Unknown,cheap Ereader: 7-Inch-Ebook-Reader-Video-Player-MP3-MP5-FM-4GB

[readit]

Hi together,

being new in eReading (havent got one) & living on a low budget, I am looking at the eReader Market with mixed feelings - most of my books are/have been free, and now (after a possible retirement of my printer) a device should cost me a few hundred to read through those books?

So obviously I started looking at the used market, without any big value drop - seems eReader Owners keep their loved companions.

Then, the next ovious, I looked at the cheapest device available on eBay, which was a few weeks ago, when the price for the following no-name device sold by EU or US based Sellers was at around ₤70, now it rose to ₤99, but it is still available from the base back in Asia for ₤67.


7-Inch-Ebook-Reader-Video-Player-MP3-MP5-FM-4GB-Ereader


A few weeks ago I was suspicious because of the confusing term "c-paper", which appears to be quite readable, though the little machine has a full colour tft display!

I did not find any video somewhere introducing the device (the french vid on uTube is another one) so I wrote the UK based seller for a few pics or vid, to see the screen in DAYLIGHT...well, nothing, they just send me the pdf manual, which might be interesting for us here in the forum, I uploaded the pdf here:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/7r1drx...K%20Reader.pdf

the Specs seem to be quite good:
 Display: 7"c-paper LCD screen resolution:800*480
 RAM: 256MB
 Extension slot: SD card
 Image : JPG,BMP
 Text : TXT、EPUB、FB2、HTML、PDB、PDF、DOC formats
 Music : MP3,WMA,OGG,FLAC,WAV,AAC，APE
 Vedio : MKV、AVI、RM、RMVB、VOB、DAT、MP4、FLV、3GP with 720P

Now, some questions which would help us identify and judge the "alien" reader... :
- does anyone know the "real" name or manufacturer?
- has anyone tried it already?

Tempting on this price (the low one)...isnt it?

Cheers

[HarryT]

This is just yer bog-standard cheapie 7" Android tablet. Probably the same hardware as this 7" Binatone-branded device that Argos sell, for example. You might be better off buying the Argos version at £79 if you decide you want one.

[HarryT]

Actually, at that price I think I might buy one (the Argos one) just for fun.

[readit]

Hi HarryT, looked at the one from Argos, it' snothing like the one above, look at the formates - well, the Argos one mentiones NO formates at all, surprisingly....the battery life seems low for a black n white device..

_______________________ thats all the info:
Binatone 7 Inch Colour Screen e-Book - Black.
Adjustable text size.

•Black.
•7in screen.
•Stores between 1000 and 10 000 books.
•9 hours battery life.
•Compatible with Windows PC and Mac.
•Includes USB cable.
General information:
•Weight 230g.
•Size H22, W13, D1.4cm.
_____________________

the one from ebay can play movies as well, full colour display, but if needed the strange beige "reading screen" which confuses me..

[readit]

PS: and for the Argos price of 79 you get an Android as well, look at my other thread (here) where I found one for 75 incl shipping.. confusion everywhere!

[readit]

The Actual Device for which I started the thread sells now for £63.99 from another UK-seller: e bay link

I hope we find someone who actually tried this device...I am very supicious against chinese technique, NOT supervised by a western company; there is mostly some kind of problem, on the soft- or hardware side, which would have been eliminated after proper testing - but, who knows?

[HarryT]

The Argos one isn't a monochrome device - it's a colour screen - and it will play movies as well as read books.

If you want to read books though, you'd be much better served by a dedicated bookreader. Have you considered the Kindle?

[readit]

Well Harry, sure I did - but the Kindle doesnt really fit the term "tight budget" :O)

...apart from not being able to spend that ammount on electronics/gadgets, it can get lost, break, getting stolen... It is all in relation to the income in the end, of course.


Sure I would like one...We cant overlook the "used market", so let's talk "new" then....


what is the lowest priced kindle out there up to date?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by readit

Well Harry, sure I did - but the Kindle doesnt really fit the term "tight budget" :O)

...apart from not being able to spend that ammount on electronics/gadgets, it can get lost, break, getting stolen... It is all in relation to the income in the end, of course.


Sure I would like one...We cant overlook the "used market", so let's talk "new" then....


what is the lowest priced kindle out there up to date?

The Kindle costs £111, and is worth every penny, IMHO. But this is a 5-month old conversation. I don't know what you've been doing for the last 5 months, but I've been reading a lot of books - on my Kindle .

[readit]

Thanks for the answer, Harry

Regarding

Originally Posted by HarryT

But this is a 5-month old conversation.

Yes, I know, I started it, but it didnt develope into a conversation...apart from you, nobody was interested, which is a bit surprising in a mobile read forum.

Thanks again Harry.

[rbridge]

I am flailing around the ebook reader forums, with an eye to finding conversations about the low-cost chinese readers mostly being sold via EBay. I recently bought one for USD 58.00 and it arrived two days ago, and I'm amazed at the quality. Everything works, and it even plays movies with an 8GB RAM (!!!) If you want the ebay ref. let me know. It was mailed from Hongkong at no charge for mailing(!!!) The drawback is the manual is lousy and you really have to stretch your interpretation of English language words to figure out what the instructions are...and they are very minimal at that. But i'm having good luck with it so far. Only one reading font, as far as I can tell so far, which is not good, but the price was right. My Kobo had to be returned for exhange under warranty twice (!!) and all it does is display text. The "Daditong" is a reader, movie player, radio, photo storage device, and MP3 player all in one, with color, for less than half the price. The competition in china must be getting fierce. Yes, this is an old thread, but I'm a newbie here and am a slow learner..will post some new stuff when I get this site figured out.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by rbridge

I am flailing around the ebook reader forums, with an eye to finding conversations about the low-cost chinese readers mostly being sold via EBay. I recently bought one for USD 58.00 and it arrived two days ago, and I'm amazed at the quality. Everything works, and it even plays movies with an 8GB RAM (!!!) If you want the ebay ref. let me know. It was mailed from Hongkong at no charge for mailing(!!!) The drawback is the manual is lousy and you really have to stretch your interpretation of English language words to figure out what the instructions are...and they are very minimal at that. But i'm having good luck with it so far. Only one reading font, as far as I can tell so far, which is not good, but the price was right. My Kobo had to be returned for exhange under warranty twice (!!) and all it does is display text. The "Daditong" is a reader, movie player, radio, photo storage device, and MP3 player all in one, with color, for less than half the price. The competition in china must be getting fierce. Yes, this is an old thread, but I'm a newbie here and am a slow learner..will post some new stuff when I get this site figured out.

I recently bought a 'Naxa' Mp3 player with a micro-D slot and 2.8 in screen that claims Movies, FM Radio, Voice recorder and E-book reader ~US$35

Gimme a break. reading books on a (big ) postage stamp LCD screen
These devices go for a long list of 'Features' and a low price. While I have not exhaustively tested all of them, I can say that the ones I have used are pretty poor.
The only thing I give 4 stars is the sound (on my Sony MDR300 )Headphones NOT the built-in speaker . The rechargeable battery life in MP3 mode is also good (out lasts a work shift) on headphones

All these Features and No Playlist support (really needed for audio books), No resume from last playing point.

The Device menu is a logically twisted 5-way: you use the R-L to move up down the list. The center button is On/Off and there is a Menu button on the side that doubles as the 'Select'. Using the Menus (for anything) is just plain awkward. Only at power on, do you get to select which mode (Music,Book,Note,FM,Movie) you want to use.

The FM is 'In the same City' FM

Oh and the USB connection will not work on a USB 1.x port, only on USB2.0.

And the color screen is Tiny and is only used to add cosmetic Glitz, not useful operational features.

Cheap is just that. Cheap.
There are remaindered EZReader pocket Pro's (E-Ink) for $50, that after a Firmware upgrade, will play MP3's (the MP3 Menu option was not working in this lot). A far better use of $ for a book reader

[rbridge]

I spoke of this one earlier in my first post, don't know if you saw that. I have made further inroads into figuring out all the functions of this unit. I paid 55.99 USD for it, plus a 2.00USD extra charge for something or other (maybe it was shipment insurance). Freight free from Hongkong and it arrived ahead of schedule. Luckily the Canadian P.O. didn't charge me any sales tax or duty! I had said earlier that the unit had only one font, but that was an error, as I've since discovered how to change to any of three fonts, vary the font size, make bookmarks, etc. The quality of the device is extremely good. The screen is 25% larger than my wife's Kobo. Overall I am MORE THAN pleased with my purchase. If anyone wants info on how to buy this, I'll send it. My email is rbridge@ns.sympatico.caa (Nova Scotia, Canada) and I will be happy to take any questions directly. I think the manufacturer is called "Daditong" and the product is one of many similar items made at a large facility in Shenzhen China, I think. I am a tech writer and am currently negotiating with them to write a proper manual (pdf download). The one they provide is really bad. The unit comes with an AC Adapter/charger (the reader also charges off your computer's USB connection), a USB cable and ear buds. The movie quality is super, although the full-screen viewing option distorts the horizontal dimension. But it's a great bonus on an e-reader, not to mention it has MP3 playing, multiple languages, an FM radio, calendar, etc etc.

Regards, Bob.

PS It needs a soft padded case, as it's fairly heavy and it may be easily dropped handing it to someone expecting it to be lighter who doesn't grasp it firmly.....or by a sleepy reader letting it slide off the bed!

[readit]

Nice to see my old thread revived

I suppose you're the first one in here to try one of those; you'll find most users here prefer "pre-tested" stuff,aka brand names. Not much feedback on "experimentals" like yours.

But nice to read about it - maybe you can post some pictures how the reading-mode looks in comparison to the video-colour mode?

And how long does the battery last?

And regarding posting your eMail online...NEVER write the @ and use spaces in between, or (automatic) robot-programs will collect your address & you sign up for a ton of spam into your inbox...you better modify your post...

Originally Posted by rbridge

My email is rbridge at ns sympatico caa (Nova Scotia, Canada) and I will be happy to take any questions directly.