MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - First Impressions of the M218A Ebook Reader

Nate the great · 04-05-2008, 04:01 PM

I got a pm asking why I haven't posted an update. There are two reasons for the delay.

1. I've been really busy lately, and haven't had the time to sit down and write a comprehensive review.

2. I've also been waiting to hear back from the manufacturer on the bugs I reported. The PDF bug and the battery meter bug are both serious problems, in my opinion. The M218A is about 18 months old, and has had at least 4 firmware updates. Why hasn't the PDF bookmark bug been fixed yet?

I don't have very many good things to say about the M218A. I cannot use either WOLF or EBA ebook formats on the M218A. All the EBA format ebook tools that I have found are in Chinese. I don't read it, so that doesn't help me. And while I can create ebooks in WOLF format, all are shown in a font that I assume is Chinese. I looked to see if I could change the font in the reader's settings, or embed on in a WOLF ebook. I don't seem to be able to do so. So the device I have is, in effect, a $300 PDF reader. I will now review it as such.

The only ebook reader that I've had that displays PDFs was my Sony PRS-500. (I don't yet have a Cybook to compare the M218A to.) I think the M218A is about 50% faster at rendering each PDF page as my 500 was. In terms of image quality, it is much better than the Sony because it automatically zooms in on the text on the page, and will show only about 2/3 of a 8.5" by 11" page at a time. This is not a problem because I can flip between the parts of a PDF page about as fast as I can an my laptop.

When I get my Cybook, I bet the M218A will be only slightly faster, and render PDFs slightly better. The M218A will display it faster on the LCD screen, but it will be only slightly faster because most of the delay is due to the underpowered CPU.

I do have more thoughts, but I'm out of time.

Conclusion
If you're going to buy a $300 PDF reader, get a Cybook. That way you'll have Mobipocket support as well.

P.S. Yes, I know the Cybook costs more than $300. The M218A is not worth the money you'd save.

04-05-2008, 04:01 PM	#39
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I got a pm asking why I haven't posted an update. There are two reasons for the delay. 1. I've been really busy lately, and haven't had the time to sit down and write a comprehensive review. 2. I've also been waiting to hear back from the manufacturer on the bugs I reported. The PDF bug and the battery meter bug are both serious problems, in my opinion. The M218A is about 18 months old, and has had at least 4 firmware updates. Why hasn't the PDF bookmark bug been fixed yet? I don't have very many good things to say about the M218A. I cannot use either WOLF or EBA ebook formats on the M218A. All the EBA format ebook tools that I have found are in Chinese. I don't read it, so that doesn't help me. And while I can create ebooks in WOLF format, all are shown in a font that I assume is Chinese. I looked to see if I could change the font in the reader's settings, or embed on in a WOLF ebook. I don't seem to be able to do so. So the device I have is, in effect, a $300 PDF reader. I will now review it as such. The only ebook reader that I've had that displays PDFs was my Sony PRS-500. (I don't yet have a Cybook to compare the M218A to.) I think the M218A is about 50% faster at rendering each PDF page as my 500 was. In terms of image quality, it is much better than the Sony because it automatically zooms in on the text on the page, and will show only about 2/3 of a 8.5" by 11" page at a time. This is not a problem because I can flip between the parts of a PDF page about as fast as I can an my laptop. When I get my Cybook, I bet the M218A will be only slightly faster, and render PDFs slightly better. The M218A will display it faster on the LCD screen, but it will be only slightly faster because most of the delay is due to the underpowered CPU. I do have more thoughts, but I'm out of time. Conclusion If you're going to buy a $300 PDF reader, get a Cybook. That way you'll have Mobipocket support as well. P.S. Yes, I know the Cybook costs more than $300. The M218A is not worth the money you'd save.