Plastic Logic’s Mission is to lead a revolution in the way people consume and organise readable information. They have developed their our proprietary technology to create a range of e-reading products. With hubs in the UK, Germnay and the US, it looks like they’ll be launching sometime in the back half of 2009 with a general release promised for sometime in 2010.

Their product, still yet to be named, is one of the most impressive devices i’ve seen to date. Sleek, lightweight and easy to use. Slightly larger than a A4 writing pad, the nameless product  measures up at around 8.5 x 11 inches and only 1/4 inch thick. This ebook reader is being positioned as a business publication reader and will support any document that can be printed – Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adove PDF, newspapers, and of course, books.

The screen will be the largest in the market that enables it to supports sp many formats that will be very appealling to the business user. The interface is a gesture based touch screen and makes navigation and annotation very natural. The wireless capability and long life battery will be top features too. The display is actually plastic, not glass like others on the market currently, which makes this ebook reader incredibly light weight too. So far, the price tag hasn’t been mentioned but rumours are that it’ll be very competative in relation to the current market leaders.

See a more detailed video review of the Plastic Logic reader here:

Firstly, with the Elonex ebook in one hand and the Sony Reader in the other, you’ll notice the difference in weight. At just 150g it’ll feel remarkably light weight to the Sony Reader in the other hand as well as many other ebook readers out there on the market – most of which weigh in at around 180g to 250g in the case of the Sony PRS-505. It’s great for those you have experienced a tired arm in bed with some of the others. In size, the Elonex is slightly longer and narrower but still casing a good 6 inch screen (187×117x9mm).

It comes in a rubber case, rather than a leather book-like cover and that decision by Elonex would suggest that this ebook reader isn’t trying to closely mimic the real book experience apart from the simplicity. However, a leather case is optional as part of the accessory pack. The screen is very good with no glare or flicker. It has no backlight either so it’ easy on the eye and great for reading in a range of outdoor and indoor lighting. The 6 inch e-Ink screen can the viewed in both landscape and portrait formats and it allows you to choose from 8 different font sizes which is great for young and old and those with eye sight problems.

Elonex boasts an impressive battery life with up to 8000 page transitions in one full charge – enough to last a few days with some long periods of reading. For those who don’t know much about e-ink technology, we judge battery life in page turns because power isn’t used until the page is changed, so you can effectively have the ebook reader on for years if you don’t turn the page!

Anyway, this battery life is up there with the best and you can load on up to a 1000 books with the external 4gb memory card that comes with the £29.99 accessory pack. The casing is sturdy, yet not a head turner as already mentioned. The functionality of the user interface is clear and simple. It’s definitely an ereader that just gets on with what it’s meant to do without the fuss. You still get the slight glitches and delays you’d see from the Sony Reader, and Kindles but it’s not a big issue, especially with this new Elonex ebook. With 100 all time classics preloaded (which is getting pretty standard now) you do have the extras, including a multimedia button dedicated to favourite game Sudoku. Why they’ve made such a fuss about this feature I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a deal breaker but I’m sure Elonex did their market research and it would be a cool 20 minute distraction away from the ebooks for some.

The biggest drawcard for the Elonex ebook reader will be the partnership with Borders UK and their impressive selection of over 45,000 ebooks available online. All in all though, the Elonex is a solid contender in that part of the ebook reader market. It’s not trying too hard to be something that it’s not. It does what it says on the tin (yes, the sudoku game is mentioned a lot) and it does a good job. At $189 it’s 10 quid less expensive that the Sony Reader but you’ll be less likely to make your decision on price, and more likely to weigh up the design. If you’re a fan of the Borders brand, and you want a solid ebook reader performer then The Elonex ebook reader will be a strong possible for you. Borders will still be selling the iRex iLiad alongside the Elonex but it now has an ebook reader that’s more accessible in terms of price.

Full list of Elonex ebook specifications coming soon

It comes with a 512mb of memory which can store up to 1000 books, that can be extended to 8000 with the £30 optional accessory pack that contains a 4 gb SD card plus a protective leather case. 100 classics are already preloaded on for free. At 9mm thick and only 180g (compared to the Sony Reader PRS-505 at 260g) it’s thin and light but Elonex’s big claim is the long battery life of around 8000 pages between charges.

The Elonex ebook reader is priced at £189 so right in there to take on the Sony Reader PRS-505 and the more recent Cool-er ebook reader. The Elonex supports ePub and Adobe formats and with the sheer weight of titles on the new Borders ebook store, you won’t be shorty of reading material.

At the launch today. Sam Goult, Marketing Manager at Elonex comments “While the eBook sector is still very much in its infancy, new products like the Elonex eBook give readers a whole host of new ways to enjoy reading their favourite books. At 180g the eBook is so thin and light is perfect for the daily commute or taking on holiday with you. The Elonex eBook is not only easy to use but easy on the eye. It has the great functionality that you can change the font size, rotate the screen, read in direct sunlight and because the screen is two and half times sharper than a computer screen it’s great for people who struggle with their eyesight”

Sam Goult also went on to commit Elonex to a long future in the ebook reader market with promises of further functionality improvements that will not only enhance many people’s futures, but also the environment.

He said “Elonex sees the future of homes, schools and businesses involving eBooks as a way of distributing information, with the ultimate goal of a paperless society which will significantly decrease the nation’s carbon footprint.”

The Kindle DX has 16 shades of grey scale and it’s screen is simply amazing to read from with near perfect contrast and nice razor sharp clarity even in dazzling light. The large screen has made the icons, digital bars and page numbers insignifcant in the picture because they just take up less space. Complemented with faster page turns, obvious larger size and silky smooth images the Kindle DX is a big leap forward. The DX is as flat as a pancake but the weight is still enough to mean that you’ll get quickly tired in one arm unless you hold it with both. The half kilo weight will mean 2 hands for most.

You can now view the screen in both portrait and landscape due to the fitted accelerometer inside which will make for some variation, but you’ll probably get bored of waiting for the screen to re-orientate and often you’ll see some formatting issues. Its not as quick and simple to flick the page over at that horizontal setting either.

While we’re on the downsides, I’ll say it now that the user interface does slightly disappoint me as overall progress of these ebook readers is frustratingly slow in my opinion, especially after being spoilt by that of devices like the iPhone. There’s what seems like a tiny joystick in proportion to the whole device which makes navigating around quite laborious. The experience of the buttons isn’t quite there either. Further to this, it’s surpising that menu access is that tiny bit annoying and for impatient users like me you might be tapping away a few times in demand of faster actions.

The upsides though…the 3G makes buying books, blogs, and newspapers lightening fast comparably. This did delight me. Loading up PDF, MP3 and MOBI files is rapid too through the USB connection that also doubles as the charger.The Amazon DX in newspaper mode now lets you search within the newspaper but still only lets you see a single story at a time. Blogs also do ok on the new browser. Again, the text to speech on this device is not yet going to give the audio book market a run for it’s money but i’m sure the companies are working on this for the future. At the moment, we still have the 20th century robot that you’ll only give 5 minutes air time to before wanting to smash the whole thing against the wall.

In summary, the Amazon Kindle DX is a big step forward. The quality of design and build is really at the cutting edge and it’s using wireless capability well. The reading experience has been enriched with the bigger screen. The sharper image makes a huge difference and will make reading even more pleasurable. For those whos eye sight isn’t too great, the larger fonts work well because of this.

There are some areas mentioned above though that let this ebook reader down. The DX can be hit and miss with ease of navigation and response speed.

The looks are impressive but for those looking for a simple ebook reader for their commute, the DX will feel too cumbersome, even though it’s slick and smooth in design. Its just too large and too heavy for casual handbag use. It’s expensive too, but if you have the money, read a range of literature a lot including newspapers, and you like the latest and greatest designs, then you’ll be all over the Kindle DX. Amazon have done well with this 3rd edition Kindle.

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)

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.

Launched in the US, in 2008 and now available in the UK, the Ectaco Jetbook has an LCD screeen unlike like many of the others that use Eink. It doesn’t have a backlight though so it avoid the threat of glare and viewing fatigue. Instead, ambient light reflects off the screen which also means that you don’t get the delay and black out of the eink page turns. It’s much quicker.

The Ectaco Jetbook measures about 6 inches tall with a 5 inch diagnonal screen that goes close to the edge of the device’s front. The device is well built with solid and sturdy plastic. It’s not the lightest of ebook readers at 210 grams but it’s very easy to hold and comfortable over long periods of time. The buttons are solid and easy to handle. It sits in your hand easily and seems to stick to it with the rougher surface finish to the plastic.

The are 6 font sizes ranging from 12 to 32 point which is impressive but only 2 type of fonts – verdana and arial. Some would have preferred a serif font to be included too I bet but it’s not a big deal and it’s worth doing some exploration to see if more can be added.

Ectaco’s heritage is in translators and dictionaries, so the built in dictionary was expected and from what I can see is extensive and supports a range of translations too. One great feature of the Jetbook is the flexibility of the folder structure. You can create your own directories to organise your books into the genres or by favourites – actually, anyway you wish.

The screen can be rotated hy 90 degrees and documents can be viewed in both vertical and horiziontal landscape positions and page turning buttons accomodate both with ease. The Jetbook can handle most formats but due to the size some PDFs will struggle on the smaller 5 inch screen if the’ve been formatted for A4 size. There are tools available to optimize PDFs for ebook devices.

Syncing and adding files onto the Ectago Jetbook is easy. The device doesn’t requite a desktop client so it’s just a matter of plugging it in and dropping files onto the folder that appears as a removable drive.

The Jetbook retails at just under $250 so in the same ball park as the Sony Reader. We’re waiting to here more from Ectaco and then we’ll do a more in-depth review of the Jetbook but for now, you can see a video review below.

Ectaco Jetbook ebook reader Specifications

Size: 153 x 109 x 13mm, 6″ x 4.3 x 0.5″.  Fits inside jacket pockets easily

Weight: 7.4 oz / 210grms

Casing: Choice of Dark burgundy, Graphite, Gray, and White colored – non-disturbing, non-reflective, long lasting paint, does not get dirty

Screen: 5-INCH VGA MONOCHROME REFLECTIVE-TYPE TFT LCD, 5-inch VGA Monochrome reflective-type TFT LCD screen – high contrast with eye friendly background and 180 degree viewing area

Very good contrast between very light greenish background and black letters. Eyes do not get tired. Immediate page turn (screen update) without any flash or artifacts.

Screen size: 5 inch – 105mm x 79mm. Edge to edge reading field.

Screen rotation: 90 degrees

Power: 11,500 page turns in a single charge.

Charging: 4 hours on accessory double USB cable, 5 hours with in car adapter. 4 hours from supplied power adapter.

Languages: Supports and auto detects English, Danish, Dutch, Serbian, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Albanian, Croatian, Ukrainian, Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, ,  Bulgarian and other European languages.

Interface: Large interface buttons in English, Russian or Polish. All messages, function support, and built-in manuals available in English, Polish and Russian. More languages to come soon

Fonts: 2 built in fonts (Arial and Verdana) in 6 available sizes from small 12 pt to huge 32 pt, page justification or left side alignment

Page turning: 8 different convenient settings for automatic page turning with Off function. 3 sets of keys for various settings

Find in text function: Language sensitive regular and T9 search plus numeric search

Bookmarking: Unlimited number of bookmarks for further reference. Page resume function for easy access of last read page, “Jump to page #” function and “Word search” function

Jetbook Memory: Internal – 128MB with 112MB available for up to 1,000 books. External - Up to 2GB SD card holds about 10,000 books, audio books and pictures.

Book titles: Unlimited. 30 popular WEB sites that we have located hold at least 500,000 FREE access books and audiobooks. You can also request a title from us which we will find and send to you right away. Ectaco claim that they will run a free search for you to find the book you are looking for for free.

Document formats: .TXT, .PDF, .FB2, ePub, Mobi, .PRC, .RTF .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, .BMP, .MP3, free format

Additional features: MP3 player, Picture viewer, built-in dictionaries

Warranty: 12 month international. Multi-lingual tech support available free Mon-Fri.

Optional accessories for the Ectaco Jetbook: Night reading light, Power USB cable, Car adapter, Travel kit with power plugs for different countries, External speaker for audiobooks, Safety strap, Silicone sleeve, Leather case, 1GB and 2GB SD cards with libraries,

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

BeBook with optional cover (not included)

Well it’s a good looking device from the Dutch company, Endless Ideas. Easier on the eye than many, including the Amazon Kindle, The BeBook sports a solid frame with simple navigation and control buttons. The battery life is supposed to last for 7000 page transitions which is among the best if you’re not listening to music at the same time, and it’s relatively light weight at just 220g. The built in whopping 512mb of memory can hold over 1000 books including PDFs. But before you rub your hands with delight at the thought of the ease of pirate books, BeBook have tried to make this difficult with some identification key that recognises illegal books that infringe copyright laws. There are probably ways around it but at least it will keep BeBook looking clean if and when legal cases hit the fan. This ebook reader is compatible with a wide range of ebook formats and file types. The list looks like this: PDF, DOC, EPUB, RAR, ZIP, MP3, PPT, TXT, HTML,  PNG, GIF, TIF, DJVU, FB2, RTF, BMP, JPG, WOL, CHM. BeBook offers 150 of the classic books all pre-loaded for you to enjoy or delete, and there are heaps more freebee ebooks for download off the mybebook.com website.

The ebook reader is easy to read from, even in direct sunlight, but like many others there is no backlight so forget about leaving the light off in bed. The screen resolution is 800×600 and has 4 gray scales, which isn’t that great but doesn’t affect much more than images. Letters on the eink screen are nicely formed and very legible like a real paper book.

In summary. the BeBook is a great piece of device and has been a welcomed success in the market. There is a version 2 due to be on sale in Summer 2009 so we’ll wait to get our hands on that one. Perhaps some of the little annoyances and gltches that we haven’t gone into detail here will be ironed out. Some of the formats do come up against it and you’ll see some delays during page turns. These bugs are small and relatively insignifant so all in all i’d have to give thie device a thumbs up. The mulitple formats, making this ebook reader pretty much open source is a big winner for the BeBook. Its a sturdy design with a user friendly interface so you won’t be disapointed. Perhaps hold your horses for the BeBook2 which is due soon though.