HanLin V5 Quick Review

[Mneme]

cbell, thank you for reading. You must have more recent firmware than mine, or I am doing something wrong?? - I can't see any additional menu options in rft.

When I open an rft file and press the menu button, there are only 6 options; first four are navigational, 5th is TTS and 6th is file info ("About").

If an fb2 file is open, there is a seventh option - "Settings" - which gives me 8 settings choices: font face, font size, font anti-aliasing, interline space, page orientation, embedded styles, etc., etc.

I see that Jinke have an update for V5 firmware (30 days older newer than mine). I'll try that.

Originally Posted by nomesque

Thanks muchly for the review - I've been leaning toward buying a V5 if/when I get the ready cash. Your review's inclined me toward it even more

PS. Love the avatar *snicker*

nomesque, thanks for your thanks Glad you found it useful. I see why you love my avatar. But I can only claim credit to having great taste This guy's the creative genius I "borrowed" the image from.


Edit: updated firmware, still see no extended options for rtf. Oh well, maybe it'll be in one of future updates...

[Hellmark]

I've been looking at the V5 for my girlfriend, and, well, the lack of hyperlink support is really a turn off. Might not be a big deal for most books, but if you use calibre's RSS feed option, well, there are hyperlinks EVERYWHERE.

[cbell]

Oops, sorry Mneme, I was thinking of RTF in the ECO Reader. In the latest HanLin V5 firmware, the options for RTF are just as you listed.

I'm pleased to see the V5 has Adobe DE and Mobipocket non-DRM support after the update.

Internal hyperlinks are supported in Mobipocket books, just like on the ECO Reader.

I believe there's another firmware update for the V5 due out in the next few days. I'll send a notification to people who've bought their V5 from DA/CBS when it's available.

[Suzannec]

Hi, I am just new to this site this evening and I am very interested in buying an EBook Reader and I have my choices down to the Hanlin V5 and the Eco reader. In the pictures the Eco reader looks so much bigger than the Hanlin, is it really a lot bigger? Also I have a question in regards to formats (I am really new to this), is mobi the default format of all the Kindle books on Amazon and can they be read on the Hanlin and Eco reader?

[slm]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

I've been looking at the V5 for my girlfriend, and, well, the lack of hyperlink support is really a turn off. Might not be a big deal for most books, but if you use calibre's RSS feed option, well, there are hyperlinks EVERYWHERE.

Actually, Calibre's news feeds work well. If you set them to epub format the "catalog" option is a list of the articles. If you set them to mobi format, the mobi reader has full hyperlink support.

The problem is that the V5 only supports epub for DRM and some DRM books do have hyperlinks.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Suzannec

Also I have a question in regards to formats (I am really new to this), is mobi the default format of all the Kindle books on Amazon and can they be read on the Hanlin and Eco reader?

The Kindle's AZW format is identical to MOBI. Not all Kindle ebooks are AZW (some are TOPAZ), but in addition many, but not all, Kindle ebooks have DRM (encryption). AZW DRM is standard MOBI DRM, so mobidedrm can remove it. Finally, you need a Kindle or an iPhone/iPob Touch to buy Kindle ebooks.

[cbell]

Suzannec, the ECO Reader screen is 15.2cm and the HanLin V5 is 12.7cm, measured diagonally. I find both screens very comfortable to read on. The V5 is more portable (being smaller) and I have to do more page turns than when I read on the ECO Reader, but the page turns are quick, so it's not an issue.

Amazon chooses not to sell any ebooks to Australians and New Zealanders.

slm, along with Adobe DE ePub the ECO Reader and HanLin V5 also support Adobe DE PDF.

[Mneme]

I've tried some mobipocket books after firmware update ( thank you, cbell, for pointing out they are now supported) and I really like the way they look on V5. Again, there are extra menu options ( although some of them are a bit redundant) and internal hyprelinks work really well.

@Suzannec - ECO reader is a bit bigger and a bit wider than Hanlin V5. If you go here, you can see by how much they differ in size/weight.

[GA Russell]

Thanks for the review, Mneme!

[cbell]

Suzannec, I see your online order, thank you! Good choice

We have plenty of stock in Melbourne, so yours will be on its way to you shortly, by Aust Post registered mail.

[Suzannec]

Thank you! I decided to go with the ECO Reader just because it was bigger! I can't wait to get it. I am starting to download some of the classics that I have always wanted to read and was wondering what format should I download it as. There are a few choices, but what is best for the EcoBook? Thanks

[cbell]

Suzannec, ePub or mobipocket are my preference for free classics. I'll send you an email with some links...

[Suzannec]

thank you

[Mneme]

Originally Posted by cbell

<snip> ... </snip>
I'm pleased to see the V5 has Adobe DE and Mobipocket non-DRM support after the update.

Internal hyperlinks are supported in Mobipocket books, just like on the ECO Reader.

I believe there's another firmware update for the V5 due out in the next few days. I'll send a notification to people who've bought their V5 from DA/CBS when it's available.

cbell, is the latest firmware update (v5setup V2.02EN 090924) available yet from DA/CBS? Downloading directly from the Hanlin site is incredibly frustrating as it takes forever. I believe in the latest update they addressed the issue of internal hyperlinks in epub files ...

[cbell]

Hi Mneme, I already sent you an email with instructions... let me know if you didn't receive it.

The firmware file is ready and waiting for you on our Melbourne server.

I tested the new internal hyperlinks with an ePub file this morning, and they work beautifully!