Jetbook->TheBook->Mentor. Oh My. (opinion)

smallhagrid · 08-19-2010, 02:52 PM

I took the plunge a wee bit over a year ago and when the JB pricing got below $200 I got one.
Being a lifetime dead-tree book devotee I was doubtful I would like using a reader, mostly based upon my extreme dislike of PDAs and their tiny awful screens and goofy data entry methods.
I was wrong - very, very wrong !!! After a week I was addicted for good.
(So much so that the paper books soon went into safe storage which delighted me as my living space is about closet-sized.)

Fast forward a year or so and the JB had been used daily, worked hard and was locking up too often - and a FW upgrade was suggested - and I did it.
BIG mistake. (Note to self: If the device seems tired upgrading FW will NOT make it un-tired, but it could make it simply go INSANE.)((It did too.))

ACK - NO READER - NO, NO - this simply cannot be.
I found Augen's offering at my (only 45 minutes away...) Kmart and zoomed off to get one. Used it for a while and got a bit used to it and was also uncomfortable with it

Suddenly Newegg went nuts with price reductions - wow - JBs for $70 ?!
Other ones for $99 ? Time for research...
I was enchanted with Foxit's offering until I saw it has been axed; The Bookeen Cybook got fabulous reviews and sold out instantaneously - and the Mentor got mixed reviews, but looked pretty good, so I grabbed one before they also sold out.

Now I've become reasonably familiar with 3 different readers and as promised it is now time to share my opinions and observations of MY time with them.
Certainly your experiences may differ from mine - but this is ME telling MY tale and I invite you to add yours to the wealth here so folks who need info can make their own comparisons of reviews before buying their first reader...

The Jetbook adventure.
I knew nothing...nothing ! This made the JB seem, well-> great !
Pretty much it was too - small, light, and with it I could carry a library big enough that I'd never get it all read....

A very good starting point and in my opinion, at $100 - 130 it is a good first reader - very good for someone to see if they like this way of reading.

Likes:

Small and light.
Buttons wisely placed for convenient one-handed reading.
Page turns reasonably quick.
Opens to where it was left off pretty quickly.
Uses standard SD cards.

Hates (dislikes is just NOT strong enough here...):

Rotten - horrible battery runtime - 5 hours TOPS then 5-6 hours to charge.
NO usage when charging (changed in newer models/FW).
Horrible, really bad PDF rendering - unusable.
Power button sometimes iffy.
Many lock-ups requiring resets.
Ghastly company with horrible customer service/tech support.

On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets a solid 6; the company falls below the scale at -3.

Visiting with Augen TheBook.

The TheBook (how goofy is that ?) has lots going for it conceptually, visually, and has an attractive price too. ($89-99 usually.)
It took some getting used to - as expected - and was....OK.
It arrived 100% fully charged and made a friend instantly with that !
The color screen is nice too - but this guy only reads in B&W.

Likes:

Nice, clear display even when set at low brightness to lengthen battery life.
Renders PDFs very, very well IMO.
Power-up is almost instantaneous and reliable.
Returns to last place very well.
G-sensor makes screen rotation cute & fun.
Menu navigation is easy and pleasant.
Battery life is OUTSTANDING for an LCD device (with wifi OFF).
Buttons work well.

Dislikes:

Ergononically null - cannot say what manner of creature the controls are placed for, but it ain't made for a 2-handed, 5-fingered humanoid AT ALL.
It's NOT light enough for my spoiled tastes.
After a 5 inch screen, the 7 inch screen is too big for me.
Heavy enough as to work poorly for extended one-handed reading.
The...stupid...useless...keyboard; like an extra arm out the top of my head ?
And did I mention it is heavy ?
Does not charge via USB - needs it's own charger 100%.
No car charger and the plug is odd enough that this is a problem.
Sometimes 'loses' the SD card and your reading place completely.

On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets a 7; the company is very busy and somewhat inattentive IMO and gets a 5.

And now...the Mentor (Or is it ?)

It arrived with Newegg's usual quick efficiency. Was so near to dead out of the box as to be scary - and needed a LOOOONG charge to get going.
I like this reader, and the thrill of it being able to be just set down when not in use is just terrific ! The Green Book FW got right under my skin and HAD to go. The Cooler Reader FW suits me much better and was no trouble to put in.
This is a keeper. Hopefully it's lack of a visible logo means nothing and it's maker has better QC than the JB makers do...

Likes:

E-ink display can spoil a person - it's very nice.
The power button is used nice and seldom and it is always ready for me.
Nice case.
Nice and small and light - well suited for extended one-handed reading.
Battery life (thus far...) is impressive.
Uses SD cards reliably.
It just does what it is supposed to, and rather well too.

Dislikes:

Seriously needs another set of buttons for use in landscape mode.
The screen flashes VERY annoyingly during page changes.
Side buttons are very poorly placed, get hit by accdent and are hard to tell apart.
Navigation is clunky and book lists are poorly laid out.
When leaving a book to select another in the same folder it often goes all the way back to the root which is very annoying.
Rubber-ish cover for the charging port is dinky and hard to open.
Instructions are like badly translated Asian and could be LOADS better.

On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets an 8; the company is unknown to me as yet and so gets a null, hopefully forever, from me.

Mind you I do anticipate this experience being superceded at a later date; perhaps by an Android powered tablet, or something even better in a few years, but for now I am happy with what I have for the most part and the Newegg sourced Mentor was wll worth the $103.
It appears to be opened-box only there now and around $200 at other places.
My only advice to a person just starting into e-reader land is to be sure they like using a reader already - or be OK with a ~$200 'tester'.

There. My opinion is in the open. Hope it doesn't ruffle too many feathers !

: thumbsup:

mark

Lady Fitzgerald · 08-19-2010, 04:15 PM

I'm not impressed with the Mentor. It has failed twice on me; I still need to email their service department (ADD inertia is holding me back. I love the screen but the lack of zoom for images severely restricts its usefulness for me. I was considering flashing it with Coolreader firmware but couldn't find instructions I could understand.

Instead of the JB, I got the JBL. I love its zoom but the screen is not as readable as the Mentor's in lower light conditions; light coming from the side, such as from a window is also problematic. Since the batteries are field replaceable with AAs (I will be using rechargeables which I already carry in my purse), battery life is not a huge concern although I'm still running the alkalines it came with (mayhap 3 hours worth of use?) and the battery gauge hasn't budged yet. Once a book has been loaded, turning on the JBL quickly returns me to the book. Turning it on into the menu or getting into the menu is noticeably slower so I appreciate the design of the firmware bypassing the normal loading and going directly into the last book being read exactly where I left off.

The screen aspect ratio of TheBook is attractive (very similar to a standard paperback) but, with the added key pad, TheBook (that IS an awkward name!) is too long to fit in my purse so I haven't even bothered to look at one.

bill_mchale · 08-20-2010, 09:26 AM

My general impression of the Jetbook was much more positive than yours. I have had it for almost 2 years. My big complaint is that the case of the reader is not very durable and mine is now falling apart. Occasionally, I did find that one or two epub books did cause the unit to essentially lock. Not a big deal, I would just use calibre to convert them to mobi or html.

As for PDF support, the only problem I had with its rendering was the 5" screen. Early on, before later firmware revisions added support for epub and mobi, I routinely converted books into pdf's sized for 3"X4" page size. With a few minor annoyances, it worked like a charm. There was a short delay in page turns, but no worse than the page refresh on eInk readers.

As for battery life, you might have gotten a bum battery. Even after two years of pretty steady usage, I probably get 8 hours between charges, early on I would say I would get somewhere between 12-20 hours of use. Though now that I am using my wife's PRS-505, I definitely notice how long the latter's battery lasts.

08-19-2010, 02:52 PM	#1
smallhagrid Hillbilly Posts: 189 Karma: 132498 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Vermont Device: EZReader	Jetbook->TheBook->Mentor. Oh My. (opinion) I took the plunge a wee bit over a year ago and when the JB pricing got below $200 I got one. Being a lifetime dead-tree book devotee I was doubtful I would like using a reader, mostly based upon my extreme dislike of PDAs and their tiny awful screens and goofy data entry methods. I was wrong - very, very wrong !!! After a week I was addicted for good. (So much so that the paper books soon went into safe storage which delighted me as my living space is about closet-sized.) Fast forward a year or so and the JB had been used daily, worked hard and was locking up too often - and a FW upgrade was suggested - and I did it. BIG mistake. (Note to self: If the device seems tired upgrading FW will NOT make it un-tired, but it could make it simply go INSANE.)((It did too.)) ACK - NO READER - NO, NO - this simply cannot be. I found Augen's offering at my (only 45 minutes away...) Kmart and zoomed off to get one. Used it for a while and got a bit used to it and was also uncomfortable with it Suddenly Newegg went nuts with price reductions - wow - JBs for $70 ?! Other ones for $99 ? Time for research... I was enchanted with Foxit's offering until I saw it has been axed; The Bookeen Cybook got fabulous reviews and sold out instantaneously - and the Mentor got mixed reviews, but looked pretty good, so I grabbed one before they also sold out. Now I've become reasonably familiar with 3 different readers and as promised it is now time to share my opinions and observations of MY time with them. Certainly your experiences may differ from mine - but this is ME telling MY tale and I invite you to add yours to the wealth here so folks who need info can make their own comparisons of reviews before buying their first reader... The Jetbook adventure. I knew nothing...nothing ! This made the JB seem, well-> great ! Pretty much it was too - small, light, and with it I could carry a library big enough that I'd never get it all read.... A very good starting point and in my opinion, at $100 - 130 it is a good first reader - very good for someone to see if they like this way of reading. Likes: Small and light. Buttons wisely placed for convenient one-handed reading. Page turns reasonably quick. Opens to where it was left off pretty quickly. Uses standard SD cards. Hates (dislikes is just NOT strong enough here...): Rotten - horrible battery runtime - 5 hours TOPS then 5-6 hours to charge. NO usage when charging (changed in newer models/FW). Horrible, really bad PDF rendering - unusable. Power button sometimes iffy. Many lock-ups requiring resets. Ghastly company with horrible customer service/tech support. On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets a solid 6; the company falls below the scale at -3. Visiting with Augen TheBook. The TheBook (how goofy is that ?) has lots going for it conceptually, visually, and has an attractive price too. ($89-99 usually.) It took some getting used to - as expected - and was....OK. It arrived 100% fully charged and made a friend instantly with that ! The color screen is nice too - but this guy only reads in B&W. Likes: Nice, clear display even when set at low brightness to lengthen battery life. Renders PDFs very, very well IMO. Power-up is almost instantaneous and reliable. Returns to last place very well. G-sensor makes screen rotation cute & fun. Menu navigation is easy and pleasant. Battery life is OUTSTANDING for an LCD device (with wifi OFF). Buttons work well. Dislikes: Ergononically null - cannot say what manner of creature the controls are placed for, but it ain't made for a 2-handed, 5-fingered humanoid AT ALL. It's NOT light enough for my spoiled tastes. After a 5 inch screen, the 7 inch screen is too big for me. Heavy enough as to work poorly for extended one-handed reading. The...stupid...useless...keyboard; like an extra arm out the top of my head ? And did I mention it is heavy ? Does not charge via USB - needs it's own charger 100%. No car charger and the plug is odd enough that this is a problem. Sometimes 'loses' the SD card and your reading place completely. On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets a 7; the company is very busy and somewhat inattentive IMO and gets a 5. And now...the Mentor (Or is it ?) It arrived with Newegg's usual quick efficiency. Was so near to dead out of the box as to be scary - and needed a LOOOONG charge to get going. I like this reader, and the thrill of it being able to be just set down when not in use is just terrific ! The Green Book FW got right under my skin and HAD to go. The Cooler Reader FW suits me much better and was no trouble to put in. This is a keeper. Hopefully it's lack of a visible logo means nothing and it's maker has better QC than the JB makers do... Likes: E-ink display can spoil a person - it's very nice. The power button is used nice and seldom and it is always ready for me. Nice case. Nice and small and light - well suited for extended one-handed reading. Battery life (thus far...) is impressive. Uses SD cards reliably. It just does what it is supposed to, and rather well too. Dislikes: Seriously needs another set of buttons for use in landscape mode. The screen flashes VERY annoyingly during page changes. Side buttons are very poorly placed, get hit by accdent and are hard to tell apart. Navigation is clunky and book lists are poorly laid out. When leaving a book to select another in the same folder it often goes all the way back to the root which is very annoying. Rubber-ish cover for the charging port is dinky and hard to open. Instructions are like badly translated Asian and could be LOADS better. On a scale of 1 - 10 the device gets an 8; the company is unknown to me as yet and so gets a null, hopefully forever, from me. Mind you I do anticipate this experience being superceded at a later date; perhaps by an Android powered tablet, or something even better in a few years, but for now I am happy with what I have for the most part and the Newegg sourced Mentor was wll worth the $103. It appears to be opened-box only there now and around $200 at other places. My only advice to a person just starting into e-reader land is to be sure they like using a reader already - or be OK with a ~$200 'tester'. There. My opinion is in the open. Hope it doesn't ruffle too many feathers ! : thumbsup: mark Last edited by smallhagrid; 08-19-2010 at 02:57 PM. Reason: eye fickseddid it.

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08-19-2010, 04:15 PM	#2
Lady Fitzgerald Wizard Posts: 2,013 Karma: 251649 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth Device: JetBook Lite (away from home) + 1 spare, 32" TV (at home)	I'm not impressed with the Mentor. It has failed twice on me; I still need to email their service department (ADD inertia is holding me back. I love the screen but the lack of zoom for images severely restricts its usefulness for me. I was considering flashing it with Coolreader firmware but couldn't find instructions I could understand. Instead of the JB, I got the JBL. I love its zoom but the screen is not as readable as the Mentor's in lower light conditions; light coming from the side, such as from a window is also problematic. Since the batteries are field replaceable with AAs (I will be using rechargeables which I already carry in my purse), battery life is not a huge concern although I'm still running the alkalines it came with (mayhap 3 hours worth of use?) and the battery gauge hasn't budged yet. Once a book has been loaded, turning on the JBL quickly returns me to the book. Turning it on into the menu or getting into the menu is noticeably slower so I appreciate the design of the firmware bypassing the normal loading and going directly into the last book being read exactly where I left off. The screen aspect ratio of TheBook is attractive (very similar to a standard paperback) but, with the added key pad, TheBook (that IS an awkward name!) is too long to fit in my purse so I haven't even bothered to look at one.

08-20-2010, 09:26 AM	#3
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	My general impression of the Jetbook was much more positive than yours. I have had it for almost 2 years. My big complaint is that the case of the reader is not very durable and mine is now falling apart. Occasionally, I did find that one or two epub books did cause the unit to essentially lock. Not a big deal, I would just use calibre to convert them to mobi or html. As for PDF support, the only problem I had with its rendering was the 5" screen. Early on, before later firmware revisions added support for epub and mobi, I routinely converted books into pdf's sized for 3"X4" page size. With a few minor annoyances, it worked like a charm. There was a short delay in page turns, but no worse than the page refresh on eInk readers. As for battery life, you might have gotten a bum battery. Even after two years of pretty steady usage, I probably get 8 hours between charges, early on I would say I would get somewhere between 12-20 hours of use. Though now that I am using my wife's PRS-505, I definitely notice how long the latter's battery lasts.

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