| So you’re sold on e-book readers – and | | | | probably the best choice on the market. Before |
| rightly so: bringing 1000 works of literature to your | | | | deciding which e-book to go for, you must at least |
| fingertips at the touch of a button has to be better | | | | take a look at the Sony Reader. |
| than rooting through 1000 paperbacks occupying | | | | 9/10 |
| almost a square metre and weighing 340 kilograms! | | | | Hanlin (V3) Review |
| But now that the first generation truly usable, | | | | Design-wise, if the Sony reader is a mass-produced |
| affordable and convenient e-readers is available… | | | | sports car, the Hanlin reader is a Roll’s Royce. |
| which to go for? | | | | Grand, austere and classic, more hardback than |
| The main players in the market are Hanlin (stylish), | | | | paperback, it’s a device aimed at the book-lover |
| Bebook (versatile), Cybook (impressively simple), | | | | rather than the gadget-lover. So whether the |
| Amazon, with the popular ‘Kindle’, and Sony, | | | | handsome Hanlin scores well on design really depends |
| who’s lightweight, slimline e-book reader is selling | | | | whether you consider that a bonus or a downer. |
| like hotcakes and is perhaps the most likely to | | | | In line with it’s more serious look, the Hanlin |
| become the ‘Ipod’ of e-readers. | | | | scores well on boring but important functionality. It |
| There are some good sites where you can compare | | | | has a non-proprietary (and so easily replaceable) USB |
| e-book reader specs for yourself, but, as one of few | | | | adaptor, and reads Word and PowerPoint documents |
| people I know who have used them all, I’ll run | | | | simply. |
| through a summary of the pros and cons of each, | | | | How to justify the extra costliness of the Hanlin over |
| and which one I’d advise going for at time of | | | | the Sony? (It’s around £240 ($350) vs. the |
| writing. | | | | Sony’s £190). Well the answer really lies in |
| Bebook Review | | | | what you want it for. The Hanlin has a larger |
| Netherlands-based Bebook have a strong contender | | | | memory, a longer battery life and a greater range of |
| in the Bebook reader. First off, it’s just a | | | | supported formats. If you want a more convenient |
| nice-looking gadget. Not austerely handsome like the | | | | way to read a novel on a bus, plane or beach – |
| Hanlin, nor ultra-sleek like the Sony (which is surely | | | | you’re really better off with the Sony or |
| designed for gadgeteers rather than book-lovers) but | | | | Bebook. If you’re an executive, want to look like |
| pleasing to the eye, and well designed for its purpose. | | | | an executive, or are otherwise the sort of person |
| Battery life on the Bebook is comparatively high at | | | | who would have used a Filofax twenty years ago |
| over 7,000 page turns – though frankly all of the | | | | – you’ll love the Hanlin. |
| popular readers have more than enough juice to | | | | 7/10 |
| satisfy an avid reader. | | | | Netronix Cybook Review |
| The Bebook comes with 150 classic titles pre-intalled, | | | | The Cybook’s USP is its simplicity. It doesn’t |
| and with over 20,000 more titles available for | | | | look bad, but there is a very slight ‘My First |
| download free from Bebook’s official site, it is | | | | E-Reader’ feel about it. |
| undoubtedly a good-value package. | | | | Despite this, the actual mechanism for turning pages |
| Where Bebook scores better still is on compatibility. | | | | is slightly more awkward than for any other reader. |
| The device has been made to take just about any | | | | If you use it for ten minutes, you’ll probably see |
| format you can think of (a huge advantage over the | | | | what I mean but think I’m nit-picking (which I |
| Kindle). You won’t have to worry about whether | | | | am). If you use it for a day, and then use the Sony |
| your reader can handle a particular e-book – it | | | | Reader or Bebook, you’ll find them very |
| has completely universally compatibility. | | | | refreshingly easy to use in comparison. |
| The price tag, around £230 / $340, makes it one of | | | | Functionality-wise, it’s pretty good. Its response |
| the cheaper of the ‘big 5’, but not as low as | | | | time is quick, it has a useful dictionary lookup |
| the ever-popular Sony reader. | | | | function, and its battery life seems to be ever higher |
| The one area where I would mark the Bebook down | | | | than the Bebook’s. |
| is on ease of reading itself (from the eye’s point | | | | At £220 ($325) it is a mid-range reader that does |
| of view!). It’s so usable in all other respects that | | | | the job well, but without any outstanding features |
| you really expect this fundamental aspect to be | | | | that make it easy to recommend over the Sony |
| spot-on. Don’t get me wrong – you can read | | | | Reader or Bebook. |
| from it – but letters don’t seem as distinct | | | | 7/10 |
| and contrasted as with other readers, and crucially | | | | Amazon Kindle Review |
| require more light for comfortable reading. It’s | | | | For UK-based readers I should point out at the start |
| fine in direct sunlight – it’s not so good out | | | | that the Kindle is not available to you yet. Speculation |
| of it! | | | | as to when it’s going to come out has turned |
| 8/10 | | | | increasingly to whether it’s ever going to come |
| Sony Reader Review | | | | out in the UK. |
| The Sony Reader is fast becoming the standard | | | | The Amazon Kindle is a real pioneer of the field. The |
| e-book reader, and it’s not hard to see why. | | | | first of the new generation of readers really to catch |
| Basically, the machine can’t be faulted. It’s | | | | the public eye (and recently endorsed by Opera |
| ergonomically a joy to use - everything you need is | | | | Winfrey) – it sold extremely well on release. |
| exactly where you want it. It’s a sleek little | | | | The Kindly should almost be judged in a separate |
| beauty, surprisingly lightweight, and comfortable to | | | | category from other readers for two reasons. First, |
| hold. | | | | it has wifi functionality, which gives it the potential to |
| While it ticks all of the most common boxes in style, | | | | be so much more of a versatile gadget than other |
| the Sony reader isn’t big on bells and whistles, or | | | | readers are, and second, it unfortunately only reads |
| anything extra-curricular. There is no wifi, for example | | | | ebooks in the proprietary .azw format. |
| (the one area where the Kindle beats the Reader); | | | | Amazon isn’t going anywhere soon, and since |
| there is no touch-screen, or annotation or note taking | | | | you can access the massive library of ebook online |
| function; and there is no search function or dictionary. | | | | through the Kindle itself, getting hold of readable |
| The Sony e-book Reader does the job that its name | | | | ebooks is no great problem. |
| suggests, however, with absolutely flying colours, and | | | | What is a problem is that the Kindle looks utterly, |
| with the low price tag of £190 $285 it is still | | | | utterly hideous! |