Built-in battery is very very bad for two reasons:
- first, the battery in the Bebook 1 is so horrible that on their official forum many people recommend to change it and buy a Nokia one to solve all kinds of problems
- second: what if that company goes bankrupt? How much will they make you pay to change the battery if they keep on putting crappy ones inside and you want a Nokia one? And after some years if you want a new battery inside when the first one gets old and discharges too quickly, renders the Bebook 2 unstable? If you want to resell your Bebook 2, will people buy it when they know they cannot change the battery themselves?
Any device you buy should be as open and practical as possible. Free open source software, replaceable battery,...
Frankly, I do not understand the companies who make it impossible to change the battery. It does not make any sense.
For example some people in the Iliad forum who know how to use a soldering iron changed the two soldered batteries and more than tripled the autonomy of their device! Why did not Irex let people easily do it themselves? The mediocre autonomy of their readers has been considered a major flaw by many people, either those contemplating buying it, or those who did.
The other problem of the Bebook 2 is that they chose a touchscreen technology that lets you use your fingers, but the result is a less contrasty and less clear screen. Touchscreen technology that only lets you use a special pen is better.
On the other hand holding that pen all the time, or putting it back in place and taking it out often can be bothersome.
Technology is not yet perfect, there is no ideal reader, so choosing the right reader is not easy.
Last but not least, you can hope that the Bebook 2 will be faster and offer more greys, but that is not proven. Those would be important pluses.
It will also have a built-in web browser, which will be very helpful to read lots of sites offline.
I am hesitating to get the Bebook 2 myself. It will depend on the pictures/videos of the screen in action as used by real people in real conditions (no fraudulent photoshopped pure white pictures of the screen like on their site). But it is more likely that I look for a competitor offering a model with a replaceable battery.
Last edited by Lbooker; 06-13-2009 at 03:10 AM.
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