Jointech JE100 - user review

[Sweetpea]

Introduction

So, after a few weeks (including two holiday weeks!) I finally received my package yesterday! As it was delivered by DHL, and they only deliver at office hours, and can't even say when they'll be around, I had the package delivered at my husband's work. (Why there? Because the last day before my holiday, the company I work for was ready to move to new building (which happened that following weekend). Sending a package to an address that you don't even know where people that I've never even seen would accept it, didn't sound like too good an idea...) So, when he picked me up at the end of the day (we car pool, and he was driving), I unpacked it in the car (couldn't wait for 30 minutes longer!) and...

But let's go back to the start first. I found out that the JE100 had been officially introduced at a show in Hong Kong. But couldn't find anywhere where I could buy one. So, I sent JoinTech an email, asking for more information. Within 2 days I got an answer (which is rather quick, considering there's an 6 hour difference between Honk Kong and Europe and they are ahead in time!) After a few more mails, I had ordered my device (using PayPal from http://www.sale4online.com). Now the waiting had really started! And naturally DHL came to the door about a day after we left for a week long holiday. Figures... So, when I came home on friday there were two notes with the question to call them. So I did and then left again for a week long holiday. But, the waiting was over last night when I finally unwrapped the (well-taped!) package (trying not to make too much of a mess in the car...).


Contents

The box contained the device, a battery, a charger (which I can't use), a headphone and an USB cable. Wait, where is my cover! Time to start writing that email! (it's on its way, I was too early ordering ) Luckily, I can charge the device using the USB cable as the charger won't fit in our electrical sockets (at least it is 220V, so I only need a converter).

The reader feels good in the hand, but I really need that cover. If you press on the back of the device, you'll see it on the LCD screen (I've never had a thin LCD device, so I've no idea if that's normal or not).

The stylus feels cheap and is sometimes a bit difficult to remove from its holder. At this moment, I'd rather use my finger to move things across the screen, as the point feels a bit... rough... I will buy a screenprotector (anti-glare), scratching the screen won't be a problem then (it should arrive tomorrow)


The device

The renders that were available were a pretty good render. I really like the form factor of it. Small borders, not too many buttons and such on the front (I do miss that dial jog on the side, which I do have on my PDA). On the right side, you'll find the next page/previous page buttons (you could turn the screen completely around, naturally, they would be on the left side then as they are in the middle of the length of the device). The bottom contains the connection for the charger, two mini-USB ports (one you can use to connect it to your PC, the other, I've not tried out yet but should be a host), the slot for the microSD card (that protective rubbery thing is attached to it by a small other rubbery thingie so it won't break off, nor drop out) and a normal earphone plug. The top side has the stylus. The two speakers are on the back, you can also see the battery housing there (user replaceable battery) and a hole where the cover should fit. Not sure exactly how that works, as I don't have the cover yet...


Connecting

The device runs on Windows CE 5.0, but it looks like they've forgotten to implement the ActiveSync component... My ActiveSync won't recognize it. This makes the transfering of files a bit more awkward, as I have to use the microSD card. I do have a card reader in my PC and I do have a converter for the microSD to normal-sized SD, but it's still awkward. At least the charging by USB works.


Reading books

It has its own OS on it (you boot first into this OS, where you get the choice to go to windows). It has an ereader, but I've not been able (so far) to get that to work. So, first thing to do was to get into Windows and install Mobipocket (I only need to make sure I have my windows in portrait mode before starting Mobipocket. Otherwise I'll get some strange effects!)

Another small problem with the WinCE installation: it looks like it resets every time I shut down... Now, I've no previous experience with Windows CE, only with Windows Mobile, but I doubt it should do that. I had installed Mobipocket in the "Program Files" folder but after a "turn off" it was gone again. I had also cleared the desktop of all icons (I never liked icons on my desktop), but, again, after a "turn off" (or "restart" for that matter), they were all back again. (this naturally has also an advantage, I can install whatever I want and if it crashes the device, it will be reset again!)
I finally worked around this problem by installing Mobipocket on the external card and suspending the device doesn't reset the Windows installation. And then it was time to read! So I added a book and started reading.

Now, my primary reader is (was?) my PDA, with a 3.4" screen. I've been happily reading on that for a long time now. But I must say, that 7" screen is huge! It really feels like having a pocket in your hand, without the hassle of turning pages and trying to keep it open... The weight is good, not too heavy so you have to hold it with two hands, and not too light so you don't feel you're holding something. As I normally read before going to sleep (generally in a darkened bedroom), I need to be able to turn the backlighting very low (in order not to become blinded by it). Comparing it with the light from my PDA, I can turn it much lower. Which makes it an excellent device to read in the dark (I always have a black background with light letters when I'm reading in the dark in order not to become blinded, I might be able to change it with this reader as the backlight is so much dimmer). For reading outside, I prefer my PDA, the screen is not transflective and not really good to see in bright sunlight. I can turn off the backlight on my PDA in bright sunlight, but on the JE100 I need to turn it up.

There are two buttons on the side, which you can use for page turning. They are easy to press and the "next" button is right underneath my thumb when I hold the device. As it's touchscreen, I can also use the "touch the screen to turn a page" feature of mobipocket, but I find it annoying.

(Nath asked me to try the 2 column trick. It worked on 4.8, the 4.9 version had more problems with it, and the 5.3 acts as it has never heard of it. Too bad, as it is a nice feature!)


Battery life

Can't really say anything about that yet. I've been playing with it too much to give it a real test. I'll come back on this later. I should mention that a long battery life isn't too important for me, as I tend to read mostly before going to bed. Longer reading times are rare (and I still have plans to buy that 5" e-ink device once one is available).


Conclusions

So far, I like the JE100 a lot. The screen is good, you can turn down the backlight a lot (more than on my PDA) and it's easy to hold and has a huge screen.

There are also some flaws, most have to do with the OS, both its own and the Windows CE implementation. The reader of its own OS I never got to work. I've tried PDF and TEXT files (it does recognize both file types), but whatever I do, it won't open them. I did manage to get the Music and Photo app to work and don't have a movie to try that third one.

The Windows CE doesn't have ActiveSync incorporated, which makes connecting to a PC a nuisance. And it will lose (certain) data when I say restart or shut down (which is the only way to get back to the own OS). It doesn't lose everything (I believe the registry stays), but all pograms I put in the Program File folder or the My Documents folder will dissapear. Luckily, you can use the microSD as an extra "HD", so I'll just install everything on there and keep my files there too.

And lastly, but I think they've never really considered that, it would have been nice if I'd gotten a power supply that would have fitted my power outlets!

[Nate the great]

How easy is it to suspend vs turning it off?

The "turn off behavior" is apparently the norm in CE5.0. I've heard complaints from other CE5.0 devices doing the same thing.

[junkyardwillie]

Looks awesome, I'd like to see it with some PDFs see about how zooming and things like that work out as well as a cbr (comic books) running on it. It could make a nice comic reader if nothing else, price isn't too bad for that. Cool review thanks.

[Neothinker]

I'm also curious how well PDFs run on this device as that's the only real gripe I have with my 6" Sony Reader. Also, I imagine it does do video playback but I am wondering how well it performs in that arena.

A video review would be much appreciated if anyone can get there hands on one!

[Nate the great]

I just noticed that according to the product page the JE100 has Wifi. That wasn't there before.

[Faenad]

Seems like a very bad device

Pressing the back of the device should not affect the LCD, unless the assembly is very flimsy. (As generally PDA LCD screen are supposed to be enclosed in a sort of internal metallic coffin to give rigidity and prevent breakage.)

And the automatic hard reset seems like a funny way to get a nervous breakdown

[Donnageddon]

sweetpea, Nate the Grate mentions that the JE100 now advertises it has WiFi. Does the model you received have WiFi?

I am waiting to see what Sony announces this summer, but this looks like a good option.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

How easy is it to suspend vs turning it off?

The "turn off behavior" is apparently the norm in CE5.0. I've heard complaints from other CE5.0 devices doing the same thing.

It's easier to suspend than to turning it off (thankfully!). Turning it off requires you to hold the shutdown button for a longer period of time, suspending is just a normal push.

Originally Posted by junkyardwillie

Looks awesome, I'd like to see it with some PDFs see about how zooming and things like that work out as well as a cbr (comic books) running on it. It could make a nice comic reader if nothing else, price isn't too bad for that. Cool review thanks.

I don't have comic books, nor a comic book reader, so I can't try it...

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I just noticed that according to the product page the JE100 has Wifi. That wasn't there before.

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

sweetpea, Nate the Grate mentions that the JE100 now advertises it has WiFi. Does the model you received have WiFi?

I am waiting to see what Sony announces this summer, but this looks like a good option.

The wifi isn't integrated with the device, you'll need a dongle for it.


About PDF, I'll need to install a PDF viewer that can open PDF's, because that microsoft viewer refuses to do that (and I completely forgot about that!)

Originally Posted by Faenad

Seems like a very bad device

Pressing the back of the device should not affect the LCD, unless the assembly is very flimsy. (As generally PDA LCD screen are supposed to be enclosed in a sort of internal metallic coffin to give rigidity and prevent breakage.)

My PDA is almost twice as thick as the JE100... (at least, the screen part, the border is a bit elevated over the screen). The rigidity is supplied by the border.

[mcaycedo]

Hi, Can you install UBook in this device?

[mcaycedo]

The wifi isn't integrated with the device, you'll need a dongle for it.

You must buy this dongle by yourself or is included? I have one USB-Wifi dongle. Would work with this device?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by mcaycedo

Hi, Can you install UBook in this device?

Yep, and I did, but I like Mobipocket more But uBook works perfectly as well.

Originally Posted by mcaycedo

You must buy this dongle by yourself or is included? I have one USB-Wifi dongle. Would work with this device?

It's not included with the device and you should be able to use your own. But, the device only has mini USB ports. I've not been able to test if the other is a host, as the converter kit I have is missing one converter female USB to male mini USB... I'll keep you posted!



I did mention to JoinTech I'd post a review, and apparently they've read it Always good to know! They appreciate the comments, reviews and suggestions and know there's always room for improvement.

[imaredr]

Can ereader and MSreader be installed? I love your pictures. I can finally see how big the reader is. On the website it looked so small that even after I converted the measurements to inches, I still couldn't believe it. Thanks!

Ellen

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by imaredr

Can ereader and MSreader be installed? I love your pictures. I can finally see how big the reader is. On the website it looked so small that even after I converted the measurements to inches, I still couldn't believe it. Thanks!

Ellen

Hmm, haven't tried those two... I assume so, but I'll try it later

[imaredr]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Hmm, haven't tried those two... I assume so, but I'll try it later

Thanks,

Ellen

[Sweetpea]

Can't install eReader yet (you really need activesync for that)

Microsoft Reader does work, but has some flaws. You miss the title bar, so you can't close the reader down... (as MS Reader doesn't have an "exit" in a menu somewhere...)