At first glance you would think it would be here already – most mainstream consumer products launch pretty quickly over here after their US release but not the Kindle. There appear to be 2 main sticking points:

• Agreeing with publishers to make the books available

Despite the myriad of ebook readers now available there is still only a limited amount of ebooks available from a limited set of publishers – and the pricing is often poor compared to the paperback versions of the same books.  Amazons marketing muscle could probably solve this one pretty easily though.

• Agreeing with mobile networks to distribute the ebooks

In the US, “Whispernet”, the Sprint EVDO network Amazon uses, allows the kindle to download books from the amazon store anywhere in the country so no need for a wifi connection or even a pc to download the book or manage your account.  So far European telecoms operators seem reluctant to broker a similar deal and until Amazon can agree this it will stall the Kindles march into the UK and indeed Europe.

Recent talks with German telecoms operators T-Mobile and Vodafone have stalled, with Amazon unwilling to meet the financial demands of the mobile operators, which looks bleak for a German Kindle.
So the question remains – when will we see kindle in the UK?

The Cool-er is a pretty nice device for the money but it does lack some of the ‘cooler’ functionality of the Sony Readers and Kindles. However, you get what you pay for. So if your just looking for a handy sized portable e-reader, without many of the bells and whistles, this could be the e-reader for you. The jury is out on whether the competative price justifies some of compromises but my gut feel is that this will be the popular Christmas present this year, especially amongst the everyday man (probably more women) so expect to see alot of them popping in and out of handbags on buses and trains in 2010.

It’s the lower price that will attract those who just want a reliable and convenient e-book reader. You don’t get the built in wireless with this reader so it’ll have to be plugged in to a USB to download. However, apart from the reading functions I think the future Cool-er fans will enjoy the ability to add MP3 music, and benefit from the PDF support and SD card slot. Whilst the Cool-er looks pretty cool and sits in the hands nicely, like the iPod, it’s not that easy to use from first pick up but you’ll get used to it like any new gadget. My main problem when comparing it to some other e-readers is that because it lacks a keyboard you have to fiddle around with the somewhat clumsy scroll wheel that doesn’t provide a natural enough page turner for me, especially when you have it in landscape format (a nice to have function). Maybe I’m being too picky though. The interface will take a bit of getting used to to, especially if you’ve used other ebook readers such as the newer Kindles or Sony Readers but you’ll get the hang of it and won’t give it a second thought.

The 6″ Vizplex screen is impressively good. You’ll be able to read for long periods without headaches. The matte finish appearance is just right too and the lettering has a good quality, and rounded off form that you’d get from the good old paper page.

The MP3 player on the Cool-er will come in handy for those audio book fans who don’t always want their eyes glued to the screen. You can play them from the SC card slot. The trouble with the music though is that you haven’t got easy access to the controls whilst reading a book so you might get a tad frustrated at the need to exit your e-book to skip a tune.

Be careful Mac owners too.  Loading e-books up via the mini USB from Macs does have some compatibility issues. It still all works with Macs but you’ll find all those messy meta data files that you might have experienced with other external drives and devices. You can use the SD card slot though too of course.

When it comes to the actual eBooks, you get 25% reduction on books at coolerbooks.co.uk but don’t be too blown away. With some comparison research you’ll soon discover that it’s still not that cheap. Some I saw on coolerbooks.com were as much as double that of Kindle ebooks from Amazon, especially the newer ones. The selection at cool-er store isn’t as good as Waterstones and Amazon either but that’ll change as this cool cat on the market rockets in popularity.

I shouldn’t be saying this but I will. One of Cool-er’s other upsides is the support of PDF docs so that you can load up torrented and downloaded e-books simply. So, if you’re into pirate stuff then there’s not much hassle with this ebook reader.

In summary, you don’t get the breadth of detail and finishing of the more sophisticated ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle and the newer Sony Reader, but you’re not paying the price either. At £189, your playing in the middle to lower end of the market but it might be all that you need from an e-reader. For the techno geeks out there though, it probably won’t satisfy your craving for the really ‘cooler’ bits of kit, but it also won’t do your image any bad either.

Cool-er Specifcations:

Weight: 6.2 ounces
Screen size: 6 inches
Dimensions: 7.2 inches by 4.6 inches by .43 inches
Levels of greyscale: 8
DPI: 170 pixels per inch
Type: EInk Vizplex
Touch screen: No
Manufacturer: PVI
Operating system: Linux
Storage: 1GB
Memory: 128MB (internal)
Processor: Samsung S3C2440 ARM 400MHz
Battery Life: 8,000 pages per full charge
Battery: Li-Polymer battery (1000 mAh)
Memory Expansion: SD (up to 4GB)
Wireless: No
Languages: 8
Formats: JPEG, PDF, EPUB, TXT, MP3 (2.5mm headphone jack with a 3.5mm converter included for standard headphones)

The “3qi” display technology is an eInk laptop screen offering  three displays, a low power black and white one for reading documents, and two colour modes, indoor and out, which allows for some interesting applications.

Pixel Qi was founded by former OLPC (one laptop per child) CTO Mary Lou Jepsen.  “What you’re looking at is a screen that’s entirely reflective,” said John Ryan, chief operating officer. “It’s just running like e-paper so that it’s running on the ambient light. It’s not fighting the office light , it’s not fighting the sunlight. That makes it better for reading but it also cuts the power consumption. The backlight in the screen is typically the largest power drain in any notebook computer.”

A video demo of the technology is here:

Obviously the impressive touch screen replaces many of the buttons and keys of the Reader PRS-505 so aesthetically and ergonomically the 700 is a stunning piece of equipment. This Reader now has 5 font sizes (up from 3 with the 505), along with a built in front light so greater accessibility for those with poorer eyesight.

Overall, this eBook reader is a pleasure to use. It just feels like a more natural way to read books with greater control and easy navigation. Storing and managing your library of books, especially for those bookworms out there with hundreds of them, is just a breeze. And with the support of an array of formats including support of ePub and native PDF, as well as both DRM and non-DRM, Sony gets the thumbs up.

One stumbling block for some will be the display though. The Sony Reader PRS-700 with its touch screen display has a more matt finish – probably because of the touch screen surface that affects the contrast of the e-ink paper appearance.

The Ups:

The first ‘Up’ obviously has to go to the touch screen that eliminates the need for a keyboard. The screen is very responsive, making the control and navigation a walk in the park. Switching between ebooks and notes where you last left them isn’t a frustrating hassle at all and all can be done very quickly.

For those who thrive on being seen with the sexiest bit of kit in their hands, the design will impress all those around. Complemented with a very nice cover, it has to be said that it’s a better-looking device than the Amazon Kindle and appears and feels more like a real book than the Kindle 2. Also, the front sidelights will come in very handy for those night owls who love to read in bed.

The Downs:

Whilst all the excitement revolves around the touch screen and its benefits, it’s also the source of the few downsides of the Sony Reader PRS-700. Due to the surface layer that enables effective touch screen functionality, you have a noticeable set back. Firstly, the contrast is not as good as some of the others including Sony’s previous PRS-505. Furthermore, you get the glare from ambient light that can be very annoying whether indoors or out. Added to this, some of us report problems controlling and navigating using their finger and so it looks like the stylus could be more than just a nice to have. It might actually be essential.

Manufacturer: Sony

Release Date: October 2008

RRP: £

Screen size: 6”

Editors’ rating:

Members’ rating:

Sony Book Reader PRS-700 Specifications:

•    Size: 5.0 x 6.8 x .4 inches approx (127.6 x 174.3 x 9.7 mm)
•    Screen: 6″ diagonal touch screen. 167-ppi 800×600 (4.8″ x 3.6″) 8 level greyscale screen
•    Weight: 10 oz.
•    Fonts: 5 available font sizes
•    Buttons: hard buttons available for page changing. Press and hold to skip ahead. Also a back button, main, search, zoom, and option
•    Light: front light built in – 2 levels of brightness
•    External memory: SD card slot plus Sony memory stick duo card slot.
•    Keyboard: on screen virtual touch keyboard
•    Memory: eBook capacity: 320 in approximately 420 MB internal user memory
•    AC Power: Optional AC Charger requires 120 Volts 60Hz
•    Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion 3.7 V
•    Battery Life (Approx.): Up to 7,500 continuous page turns (or up to two weeks worth of reading)
•    Battery life with light on: Low – 8 hours, High – 4 hours
•    Recharging Time: 4 Hours approx with USB charging from powered Computer or approx. 2 Hours when using optional AC wall charger (5.2V)
•    Ports: USB 2.0 (1.1 compatible), 3.5″ stereo audio jack, power input
•    CPU: Free scale i. MX31 (L?), ARM1136JF-S core, 400-532MHz
•    EPD controller: Broadsheet (Epson S1D13521)
•    Real-Time Clock /Sound/ /Battery/Power Management IC: Wolfson WM8350
•    USB: MX31 USB OTG controller w/ High Speed Philips ISP1504 transceiver
•    Linux kernel: 2.6.23 (compiled with gcc 4.2)
•    Operating temperature: 41 to 95 °F (5 to 35 °C)
•    Flash cards: MX31 SDHC controller, MX31Memory Stick controller
•    RAM: 128MB
•    Flash: 512MB NAND + 2MB NOR

Other info:

Sony has been in the game of e-book readers now for some times so are one of the main players. Launching their first ebook reader in 2003 with the Librie, Sony learnt the hard way and have since made good progress from the days of that first reader that unsuccessfully launched only in Japan.

Since then Sony have launched the Sony Reader PRS-500 and more lately the PRS-550 (October 2007). This new PRS-700, launched in October 2008, but most will agree is not a replacement for the very popular Sony Reader PRS-505.

Overall impressions lead to the summary that this newer Sony Reader PRS-505 is excellent. The kit is a big leap forward for the ebook reader fan. Even the supporters of the PRS-500 would have to admit that they’re going to bed with an ancient artifact when laid up next to this beauty. Apart from the looks, the 2 main spec changes that Sony has scored on are what give this the gold star. The new button changes and vastly improved screen quality.

However, on the flip side, you’ll read a number of small gripes below but really there’s not that many of significance – the page turner button, that after some getting used to will probably will be forgotten about.

The Ups:

Usability

There’s a greatly significant improvement in usability for the reader with the PRS-505. The best of the previous version are retained along with a range of upgraded features. The newly organized controls have helped the menu setup work well with the selection buttons. This will be welcomed by those of us who have heaps of books and rely on an easy to navigate book list.

The Screen

A relatively small improvement in the contrast has made a world of difference to the reading experience. The screen is great. You don’t need direct bright light indoors anymore. The duller image found with the PRS-500 has gone so you’re experiencing something closer to that of a real paper book. Gone is the flickering and images are far better too with the PRS-505.

Page access

Just by pushing a number you can now easily access a page directly with this e-book reader. By simply pushing the 3-digit page number you can access any page quickly. If you hit the wrong page then you just keep on typing the 3-digit page number you want.

Saving power

With the Sony PPR-505 you can now save power by turning the reader off using the menus. This complete power off functionality means that you won’t be recharging much, especially if you aren’t reading for long periods of time. Previously, even in sleep mode the life of the battery would drain within a few weeks meaning frequent and inconvenient charge demands while away from home.

Storage

The USB mass storage of the Sony PPR-505 lets you access the internal memory like any other mass storage device. Apple Mac users can now have access to non-DRM books that they didn’t have before and could only access via external cards.

Looks and style

Compared to the previous PRS-500, you’ll see the difference. This newer model of the Sony Reader is so much more modern and contemporary. In terms of getting that new purchase high when you’ve taken your ebook reader out of its box, you’ll be happy with this little bit of gear.

The Downs

Page turn

Probably one of the only downsides to this newer Sony book reader model is the round page turn button. It just seems to require quite a bit of force to push down and change the page. There’s no slickness to it and it’s just not an effortless click that you’d expect from such a well-designed device. There’s no obvious confirmation that you’ve clicked the button until a short delay when the turn actually happens.

PDF book reading

The screen of the PRS-505, whilst great quality, is still not big enough to easily read full-page PDF books with comfort and ease. There are tools available that can improve rendering but generally these PDF books can only be read well on the larger screen models out there.

PRS-500 Accessories

If you have a PRS-500 and kitted yourself out with some accessories, such as the dock and a fancy cover, expect disappointment when you realise that they can’t be used with the PRS-505.  If you didn’t have these of course then you can skip ahead and ignore this whinge.

Customization

Again, if you’ve enjoyed some of the hacks available for the PRS-500, such as additional clock display, then you’ll be disappointed that you can’t migrate these over to your new Sony Reader PRS-505.  If you haven’t taken advantage of these or this is your first e-book reader then it’s no drama of course. No doubt there will be something done about this in the near future anyway.

Price

Most will say that the price tag is well worth it for what you’re getting. It’s a lot of cool kit for the money. But for those who take 6 months to get through the average paper back book it could be seen as just an expensive gimmick that looks good next to the pool on holidays. However, the e-book reader is a lot more convenient, and reading is more fun so you could find yourself reading a lot more, especially with the new Sony Reader PRS-505.

Manufacturer: Sony

Release Date: October 2007

RRP:

Screen size: 6”

Editors’ rating:

Members’ rating:

Sony Book Reader PRS-505 Specifications:

•    Weight: 9 oz
•    Screen: 6″ diagonal 800 x 600 167 ppi display with 8 level gray scale Vizplex
•    Dimensions: 6.9″ x 4.8″ x 0.3″ (175 x 122 x 8mm)
•    Power: 3.7V Lithium Ion battery
•    AC Power (optional): 5.2V
•    Battery life: about 7500 page turns (approximately 2 to 3 weeks)
•    Recharge time: 4 hours on USB, 2 hours on AC adapter.
•    Connections: USB 2.0 (1.1 compatible), 3.5mm audio jack.
•    RAM – 192 MB available for the user equals 160 averaged sized eBooks
•    Operating temperature: 5 to 35C (41 to 95F)
•    Memory expansion: SDHC (tested to 16GB) card slot and Sony Memory stick Duo slot (tested to 8GB).
•    CPU: Freescale i.MXL, ARM920T core, 150-200 MHz
•    EPD controller: Metronome (E-Ink 8T125100A)
•    USB: Epson S1R72V17 USB OTG High Speed Controller
•    Sound: Asahi Kasei AK4356 DAC
•    Flash card interface: Ricoh R5C807 SDHC/MemoryStick controller
•    RAM: 64MB
•    Linux kernel: 2.4.17 (compiled with gcc 2.95.3)
•    Flash: 256M NAND + 2MB NOR

Other info:

Sony launched its first e-book reader called the Sony Librie in 2003. It was the first E-Ink reading device of it’s kind. However, it was only available in Japan and did not take off as planned, mainly due to the small number of e-books available at the time. Since then Sony have launched the PRS-500 and more lately the PRS-550 (reviewed here). The PRS-700, a touch screen launched in October 2008, is he latest but by no means supercedes the PRS-505

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

First impressions, I have to say are not good. It does however look better in the flesh than in the pre release photos but this is not a thing of beauty. It certainly looks “clunkier” than the sony reader or Irex Iliad. The main reason for this is the full qwerty keyboard situated in the bottom half of the Kindle (something which sets it apart from other ebook readers on the market). This extra functionality provided by the keyboard could be critical in the success of the Kindle as Amazon has created a very different product from the others on the market. As the Kindle is meant for use on its own, all actions like buying a book, checking a word in the dictionary or searching wikipedia need to be done on the device itself hence the need for a full set of keys.

Perhaps the biggest selling point of the kindle is it’s wireless connectivity, called whispernet. With EV-DO from sprint built in the Kindle can go to the Kindle Amazon store wherever you are – in the garden on a sunny day or laying in bed at night. The kindle store has over 100,000 books already available and after choosing what you want to read its delivered to the kindle in around a minute and best sellers cost around $9.99. And books aren’t the only thing you can read, newspaper and magazine subscriptions are available as well.

The kindle also features a web browser to view websites and blogs and limited e-mail functionality (Amazon charges $0.10 to convert your e-mail to the kindle).  The web browsing is free however and although some sites won’t function (flash for instance) most text based sites are pretty readable especially if you use an rss client like the excellent google reader.

So how does the Kindle stack up?  Well it certainly brings a lot more features to the party than any other Ebook reader has to date, the wireless connectivity for buying books and browsing the web.  An A for effort then but what really lets this product down is the design.  I just don’t think it looks like a product people want to buy despite the good functionality.  So maybe it’s not the Ipod for Ebooks but it could well be the first step in that direction.

The high contrast display has a 10 bar capacity meter that, like all eink products has high contrastand low power consumption. The capacity used and remaining is shown in percentages.

The Jumpdrive is available in 1GB and 2 GB formats and at only $10 more than an equivelant drive I’m sure it will prove a useful product.