W.H. Smith's selling Gen3 for £149.99 (now £179.99)

[Ned]

Originally Posted by Slider1960

M= Now I need to convince her I shouldn't have to wait for xmas for it! This will be helped by the fact that her combined xmas and birthday pressie arrives today!

That was exactly my problem slider. I got mine for Christmas and it arrived yesterday from WHS.

But obviously you've got to charge it up to make sure the charger and battery work.
Then you've got to turn it on and make sure all the features work.
And of course you've got to load the fonts and books you want to make sure they operate correctly and it reads all the formats it should.

so now you've got it set up just as you want it, you might as well.......
and anyway, you've just got into that book on it.........seems a pity not to finish it...........

And the crowning touch is my wife's just gone out carrying her Christmas present handbag!!

[cactus42]

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who posts such useful information on this site.
Thanks to you I have a cybook gen3, delivered by WHSmiths in only 3 days.
I saw the posts about the offer on at Fictionwise, so have picked up the first of many ebooks.
Added to that I was also able to find the answer when I couldn't get the dictionary look-up function to work.
Without this site I would still be trying to decide which device to buy!!
So once again...

Thank You

[jljones]

I ordered one this afternoon for delivery to my local branch. Fingers crossed, I'll get it at the weekend.
EDIT
It was delivered to my local branch today (20th Oct), and I've just collected it.Currently on charge although it already showed 80%.
If I'd ordered it a day earlier, I'd probably have got it last Friday.

[bbusybookworm]

Well I've ordered one for my Mother as a birthday gift and as a upgrade for the 500 she is using right now.

Interestingly enough I found a discount code online, which gave a 20% discount so My order price on total ended up being £143.99.

If any ones interested the code is " 20PRIV "

It expires on 2 Nov 08 so use it soon.

And I finally remembered where i found it at MyVoucherCodes

Edit:

DIsregard the Voucher code. WH Smit is not accepting it for Cybooks. They just cancelled my order and gave that reason.

Still, I've reordered it at the standard price. I was just hoping that the discount would mean that the cost of a cover for my existing Cybook would be covered

[bbusybookworm]

Well, Just Received a Mail from Wh Smith that They've shipped The Cybook.

I Just wished they'll Include Tracking information when they send the e-mail.

While, I'm looking forward to setting this Cybook up, I'll then have to explain the different system to my Mom, Who's gotten pretty used to the 500.

Still, having the same device, will in the long run make it easier for me to support and maintain her reader from afar, especially as it Mounts as a USB drive unlike the 500.

[bbusybookworm]

Well, My New Gen 3 Arrived yesterday afternoon, so WH Smith has been pretty quick about getting them out of the door. I ordered on Wednesday Afternoon, and on friday it was in my hands.

You really appreciate something like this when you remember how long it took Bookeen to just process the order (over a week), let alone dispatch it.

Its looking great, and for those interested it's preloaded with Firmware version 1.1 Build 787.

[pdurrant]

Thanks - added to the wiki entry. I think it's probably worthwhile updating to the 796 firmware.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Cybo...mware_Versions

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Its looking great, and for those interested it's preloaded with Firmware version 1.1 Build 787.

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Thanks - added to the wiki entry. I think it's probably worthwhile updating to the 796 firmware.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Cybo...mware_Versions

I Planning to tonight or tomorrow. As I already had a Cybook, and had a another new toy to play with, I've been neglecting the new Gen 3 a bit.

Still, it's not going to take long. The time consuming part is going to be loading all my Mom's favourite books, for her, and having to convert the ones, which I originally only converted for the Sony.

[drazzy]

Suppose there's no way for people in non-UK addresses to get one at the price W.H. Smith's is selling it... pity, really.

[pdurrant]

The price at W.H.Smiths has just dropped - but only due to the recent VAT change. The CyBook Gen 3 is now available for £176.21

Paul

Originally Posted by kalpesh

if someone can wait till christmas the whsmith again drop the price down i think so even waterstone sell sony for cheaper price if market getting down

[AlanE]

Ordered mine on Thursday am, dispatch notice received this morning. Can´t wait - but it´s supposed to be my xmas present

[Mark0]

Originally Posted by AlanE

Ordered mine on Thursday am, dispatch notice received this morning. Can´t wait - but it´s supposed to be my xmas present

I ordered Thursday too, with delivery to a store; I'm from Italy, but a friend in UK will do the favour to pickup it.
The order show up still as "in process"... is this OK?
I hope they send a mail too when it's ready for pickup.

Thanks,
Bye!

[readdiction]

I JUST ORDERED A CYBOOK GEN 3 OFF WHSMITH! (GBP 176)

*rapidly breathing in and out*

I was indecisive over buying either the Sony prs-505 or the Cybook, and finally jumped the fence. I'm still a bit unsure on whether or not I've made the right decision. I finally chose the Cybook over Sony because although its not as slick (you have got to admit that the Sony looks pretty damn cool), it supports Mobi which looks much better on an ereader than a pdf file. Plus, I didn't want to continuously have to do conversions ...

I just need a few clarifications though -
1) Does the difference of 4 gray scales make much of a difference?? I saw a youtube video comparing the prs-500 and prs-505 and the latter had better contrast. But, the prs-500 didn't have a Vizplex screen apparently? So, honestly speaking, is there a difference?!

2) I've read a few contradictory reviews about the battery life. Can it last 8000 page turns (which is more than the Sony) or does it in fact last less?

3) I have a lot of ebooks, and when I say a lot - I really mean over a 1000 ebooks. I know I won't be able to put all on it, and I wouldn't want to anyway, but just how many can I put in my Cybook without it being utterly slow? Plus, how does this effect browsing for books? There is no file system for the Cybook as of yet, right? whereas Sony has 'Collections' which is some sort of file/folder organization for books.

Oh, and another reason I chose Cybook over Sony - its cheaper and has worldwide warranty. Which is good seeing as I spend half my time in Hungary, and the other half in the UK.

Please please reassure me on my choice!!! (I saw another youtube video, and the person did NOT sound like he was happy with his purchase!)

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by readdiction

I JUST ORDERED A CYBOOK GEN 3 OFF WHSMITH! (GBP 176)

*rapidly breathing in and out*

Welcome to the eBook reader club .

As a owner of a PRS 500 and now a Cybook, I'm sure you made the right decision in choosing the Gen 3.

Good Mobi support, and the wide availability of books from stores in other countries (which are usually quiet a bit cheaper then UK stores) was one of them main reasons I went with the Gen3.

I'll suggest checking out US based stores like Fictionwise, BooksonBoard, etc, and avoiding buying anything direst from Mobipocket as they are the Wholesaler and are usually quiet a bit more expensive as they don't want to undercut their resellers (Not to mention the VAT they'll charge you if your in the EU.)

I just need a few clarifications though -
1) Does the difference of 4 gray scales make much of a difference?? I saw a youtube video comparing the prs-500 and prs-505 and the latter had better contrast. But, the prs-500 didn't have a Vizplex screen apparently? So, honestly speaking, is there a difference?!

You're not going to notice any real difference in the greyscale levels when reading eBooks. When it does become noticeable (But not really that much) is when you are viewing photos on the device, but even then the Gen3 is more then usable, and I've read a ton of web comics (bot b&w and Colour without any conversion) on it without difficulty.

2) I've read a few contradictory reviews about the battery life. Can it last 8000 page turns (which is more than the Sony) or does it in fact last less?

The page turns tend to be a bit misleading, but actual reading time for both is pretty similar.
The difference is really in the standby time, with the sony providing over a couple of weeks of standby, where as the Gen 3 gives about 3-4 days. But if you switch off the Gen 3 after reading, it'll last for weeks, the only drawback being the longer boot up times (and the more books you have on it the longer it takes)

3) I have a lot of ebooks, and when I say a lot - I really mean over a 1000 ebooks. I know I won't be able to put all on it, and I wouldn't want to anyway, but just how many can I put in my Cybook without it being utterly slow? Plus, how does this effect browsing for books? There is no file system for the Cybook as of yet, right? whereas Sony has 'Collections' which is some sort of file/folder organization for books.

This is one are where the Gen3 suffers when trying to manage Greater then 100+ books, as there is no folder organisation (though you can use folders to have it display files according to folder name, though the display is still flat)

Having said that, Bookeen's mentioned that Folder navigation is on their to do list so we may get it in a future update.

While Sony's collections are nice, it does require you to manage them from a PC, which can be a bit of a pain at times. Though I do like how Sony allows you to jump to books starting with a specific letter, which can save a little time.

Also, while its nice to have every book in your library in your device, its really easy to load and remove books in the gen 3 as it just shows up as a USB drive on a computer, and you can just drag and drop files. and having large number of files on either of the Readers is going to slow them down.

Please please reassure me on my choice!!! (I saw another youtube video, and the person did NOT sound like he was happy with his purchase!)

While the Gen 3 has gotten a somewhat bad rap due to problems in the initial firmware and other problems , the current firmware is pretty mature, ans if you treat the reader with care you should not have any problems.

Having said that, if you find that you are not happy with it (Which I'm doubtful), you can always return it to WH Smith, and I believe you can do that at any of their stores, which can be convenient.

[Ivoch]

Originally Posted by readdiction

I JUST ORDERED A CYBOOK GEN 3 OFF WHSMITH! (GBP 176)

*rapidly breathing in and out*

I was indecisive over buying either the Sony prs-505 or the Cybook, and finally jumped the fence. I'm still a bit unsure on whether or not I've made the right decision. I finally chose the Cybook over Sony because although its not as slick (you have got to admit that the Sony looks pretty damn cool), it supports Mobi which looks much better on an ereader than a pdf file. Plus, I didn't want to continuously have to do conversions ...

...

Please please reassure me on my choice!!! (I saw another youtube video, and the person did NOT sound like he was happy with his purchase!)

The Cybook is a great device and I love it (especially due to the fact it has native support for unicode fonts ). I have only one gripe with it (and not that a small one, sadly) - the bad position of the menu and directional buttons. Or rather, the lack of additional page turn buttons on more comfortable positions.

Even though I'm left handed, I can hold the reader just as comfortably with the right hand, but it still isn't that good - I have to bend my thumb quite a bit to reach the next page button. The thick cover, while otherwise great, makes it even harder to reach the buttons. Even worse is the fact that you can't at least swap the previous and next page buttons - as it is now, the next page buttons are the right/down ones, which are the least accessible of the four, when you hold the reader with the right hand. People who prefer holding it with the left hand are even worse off.

Maybe it will be different for you, but I'd suggest trying it for a bit longer the first few days, so you can see how it works for you and if necessary, make use of the 7-day return policy. Though to be honest I doubt you'll want to get rid of it once you get it.

Originally Posted by drazzy

Suppose there's no way for people in non-UK addresses to get one at the price W.H. Smith's is selling it... pity, really.

Not unless you have a friend in the UK who can forward it to you. That's how I got mine.