MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - eBookwise-1150 or older Palm for ebook reading

Fitzwaryn · 07-23-2006, 07:18 AM

The Ebookwise is a good device. It prices at just over $100 on Ebay and other places. I think mine was $120 and there are still a good number of them around. I've been quite pleased with mine. I also have a Cybook from Bookeen but that's primarily for reading tech manuals in PDF format which have a lot of diagrams in them.

Conversion to the .IMP format is not any big hassle. There's a program called GebLibrarian which you can find on the web which costs about $30 as I remember. It converts most HTML, TXT, RTF and several other formats to the .imp format. I have had to, on occasion, take a file that I converted from lit or some other format and do a little touch up on it. e.g. remove double CR/LFs, remove hard CR/LF at the end of lines so text will reflow. The only ones I never had much luck with were converting .pdb files to something I could move to .imp.

The b/w LCD screen is not e-ink by any stretch of the imagination but there are several levels of font size and it's eminantly readable. I too wear glasses (bifocals) and find reading on a screen hard. The Ebookwise is fairly light, the screen works fine and the buttons on it are large and nice. The screen can be rotated quickly and simply to put the buttons on the left or right as your mood or reading position dictates.

The rated battery life is 8-9 hours, but by cutting the brightness and contrast down a bit it's still easily readable and pushes the battery life up in the 15-20 hour range.

The memory is only 8 meg if I remember right which means about 6-12 books is about all you can load on it at a time. There is a slot for a memory card but I never bothered. I suspect that would reduce battery life and it's easy enough to dump new books on it, takes a minute or two, that only having a half dozen or so onit was never a hassle.

It doesn't have a lot of functions and the functions that do exist are strictly related to book reading so it a simple, easy to use device with no bells or whistles.

I only have two quibble with it. First, the side where the buttons are is thicker than the opposite edge, intended for gripping I assume, which means propping it up straight can be a little challenge at time, but it's light enough that that has never been more than a minor irritant. Second, the pwoer supply plugs in on the end of it and on nights when I need to recharge it while reading and I happen to need the buttons on the right, I can't do so for fear of breaking the power plug, so I end up having to use it with the buttons on the left. Small irritations considering it's utility.

For the price, until the Sony Reader or something like it comes out, the Ebookwise is an excellant investment.

07-23-2006, 07:18 AM	#2
Fitzwaryn Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 395 Join Date: Jul 2006	The Ebookwise is a good device. It prices at just over $100 on Ebay and other places. I think mine was $120 and there are still a good number of them around. I've been quite pleased with mine. I also have a Cybook from Bookeen but that's primarily for reading tech manuals in PDF format which have a lot of diagrams in them. Conversion to the .IMP format is not any big hassle. There's a program called GebLibrarian which you can find on the web which costs about $30 as I remember. It converts most HTML, TXT, RTF and several other formats to the .imp format. I have had to, on occasion, take a file that I converted from lit or some other format and do a little touch up on it. e.g. remove double CR/LFs, remove hard CR/LF at the end of lines so text will reflow. The only ones I never had much luck with were converting .pdb files to something I could move to .imp. The b/w LCD screen is not e-ink by any stretch of the imagination but there are several levels of font size and it's eminantly readable. I too wear glasses (bifocals) and find reading on a screen hard. The Ebookwise is fairly light, the screen works fine and the buttons on it are large and nice. The screen can be rotated quickly and simply to put the buttons on the left or right as your mood or reading position dictates. The rated battery life is 8-9 hours, but by cutting the brightness and contrast down a bit it's still easily readable and pushes the battery life up in the 15-20 hour range. The memory is only 8 meg if I remember right which means about 6-12 books is about all you can load on it at a time. There is a slot for a memory card but I never bothered. I suspect that would reduce battery life and it's easy enough to dump new books on it, takes a minute or two, that only having a half dozen or so onit was never a hassle. It doesn't have a lot of functions and the functions that do exist are strictly related to book reading so it a simple, easy to use device with no bells or whistles. I only have two quibble with it. First, the side where the buttons are is thicker than the opposite edge, intended for gripping I assume, which means propping it up straight can be a little challenge at time, but it's light enough that that has never been more than a minor irritant. Second, the pwoer supply plugs in on the end of it and on nights when I need to recharge it while reading and I happen to need the buttons on the right, I can't do so for fear of breaking the power plug, so I end up having to use it with the buttons on the left. Small irritations considering it's utility. For the price, until the Sony Reader or something like it comes out, the Ebookwise is an excellant investment.