My personal opinions on several E-ink devices

[slayda]

I have purchased several E-ink readers, for various reasons, and would like to share my opinions. This is not necessarily a totally unbiased set of opinions nor is it intended to be a complete review of any of them. The devices I have or have had are(in chronological order) Sony PRS-500 {has been sold}, Bookeen Cybook Gen3, Astak EZ Reader (Sold under other names worldwide: lBook V3 {Russia}, DigiBook Reader V3, Apollo-Hanlin V3{China}, Walkbook {Turkey}, Papyre 6.1 {Spain}, BEBOOK {Europe}, Astak EZ Reader {North America}, Kolibri V3, ECO Reader {Australia}. {Locations are given to the best of a quick search & may not be entirely accurate.}) , and Kindle 1.


In the lists below, red indicates (IMO) negative aspects & blus indicates positive aspects.

1. Sony PRS-500
   • Limited ebook formats, one of which was a new proprietary format. At the time I bought the Sony, the only source for their LRF/LRX format was Sony Corp. Since then several other sources have become available. {This new ebook format exacerbated the already severe "tower of e-Babel" problems with ebooks.}
   • When Sony introduced the PRS-505, they (IMO) abandoned any further firmware upgrades for the 500.
   • No ability for folders.
   • No dictionary support.
2. Cybook Gen3
   • Supported more ebook formats than the Sony and did not introduce any proprietary formats
   • Has dictionary support (a definite plus for me)
   • No folder support.
   • Very slow tech support (IMO).
3. EZ Reader
   • Supported many ebook formats.
   • Supported many languages.
   • Has folder & sub-folder support.
   • No dictionary support.
   • Very good tech support (at least from Astak in North America)
   • Allows OpenInkPot firmware. This is an open source firmware which (IMO) is superior to any of the commercial firmwares for this reader.
4. Kindle 1
   • Limited ebook formats & introduced yet another proprietary format which is currently restricted to Amazon, thus limiting somewhat the sources of ebooks.
   • Has direct interface to the Internet via Whispernet (for those within Whispernet reception areas). This allows direct download to the reader which can be a plus but also allows Amazon access to the reader which (IMO) is a negative.
   • Has the ability to highlight sections and/or add user notes.
   • No folder support.
   • Has dictionary support.
   • Seems to have good tech support.

I have found that the majority of my reading is on the EZ Reader with the OpenInkPot firmware, partly because of its general capabilities (folder support & I like the ergonomics) and partly because of the OpenInkPot capabilities (many formats & can delete ebooks from the reader)

My second choice is the Kindle 1 mainly for its highlight capability. This allows me to more easily proofread & mark errors from scanning/OCRing. Also having the Kindle allows me to obtain those few ebooks from Amazon that are either unavailable from other sources or are more expensive from those sources.


So there are my opinions for what they're worth. Whatever reader you choose or already use, enjoy your ebook reading. Ebook readers are great.

[Ea]

You can buy the Hanlin V3 from Pixelar.co.uk in Britain, too. THey haven't re-branded it though, but it's cheaper than Bebook.

[HarryT]

Note that the CyBook Gen3 now appears to be shipping with firmware with folder support (as is the new CyBook Opus), and this should be available as an upgrade for older devices shortly.

[Krystian Galaj]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Note that the CyBook Gen3 now appears to be shipping with firmware with folder support (as is the new CyBook Opus), and this should be available as an upgrade for older devices shortly.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea - perhaps it's best to wait until firmware with folder support *is* available as an upgrade. Such promises have been made by Bookeen team many times in the past.

[HarryT]

Oh, I know. The fact that firmware with folder support is now actually shipping on both the Gen3 and the Opus (I have an Opus - the folder support works very well indeed), leaves little doubt in my mind that it will be available as an upgrade soon. Besides which, anyone actually buying a Gen3 now gets it with folder support.

[Krystian Galaj]

That's true - but firmware newer than what we have available was shipping on Cybooks in October last year, and there's no reason to suppose they can't continue that practice for a few more years