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Originally Posted by bookwurm70
It is strange that the Opus is not on the list. I live in Moscow and have looked at the Opus here and was impressed with it.
I was most impressed with the Pocketbook 301+, which ranked #2. That is why I ended up ordering the eSlick from the U.S. They are the same hardware with just a different firmware package. Although from the reviews I'm seeing of the eSlick, maybe I should have just bought the Pocketbook. One cool think about the Pocketbook firmware (at least the one I looked at here) is that it comes with games: chess, solitaire, suduko, and maybe another one. I've never seen that on another ebook reader and thought it a cool idea. It was also very fast on the page turns.
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the only way a real ereading device brand will set itself apart from the herd of other devices using the exact same hardware is indeed the firmware. From my research you are right that the eSlick does not have great firmware, in fact I believe they likely share firmware with other brands the only difference being the splash screens and of course the name of the device if displayed somewhere.
OTOH, Pocketbook has done yeoman duty in developing their own very solid firmware. And they appear to be one of the few device makers who actually encourage developers to create apps to run on their devices. This, if things keep moving as they have been, will setup Pocketbook as a potential rival for the "Big Two" makers as well as the other brands with more backing from big worldwide corporate entities. I for one want to see a company like Pocketbook become a success. In my opinion the already are and I look forward to the devices to be offically announced, and hopefully with a release date come CES time...hinthint...large format with touch/wifi/mobile broadband (MBB) and more...and the PB360 with it's integrated hard-shell cover amplifies what is wrong with other designs of the current options for these portable readers...you need to buy a bulky awkward cover defeating the whole idea of a portable device. Basically they got the not only the design right but also the firmware.
Other brands have failed miserably on both counts, one that comes to mind bragged shamelessly for over a year about how great the device they, ahem, "MAKE" would be so much better than the rest...hardly, they turned out to be clones that a dozen other brands sell with the same firmware.
But, back to the eSlick, I seem to recall reading a very new review where the review was pleased as could be with the new firmware/version or something...I could be misremembering though. So, I doubt it is a bad choice, it was just a choice and you will still enjoy it for a long time.