MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - I've got my hands on the elusive Panasonic Words Gear!

Azayzel · 09-14-2007, 05:13 PM

Yay!!!

I finally got my hands on the extremely elusive Panasonic Words Gear BKE-T3. I'm going to definitely write up an extensive review of the device for several reasons; first and foremost, because there isn't a hands-on review out there and secondly, because there's a lot someone needs to know before picking one up.

I'll start by telling my adventure in finding and actually getting my hands on one of these puppies! As you all know, I've been hot to find a Words Gear since I saw the yvanleterrible referenced one a while back and I saw the impressive video. Marketing hype has been stating that ebooks are selling like hotcakes here in Japan, but after finally nabbing one of these, I know that's all BS. To begin with, if you even want to find an eReader you need to do some major legwork; there aren't any on display anywhere I've looked in Tokyo. The one I finally found was in part by help from friendoffun and the Words Gear marketing website, which had a list of all retailers that carried the device throughout Japan.

I spent a lot of time trekking all over Akihabara looking for one, nobody there had any clue what one was, let alone where to find one. I was referred to a bookstore by one sales person and another said I'd need to order one online! This is extremely funny in that credit-cards are not a large commodity here; i.e., only maybe 1 in 50 carries a CC, where others simply use their cell-phones as charge mechanisms.

After that fateful visit, I went home and found the list of sources, so my friend called the bookstore, Kinokuniya, in Shinjuku to make sure they actually had them there. She was informed that they had some and even had a demo unit. I was off. When I actually arrived there I decided to try and find the demo unit so I could spare trying to have someone talk to me in English... eight floors later and not a one in sight!

On the foreign books floor I found a stocker and asked her where they might be, two minutes later and she came back with a "What the heck is it?" and "We don't have 'em here." I assured her they had, so she went back and spoke with the floor manager and came back a few minutes later with another negative. I told her my friend had called the store and found they had a few, so I was quite sure of it. A few minutes latter she returned, apologized,and directed me to the third floor (the computer book section).

Again, I wanted to see the demo unit, so I scoured the floor... nada. I went up to the cashier to ask and the attendant produced a plain brown box with an SD-card attached to it and a flier. I asked about the demo unit (I really wanted to try it out before I took the plunge), she said "Nope, don't have one." I tried the whole "My friend called spiel again," and was given a definite "No." So, I asked what their return policy was, since I wasn't even sure if I could use the device for what I intended, let alone use it if it was all in Japanese. What appeared to be the floor manager told me there was no return policy for it, only for books(!).

I asked him if he was sure of this and he said yes (actually quite rudely for a Japanese person, so it kind of put me off since I was being totally friendly since I was excited about actually finding it). I decided I'd pick it up even though I was warned it might not suit my needs; it cost 41,290 yen, or roughly $350. I don't mind this so much since I can't use the yen outside of Japan and the cross-conversion rate would make you weep.

So, here I was yesterday with my shiny, new Words Gear. I held off until I got home and popped it open to check it out. A short rundown of initial impressions and a longer review tomorrow (it's 6:00 am and about time I went off to bed, been playing with the darn thing all night!). To begin with, it's quite a bit thicker and much heavier than the Sony Reader, while they advertise the screen being 5.xx inches, it's a lot skinnier than the Reader so it doesn't have near the screen real-estate. The battery/grip area is like holding a roll of quarters, it's that thick. The navigation pad is a bit unique and useful, but takes a bit to get used to. There is no internal memory short of where the OS is installed, so you'll need to provide your own SD-card (nope, no other types accepted here... and for a reason). It doesn't come with any type of case, though the manual shows you how to put it on, if you buy one! All access areas around the device are cover with dust caps/tabs; I'm a little nervous about this in case their joints ever wear out and fall off. The actual screen is a backlit LCD, actually the nicest feature; it looks really nice! Best of all, Panasonic/Matsushita saw fit to include an English language option for the underlying controls... what a relief! Lastly, the included SD-card, a mere 128MB(!), has about 25 free books on it, none in English and no manga (kinda hoping for this just to test the display compared to the Reader). The books looked pretty nice on it and so did the first few photos I tested.

Anyway, I have much more to write but I'm too tired for now. Needless to say, I have some major gripes and a few tricks I worked out to make it work for me. Still don't know how to get PDF's to work on it yet, so if any Japanese readers want to hit up the website and see if they can tell me, that would be wonderful. I'm a little nervous as I saw a page talking about some PDF add-on you can by for about $12, though I'm not sure if it's required. More to come...

09-14-2007, 05:13 PM	#1
Azayzel Cache Ninja! Posts: 643 Karma: 1002300 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: PRS-500, HTC Shift, iPod Touch, iPaq 4150, TC1100, Panasonic WordsGear	I've got my hands on the elusive Panasonic Words Gear! Yay!!! I finally got my hands on the extremely elusive Panasonic Words Gear BKE-T3. I'm going to definitely write up an extensive review of the device for several reasons; first and foremost, because there isn't a hands-on review out there and secondly, because there's a lot someone needs to know before picking one up. I'll start by telling my adventure in finding and actually getting my hands on one of these puppies! As you all know, I've been hot to find a Words Gear since I saw the yvanleterrible referenced one a while back and I saw the impressive video. Marketing hype has been stating that ebooks are selling like hotcakes here in Japan, but after finally nabbing one of these, I know that's all BS. To begin with, if you even want to find an eReader you need to do some major legwork; there aren't any on display anywhere I've looked in Tokyo. The one I finally found was in part by help from friendoffun and the Words Gear marketing website, which had a list of all retailers that carried the device throughout Japan. I spent a lot of time trekking all over Akihabara looking for one, nobody there had any clue what one was, let alone where to find one. I was referred to a bookstore by one sales person and another said I'd need to order one online! This is extremely funny in that credit-cards are not a large commodity here; i.e., only maybe 1 in 50 carries a CC, where others simply use their cell-phones as charge mechanisms. After that fateful visit, I went home and found the list of sources, so my friend called the bookstore, Kinokuniya, in Shinjuku to make sure they actually had them there. She was informed that they had some and even had a demo unit. I was off. When I actually arrived there I decided to try and find the demo unit so I could spare trying to have someone talk to me in English... eight floors later and not a one in sight! On the foreign books floor I found a stocker and asked her where they might be, two minutes later and she came back with a "What the heck is it?" and "We don't have 'em here." I assured her they had, so she went back and spoke with the floor manager and came back a few minutes later with another negative. I told her my friend had called the store and found they had a few, so I was quite sure of it. A few minutes latter she returned, apologized,and directed me to the third floor (the computer book section). Again, I wanted to see the demo unit, so I scoured the floor... nada. I went up to the cashier to ask and the attendant produced a plain brown box with an SD-card attached to it and a flier. I asked about the demo unit (I really wanted to try it out before I took the plunge), she said "Nope, don't have one." I tried the whole "My friend called spiel again," and was given a definite "No." So, I asked what their return policy was, since I wasn't even sure if I could use the device for what I intended, let alone use it if it was all in Japanese. What appeared to be the floor manager told me there was no return policy for it, only for books(!). I asked him if he was sure of this and he said yes (actually quite rudely for a Japanese person, so it kind of put me off since I was being totally friendly since I was excited about actually finding it). I decided I'd pick it up even though I was warned it might not suit my needs; it cost 41,290 yen, or roughly $350. I don't mind this so much since I can't use the yen outside of Japan and the cross-conversion rate would make you weep. So, here I was yesterday with my shiny, new Words Gear. I held off until I got home and popped it open to check it out. A short rundown of initial impressions and a longer review tomorrow (it's 6:00 am and about time I went off to bed, been playing with the darn thing all night!). To begin with, it's quite a bit thicker and much heavier than the Sony Reader, while they advertise the screen being 5.xx inches, it's a lot skinnier than the Reader so it doesn't have near the screen real-estate. The battery/grip area is like holding a roll of quarters, it's that thick. The navigation pad is a bit unique and useful, but takes a bit to get used to. There is no internal memory short of where the OS is installed, so you'll need to provide your own SD-card (nope, no other types accepted here... and for a reason). It doesn't come with any type of case, though the manual shows you how to put it on, if you buy one! All access areas around the device are cover with dust caps/tabs; I'm a little nervous about this in case their joints ever wear out and fall off. The actual screen is a backlit LCD, actually the nicest feature; it looks really nice! Best of all, Panasonic/Matsushita saw fit to include an English language option for the underlying controls... what a relief! Lastly, the included SD-card, a mere 128MB(!), has about 25 free books on it, none in English and no manga (kinda hoping for this just to test the display compared to the Reader). The books looked pretty nice on it and so did the first few photos I tested. Anyway, I have much more to write but I'm too tired for now. Needless to say, I have some major gripes and a few tricks I worked out to make it work for me. Still don't know how to get PDF's to work on it yet, so if any Japanese readers want to hit up the website and see if they can tell me, that would be wonderful. I'm a little nervous as I saw a page talking about some PDF add-on you can by for about $12, though I'm not sure if it's required. More to come...