Released in October 2007, the Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 is a solid performer amongst the ebook readers. Yes, some of the newer Kindles and flashy ‘iPoddy’ gadgets have all the flashy looks but the Gen 3 Cybook from Bookeen has an understated confidence that you’ll be happy you bought into. Bookeen is a dedicated main player in this field so you can’t go far wrong. The first of the Cybooks lauched in 2005 with some impressive features for it’s time. The Gen 3 lives up to expectations set back then.

In terms of size and dimensions, the Gen3 has it right. It’s a sturdy and optimally sized with what seems like everything in the right place and to the right proportions. The front is dominated significantly be the screen in comparison with many others that are surrounded by overly complex control panels. This ebook reader is very compact and ergonomically convenient for the reader on the go. It slips effortlessly into all types of laptop cases, or everyday handbags. Essentially, it’s about the same width and height as a typical paperback, at 188mm tall x 118mm wide. Of course its far thinner though at 8.5mm.

There isn’t an overload of controls visible on the device and those that are there are placed in the right areas so that they are tucked out of the way where needed and at your fingertips as required. A optimally large navigation button and select key sit on the front as expected and these are all that’s requited for navigation.

The Bookeen Cybook Gen3 uses E-ink, as do most now. For those who are still wondering what all this fuss is about with eink, then here’s a quick snapshot:

E-ink is the of the main types of what’s now being termed – electronic paper. It’s not just being used in ebook readers. Other devices such as watches and mobile phones are starting to employ this eink technology in their displays. It’s all about positively and negatively charged micro-capsules that when activated or deactivated with an electric charge, can bring them to and from the reading surface, forming the letters, numbers and images of a document. Amazingly, only when the page needs changing (or adding to with writing capabilities on some devices) does it draw on power.

Moving on…the display screen projects in just 4 shades of grey. It’s ample for words and numbers but images won’t be amazing. However, the resolution is very good which makes reading a breeze and you can switch between landscape and portrait depending on your preference, which will normally be dictated by how you tend to hold the ebook reader and how you want to control the page turns.

The Cybook Gen3 has a decent audio function but you can only listen to music and audio books through earphones as there aren’t any loudspeakers on this device. That will please your fellow commuters. Earphones are only supplied with the deluxe version that obviously costs a bit more but you can always use your own standard iPod ones if you pay a little for a converter jack.

You can only play MP3s on this ebook reader which should be fine for most of your needs as it’s the standard format for podcasts, audio books and most music. You can always do data conversion with a little research into how to do it if you want to listen to AAC and WMA files.

The Cybook Gen3 supports a a range of image formats for viewing which means that you can see JPEGs, PNGs and GIFs and file’s you can read from include PDF, HTML and TXT, PalmDoc and Mobipocket files. The Gen3 can also be synchronised to receive RSS news and blog entry feeds through the Mobipocket software.

There’s an SD card slot on the reader for a secondary storage function. So, you can download content from your computer (easy if you have an SD card slot on your printer or something else attached to the PC) and then just pop the card in the slot on the ebook reader. However, the Cybook Gen3 does come with 64mb built in so depending on how many books you want stored at any one time you might be ok without use of the SD card at all.

Navigation is pretty good with this Cybook. The controls are on the sides and front with a 4-way nav pad with central clicker selecter on the middle of it. You just move through the pages with th arrows and hit the select button when, yes you’ve guessed it, when you want to select something or pull up a menu depending where you are. The menu allows you to change the font size, view bookmarks, switching viewing formats between portrait and landscape and of course going back to the main menu or library view. On the sides, you have a volume control and other buttons go easily go back a step, deleting files, getting up music.

The battery will let you go through some decent length reading session over a weekend so that you don;t have to take all your recharge kit away with you. Bookeen pitches it at 800 page views but that will vary depending on size of books and font sizes chosen.

The Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 is a very comfortable ebook reader to hold to long periods of time. It’s easy to read from in most daylight conditions but has no back-light like some ebook readers. However, it’ll work fine with a normal bedside reading lamp on. On the eye, you won’t be in danger of eye strain or headaches but saying that that’s the beauty of all eink ereaders.

In summary, the Cybook Gen3 is a good light weight and portable ebook reader. The battery is long lasting for convenience over extended breaks away from home. The range of options with font size and font types are handy for different tastes. However, what we haven’t mentioned is the lack of page numbers on the display of any formats except for PDFs which makes assessing progress frustrating. With the hardware too, the 2.5mm headphone jack will mean that you either have to trade up to the deluxe package to get the headphones, or buy a jack for your 3.5mm headphones that you no doubt have a few of lying around. All in all though, you won’t regret buying the Cybook Gen3.

Bookeen Cybook Gen3 Specifications

• Box contents: Bookeen Cybook Gen3 ebook reader, USB cable, Quick Start Guide, Deluxe Charger, Deluxe Book Casing, 2gig SD card, extra battery, earphones.
• Size: 4.7″ x 7.4″ x 0.3″ – 118 x 188 x 8.5 mm
• Last firmware: 1.2
• Weight: 174 grams / 6.13 ounces (with battery)
• Screen: 6″ E Ink Vizplex screen – 4.8″x3.6″- 122mm x 91mm, 166 dpi, B&W, 4 grayscales, 600×800 px.
• Power Supply: Universal AC 100~240V, DC 5V 700mA,
• Plugs: Euro 2Pin, UK 3Pin, US 2Pin
• Daylight readable but no backlight
• Viewing mode: Portrait and landscape
• Supported image formats: JPG, GIF, PNG
• Operating System: Embedded Linux
• Software suite: Bookeen Multi-format eBook reader (Mobipocket PRC, PalmDoc, HTML, TXT, PDF)
• Processor: Samsung S3C2410 ARM920T 200MHz
• Supported sound format: MP3
• Battery: Rechargeable built-in Li-Polymer battery (1000 mAh), 8,000 screen refresh/page turns battery life
• Cybook Connectivity: USB Client (v2.0) – Mini USB B connector
• Storage memory: 64MB (512MB)
• Gen3 ROM memory: 8MB
• Gen3 RAM memory: 16M