Unboxing BeBook ebook Reader
If you want basic inputs on what an ebook reader is, please refer my last posting on the basics at http://www.amar-padhi.com/ot_ebooks_trend.html.
I just received my first e-book reader. I ordered this online from the Dutch company Endless Ideas (http://mybebook.com). I placed my order on 02-Jun-09 and received the gadget on 08-Jun-09. I had to pay a good amount in custom duty for this. Over all, I shelled out AED 1250 (USD 350) for this. This is probably one of the first ebook reader to be used in this region (I am based in Dubai, U.A.E.), this is understandable as ebooks trend will take some time to catch up.The device was delivered in excellent condition by Fedex.
Delivered in medium size box, though BeBook package is half the size of this.
BeBook cardboad box is bundled in bubble plastic wrap.
BeBook shows up on opening the box, covered in plastic.
The device itself comes with a sturdy black leather case.
A single page instruction sheet shows up on opening the leather case. This sheet along with the sticker pasted on the BeBook screen provide some quick input on the simple usage and charging method.
BeBook comes with two ports closed in a rubber flap at the bottom:-
- USB port for charging and copying documents.
- Audio jack (yes the device allows you to play audio files and listen to audio books also).
The device has 512MB internal memory. It also has an SD Card reader slot. I find this very convenient to copy documents. I am using an 8GB Card at the moment. This is more than enough to hold my complete library of books and manuals that I have on my notebook.
The leather case tightly holds the device in its place. It needs some effort to slide the device through the leather hooks. You will never need to remove your device from the case except for the first time to place the battery.
The box also includes additional accessories - USB cable, ear-phones, screw driver and a device holding strap.
The sticker on the display is very strongly glued. It took me some amount of effort, do this slowly and sideways.
Next turnover the device and make use of the screw drover to open the battery area flap.
Place the battery in the provided slot and close the flap.
Note, battery is used only to refresh the page. Battery is not required once the data is already displayed on the screen. In fact, one does not need to shutdown this device as there is no power consumption during reading or idle time.
The device came loaded with classic ebooks. The GNU GPL
license is also placed on the ebook. About 20,000 plus titles are also
available for free download at BeBook website.
Here are some glimses of how the display looks like. The quality is equivalent to that of printed material and reading does not cause any strain on the eyes. Note, BeBook uses 4-shades of grayscale. Any color present in the document or image will be converted to compatible grayscale colors.
Here is how a JPG image looks like.
The Display is crisp and not too glossy (ignore the excessive flash light in my pictures).
The size of BeBook is well-suited for carying it around and reading as and when need-be. The buttons usage is very simple and user-friendly.
The best part of the BeBook is its support for wide range of document types that makes it a perfect open standard ebook reader - No proprietory locks, no DRM fuzz. Check out this site on my experience with different document formats on BeBook.
If you are interested in checking out or buying BeBook, please go to site http://mybebook.com and place an online order.
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This page was created on 25-Jun-09. Last updated on 25-Jun-09.
please forward all queries to amar@amar-padhi.com