New Binatone 7" Colour LCD in Argos (UK/Ireland)

Hatgirl · 11-09-2010, 11:12 AM

Spotted these on the Argos website yesterday:
Binatone 7 Inch Colour Screen e-Book: Black
Binatone 7 Inch Colour Screen e-Book: White

£99.99 (€137.99)
Adjustable text size.
7in screen.
Stores between 1000 and 10 000 books.
9 hours battery life.
Compatible with Windows PC and Mac.
Includes USB cable.
Weight 230g.
Size H22, W13, D1.4cm

They don't actually give much in the way of useful information. What formats are supported? What is the actual memory size?

On the one hand, it's a really light 7" LCD for under a hundred quid. On the other hand, their Read Me ebook was useless. Hmmm....

Hatgirl · 11-10-2010, 04:44 PM

Picked one up in Argos. It's called the "ReadMe Daily".

More specs:

TFT colour screen
2GB internal memory with a microSD slot that supports up to 16GB
Built in speaker and music player
Supported file types: TXT, PDF, HTML, CHM, RTF, FB2, EPUB, WORD, TCR, PAML DOC, OPEN E-BOOK, OPEN READER and MOBI
Supported video: H.264, MPEG-4
Supports Adobe Digital editions.
Box also contains case/cover, earpiece, charger and USB cable

Sounds pretty good, right? Well I wouldn't know. The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that the screen was badly scratched. I haven't bothered to charge it. I'll bring it back to Argos tomorrow, and I have a feeling they won't manage to produce one that doesn't have any scratches. "Cheap" doesn't even begin to describe the quality of the thing

nastyk · 11-11-2010, 07:12 AM

Hello,

Interested in hearing how you got on with this as I was interested in buying one.

I went to see one at my local argos but the sales person refused to power on the device and was also told no returns were allowed in case I didn't like the device. Its seems a little too good value for money.

Cheers, n

paganpete · 01-13-2011, 05:58 AM

Hi, I got one of these for xmas from my wife and to be honest it's my first ereader and it seems to be pretty good, a bit clunky but so far so good.

Not tried the movie playback etc as that does not interest me.

Readability is good - turn the brightness down a bit to avoid eye strain and you can read for hours, my only problem seems to be poor formatting in some books - hyphens everywhere (I hate hyphens) on some, in fact the only book so far that is pretty much perfect viewing is 'The Painted Man' by Peter V brett (excellent book to boot), so it seems the main issue is with lazy publishers not doing their job properly.

It reads epub, mobi, PDF etc (but I am not liking pdf's too much - prefer epub).

So all in all it's not bad - needs a firmware update I reckon but its good for me!

Hope that helps.

TGS · 01-13-2011, 06:03 AM

I don't know about this unit, but Binatone are known for producing cheap, and often poorly made, consumer electronics. I would never buy anything made by them - it's probably a false economy.

GeoffC · 01-13-2011, 06:13 AM

Welcome to mobileread ... nastyk & paganpete

paganpete · 01-13-2011, 06:17 AM

Thanks GeoffC!

To be honest TGS most companies will produce 'cheap and nasty' when they can get away with it - it's just a matter of sucking it and seeing - if it breaks in a month or two then I will get something else, but for now everything deserves a chance!

HarryT · 01-13-2011, 06:35 AM

It looks to be one of the generic Chinese-made 7" Android tablets that are flooding the market now. They're certainly good value for money, but as with most things, you get what you pay for, and in this case you're not paying very much.

paganpete · 01-13-2011, 06:39 AM

True Harry, I think it was about £80 - not sure if it's android though (not as easy to use as my HTC Desire :-) )

nastyk · 01-15-2011, 01:19 PM

Cheers, GeoffC

They have it now in some stores for £70. Not sure how well it handles pdfs though or how fast it boots up. Maybe paganpete could comment

I suppose you can use calibre to convert pdfs to epubs

Anyway thanks to all for their comments

paganpete · 01-15-2011, 01:24 PM

Hi Nastyk

Boot up is around 8-10 seconds on average, PDF's are ok but nothing special - I used calibre to convert some to epub (as generic) and they were better indeed - worth a try for £70 -you can always take it back if it is not 'working properly'!

I am quite happy with mine but I have never tried any other reader.

Hope that helps

nastyk · 01-16-2011, 03:00 PM

Hi Paganpete,

I finally picked one up today and its not at all bad for the price.

All of the files I intend reading - pdfs, chm and epub etc appear to work pretty well. The screen contrast can be changed so reading and battery life can be slightly improved.

One the whole I'm pleased with it and would ask anyone interested to at least take a look. The daft Argos policy of non-return or not having a device on display may put some people off but at £70 I think its a good buy.

Cheers N

mpd123 · 01-16-2011, 06:06 PM

hi

have a look at the elonex 700eb its around the same price and is an excellent bit of kit
got mine from asda online.

paganpete · 01-17-2011, 02:35 AM

Hi Mpd, The elonex looks very similar to the binatone one as well - identical specs almost - the firmware seems to be better on the elonex (wonder if it would work on the binatone :-) )

GeoffC · 01-17-2011, 06:13 AM

A satisfied customer and that's all that matter ...

.

11-09-2010, 11:12 AM	#1
Hatgirl Addict Posts: 296 Karma: 955301 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Sony PRS-300, Sony PRS-T2, Kindle (7th Gen)	New Binatone 7" Colour LCD in Argos (UK/Ireland) Spotted these on the Argos website yesterday: Binatone 7 Inch Colour Screen e-Book: Black Binatone 7 Inch Colour Screen e-Book: White £99.99 (€137.99) Adjustable text size. 7in screen. Stores between 1000 and 10 000 books. 9 hours battery life. Compatible with Windows PC and Mac. Includes USB cable. Weight 230g. Size H22, W13, D1.4cm They don't actually give much in the way of useful information. What formats are supported? What is the actual memory size? On the one hand, it's a really light 7" LCD for under a hundred quid. On the other hand, their Read Me ebook was useless. Hmmm....

11-10-2010, 04:44 PM	#2
Hatgirl Addict Posts: 296 Karma: 955301 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Sony PRS-300, Sony PRS-T2, Kindle (7th Gen)	Picked one up in Argos. It's called the "ReadMe Daily". More specs: TFT colour screen 2GB internal memory with a microSD slot that supports up to 16GB Built in speaker and music player Supported file types: TXT, PDF, HTML, CHM, RTF, FB2, EPUB, WORD, TCR, PAML DOC, OPEN E-BOOK, OPEN READER and MOBI Supported video: H.264, MPEG-4 Supports Adobe Digital editions. Box also contains case/cover, earpiece, charger and USB cable Sounds pretty good, right? Well I wouldn't know. The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box was that the screen was badly scratched. I haven't bothered to charge it. I'll bring it back to Argos tomorrow, and I have a feeling they won't manage to produce one that doesn't have any scratches. "Cheap" doesn't even begin to describe the quality of the thing

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11-11-2010, 07:12 AM	#3
nastyk Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: None	Hello, Interested in hearing how you got on with this as I was interested in buying one. I went to see one at my local argos but the sales person refused to power on the device and was also told no returns were allowed in case I didn't like the device. Its seems a little too good value for money. Cheers, n

01-13-2011, 05:58 AM	#4
paganpete Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Binatone Readme Daily	Hi, I got one of these for xmas from my wife and to be honest it's my first ereader and it seems to be pretty good, a bit clunky but so far so good. Not tried the movie playback etc as that does not interest me. Readability is good - turn the brightness down a bit to avoid eye strain and you can read for hours, my only problem seems to be poor formatting in some books - hyphens everywhere (I hate hyphens) on some, in fact the only book so far that is pretty much perfect viewing is 'The Painted Man' by Peter V brett (excellent book to boot), so it seems the main issue is with lazy publishers not doing their job properly. It reads epub, mobi, PDF etc (but I am not liking pdf's too much - prefer epub). So all in all it's not bad - needs a firmware update I reckon but its good for me! Hope that helps.

01-13-2011, 06:03 AM	#5
TGS Country Member Posts: 9,058 Karma: 7676767 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Liseuse: Irex DR800. PRS 505 in the house, and the missus has an iPad.	I don't know about this unit, but Binatone are known for producing cheap, and often poorly made, consumer electronics. I would never buy anything made by them - it's probably a false economy.

01-13-2011, 06:13 AM	#6
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Welcome to mobileread ... nastyk & paganpete

01-13-2011, 06:17 AM	#7
paganpete Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Binatone Readme Daily	Thanks GeoffC! To be honest TGS most companies will produce 'cheap and nasty' when they can get away with it - it's just a matter of sucking it and seeing - if it breaks in a month or two then I will get something else, but for now everything deserves a chance!

01-13-2011, 06:35 AM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It looks to be one of the generic Chinese-made 7" Android tablets that are flooding the market now. They're certainly good value for money, but as with most things, you get what you pay for, and in this case you're not paying very much.

01-13-2011, 06:39 AM	#9
paganpete Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Binatone Readme Daily	True Harry, I think it was about £80 - not sure if it's android though (not as easy to use as my HTC Desire :-) )

01-15-2011, 01:19 PM	#10
nastyk Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: None	Cheers, GeoffC They have it now in some stores for £70. Not sure how well it handles pdfs though or how fast it boots up. Maybe paganpete could comment I suppose you can use calibre to convert pdfs to epubs Anyway thanks to all for their comments

01-15-2011, 01:24 PM	#11
paganpete Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Binatone Readme Daily	Hi Nastyk Boot up is around 8-10 seconds on average, PDF's are ok but nothing special - I used calibre to convert some to epub (as generic) and they were better indeed - worth a try for £70 -you can always take it back if it is not 'working properly'! I am quite happy with mine but I have never tried any other reader. Hope that helps

01-16-2011, 03:00 PM	#12
nastyk Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: None	Hi Paganpete, I finally picked one up today and its not at all bad for the price. All of the files I intend reading - pdfs, chm and epub etc appear to work pretty well. The screen contrast can be changed so reading and battery life can be slightly improved. One the whole I'm pleased with it and would ask anyone interested to at least take a look. The daft Argos policy of non-return or not having a device on display may put some people off but at £70 I think its a good buy. Cheers N

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01-16-2011, 06:06 PM	#13
mpd123 Zealot Posts: 115 Karma: 8038 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: liverpool Device: kobo glo / samsung note 10.1	hi have a look at the elonex 700eb its around the same price and is an excellent bit of kit got mine from asda online.

01-17-2011, 02:35 AM	#14
paganpete Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Binatone Readme Daily	Hi Mpd, The elonex looks very similar to the binatone one as well - identical specs almost - the firmware seems to be better on the elonex (wonder if it would work on the binatone :-) )

01-17-2011, 06:13 AM	#15
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	A satisfied customer and that's all that matter ... .