Bebook Mini is available for pre-order

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

It's not more for me. If I had ordered in the US, from Astak, I'd have paid at least €190. I'd have gotten a cover extra. I now paid €201,35, didn't have a cover, but got a warranty in my own country. And I've had extra costs before when I ordered something from outside the EU, which I didn't count on.

For me, those €10 are worth it.

True, as this is going to be different for every person. you just have to decide what works best for you.

I wanted it as soon as possible, and did not want to get another one from Bookeen, so My options were a little limited. i've usually had good experiences with ordering stuff from abroad (Got my first reader a PRS500 that way) so that probably factored in as well.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

True, as this is going to be different for every person. you just have to decide what works best for you.

I wanted it as soon as possible, and did not want to get another one from Bookeen, so My options were a little limited. i've usually had good experiences with ordering stuff from abroad (Got my first reader a PRS500 that way) so that probably factored in as well.

If the price difference would be €20, instead of the €10 here, I would probably have ordered it some time ago from Astak already. I did a lot of calculating this month And if it still hadn't been available this week, I'd have ordered at Astak as well. But it went on sale by bol.com on thursday or friday, and they have a order-before-9-next-day-delivery policy, so, that was the quickest way at that time

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

If the price difference would be €20, instead of the €10 here, I would probably have ordered it some time ago from Astak already. I did a lot of calculating this month And if it still hadn't been available this week, I'd have ordered at Astak as well. But it went on sale by bol.com on thursday or friday, and they have a order-before-9-next-day-delivery policy, so, that was the quickest way at that time

Well, that will probably arrive in your hands first, then if your ordered from Astak.

One of my only complaints with them is that they only offer USPS, which while keeping the shipping reasonable does not offer a way to get it faster if you are willing to pay.

I'll also definnately suggest getting the cover if you not got it yet, as while the Pocket Pro / Bebook Mini does seem a lot sturdier then the cybook Gen 3 I had previously i'm not going to trust myself taking it out without a protective cover.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Well, that will probably arrive in your hands first, then if your ordered from Astak.

Ordered friday afternoon, had it in my hands at saturday 14:00 (might be a minute of 10 off...)

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

One of my only complaints with them is that they only offer USPS, which while keeping the shipping reasonable does not offer a way to get it faster if you are willing to pay.

My problem with USPS is that I don't know how it will be delivered. Not all mail delivery services will deliver on Saturday for instance. And you must be home during working hours (no, we don't know when we'll be there, somewhere between 9 and 5) to get your package. The Dutch mail service will deliver on Saturday and if I hadn't been at home, I could have picked it up at the post office the working next day.

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

I'll also definnately suggest getting the cover if you not got it yet, as while the Pocket Pro / Bebook Mini does seem a lot sturdier then the cybook Gen 3 I had previously i'm not going to trust myself taking it out without a protective cover.

I will, once a nice one is available, if only to protect the screen while in my bag.

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

My problem with USPS is that I don't know how it will be delivered. Not all mail delivery services will deliver on Saturday for instance. And you must be home during working hours (no, we don't know when we'll be there, somewhere between 9 and 5) to get your package. The Dutch mail service will deliver on Saturday and if I hadn't been at home, I could have picked it up at the post office the working next day.

Well USPS usually goes through the local Post office.

So here in the UK it goes through Royal Mail, more specific Parcelforce.

The nice thing is that if the parcel came with Tracking (which Astak does) you can track it through the USPS site and your local carrier's site which is usually a little more accurate once it lands.

The 9 to 5 is a bit of pain, but Luckily there is a security desk in my building, where there is usually someone who can sigh for it.

[Storm27]

Thanks for everyone's comments on the international ordering. I'm still not 100% decded between the bebook andthe opus so I'm looking forward to all the first range of reviews but it does at least show that there are multiple options on this model.

[Jokoto]

I pre-ordered a Mini from the Bebook site. Too bad about not getting a case for it yet, as I'm not comfortable with the idea of transporting it without some protection for the screen. I hope they offer a solution soon.

Who made the case for the Pocket PRO? The only third-party case I can find at the moment is an oversize one that would ruin the pocketability of the Bebook Mini.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Jokoto

Who made the case for the Pocket PRO?

As far as I know it's the stock v5 case.

[redbaron101]

i have been lucky enough to get the bebook mini - for those that dont know its the jine hanlin v5 (the bebook 1 is hanlin v3). I was bit shocked to find the exclusion of a case.

I have a bebook one i purchased a year ago so my initial impression against my old bebook:

the bebook mini is small! Very comfortable in my hands. I was initially concerned the screen may be too small but the viewing area is only just under 2cm smaller in both height & width, and displaying the same rtf book on both devices, I only lost one line in the smaller bebook! The default font is slighty smaller than the bebook one (but I personally like that). The colour of the bebbok is definately darker than the bebook one - my bebook one is a much lighter shade of black.

battery on back is actually much larger but slimmer and higher capacity than the older bebook. Annoyed to find its not standard battery (you can use nokia bl5c and similar on bebook one - the bebook mini has larger slim battery with plug that plugs into a socket in the mini bebook. There is the same sd card slot (currently redundant in bebook one and bebook mini) in battery compartment as well. The back of the bebook mini also now houses a new speaker vent - the bebook one didnt have any obvious speaker holes/vent.

Not sure if a replacement battery will be easy to find, but its early days. The larger capacity of the battery on the bebook mini will definately improve battery performance.

the sd card is a bit more snug in the bebook mini, putting the sd card in and out, maybe a little to snug, but this doesnt detract from the operation of the card.

the screwdriver, lanyard and headphones is still supplied with the minibebook, nice touch as most people wont have mini screwdriver needed to open the battery compartment.

The small flap covering the usb and headphone socket on the bebook one is gone from the bebook mini. The headphone socket remains at the bottomand usb moved to the top - given that the sd card slot isnt covered either (which is the same for bebook one), its a pity these arent all located at the top.

One great feature of the mini bebook is as well as the standard buttons on the side and bottom for flipping pages, it now has a jog wheel on the side for turning pages!!! This is so comfortable to use I wish they had put it on the bebook one.

The bebook mini has the new firmware preinstalled which now moves the bebook away from mobi support - the old bebook one had mobi support until the march firmware update. The only way to read any purchased mobi books on the bebook one is to roll back to older firmware, and roll it forward to read epub drm (the old firmwares only supported mobi drm). For those of us reading drm free books of course this isnt so much of a problem (but it will be for a lot of other users)

The reset button on the bebook mini is still small, but far more accessable than the bebook one. Its small enough not to be pressed by mistake, but big enough to be easily pressed by even a standard biro pen.

bottom line initial impressions: very pleased with the new smaller size. The smaller size hasnt actually detracted that much from the viewable area so in this repsect (imho) its superior to the older bebook. I love the jog switch for turning pages - but then I am easily pleased! The bad points include no case - big let down - I cant even find case I can buy for it on the bebook site. obviously in time the case may become available to buy, but until then you cant really take it anywhere unprotected - it would be too easy to damage the screen or collect dust etc. the uncovered slots are very annoying - you can cover the sd card by permanently leaving an sd card in there. On the old bebook the other ports was covered by a flap so you were good - in the small one this is now open, with extra speaker sockets on the back and more prone to dust/damamge etc.

overall the lack of case lets this product down, especially given how easy it is to break the current family of ereader screens. Otherwise this has some definate advantages over the bebook one.

[Jokoto]

So my Bebook Mini will ship some time next week, not the day before yesterday due to Chinese holidays, according to the reply to my inquiry I got from My Bebook Team... They also said that colored cases would be available "very soon". I hope the prices are reasonable, as the separate shipping cost on top make ordering one afterward a pain.

Edit: Hooray - I just got a tracking number, so it'll possibly be shipping tomorrow for a delivery next week!

[Jokoto]

Received it yesterday! Charged for hours and hours as instructed and now I can start using it properly.

Yesterday I had problems with freezes when trying some .lit files, but after converting them to epub they work much better. Odd how different the available options are with different formats, for example you can't rotate lit files but epubs, sure... ditto for directly choosing the font size from the menu!

Now I need a protective case for it. None are available, but perhaps I'll look into making one myself. A good, sturdy case is essential for actually reading with it in places other than at home.

[Sweetpea]

www.stylzworld.com has cases.

[redbaron101]

stylzworld are currently on back order for their cases - I ordered mines 9 days ago, and I got an email earlier today saying

Originally Posted by stylzworld

Thank you for your order. Due to the overwhelming success of the Bebook mini cases we are running a bit behind schedule in shipping the covers to customers. Please don't worry. All orders are received and processed. You will see the cover in your mail asap.

We will give away a clip on booklight with each delayed order!

We apologize for any inconvenience.

I was surprised bebook mini doesnt come with a case - definately a market blunder imho, im pleased theyre giving away a booklight for the delay :-)

[Jokoto]

Originally Posted by redbaron101

I was surprised bebook mini doesnt come with a case - definately a market blunder imho, im pleased theyre giving away a booklight for the delay :-)

Instead it came with a not so good book-light, or at least mine did. A white one, with a clip I don't dare clip on my black Bebook Mini, so it will remain unused.

The original Hanlin case seems ugly and the Stylz case, while pretty nice, isn't exactly like I'd like it to be, so I'm designing my own cover for my Bebook Mini. Whether it works or not depends on if I can find some metal with a suitable strength to make a clip for those mounting slots, and also for protecting the screen itself. It'll be velvet-lined leather otherwise.

[Sweetpea]

Can you remove the reader easily from the cover?