one hand.

True...I support all the more E-readers that get into the market, as the more that are made, the lower they can make the indivual parts for.

That being said, In order for a E-reader to really attract my attention, it's going to have to have something that sets it apart from the field, either by a color screen, kindle-style connectivity, or something like that. As it is, I see no real reason to get this reader over the Kindle or the Illiad or any other reader out there.

Yes, but think about what hand you (and most people) use to hold a book. The idea is that you can hold and operate the device with one hand.Yeah but try it flat on your back. You have a sony I see, so do I, and I can never use the thing single handed for more than a few minutes.
Ps. Wear a face shield in case.

Paper Book pages are turned with the right hand, don't they know or are they illiterate?:inquisiti

Funnily enough, my books all have left-handed page turning. So please remind me never to buy a used paper book from you. :-P

Seriously, though, as I said above, the device has two sets of page turning buttons.

Funnily enough, my books all have left-handed page turning. So please remind me never to buy a used paper book from you. :-P

Seriously, though, as I said above, the device has two sets of page turning buttons.Oh! Is the second set of page turn buttons the lower big button on the right? On the sony, that button is for navigating and before our friend DiabloNL wrote that wonderful little script, it couldn't be used to turn pages. Shouldn't those page turn buttons be diametrically opposite the left ones instead?

The V6 prototype (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=57319&postcount=11) was a good take on ergonomy. That is the layout everybody should imitate. The buttons were to be programmable and as the device was turned upside down so could the text be rotated. Shame we didn't get to see that one.

Oh! Is the second set of page turn buttons the lower big button on the right? On the sony, that button is for navigating and before our friend DiabloNL wrote that wonderful little script, it couldn't be used to turn pages. Shouldn't those page turn buttons be diametrically opposite the left ones instead?

Yes, they should, and from what I can see, it's one of those things that the eBookwise got really right: true ambidextrous use. But no, here's the rundown on the V3 buttons on the front:

The two buttons on the left are for page turning.
The round button in the lower right is actually two buttons: the smaller part on the left is the Back/Cancel button, the larger part on the right is the OK and Main Menu button.
The ten buttons below the display are for numeric input (go to page number). Buttons 1-8 are also used to select an entry in the book shelf, which displays up to 8 items per page.
When reading, buttons 1-5 select (click) or set (click and hold) one of five bookmarks per book. Button 6 gives you an overview of all bookmarks in a book. Button 7 brings up the TOC. Button 8 toggles through the three zoom levels. Buttons 9 and 0 work as a second set of page turning buttons.

They sell it in the UK as well.
only £239 (http://mybebook.com/p5/BEBOOK-Digital-book-reader/product_info.html).

Although they claim "free worldwide shipping" the next statement is a bit of understatement (excuse the pun) You're probably thinking how can such a device compete with Sony or Amazon?

First.
It's not that expensive. See our Bebook page
Sony Reader for anyone in the UK who order it from B&H costs £200 with all the taxes and S&H.

However, it is a good news that they sell it here. The more the better! and probably it has some sort of warranty in comparison to what we have when we order Sony Reader from the USA.

Because you usually hold the book in your left hand at the spine so your thumb will fall generally where those buttons are... Makes perfect sense to me.

BOb
As a former owner of a 500 and now a 505, I have to say that I much prefer the page turn buttons on the right side. In fact, the layout of the 505 makes it very easy for me to hold it in just my right hand. It feels a lot more natural then the 500 with the buttons on the left side.

As a former owner of a 500 and now a 505, I have to say that I much prefer the page turn buttons on the right side. In fact, the layout of the 505 makes it very easy for me to hold it in just my right hand. It feels a lot more natural then the 500 with the buttons on the left side.

With the 500 I usually hold with the left hand and turn with the bottom left control. But, to each his own.

BOb

I would agree with this too Harry.

And why do all these manufacturers put the friggin page turn buttons on the left side? Paper Book pages are turned with the right hand, don't they know or are they illiterate?:inquisiti

I like to read holding the device in my left hand, so I like the buttons to be there. One reason (of many) why I will return my Cybook today. That device is what I call unergonomic.

I ordered a BeBook, BTW. Looking foreward to it.


jo.

I like how they offer free international shipping, I saw another reader (might have been on eBay) where it was going to cost about $70 just to ship it from the US to Australia.

If anyone else is interested in getting one, if you enter a valid email address such as amazingbebook@hotmail.com in the online application it will save you 25 euros. I think that works out to about $40.

So it actually is only 400$ including shipping to anywhere in the world? At least according to the page. If anybody find any more information about the device, please share it ;)

Has anyone ever noticed that the text on www.mybebook.com in lage parts appears to be copy-pasted from around the web? Some parts are even from the Cybook website.

FAQ page BeBook (http://mybebook.com/a10/FAQ/article_info.html).
Original at BooKeen (http://www.bookeen.com/faq/ebook-technical.aspx).
Check the parts about Chinese support for example.

That's quite strange already, but apart from that there's no need to install Chinese fonts on the BeBook, as far as I know, because it is a rebranded Hanlin V3 and comes with native support for lots of different languages... The people at Endless Ideas don't seem to be very familiar with the prodoct they're selling.

Haven't gotten mine yet, in case you were wondering.

Hi there,

Just wanted to let you know that I got my Bebook a couple of days ago, and I'm very impressed.

I tried the 'Chinese' font problem, and indeed Chinese wasn't displayed correctly. But easily solved with an additional font. (I can't read Chinese, though, lol)

My impression for my bebook so far :
- They fully lived up to my expectation.
- Their support is pretty impressive, I got responses from questions within hours or even minutes.
- Service level is great : instead of leaving you to convert books yourself they offer a lot of books in optimised format from their website.
- I really don't care if it's rebranded or whatever, so far I haven't discovered any flaws or major issues. Good value for money IMHO

I might sound like a 'fanboy', but I really like my e-reader.

Are they going to support any of the DRM laden formats that we can actually purchase online?

Well, I'm still waiting for my BeBook to arrive.

I got it yesterday an it is really quite nice. Heavier than I expected, though. (Feels heavier than Cybook).

Pros:
- page turns much quicker than Cybook and Iliad
- very quick power on
- pretty easy to use
- good format support, smart pdf zoom

Cons:
- can't delete files on the reader, only via my Mac
- Mac's system ("ghost") files will clog up the documents list on the reader, have to use HiddenCleaner every time I put stuff on it
- wasn't able to open any JPGs yet. Which isn't really a problem, but anyway...
- landscape mode is unintuitive, should be turned 180 degrees from the way it is now

I mostly read stuff I would otherwise print out or read on my Mac rather than real eBooks. So until calibre adds epub support I'll place my hopes on the second-hand Sony Reader that I bought on ebay a few days ago. In my oppinion, all these devices are far from where they need to be, anyway. All just temporary solutions until something better comes arount (Please, Apple, just do it!).

Cheers,


jo.

What formats does it support?

As a former owner of a 500 and now a 505, I have to say that I much prefer the page turn buttons on the right side. In fact, the layout of the 505 makes it very easy for me to hold it in just my right hand. It feels a lot more natural then the 500 with the buttons on the left side.

Typical right-handed imperialism. ;) Lefties of the world unite!

- landscape mode is unintuitive, should be turned 180 degrees from the way it is now

jo.

Wouldn't this mean you were turning it upside down?

Or are you saying once it is in landscape mode you think it should be the other way? In other words you have to turn it 90degs to the right and you want to turn it 90degs to the left?

BOb

In other words you have to turn it 90degs to the right and you want to turn it 90degs to the left?

BOb

Exactly.

What formats does it support?

From the BeBook website (http://www.mybebook.com):
pdf, doc, txt, rtf, html, djvu, chm, fb2, wolf, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg, bmp

Since the last update, the Hanlin V3 supports ePub (BeBook is a rebranded version of that device). Don't know about the current BeBook firmware, but anyway, it should work one way or another.

Have you tried to read chm books?

From the BeBook website (http://www.mybebook.com):
pdf, doc, txt, rtf, html, djvu, chm, fb2, wolf, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg, bmp

Since the last update, the Hanlin V3 supports ePub (BeBook is a rebranded version of that device). Don't know about the current BeBook firmware, but anyway, it should work one way or another.


I wonder if it's chm support is the same as Netronix's chm support - first you explode into html files, then you convert to .txt files, finally you run through the .stk ebook maker. I *hope* BeBook isn't as dishonest as Netronix is about the ebook formats supported. :( (Of course, now that the EB610 and above are running WinCE 5.0, that may well change.)

Derek

Have you tried to read chm books?

No. Sorry I can't help with that.

I wonder if it's chm support is the same as Netronix's chm support - first you explode into html files, then you convert to .txt files, finally you run through the .stk ebook maker. I *hope* BeBook isn't as dishonest as Netronix is about the ebook formats supported. :( (Of course, now that the EB610 and above are running WinCE 5.0, that may well change.)

Derek

I do believe they include files that must be converted to run. Sony seems to do the same thing by the way. I do not like that. I am not sure which files will work natively on the device but I know the number is up a lot more now that FBReader has been ported to Hanlin devices.

Dale

"BeBook is a rebranded version of Hanlin V3" - what does it mean? Is BeBook a partner company of Jinke?

"BeBook is a rebranded version of Hanlin V3" - what does it mean? Is BeBook a partner company of Jinke?

No. It means that BeBook chose to buy V3s that have the BeBook logo and model information on them instead of the stock V3 info. Kind of like Bookeen buying the units from Netronix but having Netronix label them as Cybooks. Now a reseller/agent on the other hand would sell them as V3s (the Jinkes) but would buy in sufficient volume to get a discount.

Derek

No. It means that BeBook chose to buy V3s that have the BeBook logo and model information on them instead of the stock V3 info. Kind of like Bookeen buying the units from Netronix but having Netronix label them as Cybooks. Now a reseller/agent on the other hand would sell them as V3s (the Jinkes) but would buy in sufficient volume to get a discount.

Derek

Not really. The Cybook is purchased as oem and then custom software has been added to make it a unique product. The BeBook is truly just a house brand on a V3, no value add that I can see. House brands are often done to lots of devices for various reasons but they are not the same as OEM of a hardware product.

Dale

BeBook looks like amazing. Here in Europe it is the best device according to my research.

I would pay with Paypal, but will they really ship my BeBook? I am a little scared that I will pay the whole amount now, but I will get nothing...

One more question: does BeBook support non-English letters, too?

Well at least here in the UK. I ordered mine last Sunday and it arrived just before lunch on the Thursday.

I am really pleased with it. I also have an old Rocketbook and while the e-ink on the BeBook is amazing to see, the speed is not a patch on the Rocketbook. I do think there is a still a way on to go on this latest round of ebook readers but I don't regret buying it one bit. The Rocketbook weighs 3 times as much as the BeBook and is far far bulkier.

The Bebook is so light and thin it is quite amazing (yes I know that the Cybook is lighter, but it is heavier on the wallet)

If anything the leather case detracts from the BeBook. Its almost as heavy as the device itself! Still it offers great protection.

All we need now is the mobipocket update. I believe it is already available for the Russian version of the Hanlin V3.

I have just done a review of the bebook, which you can see here:

http://pookey.co.uk/blog/archives/61-BeBook-review.html

I hope it's of help to people!

did you guys see that this book supports .lit file natively !!

Yes we did. Non-DRM only BTW.

BeBook looks like amazing. Here in Europe it is the best device according to my research.

I would pay with Paypal, but will they really ship my BeBook? I am a little scared that I will pay the whole amount now, but I will get nothing...

One more question: does BeBook support non-English letters, too?

probably, send me over a sample doc and I'll take photos of it rendered on screen.

If anyone else wants this, simply email it over to pookey at gmail dot com.

did you guys see that this book supports .lit file natively !!

I didn't know.
Cool. The only major feature I miss on my Sony, but I don't even wish for it because I know they will never implement their rival format :)

I would pay with Paypal, but will they really ship my BeBook? I am a little scared that I will pay the whole amount now, but I will get nothing...Of course they will, don't worry. They shipped mine as soon as they had it in stock, and I received it 2 business days after the shipment.
One more question: does BeBook support non-English letters, too?What kind of letters are you talking about? Accented letters are certainly not a problem, nor is cyrillic. I'm quite sure that it also supports chinese, japanese and korean.

I have a lot of pdf's that I would like to take on the road. I dont want to lug my heavy technical books. Bebook is what I settled, I will post a review soon.

Apply this email for a 25€ (38$ approx) nastyninja@gmail.com

Good luck

I have a lot of pdf's that I would like to take on the road. I dont want to lug my heavy technical books. Bebook is what I settled, I will post a review soon.

I am looking forward for your review. I wonder how you are going to read pdf files on 6" screen.

The Bebook homepage is announcing that wifi and rss feeds are on the way:

"From november/december 2008 Bebook will also have RSS news feeds support and Wifi. Then it's not only a bookreader, but a portable newspaper too. With this feature you can download and read your favorite magazine or news wherever you are! "

http://mybebook.com/

Presumably, this means that a new model is to be released?

Presumably, this means that a new model is to be released?

I assume so: I can hardly imagine that the device already has WiFi-hardware on board, but that the firmware just doesn't support it yet :p
Although it might be possible to use an SDIO-WiFi card...