I've got my hands on the elusive Panasonic Words Gear!

[Azayzel]

Yay!!! I finally got my hands on the extremely elusive Panasonic Words Gear BKE-T3. I'm going to definitely write up an extensive review of the device for several reasons; first and foremost, because there isn't a hands-on review out there and secondly, because there's a lot someone needs to know before picking one up.

I'll start by telling my adventure in finding and actually getting my hands on one of these puppies! As you all know, I've been hot to find a Words Gear since I saw the yvanleterrible referenced one a while back and I saw the impressive video. Marketing hype has been stating that ebooks are selling like hotcakes here in Japan, but after finally nabbing one of these, I know that's all BS. To begin with, if you even want to find an eReader you need to do some major legwork; there aren't any on display anywhere I've looked in Tokyo. The one I finally found was in part by help from friendoffun and the Words Gear marketing website, which had a list of all retailers that carried the device throughout Japan.

I spent a lot of time trekking all over Akihabara looking for one, nobody there had any clue what one was, let alone where to find one. I was referred to a bookstore by one sales person and another said I'd need to order one online! This is extremely funny in that credit-cards are not a large commodity here; i.e., only maybe 1 in 50 carries a CC, where others simply use their cell-phones as charge mechanisms.

After that fateful visit, I went home and found the list of sources, so my friend called the bookstore, Kinokuniya, in Shinjuku to make sure they actually had them there. She was informed that they had some and even had a demo unit. I was off. When I actually arrived there I decided to try and find the demo unit so I could spare trying to have someone talk to me in English... eight floors later and not a one in sight!

On the foreign books floor I found a stocker and asked her where they might be, two minutes later and she came back with a "What the heck is it?" and "We don't have 'em here." I assured her they had, so she went back and spoke with the floor manager and came back a few minutes later with another negative. I told her my friend had called the store and found they had a few, so I was quite sure of it. A few minutes latter she returned, apologized,and directed me to the third floor (the computer book section).

Again, I wanted to see the demo unit, so I scoured the floor... nada. I went up to the cashier to ask and the attendant produced a plain brown box with an SD-card attached to it and a flier. I asked about the demo unit (I really wanted to try it out before I took the plunge), she said "Nope, don't have one." I tried the whole "My friend called spiel again," and was given a definite "No." So, I asked what their return policy was, since I wasn't even sure if I could use the device for what I intended, let alone use it if it was all in Japanese. What appeared to be the floor manager told me there was no return policy for it, only for books(!). I asked him if he was sure of this and he said yes (actually quite rudely for a Japanese person, so it kind of put me off since I was being totally friendly since I was excited about actually finding it). I decided I'd pick it up even though I was warned it might not suit my needs; it cost 41,290 yen, or roughly $350. I don't mind this so much since I can't use the yen outside of Japan and the cross-conversion rate would make you weep.

So, here I was yesterday with my shiny, new Words Gear. I held off until I got home and popped it open to check it out. A short rundown of initial impressions and a longer review tomorrow (it's 6:00 am and about time I went off to bed, been playing with the darn thing all night!). To begin with, it's quite a bit thicker and much heavier than the Sony Reader, while they advertise the screen being 5.xx inches, it's a lot skinnier than the Reader so it doesn't have near the screen real-estate. The battery/grip area is like holding a roll of quarters, it's that thick. The navigation pad is a bit unique and useful, but takes a bit to get used to. There is no internal memory short of where the OS is installed, so you'll need to provide your own SD-card (nope, no other types accepted here... and for a reason). It doesn't come with any type of case, though the manual shows you how to put it on, if you buy one! All access areas around the device are cover with dust caps/tabs; I'm a little nervous about this in case their joints ever wear out and fall off. The actual screen is a backlit LCD, actually the nicest feature; it looks really nice! Best of all, Panasonic/Matsushita saw fit to include an English language option for the underlying controls... what a relief! Lastly, the included SD-card, a mere 128MB(!), has about 25 free books on it, none in English and no manga (kinda hoping for this just to test the display compared to the Reader). The books looked pretty nice on it and so did the first few photos I tested.

Anyway, I have much more to write but I'm too tired for now. Needless to say, I have some major gripes and a few tricks I worked out to make it work for me. Still don't know how to get PDF's to work on it yet, so if any Japanese readers want to hit up the website and see if they can tell me, that would be wonderful. I'm a little nervous as I saw a page talking about some PDF add-on you can by for about $12, though I'm not sure if it's required. More to come...

[NatCh]

Score! Nicely done, Azayzel. We'll look forward to your in-depth review.

[JSWolf]

Here is a Japanese video about the Word Gear.

http://ch.panasonic.co.jp/index.html?contents=00477

[Bob Russell]

Nice hunt and daring move to buy without knowing what it could do - I love it! Look fwd to hearing more!

[Bob Russell]

In the meantime, more links to this device...
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8713
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/26/p...e-book-reader/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/03/p...r-in-the-wild/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/22/p...nch-and-price/
http://www.slashgear.com/panasonic-w...ony-291885.php
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/p...der-204308.php
http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5605
http://www.pdasnews.com/articles/2309/1/
http://blog.digitalhomemag.com/page/..._words_gear_is
http://www.techjapan.com/Article1358.html
http://knowsomethingcool.blogspot.co...her-ebook.html
http://ex-blog.panasonic.co.jp/exhib...ords_gear.html
http://translate.google.com/translat...3Doff%26sa%3DN

[Azayzel]

Quick, yet small, update... I'm finally getting the software to work in my English OS (I've kept notes to help others who will inevitably run into the same problem once this device becomes more mainstream), but still having a few issues.

Turns out those money-grubbing, hand-in-your-backpocket, sneaky marketing guys at Panasonic/Matsushita want you to pony-up and extra 1,480 yen for a *module* required to view PDF's on your Words Gear. It's not enough they charge you an arm and a leg for the device and require you to encrypt whatever media you put on it, but now they want more money for something it was advertised to do when it was demo'd. Sneaky, very sneaky! Since it's not too much, I'll be picking up the module on Monday to give it a whirl, only about $11, but I'm still hot about it. grrrr...

The video mentioned earlier is nice and pretty much shows a true representation, but looks like the screens were edited in after-the-fact. Sharp screen and, so far, my manga is much easier to read on this device than the Reader (yep, even American comics though they're still a little on the small side).

[Azayzel]

All right, here's another update:

I purchased the PDF connector for the Words Gear today and had a joy of a time figuring out how it worked. Turns out it's simply an add-in to the main interface program for the Words Gear (kind of like the Connect or iTunes) which is used to convert PDF's to a Words Gear PDF file. Haven't had a chance to dissect what it does to them, but it only takes a minute or two to convert and the result is spot-on to the original. I'm actually quite pleased with the result and think I've finally filled the niche that's been lacking in PDF support.

Viewing a PDF on the Words Gear is easy once it's there and you can rotate it any direction you like. While it's readable in portrait mode, it's so much easier in landscape. I think what I like best is that everything is full color and crisp like you wouldn't believe. I tested the convertor on a Syngress book I had and comic that had been converted to PDF (easier than scrolling through a bunch of jpeg images!). The result of both was very nice!

Now that I have everything working the way it should, I'll spend some time over the next few days writing up a better review and get some comparison pictures and video to show how it operates. I was going to hold off posting any pics just yet, but decided I'd show off a few preliminaries. Here you go!

Note: While the Words Gear looks smaller than the Reader, it is actually much thicker and heavier. The screen is exactly the same length, but 1/2" less in width.

BTW: Why is uploading/attaching a picture such a PITA? How do you upload a picture to this forum but only have a thumbnail that's clickable?

Edit: Thanks NatCh, that's much easier on the eyes and saves me from having to upload to an intermediary site! This also answers the question of how I'll upload video to show the device in action. Sweet!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Azayzel

BTW: Why is uploading/attaching a picture such a PITA? How do you upload a picture to this forum but only have a thumbnail that's clickable?

You just attach the photos and they become thumbnails that are clickable to get the full size.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Azayzel

How do you upload a picture to this forum but only have a thumbnail that's clickable?

Forgive the primer-level instructions, Azayzel, but others will likely read this at some point, so ....

In the Advanced Editor (like you get if you click on the "New Reply" button rather than doing a Quick Reply) there is a "Manage Attachments" button -- you'll probably have to scroll down a bit.

Click that button and use the tool window that comes up to attach your files. If they're native image types, they'll automagically end up displayed as clickable thumbnails.

And, of course, all this adds up to "Alexander Turcic is Awsome!"

[Azayzel]

Thanks Jon and NatCh! I initially put the pics in using the image link button, but that was a major pain (as you saw). The manage attachments button is so much easier!

[NatCh]

Loads a lot faster too.

[yvanleterrible]

Say Azayzel, do you think it does video?

I have an other question. How did you get the writing at the bottom of that Sony reader and what is the brilliant spot at the middle right of it?

I'd use this device more for picture viewing than ebook reading because of the short length of time my eyes can deal with small LCDs.

[lkraven]

I've been interested in the Words Gear for a long time now-- one of the reasons is because it is backlit, and one of my joys is reading in bed at night with the lights out (so as to not disturb the other occupant...)

I'm about to buckle and get an e-Ink based display. I have a Nokia N800, but it is very small and the controls are very awkward for reading ebooks. I also have a Fujitsu P1610 which is rather too large, heavy, and runs HOT.

Does the Wordsgear run relatively cool? Or does it heat up at all?

[Azayzel]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Say Azayzel, do you think it does video?

I have an other question. How did you get the writing at the bottom of that Sony reader and what is the brilliant spot at the middle right of it?

It does do video, though it must be MPeg4 in an ASF container. I haven't fired up that portion yet and it looks like there might be a static menu key hogging space. With any luck they will have enabled a feature to turn it off like they did with PDF viewing.

Heheh, the things on my Reader are tattoos they sell over here for sprucing up your cellphone. Some are made from some type of paint polymer (looks cool but chips easily) and others are more robust stickers with a thicker layer of clear-coat. The bottom sticker is one of the Buddhist symbols for a sound, like the Ohm symbol you might see around New Age shops. This symbol represents Ahn (I couldn't find the Ohm), but it looks interesting. The little bright flash is another sticker that came from a "Maneki-neco," or "Lucky cat" collection. It's just a small diamond-shaped sticker with Japanese Kanji written on it.

Originally Posted by lkraven

I've been interested in the Words Gear for a long time now-- one of the reasons is because it is backlit, and one of my joys is reading in bed at night with the lights out (so as to not disturb the other occupant...)

I'm about to buckle and get an e-Ink based display. I have a Nokia N800, but it is very small and the controls are very awkward for reading ebooks. I also have a Fujitsu P1610 which is rather too large, heavy, and runs HOT.

Does the Wordsgear run relatively cool? Or does it heat up at all?

While I haven't used it too extensively yet, I did notice it was a little warm after leaving it on for a while. The backlight is adjustable to one of ten different settings, so you can tone it down in the dark or crank it up if it's too bright outside to see the screen. I've been leaving it on the middle setting for now. While my eyes cannot register any refresh, I noticed yesterday when I was shooting the pictures that you could see the screen flickering, not sure at what frequency it's refreshing.

[Bob Russell]

With regard to formats, can you read chm/html?
Is the pdf support sufficient to read (landscape, I suppose) a tech book without wanting a magnifying glass?
Are you still happy with it after some time has passed?