buying from the uk?

redbaron101 · 01-04-2008, 08:58 PM

Hi All,

Im looking to buy a dedicated ebook reader device, and the Hanlins v3 & v9 seem to be the perfect fit at the moment. I know the v9 isnt out yet, but does anyone have any eperience of buying their hanlin from europe recently? (Im struggling to find a european retailer to buy from).

Im a bit hesitant ordering direct from them as their site says you send them the money first via bank telegragraphic transfer then email them to tell them! Also the banks here charge around £30 GBP (about 60 US dollars) for TT charges. I'e emailed them a few weeks ago but still not received any reply.

Also can anyone share their experiences on the v3, viewing pdf's? Do A4 pdfs have to be converted? (and how do they generally look after being converted?)

Another thing Im looking for is to view cbr's (zipped jpg/tiff/png). Does anyone have any experience they can share viewing comics/manga/scanlations?

jeczmien · 01-05-2008, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron101

Im looking to buy a dedicated ebook reader device, and the Hanlins v3 & v9 seem to be the perfect fit at the moment. I know the v9 isnt out yet, but does anyone have any eperience of buying their hanlin from europe recently? (Im struggling to find a european retailer to buy from).

There is someone who sells v3 in Poland, but I'm not sure he ships to UK. And I believe there is a retailer in Ukraine - check carefully this forum - he is mentioned here.

Quote:

Im a bit hesitant ordering direct from them as their site says you send them the money first via bank telegragraphic transfer then email them to tell them! Also the banks here charge around £30 GBP (about 60 US dollars) for TT charges. I'e emailed them a few weeks ago but still not received any reply.

And dont forget custom - it costs me 60EUR extra

Quote:

Also can anyone share their experiences on the v3, viewing pdf's? Do A4 pdfs have to be converted? (and how do they generally look after being converted?)

V3 supports pdf directly there is no need to convert it. But... A4 doesnt look good - in fact you will need magnifing glass to see anything. If you use zooming it becames readable, but is inconvenient. If you have to read a lot of A4 papers I think ILiad will be better choice.
Of course you can wait for V9, but knowing Jinkie - it will take them at least a year...

Quote:

Another thing Im looking for is to view cbr's (zipped jpg/tiff/png). Does anyone have any experience they can share viewing comics/manga/scanlations?

V3 doesnt support cbr yet, but you can repack cbr to rar which is supported

polyfimos · 01-08-2008, 08:28 AM

Hi,

you can find Hanlin V3 as Apollo V3 in this Spanish e-shop.

http://www.apoloxxi.com/epages/apolo...jectID=1670567

They ship in EU and it seems quite a good deal ~300 Euros with a leather case, a 512 SD card and charger included!

They also have a 12 months European warranty.

Gudy · 01-10-2008, 04:51 PM

EUR 315 including shipping and the leather case does look like a reasonable deal, especially when you figure in all the customs and shipping charges you'd have to pay when ordering directly from China. And while I'd rather deal with someone who speaks my language (tribble?!) it's good to know that there is finally someone within the EU who seems to be willing and able to sell a V3.

danara · 01-10-2008, 05:21 PM

Hi Gudy,

Well, I think that polyfimos can fully confirm that in Apollo XXI we speak english fine

polyfimos · 01-11-2008, 03:33 AM

That's true, their customer support is really great, they 've answered almost immediately in my many questions about Cybook and V3.

The V3 they are actually offering is the Ukrainian Lbook version which seems very promising regarding its software.

Gudy · 01-11-2008, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polyfimos

That's true, their customer support is really great, they 've answered almost immediately in my many questions about Cybook and V3.

The V3 they are actually offering is the Ukrainian Lbook version which seems very promising regarding its software.

Is there an overview somewhere of the differences between lBook and the stock Jinke firmware? I've read somewhere (probably around here), that new features frequently turn up in the lBook version first and then are integrated into the Jinke firmware. Is this true?

Considering that button layout and firmware capabilities seem to be the most important usability differences in what I have come to think of as the 6" class of e-book readers (Sony PRS, Cybook Gen3, Hanlin V3, Kindle, STAReBOOK), this is an important factor for my buying decision.

@danara: that's good to know, because my Spanish is next to non-existent. :-)

redbaron101 · 01-11-2008, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polyfimos

That's true, their customer support is really great, they 've answered almost immediately in my many questions about Cybook and V3.

The V3 they are actually offering is the Ukrainian Lbook version which seems very promising regarding its software.

Wow,, finally a site that will sell to uk!! And they do the illiad, cybook and sony too! (I found the sony 505 a bit expensive on this site, but the others seem to be very resonably priced)

Thanks polyfimos for the link to apollo. Has anyone actually bought from them and can share their experiences?

redbaron101 · 01-11-2008, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeczmien

V3 doesnt support cbr yet, but you can repack cbr to rar which is supported

thanks for the info jeczmien, I completely forgot about the customs too! btw, cbr are just renamed rars and cbz renamed zips, so i wouldnt even have to convert them on v3 (just rename them)

Anyone know if I would still have to pay customs/duty if I am buying from Spain? (to the uk)

Gudy · 01-11-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron101

Anyone know if I would still have to pay customs/duty if I am buying from Spain? (to the uk)

Since both Spain and the UK are part of the EU, and the EU is a customs union, you shouldn't have to pay customs duty.

(ETA: This, the huge transcontinental shipping costs, and the warranty laws, are why I'm so anxious to see more places in the EU sell the Hanlin V3.)

HarryT · 01-11-2008, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron101

Anyone know if I would still have to pay customs/duty if I am buying from Spain? (to the uk)

You'll pay the Spanish rate of VAT (16%), and that's it. No additional duties.

redbaron101 · 01-11-2008, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polyfimos

Hi,

you can find Hanlin V3 as Apollo V3 in this Spanish e-shop.

http://www.apoloxxi.com/epages/apolo...jectID=1670567

They ship in EU and it seems quite a good deal ~300 Euros with a leather case, a 512 SD card and charger included!

They also have a 12 months European warranty.

does anyone know how to tell the difference between the old v3 (non vizplex) and the new vizplex v3? I also read that the ukraine version v3 is 'better' than the chinese v3, and have their own firmware. Is this true? And how is it better? (and where do you download the ukraine firmware/find latest ukraine firmware from, assuming its in english?)

mrdini · 01-11-2008, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbaron101

does anyone know how to tell the difference between the old v3 (non vizplex) and the new vizplex v3?

More contrasty screen. I'll daresay that there won't be many non-Vizplex V3s left...

Quote:

I also read that the ukraine version v3 is 'better' than the chinese v3, and have their own firmware. Is this true? And how is it better? (and where do you download the ukraine firmware/find latest ukraine firmware from, assuming its in english?)

I wouldn't say the lBook is "better" - just "different". Keep in mind that lBook simply rebrands the Hanlin hardware. Also they have a programmer(?) who modified the firmware slightly to put in extra support for .fb2 and Cyrillic script, which I understand was backported to the Hanlin software.

As far as I know, the hardware's the same (apart from the recently-announced lBook V3 version 2, which comes out in March - will post in a separate post)

danara · 01-18-2008, 01:52 AM

About the V3 and A4 PDFs I have to tell you that it is not the best experience. The V3 has 3 levels of zoom:

Fit to page
Cut the blank margins
half page landscape

If you send me a private email I can do a test with an A4 you like and post the pics here.

Anyway, I suspect that if you want to view CBRs or A4 PDFs your best alternative is the iLiad.

And about Vizplex, I do not think that anything is shipped now without Vizplex unless Jinke is using very old stock but unfortunately you will have to see 2 devices next to each other to spot the difference.

redbaron101 · 01-18-2008, 06:14 AM

thanks for all the replies, but I was wondering if anyone knew how to spot the old v3. I've seen posts in other forums where where no one seemed to be able to conclusively prove which version they had other than a small yellow sticker on the box the v3 is packed in, labelled 'vizplex'! Obviously if I bought one, I would like to know that it really is the vizplex model.

01-04-2008, 08:58 PM	#1
redbaron101 Zealot Posts: 121 Karma: 24 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: uk Device: palm t3, iphone, bebook (hanlin v3 clone)	buying from the uk? Hi All, Im looking to buy a dedicated ebook reader device, and the Hanlins v3 & v9 seem to be the perfect fit at the moment. I know the v9 isnt out yet, but does anyone have any eperience of buying their hanlin from europe recently? (Im struggling to find a european retailer to buy from). Im a bit hesitant ordering direct from them as their site says you send them the money first via bank telegragraphic transfer then email them to tell them! Also the banks here charge around £30 GBP (about 60 US dollars) for TT charges. I'e emailed them a few weeks ago but still not received any reply. Also can anyone share their experiences on the v3, viewing pdf's? Do A4 pdfs have to be converted? (and how do they generally look after being converted?) Another thing Im looking for is to view cbr's (zipped jpg/tiff/png). Does anyone have any experience they can share viewing comics/manga/scanlations?

01-18-2008, 01:52 AM	#14
danara Aficionado Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: V3, iLiad, Cybook	About the V3 and A4 PDFs I have to tell you that it is not the best experience. The V3 has 3 levels of zoom: Fit to page Cut the blank margins half page landscape If you send me a private email I can do a test with an A4 you like and post the pics here. Anyway, I suspect that if you want to view CBRs or A4 PDFs your best alternative is the iLiad. And about Vizplex, I do not think that anything is shipped now without Vizplex unless Jinke is using very old stock but unfortunately you will have to see 2 devices next to each other to spot the difference.

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01-08-2008, 08:28 AM	#3
polyfimos Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Greece Device: Lbook V3	Hi, you can find Hanlin V3 as Apollo V3 in this Spanish e-shop. http://www.apoloxxi.com/epages/apolo...jectID=1670567 They ship in EU and it seems quite a good deal ~300 Euros with a leather case, a 512 SD card and charger included! They also have a 12 months European warranty.

01-10-2008, 04:51 PM	#4
Gudy Wizard Posts: 1,154 Karma: 3252017 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Germany Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux (623)	EUR 315 including shipping and the leather case does look like a reasonable deal, especially when you figure in all the customs and shipping charges you'd have to pay when ordering directly from China. And while I'd rather deal with someone who speaks my language (tribble?!) it's good to know that there is finally someone within the EU who seems to be willing and able to sell a V3.

01-10-2008, 05:21 PM	#5
danara Aficionado Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: V3, iLiad, Cybook	Hi Gudy, Well, I think that polyfimos can fully confirm that in Apollo XXI we speak english fine

01-11-2008, 03:33 AM	#6
polyfimos Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Greece Device: Lbook V3	That's true, their customer support is really great, they 've answered almost immediately in my many questions about Cybook and V3. The V3 they are actually offering is the Ukrainian Lbook version which seems very promising regarding its software.

01-18-2008, 06:14 AM	#15
redbaron101 Zealot Posts: 121 Karma: 24 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: uk Device: palm t3, iphone, bebook (hanlin v3 clone)	thanks for all the replies, but I was wondering if anyone knew how to spot the old v3. I've seen posts in other forums where where no one seemed to be able to conclusively prove which version they had other than a small yellow sticker on the box the v3 is packed in, labelled 'vizplex'! Obviously if I bought one, I would like to know that it really is the vizplex model.

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