Nextbook Next1 7" TFT $89

[DeadMan]

Hi all, very long time lurker, first time poster.

What I have here is a nice little reader, that seems to have been discontinued before it got anywhere. It has been advertised in one of the local liquidation places here in Saskatoon. Picked it up for $89 ($99 listed in flyer). It is brand new and not a refurbished unit. Comes with a nice fake-leather case, wall charger and USB cable (another one for the collection). The only complaint I have is that the power button has to be held for 5 to 7 seconds each time I turn it on or off. The only installed app is Adobe Reader Mobile. This is about the only thing I want to try and change about the reader. The app works just fine for the most part, but there are better ePub readers out there I would rather have installed.
Page turn times are equal to my Jetbook.
Oh, one other complaint is that it doesn't go back to the page you left off at after you turn it off. It always starts back at the menu. Once you reselect the book, it goes to that page again though.

Here is the (hidden) wedsite URL for it. You cannot access it anywhere from thier homepage, I came across this link in one of the many eReader product announcement blogs somewhere.

http://nextbookusa.com/nextbook1.asp
Yep, no specs, nothing, listed, just blank text boxes.

Display: 7" TFT (not touch)
Memory: 2 gig
Resolution: 800 x 600
eBook Formats: EPUB, PDF, TXT, FB2
Music Formats: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, OGG, WAV, AAC
Picture Formats: JPG, BMP, GIF
Built in Lithium Ion battery. Full charge time 4 hours.
Playback time: eBook upto 10 hours, music up to 8 hours.
Size: L 195.1mm x W 145.7mm x H 13mm
Weight: 375g
Micro SD Card: Up to 16gb
Auto rotates the screen to any direction you rotate the device. Can be turned on and off.

I really enjoy it so far (1 week in), and works great for ebooks. I convert everything to ePub format anyway, but it also handles TXT, FB2 and PDF. I don't have any FB2 format files to check out, but the other formats all display just fine. The couple MP3's I tried worked fine - I will never play another on it though since I don't listen to music while reading. Displayed the few dozen pictures I put onto it just fine as well.

It does support Adobe DRM and Adobe Digital Editions.

You can drag & drop your files from your PC into which ever folder is required; EBook, Music, Photo, Digital Editions.

It has a built in File Explorer, so you can create your own folders on the device all you want, browse through them and select-to-view any of its supported formats.

I don't have a spare micro-SD card to plug into it to see how that works, I may pick one up this morning.

Calibre did not recognise it as a default device - BUT I have most device plugins disabled except my Jetbook ones, and a few I enabled that seem similar to this device. I will keep playing and see what happens. Save to disk works fine though.

I have been trying to figure out what OS it is running, but hunting around the net for the last few days has not helped much. It may be Linux or Android 1.5 - only guessing at this point, but leaning towards Linux at this point. More of the confusion is where it came from. The box and manual all point to Zero Corporation (Hong Kong); Maufacturer name in the Settings lists NEXTAR, Production Name: NEXTBOOK v2.0.0. Searching more around the net, it seems like it now comes from E-Fun, and is/was to be distributed through Nextbook USA. Anyone know a way to find out without having to open it up?

It's big brothers, the Next2 and Next3, play movies, have WiFi, etc etc.

Seems very similar to the Slick (not the Foxit eSlick!) being discussed in another thread right now. They are almost identical in layout, but the Slick firmware seems to allow movie playing. The folks with the Slick reader seem to want a lot of the options that the Next1 has already; Real Page jump (not a % jump), 5 font sizes, 5 brightness levels, auto page turn ooptions, auto shut down options, etc. If someone wants, I can add here what all the various menus contain as there are quite a few little things that make me really like the reader.

[imaredr]

I just saw this on the Geeks.com web site. Here is the URL:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=NEXT1&cat=CON
Price: 89.99
Cheapest shipping was 5.75

From what you have written this sounds as if it is a good little reader.

Ellen

[ebsebs]

DeadMan,

I would definitely appreciate it if you could provide additional details about the functions and menu items of the Next1; maybe even upload a copy of the User Manual (if you have it in electronic format). The NextBookUSA site doesn't seem to have it available for download.

I bought the Slick Reader last weekend and I'm debating about returning it. It sounds like the Next1 has a few advantages over the Slick: higher resolution screen, more font sizes (does it give you a choice of fonts?), auto-shutdown, etc. It's a shame it doesn't play videos, but that function doesn't seem to work at all on the Slick.

Does the Next1 make good use of the full screen when reading? The Slick tends to have larger margins than necessary, but it does a pretty good job formatting pages. What is your opinion of the readability of the screen at low backlight levels?

Last question (for now, anyway) - how does the image viewer handle pictures larger than the screen resolution? The Slick does a pretty poor job resizing pictures (lots of jagged edges, etc.); does the Next1 do any better?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,
Eric

[ebsebs]

DeadMan,

It didn't take long before I came up with a few more questions!

Can you verify if the Next1 screen resolution is 800x600 or 800x480? Their website says 800x600, but other sites say 800x480, and mention that the NextBook site contains a lot of incorrect information. If it's not too big of a pain, could you check with some images sized at 800x480 and 800x600 to see what the true resolution is?

Is the Next1 screen reflective or matte? The Slick and the Augen both use an 800x480 LCD with a matte (non-reflective) screen. In the video of the Next1, its screen looks like it has a shiny, reflective finish. If so, does this interfere with reading?

Thanks again,
Eric

[Nate the great]

I have one a similar model, only it's branded the Elonex 700EB. It's a decent e-reader and selling in the UK for 79lbs. I'll post a review in a few days.

I haven't tried pictures, but it's really good with video. It did 720p without dropping frames and it had good image quality.

Deathsman, if you're feeling adventurous, there's a firmware on the Elonex website. It might fix that problem you're having with the Next1 remembering your place.
http://www.elonex.com/support/produc...-firmware.shtm

And the screen on my unit is 800x480, not 800x600.

For a $90 e-reader, it is very nice.

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by DeadMan

It has been advertised in one of the local liquidation places here in Saskatoon.

Here is the link to XS cargo web page for the reader, the price seems to be the same.

[imaredr]

Hopefully this means that soon I can get my hands on the 5" reader under a different brand name.

Ellen

[DeadMan]

The 800 x 600 resolution is stated on both the manual and box. I will try a couple of pictures at those resolutions to see what happens. The manual is on the device, but I cannot find it while looking through the limited directories that are on the device. It only comes up when selected in the options menu. I will see about getting it scanned in (don't have a scanner here, but will locate one).

It only has one serif type font, similar to Times New Roman. I will also check to see if it will pick up embedded fonts in ePubs. I know it uses a base font size. I did have my current book set to 12 point, and I couldn't get it small enough for my liking, so I reformatted the ePub to start with a 10 point base font, and now I can shrink it down to the size I want.

It uses the full width and height of the screen, except for the small bar along the botton that shows the file name, time and battery charge icon. I'll test my picture taking abilities so you can see.

I left the protective cover on my screen yet, so it is slightly matte to me. I would guess it is shiney under that as the entire top part is one piece. I always read in low light conditions, so I don't get to much reflection, but the certainly is reflection when turning towards light.

There are 6 auto-shutdown settings; 3 mins,5, 10, 15, 20 and No auto shutdown.

Nate, I did download the Elonex firmware the other day, but have been put off for now by the lack of info, and also I don't have an original firmware to flash back to if something goes wrong. I should do it before the warranty is over maybe so I can exchange it if something goes wrong.

[papopon]

I haven't tried pictures, but it's really good with video. It did 720p without dropping frames and it had good image quality.

Nate -- now THAT is really surprising and what has been holding me back from buying pretty much anything so far. Here's the thing: I can't justify the prices.

First, I was intending to get the Kindle since I enjoy reading a great deal, but I have an iPhone and so does the missus, and various physical magazine subscriptions so... it's *yet another device* to have with me on my commute. I don't think you can check your e-mail on the Kindle either (right?) so, even if someone did e-mail me a YouTube link or something, I'd be unable to watch it without, yup, whipping out my iPhone.

So, I'd be out $200 for the Kindle + whatever books I want, and no multimedia features. That's what I got excited about Nate's comment about the 720p video.

I want to know if I should just skip all of this and just get a netbook... I could read PDFs on it, ebooks, multimedia and I hear the battery life is amazing on them at this point. Is this a really big mistake?

With that in mind... here's the products I am considering:

"ASUS Eee PC 1015PED-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook" on Amazon. I use storecomparison.net, but for some reason I can't seem to provide direct-links to the products, so if you're inclined, you can search directly there or on Amazon.

and...

"Dell Inspiron Mini iM1012-571OBK 10.1-Inch Netbook"

Basically, I just need to know if I am makin' a big mistake. The value seems to be there, but I fear that I'll end up with a super slow Vista-like behemoth of a notebook instead of a delightful readin' experience.

Nate?

[DeadMan]

Here are a couple pictures for now.

Supports embedded fonts. That would be the Adobe reader I guess helping with that.

And also one showing how much of the screen is used for the text.

Also, I tried 800x600 and 800x480 pictures. The 800x600 shows full screen, the 800x480 gives a letterbox effect - black bars at top and bottom of screen.

[Nate the great]

I looked at your picture and I think you really do have an 800x600 screen. I don't know that we have the same hardware.

Can you post a couple pictures of the device you bought?

[DeadMan]

Here are a few more pictures. I took a few more of the menus and what not as well that can be posted if need be.

[Nate the great]

Yep. You definitely have different hardware. The 700EB has a completely different set of ports and slots along the bottom edge.

[ebsebs]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I looked at your picture and I think you really do have an 800x600 screen.

Nate,

I think you're right. The dimensions of the screen in the pictures are in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which means 800x600, not 800x480.


DeadMan,

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures - they helped a lot.
I'm now convinced that the Slick and the Next1 use different hardware (different displays at least).

I know what a PITA I'm being. but I think all of my questions have been answered except one.
Can you please look under the screen protector and tell me if the screen is reflective or matte?
That's a big deal for me - I think that a shiny, reflective screen would be distracting when reading.
The Slick also came with a screen protector film which was very shiny. However, the actual screen had a matte finish.
With the advantages of the Next1 (better display, page formatting, auto shutoff, etc.), if it has a matte screen, I'm going to get one.

Thanks,
Eric

[ebsebs]

If anyone's interested, there's a photo gallery with lots of good pictures of the Next1 at: http://nextbookusa.com/gallery_next1.asp