Ectaco jetBook Mini?!?!?!

[celemark]

The wording on the supported formats is a bit vague.

Support for LIT, MOBI, EPUB, HTML, PRC, RTF, PDB, PDF via Calibre conversion to TXT and FB2.

This could mean just PDF needs to be converted to TXT/FB2, while LIT, MOBI, EPUB, HTML, PRC, RTF and PDB are natively supported.

[celemark]

Hmmm, just watched the video and it does appear that only TXT and FB2 are supported on the Mini.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by celemark

The wording on the supported formats is a bit vague.



This could mean just PDF needs to be converted to TXT/FB2, while LIT, MOBI, EPUB, HTML, PRC, RTF and PDB are natively supported.

LIT would be new and unlikely.

As the owner of a rather large Palm (.pdb) library, from my PDA reading days,
I would hope that were the case, but I very much doubt it.

Luck;
Ken

[smithno]

If it's just txt and fb2, I'll wait. I don't need additional formats to convert to. Otherwise, I'd order one today to keep my JB and JBL company.

[ardeegee]

I hope that is just unclear language on the web site. Surely they wouldn't have dropped file support to only txt anf fb2? For what possible reason would they do that?

If it does continue to support all the formats of the Jetbook Lite, I definitely want one at that price.

And-- kay-lee-brey? I always figgured "cal-ah-ber."

[derrell]

Just two formats is a little weak, and that does seem to be what the specs and video imply. I do like the fb2 format a lot though but the calibre conversion to it is a little weak. Txt as a format just sucks.

On the plus side I like it the design. More hardware manufacturers need to design e-readers like tools (as mentioned earlier in the thread) and not like fashion accessories. Now they need one that has a larger screen and an even larger battery hump. Pile in 6 or 8 double AA's and give us a hump to be proud of along with a lot of juice to use.

Even with the limited format support I think I will be getting one of these as they become available. I like the design, like others it reminds me of the ebookwise that I still have and use and I love the ergonomics of the thing. It is aging though and getting a little twitchy.

With future firmware releases for the JB Mini I would expect to see more formats supported and I would think that we would see at least one DRM infested format supported.

[capidamonte]

It's always something, isn't it? TXT and FB2? Frack.

I'm gonna hold off now, until I see some momentum on getting ePubs or zipped HTML on there. I love the part in the video where the spokesmodel says something about how "we listened to our users" when we designed the Mini -- I don't recall anyone, anywhere, at any time saying "Please revert the firmware to supporting only text files and a weird XML format that doesn't allow for decent layout!"

As usual, the hardware is great and the firmware is gonna suck ash, for months at least. (Even if the 2GB limit on SD cards is hardware, that's a reasonable compromise to me -- 2GB is a lot of books. If it doesn't play audio, that is. If it does, and it's a hardware limit, that's stupid.)

I'll bet this is all about getting Adobe's damned permission to load their frackin' software on there.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

I hope that is just unclear language on the web site. Surely they wouldn't have dropped file support to only txt anf fb2? For what possible reason would they do that?

If it does continue to support all the formats of the Jetbook Lite, I definitely want one at that price.

And-- kay-lee-brey? I always figgured "cal-ah-ber."

This is from the calibre website, by the developer himself.

The name calibre was chosen by my wife, Krittika. The libre in calibre stands for freedom, indicating that calibre is a free and open source product, modifiable by all. Nonetheless, calibre should be pronounced as cali-ber, not ca-libre.

[Seabound]

Well, I watched Jerry's video, and it seems that format support is through calibre file conversion, and not native support. That sucks. Come on jetBook, what were you thinking? I'm not buying this.

[mrscoach]

Somewhere in the FAQs it talks about Calibre also being associated with the meaning of 'high calibre'. Hence the pronounciation is cali-ber. Plus the introduction video has him saying Cali-ber. I always thought brey, not ber, until I heard that.

As long as I know where it is on my computer (and it works) they can call it a skunk and I'll still use it.

[bill_mchale]

Well originally, the Jetbook didn't support a heck of a lot more than fb2, txt and I think pdf, so I suspect that better format support will come with different firmware revisions. Still, not to include ePub in their initial release is a bit of a misstep in my book. If they did ePub with B&N DRM, this likely would have jumped to the top of my list. Now, afraid not.

--
Bill

[Marcy]

FB2 as the only ebook format? Only 2G of storage?

What poor decisions. There is no reason whatsoever to make this not support any size SD card.

And FB2? Unless they are looking at former USSR, Russian-speaking nations as their primary market they really missed the boat here. No US bookseller sells ebooks in FB2 format. Even Fictionwise with it's wide-format-range multiformat books doesn't sell FB2 books.

Expecting people to have to convert everything via calibre is ludicrous. And pinning the basic running of your device on a free program that you have no control over is equally ludicrous. Don't get me wrong, I ♥ calibre and think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if I was marketing a device that absolutely depended on it, I would have made a deal with Kovid to pay him to guarantee whatever updates my device would need and possibly even getting a customized version with my company branding.

And the final indignity is that FB2 books are about twice as big as epubs, at least the way calibre converts my epubs. So with the 2GB limit, my current library of books that is about 1.8G would now need 3.6G, or more than the device can hold. Choosing to only support such a large format coupled with such a limited storage space is the final ludicrous I will use in this post.

What a blown opportunity. If they had made this support epubs and SDHC cards it would have been a real contender.

-Marcy

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

On the other hand:

I don't really care about DRM for my reader, as I remove it from all my purchases.

In the process of the above I convert them all into a single format, ePub but it could
just as easily be FB2 or TXT.

2GB is what I am using now with my JBL and still have room with >6000 ebooks on it.

It's pretty small, maybe I could fit one in someplace.

Luck;
Ken

I tried to convert one of my prc books to FB2 once (just to see how that would render). It didn't. It converted to epub flawlessly...

like it as a basic reader for the kids (especially at its likely eventual street price) or for a mobile technophobe that I would be willing to support, like a parent or neighbor.

It's absolutely not a device for the mobile technophobe... As it would be hard to buy any book and get it to the device, as those books generally are in epub. (or mobi, but you'll need a Kindle then anyway). So, all books that that parent or neighbour buys will have to be de-drm'd and converted.

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

It's absolutely not a device for the mobile technophobe... As it would be hard to buy any book and get it to the device, as those books generally are in epub. (or mobi, but you'll need a Kindle then anyway). So, all books that that parent or neighbour buys will have to be de-drm'd and converted.

Yes, exactly.

This device will only be good for the ebook-techno-geek that can strip DRM and convert books. It doesn't even come with it's own software but tells you to go find calibre on the internet to do the job it should have done. But the ebook-techno-geek market probably wants a device that is more customizable....

I could never give this to my Mom and expect her to buy/load books on it. I could easily give her a Kindle/Sony/Nook and she could get her own books.

Hopefully they give this a firmware update to support epub and Adobe DRM. Then at least non-technies can buy books from Sony/Kobo and take out library books. That would still leave the 2G limitation on book storage, but I suspect that is much less of a problem to most people. I just love having my entire library with me so I can read whatever I'm in the mood for next.

-Marcy

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Seabound

Well, I watched Jerry's video, and it seems that format support is through calibre file conversion, and not native support. That sucks. Come on jetBook, what were you thinking? I'm not buying this.

I have to wonder what the market is. That is to say, who the heck would buy something this primitive? Maybe if they sold it for twenty bucks in third world countries there would be people willing to do the work the unit requires.

As is, this appears to me to be a non-starter. I have to think that there will be a firmware upgrade before November 15, or else Ectaco is wasting its time.