Johan's Blog

During a conversation about SF & Fantasy books with a librarian he mentioned that he uses an ebook reader, because, like me, at home he hasn’t got enough shelf-space for all the books he owns, let alone for all the books he would like to buy. He also demonstrated his iLiad ebook reader and I immediately loved it.

What is an ebook reader ?

An e-book  reader is a device used to display ebooks (in a wide variety of formats: pdf, txt, doc, rtf, mobi, chm, html, …). It may be a device specifically designed for that purpose, or one intended for other purposes as well. The term is restricted to hardware devices, not software programs. The main advantages of these devices are: comfortable reading, perfect under sunlight, weeks of battery life and lightness.

What do you need an ebook reader for ?

• Shelf-space. I have over 300 books and this means that a lot of them are stored in boxes in the attic. Whenever I want to buy a book, I not only have to consider if it’s worth the money, but also if it’s worth the shelf-space, because another book will have to move to a box in the attic. Regardless of whether I buy an ebook reader or not, I will still buy the paper version of the books by my favorite authors like Terry Pratchett and Raymond Feist, on some things you do not compromise.
• Save your eyes. As a webdeveloper I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. Also in my spare time I spend some of it in front of a computer. I already own several ebooks and am subscribed to 2 emagazines, but I find myself struggling to keep up, because there is only so much time that I can and am willing to spend in front of a computer screen. The main reason for this is eye strain and ebook readers have the reputation that it’s like reading a paper book.
• Save money. Ebooks tend to be cheaper than paper books. An ebook reader on the other hand costs a lot of money, so you have to buy a lot of books to break even. On the bright side however there are tens of thousands of ebooks available for free (legally) on the internet. No to mention the manuals, texts on websites that can be converted into an ebook, …
• Save the trees.

What would I use an ebook reader for ?

I would use it mainly to read technical ebooks (programming, web, linux), manuals (dito), RSS feeds (offline) and emagazines (computer stuff again) as a better alternative to reading them on a computer screen. Reducing eye strain is worth some money to me. Shelf-space is another good reason. The availability of tens of thousands of free ebooks from authors like Darwin, Doyle,  Kafka, Nietsche, Shakespeare, Verne, Twain, Austen, Poe, Lovecraft, … is a very nice bonus.

The search for an ebook reader

Deciding I am interested in buying an ebook reader and the actual act of buying are two different things. First I had to double my initial budget of 150€ to 300€. Even this increase limits my choice severely, but I decided that I do not want an ebook reader the size of A4 or letter, that I do not need wireless, touch screen or the ability to take notes … just a reader.
So no iLiad, Plastic Logic (available spring 2009) or CyBook and living in Europe also means no Sony or Kindle ebook readers.

But I wanted to see some more ebook readers before making a decision. This proved to be a lot easier said than done.

• FNAC (Bruges, 17/11/2008): the hardware guy send me to the book department and they referred me back to the hardware department. The guy admitted he didn’t had a clue what I was talking about and had done a quick search on Google after he’d send me to the book department. They do not sell ebook readers, not now and not in the near future. When I mentioned that I’ve found several online shops in the Netherlands, he said that Belgium is always a couple of years behind the times compared to the Netherlands. Great. Not that I am patriotic and it isn’t for the first time that I hear this, but it does sting a bit.
• Media Markt, the largest European chain specialized in electro, cd and dvd, … or so they claim (Ostend, 17/11/2008): I asked the persons responsible for mp3-players & portable dvd-players and pc & laptop. Their reaction can be summarized as follows: ‘E-book readers … yeah’, an uneasy silence, ‘What is an e-book reader and what do you use it for ?’ , sigh. After I explained it, they made a phone call to their supervisor and got back to me saying that they do not sell ebook readers, not now and not in the near future.

So I would have to buy a device that I’ve never seen or touched before! Luckily there are a lot of very active forums and blogs about ebook readers, even with photos and homemade movies (see links below). I uploaded a couple of ebooks and emagazines and found some people who were willing to try them out on their ebook reader and send me some pictures. It quickly became clear that the emagazines would probably be unreadable on a small ebook reader, but the ebooks were readable. I decided to continue my search.

The ebook readers

Living in Europe and the budget limits my choice for an ebook reader. In fact there is only one real ebook reader that qualifies, but I included devices that can be used as an ebook reader in the list. They all cost 300€ more or less.

• iPod Touch. Small, light, very nice, lots of features, very tempting, but while you can use it to read ebooks, it is not an ebook reader: it doesn’t use an eInk technology, it isn’t less straining for the eyes than a computerscreen, the screen is very small for long time reading …
• Asus eee pc. Small notebook, but to heavy to use as an ebook reader and it is not really an ebook reader: see remarks for the iPod Touch. I already own a MacBook, so I don’t need another notebook.
• BeBook v3 (or Hanlin v3). Small, light, long battery life, probably the ebook reader with the most supported formats (very important), active development (new firmware on a regularly basis), active community, very good reviews.
• CyBook Gen3 (update, already ordered my BeBook, but due to a price drop I also have to mention it here). Similar to BeBook: same screen resolution, but less supported formats and currently not available.

Decision

Even with a bigger budget the BeBook would probably be the best buy, the most value for money. So I ordered my ebook reader at  BeBook (http://mybebook.com) from Endless Ideas BV. Why did I buy my ebook reader there  ?

• good price
• very active and helpful user community
• they are actively participating in the firmware upgrades
• when you bring on a number of new clients, you can get an BeBook for free

I already have my BeBook and it is indeed very useful and addictive. I will try to post an extensive review with photos before the end of the year.

Some links:

• http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix
• http://pookey.co.uk/blog/archives/61-BeBook-review.html
• http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30913
• http://mybebook.com/
• http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/index.asp

Want to buy a BeBook ?

Then I have some very good news for you: by using the following email address as a coupon you will get a 25 EURO reduction when buying at BeBook:

bebook4johan@gmail.com

I am not employed by BeBook or Endless Ideas BV in anyway, but I admit there is something in it for me as well. As it is a win-win situation for all parties I am ok with it and I believe that my review is fair and balanced.

BeBook BeBook, ebook, Hanlin v3, reader