Just got my Cybook Opus

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by tompe

Yes, it is in the layout menu I think. It is very useful when the light is bad.

Don't find such a menu.
Actually, there aren't lots of menu entries...

[JSWolf]

I'll create an ePub book tomorrow using Fontin as the base font and if you don't mind, give it a go on the Opus please.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can you get a photo of the screen of the Opus so we can see how it looks?

Attached: The "distorted" thumbnails. On PC, they're absolutely fine.
Need broad daylight (it's 5 a.m. here) for screenshots demonstrating the "fading text".

UPDATE:
The "distorted" covers are SOLELY PDFs.
ePUB iS FINE!!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'll create an ePub book tomorrow using Fontin as the base font and if you don't mind, give it a go on the Opus please.

Okay, very interested myself.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'll create an ePub book tomorrow using Fontin as the base font and if you don't mind, give it a go on the Opus please.

Actually, ePub looks way better than PDF. PDF doesn't make real sense so far (most users don't like it anyway), but I guess ePub is workable.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by richman

Yeah, if it sucks so bad, since you got it today, maybe you should just send it back. If the screen is as bad as 700 and you rate the 700 screen the worse of the bunch, use the money for one of the other ones that seems more promising . Bro, you are good sport and all, and it's not like you return everything , you have 8 of them, it's close to 300 dollars , I'd return it and say it's defective and too flimsy for you.
You can keep it and stuff it in draw or maybe wait for update, check your return policy!
You are our resident ereader tester!

I'll keep it. And I'll make it work.
In a few hours I'll go biking and will test in broad daylight.

[mgmueller]

- PDFs are zoomed, ePUBS are reflowed.
- Results for PDFs are underwhelming. Most of the covers are "distorted". When going for smaller zoom level, the "fonts" fade out.
- ePUBS are absolutely okay. I'd expected even a bit more, given the higher dpi rate. But it's fine and can compete with the standard 6" units.
- Adobe Digital Edition still doesn't show my Micro SD card, only the internal memory (whatever SD card I've tried).
- No SDHC support, so my limit was 2GB. I can live with that, but a brand new unit should be able to support the common memory modules.
- Design is less "elegant" than Cybook Gen 3, feels a bit "plasticky". But for such a small unit it's okay, would be more "annoying" for a bigger one.
- I don't like the 3 bottom buttons. Flimsy and not very ergonomic.
- No cover, just a sleeve included. Because of it's "round edges" it might be difficult to find a 3rd party cover.
- User replaceable battery, not even a screwdriver needed.
- Screen rotation works flawlessly.

Meaning: It's not yet in my top 3. Those top 3 still are iRex iLiad, Sony 505 and Kindle 2 (Kindle DX getting closer).
But it's in my top 5 already and (for the moment) I don't see any need to go out for another 5" unit. (I most likely won't buy the BeBook unit, but of course will have an eye on Sony.)

[frozennorth]

HarryT mentioned in his review that it doesn't support bookmarks. When you reopen a book does it give you the option to go to the last page read.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by frozennorth

HarryT mentioned in his review that it doesn't support bookmarks. When you reopen a book does it give you the option to go to the last page read.

It automatically goes to the last page read.
But I can't set bookmarks, that's right.

[mgmueller]

I still have got mixed feelings.

There clearly are flaws:
- So far, only the ePUB version is available, no mentioning of Mobipocket firmware yet.
It's not Bookeen's fault. But ePUB so far means: No dictionary support.
- PDF support may be acceptable if you don't compare to other units and Opus is your only choice. You could reformat your PDFs or simply get used to the "fading out" I've described.
But in comparison to Sony 505, iRex iLiad and 1000S or even Kindle DX, it's inferior.
- Already Cybook Gen3's design wasn't my favorite, compared to Sony 505 and 700 or even the Kindles.
But Opus even is a bit less appealing. Gen3 is "plastic" as well, but still kind of "elegant". Opus is "plasticky" and could be a calculator or something like that as well. It's no disaster, BeBook for example feels and looks way "cheaper" for me. But still, it could (and should) be "nicer".
- I don't like the 3 buttons, don't like the Kindle's "jogdial" as well. All of them seem fragile and not really ergonomically correct. And I wonder, whether they'll survive years of heavy reading.

There are significant advantages as well:
- I'm probably not up to date. But so far, I've only heard of Cybook and BeBook/Hanlin offering 5" units. I most likely won't purchase BeBook/Hanlin, didn't like the design of the actual unit at all.
So Opus for the moment seems to be the best choice for me.
- 5" IS interesting and helpful and Opus does its job.
- For ePUB, it's fine.
Display quality could be even better, considering the higher dpi ratio. But it's absolutely okay in comparison to the 6" units.
- It's fast. Feels like my fastest unit in turning pages so far. Maybe that's just because of less information per page, but still....
- Seems to have one of the better batteries. From tonight's experience, I'd expect about 10 hours.
- It has folder support. You might expect that feature from any reader, but Kindle for example still doesn't have it.
- They have been ultra-fast in delivery. I can't confirm the negative reports about Bokeen at all.

Meaning: My expectations probably have been too high. I've hoped for a "quantum leap" in display quality.
With more realistic expectations, just compared to the competitor's 6" units, I'd rank it a bit better than midrange. Let's say, it makes the lower end of the top 40%. My ranking: Probably 5 of 9. That's without considering the price. If costs are a criteria, it would be around 3 of 7.

[tompe]

Did you really mean 10h battery time? That is very short.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by tompe

Did you really mean 10h battery time? That is very short.

If that's short, I seem to use all my readers quite excessively.
That's what I usually get of the better ones.
How many hours can you run them?
Do I have "monday units"? ALL of them even run dry after some time when in standby.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

If that's short, I seem to use all my readers quite excessively.
That's what I usually get of the better ones.
How many hours can you run them?
Do I have "monday units"? ALL of them even run dry after some time when in standby.

The Cybook Gen 3 turned on and not used lasts around 100h (which I think is to short since the first version of the firmware lasted around a week, 150 h).

But I have not tested to read continuously to see how long it lasts.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by tompe

The Cybook Gen 3 turned on and not used lasts around 100h (which I think is to short since the first version of the firmware lasted around a week, 150 h).

But I have not tested to read continuously to see how long it lasts.

I've never stopped the time either, maybe my gutfeeling is totally wrong.
When reading, I have to power up again about twice per week. But maybe that's because I stress the battery by copying files and things like that.
For the moment, I'd just say I expect about the same duration as with the 6" readers.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

- They have been ultra-fast in delivery. I can't confirm the negative reports about Bokeen at all.

From my own experiences, and those of others I would say this is par for the course. If you are ordering an in stock unit or otherwise doing business as usual with Bookeen they are fine. My initial order from the US went smoothly. No problems with purchasing or shipping.

Its when you want follow up service that things can get iffy. Especially if you have a new question, and they aren't sure what to do about it yet.

Unfortunately, I suspect they are somewhat small and almost all questions are 'new' questions.