Cybook versus Bebook!!!!

yuuringuyen · 12-16-2008, 03:29 AM

Hi,
After a while searching, reading infomations, now I'm in the market between Cybook gen3 and Bebook.
First of all, I consider about the formats they support.
Here what I know:
Bebook: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3.
Cybook: MobipocketTM PRC, PalmDoc, HTML, TXT, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, MP3, TTF
Bebook seems to be the winner, but I do know that cybook is clear winner for Mobipocket files and fonts they support. And I have tons of ebooks with unicode Vietnamese. I do not care too much which one is the winner, only thing I care is the convenience and worldwide-using. I'm lazy to convert format file <in case I have differents file formats>
Secondly, I think about their features:
I have no experience about how they work, easy to use, the grey screen,.... and stuff like that.
Finally is about their looking, how they are built (case)?
SO, please give me any idea, your opinion, comments.... for my first ebook reader.
I really appreciate
THANKS

mtravellerh · 12-16-2008, 03:40 AM

In a nutshell, Bebook is an open platform and supports more formats, seems also to be slightly more solid than Cybook, which is the slicker of the two readers that supports not so many formats but does a slightly better job with them. Cybook seems to be a bit more fragile, too.

I went for the Bebook and I am right now looking around to find the best offer I can find since I'm pretty pennyless!

Maybe I will get a gift for my birthday, though (january 9)

ErwinOtten · 12-16-2008, 04:22 AM

I chose the CyBook because A: I own one

and B: mobi-support is until now superior and that's what counts for me in an e-reader. I'm also not sure if the BeBook has dictionary support and that's a big plus too for the CyBook.

On the other hand I realize that the BeBook has far superior power-management and that they are closing the gap in mobi-support rather quick.

I bought my CyBook when the BeBook had no mobi-support at all. At the moment I guess I just would buy the cheapest .......

slayda · 12-16-2008, 10:43 AM

Having both, I think I can give a fair comparison. Here are my opinions/thoughts/observations

Cybook -
Pros;

Discionary support
Any True Type font and includes all variations (bold, italics, etc.)
More mature software
Better implementation of Mobipocket support

Cons;

Need to do better on SW updates and fixing known problems
No page numbers. Instead there is a bar indicating how far into the book you are
Slow booting

EZ Reader (as I understand it, essentially the same as BeBook) -
Pros;

Heavier & appears more sturdy - also a little thicker
More rugged (i.e. stronger) seeming leather case
Supposedly has the ability to add True Type fonts (more later on this)
Nice hardware interface (better buttons & more of them, etc.)
Shows actual page numbers
Boots quickly
Allows folders and sub-folders (this is good to categorize your books as you want them)
Bookmarks show a few lines of text (at least for PRC books)
Working hard to satisfy customers

Cons;

Each format as its own (slightly different) look & feel interface (i.e. there seems to be little or no consistency between the interfaces of the different formats)
I've had several hangups with PRC books - very little experience with other formats)
Books often open at some previous place rather than where you were last reading
Page numbers (last page) sometimes gets confused

Bottom line, I like them both. I think the Cybook is currently the better but the EZ Reader has better potential once they get the SW working correctly and there is better consistency among the various formats.

I apologize for the length of this post. I usually go with shorter answers.

DaleDe · 12-16-2008, 11:08 AM

All mobi page numbers are estimates no matter what device you use. The format does not support page numbers.

Cybook has more font sizes (12) than EZ reader which is 3 I think. EZ reader downloadable trutype fonts do not work on mobi files, only FB2 and text I believe. Complex PDF support in the Cybook is better with better zoom options and panning. The Hanlin readers are much more open and even the OS can be replaced with an open version if you wish.

slayda · 12-16-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

All mobi page numbers are estimates no matter what device you use. The format does not support page numbers.

Cybook has more font sizes (12) than EZ reader which is 3 I think. EZ reader downloadable trutype fonts do not work on mobi files, only FB2 and text I believe. Complex PDF support in the Cybook is better with better zoom options and panning. The Hanlin readers are much more open and even the OS can be replaced with an open version if you wish.

3 sizes for Mobipocket, 5 sizes for RTF & FBReader (and maybe TXT - not sure on the latter.). And you're correct about the TTFs except it also works with RTF (but I think they're using the FBReader to read the RTF - could be wrong, this is just a guess.)

Alisa · 12-16-2008, 12:48 PM

A page number that isn't consistent isn't very useful to me. I like to have a way to jump to a location in a book but I need to know that when I enter that location, that's where I'm going. So far the Amazon system is working well in that regard. I think people find the numbering system foreign so it's not very popular, but it at least works consistently.

As for the question at hand, I voted for the Cybook. I think the Bebook could overtake them with some work on their firmware. If they fixed their bugs, added dictionary and font support, and maybe sweetened the deal with another highly-desired feature like folder support or content search, Cybook would be in trouble.

pilotbob · 12-16-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slayda

Pros;

Heavier & appears more sturdy - also a little thicker

I think some would consider "heavier" a con too.

BOb

slayda · 12-16-2008, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

A page number that isn't consistent isn't very useful to me. I like to have a way to jump to a location in a book but I need to know that when I enter that location, that's where I'm going. So far the Amazon system is working well in that regard. I think people find the numbering system foreign so it's not very popular, but it at least works consistently.

As for the question at hand, I voted for the Cybook. I think the Bebook could overtake them with some work on their firmware. If they fixed their bugs, added dictionary and font support, and maybe sweetened the deal with another highly-desired feature like folder support or content search, Cybook would be in trouble.

EZ Reader does have "folder support" if I understand what you mean by that. It allows you to create folders and subfolders and to address them via the reader. That is one of the things I like about it.

slayda · 12-16-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think some would consider "heavier" a con too.

BOb

Agreed!

sianon · 12-16-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

A page number that isn't consistent isn't very useful to me. I like to have a way to jump to a location in a book but I need to know that when I enter that location, that's where I'm going. So far the Amazon system is working well in that regard. I think people find the numbering system foreign so it's not very popular, but it at least works consistently.

As for the question at hand, I voted for the Cybook. I think the Bebook could overtake them with some work on their firmware. If they fixed their bugs, added dictionary and font support, and maybe sweetened the deal with another highly-desired feature like folder support or content search, Cybook would be in trouble.

BeBook does support a folder structure, it also has a better design in terms of where page turning buttons are located.
I have both the BeBook and the Cybook and my preference is for the BeBook.
I have a large number of books in RTF format which is nicely suported on the Bebook and not at all on the Cybook.
I don't like the PDF implementation on the Cybook at all. The little arrows that appear on the zoomed PDF is utterly irritating to me. I much prefer the faded grey text.
Mobi support is now perfectly acceptable on the BeBook following the 5 December update. Although I cant speak for the dictionary support, this is not a feature that is important to me.
I would like to see BeBook team improve the Lit format as this is still a poor implementation.
The Bebook team seem to be committed to constant improvement of the device as are all the other Hanlin clones.

Karen

tompe · 12-16-2008, 03:22 PM

The battery time is superior in the Bebook. If you cannot accept a boot time of 40 s (the Cybook with 300 items on it) then you will get a maximum of 4 days if you do not read anything if you keep the Cybook on all the time.

I would today by a Bebook because of the superior power managment and the folder support.

DaleDe · 12-16-2008, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

A page number that isn't consistent isn't very useful to me. I like to have a way to jump to a location in a book but I need to know that when I enter that location, that's where I'm going. So far the Amazon system is working well in that regard. I think people find the numbering system foreign so it's not very popular, but it at least works consistently.

As for the question at hand, I voted for the Cybook. I think the Bebook could overtake them with some work on their firmware. If they fixed their bugs, added dictionary and font support, and maybe sweetened the deal with another highly-desired feature like folder support or content search, Cybook would be in trouble.

I believe FBReader has a system similar to Kindle although the number of bytes is different. BeBook and all Hanlin's already support folders.

Dale

Alisa · 12-16-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I believe FBReader has a system similar to Kindle although the number of bytes is different. BeBook and all Hanlin's already support folders.

Dale

Nice. I wish others would follow suit.

daviddem · 12-16-2008, 07:12 PM

With the plethora of DRM killer and conversion tools available, format support is not critical: you can kill the DRM and convert from one to another quite easily (a bit of a learning curve and confusing at first, but OK if you have basic computer education).

I bought a Bebook. I still find the Sony more sexy as a device, but I could not resolve to buy one purely for philosophical reasons. The way the device is means to prevent you to buy books from other sources than the Sony store. This is easily circumvented via the aforementioned tools, but still, I refuse to support this approach. So Sony won't have my money.

View Poll Results: which one is better?
cybook	20	58.82%
bebook	14	41.18%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 34. You may not vote on this poll

12-16-2008, 03:29 AM	#1
yuuringuyen Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California, USA Device: undecided	Cybook versus Bebook!!!! Hi, After a while searching, reading infomations, now I'm in the market between Cybook gen3 and Bebook. First of all, I consider about the formats they support. Here what I know: Bebook: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3. Cybook: MobipocketTM PRC, PalmDoc, HTML, TXT, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, MP3, TTF Bebook seems to be the winner, but I do know that cybook is clear winner for Mobipocket files and fonts they support. And I have tons of ebooks with unicode Vietnamese. I do not care too much which one is the winner, only thing I care is the convenience and worldwide-using. I'm lazy to convert format file <in case I have differents file formats> Secondly, I think about their features: I have no experience about how they work, easy to use, the grey screen,.... and stuff like that. Finally is about their looking, how they are built (case)? SO, please give me any idea, your opinion, comments.... for my first ebook reader. I really appreciate THANKS

12-16-2008, 10:43 AM	#4
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Having both, I think I can give a fair comparison. Here are my opinions/thoughts/observations Cybook - Pros; Discionary support Any True Type font and includes all variations (bold, italics, etc.) More mature software Better implementation of Mobipocket support Cons; Need to do better on SW updates and fixing known problems No page numbers. Instead there is a bar indicating how far into the book you are Slow booting EZ Reader (as I understand it, essentially the same as BeBook) - Pros; Heavier & appears more sturdy - also a little thicker More rugged (i.e. stronger) seeming leather case Supposedly has the ability to add True Type fonts (more later on this) Nice hardware interface (better buttons & more of them, etc.) Shows actual page numbers Boots quickly Allows folders and sub-folders (this is good to categorize your books as you want them) Bookmarks show a few lines of text (at least for PRC books) Working hard to satisfy customers Cons; Each format as its own (slightly different) look & feel interface (i.e. there seems to be little or no consistency between the interfaces of the different formats) I've had several hangups with PRC books - very little experience with other formats) Books often open at some previous place rather than where you were last reading Page numbers (last page) sometimes gets confused Bottom line, I like them both. I think the Cybook is currently the better but the EZ Reader has better potential once they get the SW working correctly and there is better consistency among the various formats. I apologize for the length of this post. I usually go with shorter answers. Last edited by slayda; 12-16-2008 at 10:46 AM.

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12-16-2008, 03:40 AM	#2
mtravellerh book creator Posts: 9,657 Karma: 3856660 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Luxembourg Device: Kindle Scribe	In a nutshell, Bebook is an open platform and supports more formats, seems also to be slightly more solid than Cybook, which is the slicker of the two readers that supports not so many formats but does a slightly better job with them. Cybook seems to be a bit more fragile, too. I went for the Bebook and I am right now looking around to find the best offer I can find since I'm pretty pennyless! Maybe I will get a gift for my birthday, though (january 9)

12-16-2008, 04:22 AM	#3
ErwinOtten Addict Posts: 338 Karma: 444 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: The Netherlands Device: Cybook G3	I chose the CyBook because A: I own one and B: mobi-support is until now superior and that's what counts for me in an e-reader. I'm also not sure if the BeBook has dictionary support and that's a big plus too for the CyBook. On the other hand I realize that the BeBook has far superior power-management and that they are closing the gap in mobi-support rather quick. I bought my CyBook when the BeBook had no mobi-support at all. At the moment I guess I just would buy the cheapest .......

12-16-2008, 11:08 AM	#5
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	All mobi page numbers are estimates no matter what device you use. The format does not support page numbers. Cybook has more font sizes (12) than EZ reader which is 3 I think. EZ reader downloadable trutype fonts do not work on mobi files, only FB2 and text I believe. Complex PDF support in the Cybook is better with better zoom options and panning. The Hanlin readers are much more open and even the OS can be replaced with an open version if you wish.

12-16-2008, 12:48 PM	#7
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	A page number that isn't consistent isn't very useful to me. I like to have a way to jump to a location in a book but I need to know that when I enter that location, that's where I'm going. So far the Amazon system is working well in that regard. I think people find the numbering system foreign so it's not very popular, but it at least works consistently. As for the question at hand, I voted for the Cybook. I think the Bebook could overtake them with some work on their firmware. If they fixed their bugs, added dictionary and font support, and maybe sweetened the deal with another highly-desired feature like folder support or content search, Cybook would be in trouble.

12-16-2008, 03:22 PM	#12
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	The battery time is superior in the Bebook. If you cannot accept a boot time of 40 s (the Cybook with 300 items on it) then you will get a maximum of 4 days if you do not read anything if you keep the Cybook on all the time. I would today by a Bebook because of the superior power managment and the folder support.

12-16-2008, 07:12 PM	#15
daviddem Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 244 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Dubai Device: Sony PRS-T1	With the plethora of DRM killer and conversion tools available, format support is not critical: you can kill the DRM and convert from one to another quite easily (a bit of a learning curve and confusing at first, but OK if you have basic computer education). I bought a Bebook. I still find the Sony more sexy as a device, but I could not resolve to buy one purely for philosophical reasons. The way the device is means to prevent you to buy books from other sources than the Sony store. This is easily circumvented via the aforementioned tools, but still, I refuse to support this approach. So Sony won't have my money.