Goodbye bookeen

[Hanselda]

After nearing two years using of Cybook G3, I finally give up. This device is just not the right one for me and also not the behavior of the company. When I bought the device some features like folder view or so are promised, but never realized, possibly would never be realized ever. And I am tired of waiting for essential features.

The support of PDF file is a hell. For all the pdf documents I have just very few is readable by G3. I read a lot of technical or scientific documents, with tricky formulas and figures, and cannot be handled in any reasonable ebook format. (Do not let me here that ebook device is not for PDF. The company claim that they support PDF, i bought it and I read PDF and it crashes, so the fault of booken, not my problem! It is their responsibility to check and fix the problem, not let us say that we should be reasonable enough not to read PDF on G3!)

Another word about PDF. I know the screen is very small compare to A4, but at least the device should be able to render the page without crashing. As long as it can do the rendering, there are lots of walkaround. But in G3, crashing all the time.

About the 'new dual firmware', and the all the firmware updating history of G3, it is very unpleasant. Long waiting time, no communication with the user, empty promises.

Well, I wish the support of bookeen will be better in the future and the user community will grow and prosper. But I will not be one of it.

Bye.

[neilmarr]

I considered Cybook before picking up a PRS-505, Hanselda. Glad I opted for the Sony. There more I read on MR (to which I'm addicted) the more I come to realise that the 505 is the workhorse of all ereaders. It's the one that copes with whatever comes along and never lets you down. Not so fancy, but it does the job time after time after time. Cannot recommend it highly enough ... until 505+ comes along. Good luck. Neil

[K-Thom]

that the 505 is the workhorse of all ereaders

This isn't supposed to become a "what's better than a Cybook"-thread, but I would like to address your valuation of the 505 with the Pocketbook-line. A nicely rendered 30+ MB pdf file with graphics on a 5" screen as the Pocketbook 360° ist impressive.

And, yeah, something the Cybooks seem to have their problems with.

[bypass]

I'm with hansleda

have previously stated I would not be recommending bookeen or getting another reader of theirs but have kept checking the forum in the (vain) hope that bookeen might acutally do something other than string me along.

bye. I won't be back (at least not on any bookeen specific forum)

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Hanselda

After nearing two years using of Cybook G3, I finally give up. This device is just not the right one for me and also not the behavior of the company. When I bought the device some features like folder view or so are promised, but never realized, possibly would never be realized ever. And I am tired of waiting for essential features.

The support of PDF file is a hell. For all the pdf documents I have just very few is readable by G3. I read a lot of technical or scientific documents, with tricky formulas and figures, and cannot be handled in any reasonable ebook format. (Do not let me here that ebook device is not for PDF. The company claim that they support PDF, i bought it and I read PDF and it crashes, so the fault of booken, not my problem! It is their responsibility to check and fix the problem, not let us say that we should be reasonable enough not to read PDF on G3!)

Another word about PDF. I know the screen is very small compare to A4, but at least the device should be able to render the page without crashing. As long as it can do the rendering, there are lots of walkaround. But in G3, crashing all the time.

About the 'new dual firmware', and the all the firmware updating history of G3, it is very unpleasant. Long waiting time, no communication with the user, empty promises.

Well, I wish the support of bookeen will be better in the future and the user community will grow and prosper. But I will not be one of it.

Bye.

Concerning firmware updates, most ebook readers are in state or their initial release.
1 update for Sony 505 for ePUB support.
1 initial update for Kindle 2.
No update yet for Kindle DX.
A few updates for iRex iLiad and iRex 1000S. And their OS to me seems most advanced. It has its benefits, if it's not OEMs but developers themselves selling the units.
BeBook has regular updates, I guess its exactly the original ones from Hanlin. Same applies as for iRex.

I miss some features on every single unit. For example, thumbnail view of ebook covers would be phantastic on iRex' huge displays. Same for Kindle 2 and especially Kindle DX. (Both Cybooks for example have that.)

What I want to say by that: I check out, whether I'm okay with the original release of the unit and don't rely on any firmware updates for missing features.
Most users ask for folder support for years from most manufacturers. They either have it from the start - or they don't seem to add it anytime...

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Concerning firmware updates, most ebook readers are in state or their initial release.
1 update for Sony 505 for ePUB support.
1 initial update for Kindle 2.
No update yet for Kindle DX.
A few updates for iRex iLiad and iRex 1000S. And their OS to me seems most advanced. It has its benefits, if it's not OEMs but developers themselves selling the units.
BeBook has regular updates, I guess its exactly the original ones from Hanlin. Same applies as for iRex.

Quite true, but it seems that the Sony/Kindle do a better job of working correctly.

My Bookeen was a story of constant crashes. I'd also have to press the page forward key multiple times to get it to go forward. I read on here about people saying the Opus isn't bad -- at most one crash a day -- that's bad in my book. Turning out hardware with unsupported buttons also seems broken in my estimation

Furthermore, the Cybook is not designed to manage the number of books it can handle. If you load a few hundred books on board, you then have several issues. 1) It takes too long (45+) seconds to start up. 2) Try paging through the list to find a book and it takes forever.

Which leads me to folders as a point of comparison. I would like to have folders on either of my readers (Cybook or Kindle2), and I don't. However, I consider it a serious bug on the Cybook and a minor hassle on the Kindle.

First, the Kindle starts up virtually instantly. One reason I need Cybook folders is due to my hope that startup speed will improve as it will only need to scan the current folder and not the entire library.

Second, I have many options to the lack of folders on the Kindle. When I sort by name or author I can quickly go to a book by typing in the first letter of the name/author and skipping to that section of the library. If I hold down the next page button for a while I can skip ahead 5, 10, 20 or whatever number of pages (its not perfect, you have to guess how long it will skip ahead based on how long your are holding it down). I can also perform a search and find specific books in my library. Now, none of these are the way that I would ideally take care of this, but they are reasonable choices and they work. I don't have a Sony, but I understand its tags work quite nicely.

So, I guess that the difference is that Amazon/Sony have complete solutions -- they may not be designed quite the way that I would choose, but they are complete.

Now, I'm an adventuresome sort. I don't mind crashes or non-functional buttons. I don't mind poorly executed interfaces. That is, as long as you work to finish them. If things are half done, I expect to see an aggressive release schedule and a series of ongoing fixes. The lack of releases by Amazon/Sony don't bother me as much because I consider them to be finished products.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by emellaich

.
First, the Kindle starts up virtually instantly. One reason I need Cybook folders is due to my hope that startup speed will improve as it will only need to scan the current folder and not the entire library.

Put all the books except the dictionaries in a sub folder and the Gen 3 will start much faster (around 25 seconds compared to nearer 60 seconds if you have a lot of books). Of course this information had to be discovered by empirical tests and could not and can probably not be found on Bookeen's web site.

I will also never more buy anything from Bookeen.

[Halk]

My Cybook has never crashed, I've never bothered updating the firmware since what it shipped with 18 months ago has been fine.

If Bookeen had only said "No folders on Cybook Gen3 ever" then I'd have been quite happy. As it stands though I've been waiting for folders which were just around the corner for 18 months, and checking here near daily for news of the firmware update that I stupidly expect to be released soon.

[pieter]

My Cybook crashes once in a while. And somehow every time I once again search for a pen or something else to push that reset button I feel like I bought something that's still in beta. Don't you hate how it seems to freeze mostly when you're in a place where you don't happen to have a pen laying around? I once had to ask my neighbor for a pen when it froze on a plane.

350 euros for a beta device made by a company that only seems to have one part-timer working on the firmware that will take their product out of beta.

I'm just not rich enough to buy another e-reader from a real company, so sadly I can't say goodbye to bookeen just yet.

[Antonieb]

I also already gave up on bookeen I bought a Irex Reader and so far it is really great. (I know it's not really comparable)

But all in all the Bookeen product is to much an alpha product and as they are totaly not showing any commitment to imporiving it I sold mine cybook to somebody else. (And will probably not look into any Bookeen product again)

[Snuffi]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

What I want to say by that: I check out, whether I'm okay with the original release of the unit and don't rely on any firmware updates for missing features.
Most users ask for folder support for years from most manufacturers. They either have it from the start - or they don't seem to add it anytime...

That seems to be the best strategy so far. And with that in mind one has to remember that for the Cybook PDF was only added to the supported formats very close to the release date and I think it was added in a hurry - half-finished.

There has been some progress, though, since the last update (sometime May or June 2008, if I remember correctly) it's gotten a lot more stable and does not crash so much on smaller files. Large files and (large) embedded pictures are still a problem, though.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Hanselda

After nearing two years using of Cybook G3,...When I bought the device some features like folder view or so are promised, but never realized, .....

About the 'new dual firmware', and the all the firmware updating history of G3, it is very unpleasant. Long waiting time, no communication with the user, empty promises.
...

This is exactly why you should never buy on promises, but on the current features. No way would I have given two years, maybe 6 months....

Choose a Reader (or any item) based on your best evaluation of your needs
and its features.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Hanselda

After nearing two years using of Cybook G3, I finally give up. This device is just not the right one for me and also not the behavior of the company. When I bought the device some features like folder view or so are promised, but never realized, possibly would never be realized ever. And I am tired of waiting for essential features.

The support of PDF file is a hell. For all the pdf documents I have just very few is readable by G3. I read a lot of technical or scientific documents, with tricky formulas and figures, and cannot be handled in any reasonable ebook format. (Do not let me here that ebook device is not for PDF. The company claim that they support PDF, i bought it and I read PDF and it crashes, so the fault of booken, not my problem! It is their responsibility to check and fix the problem, not let us say that we should be reasonable enough not to read PDF on G3!)

Another word about PDF. I know the screen is very small compare to A4, but at least the device should be able to render the page without crashing. As long as it can do the rendering, there are lots of walkaround. But in G3, crashing all the time.

About the 'new dual firmware', and the all the firmware updating history of G3, it is very unpleasant. Long waiting time, no communication with the user, empty promises.

Well, I wish the support of bookeen will be better in the future and the user community will grow and prosper. But I will not be one of it.

Bye.

If you're gonna stop using your Cybook, tell Bookeen why. Send *them* an email explaining why you're dissatisfied. That way they get negative feedback and maybe that will prod them to improve where you feel they're failing.

Derek

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by kennyc

This is exactly why you should never buy on promises, but on the current features. No way would I have given two years, maybe 6 months....

Choose a Reader (or any item) based on your best evaluation of your needs
and its features.

While this is true the market was much different two years ago.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

While this is true the market was much different two years ago.

That's always true though.