JetBook Mini close-out at J&R

[cromag]

J&R is selling several colors of JetBook Mini for $50 with free shipping -- at least, in the US, I don't know about internationally. These are all listed as limited availability, clearance items, so they may sell out. Or, they may go back up in price. I'm pretty sure it has been a while since Ectaco made any new ones. Newegg still has some, but they're selling them for $83 each.

Anyway, if you've been thinking about getting one, there may never be a better time.

http://www.jr.com/product/productLis...t=jetbook+mini

[cromag]

I just posted in the Freebies and Bargains forum, but I'll post here as well. J&R music has some Open box JetBook Minis on sale for $27 to $44. I believe they only ship to the US and Canada. They price seems to be due to the color of the reader. (They had a Lime Green model for $26, but I bought it!)

See my post in the Bargains forum for more info, or head over to:

http://www.jr.com/product/productLis...sp?Ntt=jetbook


Make sure you read their "Open Box" return policy before buying!

[cromag]

So, my $26 Mini arrived yesterday. I fired it up, set the clock, read some excerpts from the free classics that were pre-loaded -- it all looked good. It came with a set of AAA batteries and a USB cable. And there appeared to be an SD card in the slot.

Today, I converted a couple of my titles to FB2. I hooked the Mini to my netbook with the USB cable, selected the SD card, and copied them over. I noticed quite a few folders and files on the card that I had not noticed when I had the Mini on.

When I disconnected the Mini I couldn't find the books, or any way to get them. The "SD" icon on the screen had also disappeared. Re-seating the SD card brought the icon back and a couple of folders appeared, but the folder names were garbled fragments. Also, I noticed that the "SD card" was actually a "Micro SD card" in an adapter.

I was bummed. I've never had a bad experience with J&R before, and I was sure I'd be able to return the Mini if it was really defective ... but, it's still a hassle.

So, I put a "known good" true SD card in the slot and loaded the FB2 titles back on. This time they appeared on the screen. They opened fine, read fine, held their page when I closed and re-opened them, etc.

I then put the adapter/micro SD into the SD slot in my netbook. It didn't insert smoothly, the micro SD seemed very loose, and the netbook failed to recognize it. I put the micro SD in a "known good" adapter and the netbook opened it, but it was badly corrupted. It formatted okay.

So, now I'm happy. The only less than perfect aspect of the Mini is the battery cover has one corner that doesn't fit flush on the back.


But, I have a question for any other Mini owners. Did the JetBook Mini really originally ship with a micro card in an adapter? I'm guessing that the previous owner swapped out the card with the defective adapter/micro SD combination.

[Ken Maltby]

Hmm... you seem to have much less curiosity than most Cosmic Overlords I've known.

I would have looked at what was on the uSD card right away. I remember getting laptops at computer shows as without OS and un-formatting the drive to recover all the previous owner's software including the OS. (Business related programs, not personal data.)

Luck;
Ken

[cromag]

Well, if I'd known it was all going to disappear ...

It was all organized in separate folders by author's name -- none of the ones I saw appealed to me.

[cromag]

Just a heads-up that J&R has another "Open Box" JetBook Mini on sale for $26.50.

I find Ectaco's description of the Mini to be a bit over the top. They claim a long list of file compatibility -- EPUB, MOBI, PRC, etc. -- but in the fine print they point out that all of these files must be converted either to TXT or FB2 using Calibre. I convert to TXT and I'm happy.

I bought my Mini as an ereader to take with me on vacations, etc. Its bright colors make it look a bit like a toy, so I'm not as concerned that it would attract the attention of ... unsavory characters. Mine is Lime Green, the currently available one is Royal Blue. I don't know for a fact, but I'd be very surprised if there was more than one available.

J&R's policy on Open Box items is here:

http://www.jr.com/information/pop_sh...lp.jsp#openBox


The Mini is here:

http://www.jr.com/ectaco/pe/ECT_JBOOKMINIBB/



EDIT: They also have an Open Box JetBook Lite available for $41.50, but I think NewEgg still has new JetBook Lites available for $57, and for a price that's so close I think I'd rather go for the new one.

[GA Russell]

cromag, remember three or four years ago when there were threads speculating how long it would be until eBook readers were $30?!!!

[cromag]

Now I'm waiting to find one in my box of Cracker Jack!