Augen has an eBook Reader called "The Book"

[Metal Mick]

Hi all,

when I heard about the Augen, I said it looked interesting, and now it is even more interesting to me. But not because I necessarily want one.

From what I have read and seen, it looks like a good first attempt, but some things obviously need more work (like the browser). It excels at price, and with Kmart (I presume it is similar to the stores we have in Australia) as a distributor, it can reach a pretty big market, and I note that it looks to have been sold out already.

I don't think I'll buy one, for I am unsure if it truly meets my needs, and I can't help but feel underwhelmed by it.

(The same can't be said about some of the posters on the Augen forum, who are positively hostile towards the company and one of the distributors.)

Landing an Augen in Oz for between USD$140-180 is more attractive than the local pricing of a Sony PRS-600 (for example) at around USD$450, but not a PB302 for USD$320-ish or Astak for USD$240-ish.

Let's see how the Augen fares and if it has any impact on the market.

Cheers,

Michael P

[jblitereader]

Originally Posted by jdr37

I am an absolute newby to ereaders, but think , from all I have seen and read, both good and bad, that Augen's The Reader will do what I want at a very good price. I do have one question: can the battery be changed by the user??
Thanks,
jdr37

If you have to ask this question, the answer is no. If you don't have to ask this question, the answer is yes. Catch my drift?

[ltucci1924]

About 3 days ago I bought and got the jetbook lite. I was happy with it but really mised the backlight that is on my palm tungston t3. So I settled in with the jbl and then today I read about this book reader. So off to K-MART I go and wow I bought the book e reader for 89.99. What I like about the book is the 7" color screen and most of all the back lite. I have it on low and its just great to read with. I put in my 4gb card from the jbl and boom all of my stuff was there but now at 7" that really seems much bigger than the 5" jbl screen.

Also the back lite is just awesome. At a very low level I can now read it anywhere in my house with out any lights on. I had trouble reading the jbl even under a light I had to hold it just right to read it and was not real happy about that. I dont care about the pitchers or music modes but just would like to have a big clear back lite reader and for 89.99 this is allmost to good to be true. I am sending back my jbl first thing in the morning and hope to keep this 7" back lite book e book reader. OH yeh the auto rotation is just amazing to me. It rotates in 360 degrees. Did I say I really like the book thing.

[jdr37]

Originally Posted by livingenzyme

If you have to ask this question, the answer is no. If you don't have to ask this question, the answer is yes. Catch my drift?

I got the drift -- I can replace any part I want if it has a screw to open with -- that was my question -- get the drift?

[jblitereader]

Originally Posted by jdr37

I got the drift -- I can replace any part I want if it has a screw to open with -- that was my question -- get the drift?

Anything can be replaced if you're willing. That was my drift

What I really meant was by asking the question you show that you don't normally take risks. And since we're talking about a device with built-in internal battery, it's definitely a risk that you would have to be willing to take.

If you hadn't asked the question, then it tells me you might be one of those that regularly take risks to learn hands-on.

Taking things apart or do-it-yourself is not for everybody. I highly recommend against it for most people. I, on the other hand, will take apart a device apart if I want to learn something about it. Risk taking is not for everyone, and I highly recommend against it for everyone.

PS - Even if there ain't no screw visible, you can still replace the battery if you're willing to take the risk.

[Big Shirley]

I got two. One had been opened. The wifi seems to work, but when I click on browser I get a blank screen. I would understand the browser not working if the wifi didn't connect. Oh and the 'B" doesn't work. All of the other letters work.

[cfrizz]

Ltucci, I love your loping German Shephard!

[ltucci1924]

His name is shep. He is 10 years old.

[Marcy]

I picked up the Augen today and will be returning it tomorrow. It had some good features, but for me the bad outweighed the good.

My observations:

The unit is very heavy. I can't be positive but it feels much heavier than the PRS-900. With the included cover it is downright unwieldy to hold. I took the cover off and that improved things somewhat, but it is really hard to hold in one hand. I read while nursing my son and was unable to work it with The Book.

Speaking of the cover, it is a very nice cover. It's real leather according to the box and protects the reader well. it trifolds over the reader and closes with magnets. I would feel comfortable chucking this into my diaper bag and not worrying about the reader getting damaged.

Calibre recognized the reader instantly and as "The Book." I transferred a selection of my books without problem. The Book recognizes hierarchical folders without a problem, so all my series and tagged books sorted perfectly.

The screen is crisp and clear. The color was a nice bonus, although I could do without it. The page turns were perfect, flipping you easily from one page to the next without any irritating "page turn" graphics or scrolling. The page turn buttons however are very loud—much louder than those on my Pocketbook 360. I could see them disturbing someone else in bed with you.

There is a choice of 5 fonts and each font has a choice of 6 step-sizes to choose from. I found that the smallest size for all of them was unreadable, the next 2 sizes are what most people would use and the largest 3 are really unusable except for the legally blind who don't mind having only 10 words/page. I think they need more steps in font size in the "typical" reading range. I didn't explore enough, but I think you probably can install your own fonts.

One issue that I had with fonts is that there is no global font setting. You have to set the font/size combo you like for each book you open. It only takes 30 seconds one time for the book, but that should be a global option. I had a problem with some books displaying entirely in bold font. I don't know why, but it was irritating to read.

The page display options are easy to use and work wonderfully. You can set the right/left/top/bottom margins, the justification and the line-spacing from within the book. However, this also has to be set for each book individually and is not remembered globally.

As others have mentioned the accelerometer is way too sensitive. The only saving grace is that you can manually set the rotate via the menu while reading a book. This works as long as you are keeping the reader relatively steady. If you move the reader after setting the rotate, it will re-activate the accelerometer and flip your book again. This needs a rotation lock.

The accelerometer isn't a true 100% flip when you turn the unit 180º. I liked it better in this position because the next page button was in a better place for me. The text flips but the bar at the bottom with the book title and pagination doesn't, so it stays upside down. This is true for the 90º and 270º flips as well—you get the bar on the side of the page. The controls also don't flip. When at 0º moving the joystick up brings you to the previous page and moving it down to the next page. This is what I'd consider intuitive. However at 180º moving the joystick up now brings you to the next page, instead of the previous, which was counter-intuitive for me.

One thing I really missed while reading was a clock. The unit has a clock that displays on the home screen, but you don't get it while you're reading.

Probably the biggest drawback for this reader for me is that it is hard to read in the dark, the main reason I wanted it. The controls don't light up and are a bit complicated so it's hard to turn pages and use the menus. A touchscreen would really have improved this. The joystick is easier to use by feel but is way down at the bottom right of this unwieldy device, making one-handed reading in the dark nigh impossible.

Another drawback is the reader doesn't use the table of contents. To jump around in a book you need to use a GoTo selection and enter the page number. And this is also impossible in the dark, because you can't see the number keys.

The wifi worked fine and recognized/connected to my home network instantly. The browser is slow but usable. It is much better than the browse on the Kindle 1.

Where The Book shines is reading pdfs. Even ones with simple tables were clear and easy to read. Purely textual pdfs were a joy. If you really want to read pdfs and want something a bit more portable than a netbook, this device might be for you.

Battery life sucks. I went from 4 bars (full) to 2 in less than an hour of reading much of it at the lowest brightness. And the reader only charges when plugged into a wall socket; it doesn't USB charge.

In summary, this reader has some really great features and some not-so-great features. In a couple of generations I think it could be the perfect LCD reader. It needs some firmware improvements and hardware improvements but is a decent start for a first generation device.

-Marcy

[rscudder]

Originally Posted by gintzj

hi: what came in the box and what is on the free books that came with it.

I have one on order with Heartland for an 8/7 ship date.

Thank you

Jim

Charger, CD W/ Calibre (which I had to use before it noticed my SD card- had a 16GB and it took it happily), USB to computer cord (very slow to move info through) and practically plushy leather cover- although the stuffing is thick the leather skin is thin- nicked it already. Oh- and the eBook reader A manual.

It has 150 books- in epub- many of which seem to be Gutenberg- haven't checked all yet. Many are expected, but there are some surprises- I'll see if I can copy a list tomorrow. It had the Encyclopedia of Needlework - in text - with every other paragraph referring you to a figure- which of course is not there. One of the odder choices. It also says it has the Encyclopedia Britannica- although I expected an old one, that got my hopes up- but it is a single volume from the middle of the Bs!

Still can't figure Wifi out!

Rebecca

[rscudder]

Originally Posted by Big Shirley

Slow browser sounds bad. As does the library book issue. I may still go and check it out. Pardon my serious lack of knowledge about this, but could you read manga on this? My son reads it on his zune hd. Thank you all for the great info!

It does not have the comic book format on it- but Calibre may be able to convert to PDF for that. I'll have to try to find one in eBook form and try. I actually did think it would be nice to see if it could read manga and graphic novels - the size would be much more feasible than the Aluratek for that.

As my Wifi obviously thinks I will go on a book buying binge if I can use it, it is nobly remaining inactive with my secure browser -I'll try to take it to B & N to see if I can read it there

So far I consider it a limited success- I will not be taking it back.

Rebecca

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by rscudder

It has 150 books- in epub- many of which seem to be Gutenberg- haven't checked all yet. Many are expected, but there are some surprises- I'll see if I can copy a list tomorrow. It had the Encyclopedia of Needlework - in text - with every other paragraph referring you to a figure- which of course is not there. One of the odder choices. It also says it has the Encyclopedia Britannica- although I expected an old one, that got my hopes up- but it is a single volume from the middle of the Bs!

Rebecca

The books are straight from Gutenberg. They have the Gutenberg text right up front. You have to love a reader that includes A Modest Proposal, although not quite as much when you realize they've only included the Gutenberg preface and not the story.

-Marcy

[BexBits]

Originally Posted by Marcy

You have to love a reader that includes A Modest Proposal, although not quite as much when you realize they've only included the Gutenberg preface and not the story.

-Marcy

[rscudder]

Originally Posted by Marcy

I picked up the Augen today and will be returning it tomorrow. It had some good features, but for me the bad outweighed the good.

My observations:

The unit is very heavy. I can't be positive but it feels much heavier than the PRS-900. With the included cover it is downright unwieldy to hold. I took the cover off and that improved things somewhat, but it is really hard to hold in one hand. I read while nursing my son and was unable to work it with The Book.

snip

Calibre recognized the reader instantly and as "The Book." I transferred a selection of my books without problem. The Book recognizes hierarchical folders without a problem, so all my series and tagged books sorted perfectly.

snip


Probably the biggest drawback for this reader for me is that it is hard to read in the dark, the main reason I wanted it. The controls don't light up and are a bit complicated so it's hard to turn pages and use the menus. A touchscreen would really have improved this. The joystick is easier to use by feel but is way down at the bottom right of this unwieldy device, making one-handed reading in the dark nigh impossible.

Another drawback is the reader doesn't use the table of contents. To jump around in a book you need to use a GoTo selection and enter the page number. And this is also impossible in the dark, because you can't see the number keys.

The wifi worked fine and recognized/connected to my home network instantly. The browser is slow but usable. It is much better than the browser
on the Kindle 1.

snip

Battery life sucks. I went from 4 bars (full) to 2 in less than an hour of reading much of it at the lowest brightness. And the reader only charges when plugged into a wall socket; it doesn't USB charge.
snip

-Marcy

Hi Marcy,

I am not using the cover while sitting in a chair, and the weight didn't stay a distraction. I do wish it had a hole to put a strap through though - but they probably didn't think anyone would strip it down. Reading with the cover on I flipped everything to the back- which made it feel really thick. I think reading naked sideways with the joystick for a page turner might work while nursing- you might try before returning it.

I read for a couple hours - on a low brightness, in my bedroom with no lights on, and just before I shut it off it went down 1 bar. Maybe the Wifi is really draining it? I adapted pretty quickly to not seeing the keys - mostly I think because I only looked at two different books during that time, so I never typed at all. I found that I could always get to the menu using the home button- top right- so that was not a problem, and that after a couple tries, I got the menu and back buttons by the joystick to click every time even though I could not see them. For about 3/4 of the time you need to click enter, just pushing the joystick does it - a couple of times I had to guess where the enter key was- and I am sure I will get used to that quickly.

I actually changed the language to Chinese and back in the dark to see if I could, and did it in one try- just had to remember how many down was settings. The number keys are the top most ones- from 1 to 0 across- so that could work as go to in the dark- maybe.

Calibre- which I had not used before- has a ton of settings to use when converting. I believe you could set up a functioning table of contents with it from a quick glance at the options. Anyone?

I agree it is unwieldy at the moment- but I think that may stop being noticeable, just like the weight has. I liked being able to do page turning in the dark with the joystick. (my husband thinks I am overly infatuated with the joystick )

My SD card hierarchy was recognized- but I still haven't been able to set one up in music.

Oh- text to speech was amazingly better than I expected. No expression of course, but a pleasant female voice.

I think it may be the lowest common denominator of ebook readers, once a couple bugs are settled. It is cheap enough for a gift to a child - and they are going to be a generation raised with eBooks.

I will be reviewing it for the digital magazine I work for in a couple weeks, so the more user opinions I can get, the better. So - everyone - please explore and complain verbally. I need to finish my Aluratek review for them first - it is now overdue.

Taking the Book to bed- for a short read

Rebecca

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by rscudder

Hi Marcy,

Calibre- which I had not used before- has a ton of settings to use when converting. I believe you could set up a functioning table of contents with it from a quick glance at the options. Anyone?

I agree it is unwieldy at the moment- but I think that may stop being noticeable, just like the weight has. I liked being able to do page turning in the dark with the joystick. (my husband thinks I am overly infatuated with the joystick )

My SD card hierarchy was recognized- but I still haven't been able to set one up in music.

Oh- text to speech was amazingly better than I expected. No expression of course, but a pleasant female voice.

I think it may be the lowest common denominator of ebook readers, once a couple bugs are settled. It is cheap enough for a gift to a child - and they are going to be a generation raised with eBooks.

Rebecca

The books I was reading already had a table of contents. The Book just doesn't recognize them. There is no option on the menu for TOC, just GoTo, so I'm assuming it's a "feature" as opposed to a bug. These are professionally purchased ebooks from a variety of sources that all have a working TOC on my PB360 and iPhone.

So, converting with Calibre won't really help anything. I ♥ Calibre. It is the best thing to happen to ebooks, just as important as my reader, but it just can't fix this.

It really can't stop being unwieldy for me because I am a one-handed reader. That's why I love my PB360 so much. This is just a bit too heavy and thick to ever read one-handed, especially with the positioning of the controls.

I can't help with the music, since I don't use it on my readers. I also used only the internal memory as I transferred only about 50 books. Text-to-speech doesn't interest me at all, so I didn't try that either.

I think this needs a hardware redesign before it is for me. I'd be willing to accept the software issues, because I expect that can be updated in the future. However, I want a less bulky device, with the controls more intuitively placed, and most importantly either a touch-screen or a back-lit keyboard.

It was cheap enough that I gave serious thought to keeping it for reading pdfs, but in the end I find it uncomfortable enough that I won't enjoy it. I'd rather read them on the PB360s flawed but usable reflow mode. They don't display as well, but the reader is much more comfortable to use.

Thanks so much Rebecca for pointing out this was available in Kmart. Otherwise I probably would have been stuck taking a hit, even more than the return postage, to return this to the place I had pre-ordered it.

-Marcy