5 Responses to “Ectaco jetBook – eBook reader – ROM: 128 MB – 5″ monochrome TFT”

1. ART SEDIGHI says:

   May 2, 2010 at 11:59 am

   I was looking for a handheld device that is easy to use, small to handle and fast to open up large files. Ability to ready PDF documents was an absolute must, but I didn’t want to a complicated approach to getting my PDF’s onto the device.
   
   Why PDF is a must?
   
   If you are like me, you need to read architecture docs, legal docs, design docs, etc. I don’t feel comfortable sending these docs to Amazon to be converted. What I am saying is that I was looking for a device that can serve not only as book reader, but a document reader.
   
   First: SONY reader
   
   I bought the SONY reader, and it was a horrible experience. SONY reader is slow, and that “black screen” was really annoying. I did like the fact that it was able to read PDF docs, and it is very thin. It was a little too big, and the WORST part that it didn’t format PDF docs all that well. It showed the page, but you couldn’t get rid of the white spaces (margins) in order to read the text better.
   
   Second: Amazon Kindle
   
   I must say that it is a very well thought out idea. The fact that you can read newspaper, etc that is downloaded automatically on it, is great. I like the keyboard that comes with the device. The screen size is ok, and it is “fast”.
   
   Not having the ability to natively read PDF docs is a huge problem. I get technical docs that are 20-30Mb in size, and I don’t know how the Kindle behaves if it had to open up a very large file. It is TOO thick! I cant carry this thing around with ease. I carry a computer bag, two cell phones, ipod, etc. I can’t have a large book reader. The size was an issue.

   Lastly: jetBook
   
   In one phrase: Well rounded! It reads PDF docs with ease. Formatting of docs is great, and it is small yet fast. I can open up a large doc, and it takes only a couple of seconds (with Sony, it took about 10). The screen is smaller than the SONY or Amazon, and I thought it would bother me. Here is the good news: you can rotate your doc! You can read landscape style, and the screen is perfect for that. The device is small that you can control it in one hand, and not heavy that you get tired. The keys are well placed, and the user interface is very simple! I charged it four days ago; been using it since, and the battery is at about 95%!
   
   What I would add to this device: wireless internet access and a web browser. I know this kills the battery life, but it is worth it. I would like a back-light so I can read docs in the dark. None of the readers have this feature, but it would be very good thing to have. It doesn’t read SD Cards over 2Gig, but I still have over 1Gig left – with over 200 docs already on the card.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Steven Hutt says:

   May 2, 2010 at 1:16 pm

   I had previously owned 2 Irex Iliads ebook readers, but after both failed with broken screens decided to try something different. I didn’t want to buy the sony reader or the amazon kindle because of drm issues so I decided to give this a try.

   At first I thought I had made a mistake, as out of the box the screen is disappointingly small. However, I have been using it for a week now, and I can say that the resolution is sufficiently good that the size of the screen is not really an issue. Mostly I can read in portrait mode, occasionally switching to landscape when I need to. There is an easily accessible button that allows me to do switch between the two very quickly. In fact, after lugging around a large Irex, I find the jetbook size very convenient. It almost fits into my pocket.

   The build quality is very good: it is light and everything feels solid and reliable, with perhaps the exception of the usb and sd card cover. It is hinged on a piece of thin plastic that looks like it might break one day, though so far has been fine. The red colour is not so jarring as you might think and gives it a distinctive look.

   There are many buttons on the face and sides, which means you have to be a bit careful how you hold it, but you can get used to it quickly. The buttons are well thought out, especially the numerical side buttons which make menu and page number selection a breeze. All in all, usage is pretty intuitive.

   It comes with a fairly decent selection of texts included and fires up trouble free right out of the box. It can even play mp3s, although this is not something I am interested in.

   The screen technology is different from the Iliad in that it uses a high resolution LCD display, rather than the electronic ink technology of the Iliad. The contrast is slightly less, but not significantly so and is certainly good enough. What is much better with the jetbook display is that page turning is much faster and there is no ghost image. It’s so much better flipping pages at this speed in a way that was not possible with the Iliad. Also, startup and shutdown is almost instantaneous, so it is easy to dip in and out of a book.

   The jetbook takes an sd card up to 2 gigabytes. I had no trouble using one, connecting it to my pc using the included usb cable and downloading texts. It should be noted that the machine is limited to txt and pdf files, so you cannot view lit files unless you convert. However, this is more than sufficient for me.

   In summary, the jetbook does a pretty decent job. Size and weight is good, resolution is sufficient to make reading comfortable, and the speed is impressive. I would say it is still a little expensive, but so far I have been happy with it.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. informednow says:

   May 2, 2010 at 1:23 pm

   I am new to the ereader technology and hoped to find an easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive reader. I found this and a whole lot more with the Jetbook. This reader has a slightly smaller screen than some of the others I looked at; this makes it very comfortable and easy to hold and transport. Although it does not have backlight and does not use E-ink, I find it very easy to read even in dimmer light. Several font sizes are available, so I can enlarge the print. The menus are very easy to navigate and self explanatory. Jetbook has a great feature that allows you to file your books in category folders; you can even delete a book from the device menu. You can create and name your own folders. I really appreciate that the on/off button is very small and somewhat more difficult than the other buttons to get to—the device will not be accidently turned on by bumping!! Jetbook has a lot of buttons on the side that make navigation very simple-just pick the correponding number to the item you want on the menu. These buttons are on the front/side and are not easily bumped. Yhe forwards and back button is right at the thumb, making this simple. The device has an auto page turning option that I am not using right now. It also has bookmarks, several dictionaries and display controls.

   The device takes a 2G SD card as well as having internal memory of its own. It comes with many nice classic books already installed, including the CHOICE of having a King James Bible pre-installed. It has a drop and drag technology for placing the downloaded books onto the card or reader, or you can do it by copying.

   As delivered, the device does not accept Mobi and some other more popular formats but does have a beta firmware upgrade available on the website. I have not done this; I am going to wait on the final version. I have LOTS of books to read in the meantime!

   The Ectaco website is running a special right now as I write that includes the reader, a decent carry pouch, USB cord, adapter, CD, instruction manual, earbuds and free shipping. (It will play MP3′s, which I have not done, but this is available) It not as expensive as the other main ereaders. It feels very sturdy and substantial in the hand; I expect it to hold up well under normal conditions.

   I am excited about this ereader and plan on upgrading fhe firmware. The company responded promptly and courteously to all my pre-buying emails and seem very supporting. I don’t think you can go wrong with this one!
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. C. F. Rigby says:

   May 2, 2010 at 2:01 pm

   I bought this to read current books. It is well built and easy to use – BUT – if you want to read current Authors, it’s very difficult to find these books in .txt or the old .pdf format that isn’t the new Adobe Digital Ebook!!! Adobe Digital Ebook won’t work with the Jetbook.
   
   I also find the screen darker than shown in the picture!! It’s more brown.
   
   I ended up getting the Sony PRS 505 and now am very happy!!
   
   For strictly reading Best Sellers and New Released books – this doesn’t make it!!!
   
   If you want to read classics (Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, etc.) than this will work!!
   
   I suggest before you buy any ebook reader, check out the websites and see what books are offered in the formats for each reader!!!
   
   No matter which Ebook you purchase, the prices are the best at Amazon.com!!!
   Rating: 3 / 5
5. Min S. Yoon says:

   May 2, 2010 at 4:23 pm

   I previously had jetBook Lite. As great as that was, i immediately exchanged with the ‘regular’ edition, because of the battery bulk was getting quite annoying when I needed to put my JBL in my messenger bag along with my textbooks and laptop. Now that i have the thin jetBook, I couldn’t be any happier.

   jetBook is a great eBook reader. Why?
   
   Low Price – $180 is a great price for a 5″ compact reader.
   
   LCD Screen – Instead of using traditional E-ink Screens, they use reflective LCD screens. That allows the device to turn pages in fraction of a second (near instant), and it doesn’t ‘flash’ like the traditional E-ink devices. that means you won’t ever have to stare at Etch-a-Sketch device being erased.
   
   MP3 Player – You can listen to music in the background with your headphones.
   
   SD card – more storage! yay! Supports up to 32GB, they say.
   
   Multiple readable Formats – ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, .txt, .pdf, .fb2, .jpg, .gif, .png, and .bmp. jetBook did have a issue of not being able to read DRM protected contents, but It now reads Barnes & Noble protected contents. And most importantly, it’ll read .PRC files, meaning that you can use Mobipocket Reader to convert whatever format of files you got, and transfer them to the device.
   
   Durability – I dropped this baby a few times on the concrete floor (6 or 7), and it’s still working great. I’m 6’1″. Although, I don’t suggest you try that…

   JetBook has flaws too.
   
   Dark Screen – Different Screen means different shade of background color. It’s a bit darker than E-ink devices. It’s slightly green-ish brown. The contrast, however, is very nice. Darker background, but texts are crisp. I guess this isn’t a ‘flaw’, but more of a difference in preference.
   
   Lack of Wireless Capability – You can’t download books on your device via 3G or Wi-Fi. Only way to get the books on your device is through USB cable or SD card. There aren’t dedicated bookstore.
   
   And…I can’t think of more flaws, Honestly.

   Overall, jetBook was a great buy for me. I bought it immediately after trying it out at CES 2010.
   
   After viewing all the eBook reader at the show, and I found jetBook most impressive. The way screen changes almost instantly, without flashing was the main reason I bought it.

   Hope my review helped you on your decision for a eBook reader.

   Rating: 5 / 5

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