[jgray]

I flashed the latest firmware and I can see no difference in functionality. Since no changelog is provided, I have no idea what is different with the new firmware.

I am disappointed that dictionary support for epub/mobi was not in this firmware, nor was better epub/mobi rendering. I hope that the folks at Ectaco are diligently working on firmware with the missing features. Also, adding support for HTML ebooks should be included. If the Jetbook forum postings are believable, then I have hope.

When I got into the semi-hidden diagnostic menu, I did find a few interesting things. The diagnostic menu offers quite a few tests for various parts of the hardware. The first menu is entitled "Display Info" and shows the following:

Processor ARM 920T
BogoMIPS 99.94
Mem Total 62932KB
Mem Free 56004KB
uname 2.6.16.14

The last item on the diagnostic menu is an entriguing "WiFi Test". Hmm, is this a portent of hardware to come?

So, how is my score for this reader at this point?

+ The display is very readable in dim light.
+ The buttons and interface are easy to understand and use.
+ Very small and lightweight.
+ A 5 inch screen doesn't seem noticeably smaller than a 6 inch.
+ Basic support for TXT, PDF, RTF, FB2, PRC and epub w/o DRM.
- PDF support on such a small screen is marginally useful, just as with any of the 6 inch eInk readers.
- RTF, FB2, PRC and epub do not yet support most of the formatting that they are capable of.
- The dictionary does not yet work with all formats.
- No apparent hyperlink support.

While I could wish for better firmware, I think that this is a rather nice ebook reader, especially for the price that I paid. I paid almost as much when I purchased my eBookwise 1150 a few years ago. In fact, I think a good comparison would be to call this an improved 1150 with higher resolution screen, smaller size, better battery life and support for more ebook formats.

The Sony PRS-505 that I returned certainly had much better epub support. I don't think the Sony user interface was any better or worse, just different. In some respects, the Jetbook seems to have a better arrangement of buttons at the bottom. The Sony was significantly more expensive, and for me, was not useable in dim light.

Every Jetbook problem that I have listed can be resolved with better firmware. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Edit: I can't be sure, but the new firmware seems to have decreased the line spacing a bit. It doesn't look overly large as I remember before I flashed it. I guess I should have taken a picture of the screen to compare.