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mgmueller · 05-01-2010, 03:54 PM

...and a Spring Design Alex.
So far, I'm a bit underwhelmed of both:

Briefly, for the moment:

PocketBook 360:
- The buttons for turning pages are horrible, like I feared based on the pictures.
- You can use FBReader (pre-installed) instead of ADE. Then you can turn pages by briefly moving your wrist instead of pushing any buttons. But FBReader doesn't do DRM. So, either you feed your reader with DRM-free or deDRMed material. Or you stick to ADE and have to use the buttons.
- The protective cover is phantastic of course. You can fix it to the backside of the reader, while reading. So you'll never loose it.
---> So far, I don't get the fuzz about it. I don't see any significant advantages to Cybook Opus.

Spring Design Alex:
I'm not sure, yet. It's a mixed package.
- It's not ugly. But it doesn't match the design quality of Sony 900, which has similar measurements (although having a bigger screen) or nook, which has similar features.
- I'm struggling with lots of details (so do others). For example, I don't see the cover graphics on the LCD display.
- It doesn't appear in ADE. Not important to me, but strange enough considering it's aiming for ePUB and PDF mainly.
- It's very easy and convenient, to download content from the web. There even are pre-defined shops and you can purchase DRMed content on the fly without problems.
- I don't find any swipe gesture (*) on the LCD for turning pages. I don't like the buttons for turning pages very much (prefer them very much to the ones on PocketBook 360 though).
- I'm not sure about the contrast on the eINk display. It seems "dimmer" than others. So far, I don't think it can compete to the contrast of nook.

(*) you can touch the file format symbol (PDF, EPUB, ...) for going a single page forward. But you have to leave the display active. On nook, you can swipe in both directions without the LCD being on.

Meaning:
Of those 2, which I've got at the very same time, I prefer Alex.
Alex is a nice enough unit. But if I compare to my nook, which is $ 259, I'm not sure whether Alex is worth the $ 399.

05-01-2010, 03:54 PM	#484
mgmueller Member Retired Posts: 3,308 Karma: 13024950 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets	Okay, got a PocketBock 360 ...and a Spring Design Alex. So far, I'm a bit underwhelmed of both: Briefly, for the moment: PocketBook 360: - The buttons for turning pages are horrible, like I feared based on the pictures. - You can use FBReader (pre-installed) instead of ADE. Then you can turn pages by briefly moving your wrist instead of pushing any buttons. But FBReader doesn't do DRM. So, either you feed your reader with DRM-free or deDRMed material. Or you stick to ADE and have to use the buttons. - The protective cover is phantastic of course. You can fix it to the backside of the reader, while reading. So you'll never loose it. ---> So far, I don't get the fuzz about it. I don't see any significant advantages to Cybook Opus. Spring Design Alex: I'm not sure, yet. It's a mixed package. - It's not ugly. But it doesn't match the design quality of Sony 900, which has similar measurements (although having a bigger screen) or nook, which has similar features. - I'm struggling with lots of details (so do others). For example, I don't see the cover graphics on the LCD display. - It doesn't appear in ADE. Not important to me, but strange enough considering it's aiming for ePUB and PDF mainly. - It's very easy and convenient, to download content from the web. There even are pre-defined shops and you can purchase DRMed content on the fly without problems. - I don't find any swipe gesture () on the LCD for turning pages. I don't like the buttons for turning pages very much (prefer them very much to the ones on PocketBook 360 though). - I'm not sure about the contrast on the eINk display. It seems "dimmer" than others. So far, I don't think it can compete to the contrast of nook. () you can touch the file format symbol (PDF, EPUB, ...) for going a single page forward. But you have to leave the display active. On nook, you can swipe in both directions without the LCD being on. Meaning: Of those 2, which I've got at the very same time, I prefer Alex. Alex is a nice enough unit. But if I compare to my nook, which is $ 259, I'm not sure whether Alex is worth the $ 399. Last edited by mgmueller; 05-01-2010 at 04:46 PM.