Ectaco Jbl-en Jetbook-lite Ereader
5" screen 640 x 480 resolution True pocket-sized portability Capable of storing 1000s of eBooks Stores music & picture files Support of DRM format through Barnes & Noble(R) Pre-loaded CIA World Factbook Bookmarks & auto page turn functionality Adjustable font type & size Screen rotation support for portrait & landscape modes Built-in dictionary Secure Digital Card (TM) slot Supports ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, txt, pdf, fb2, HTML, jpg, gif, png & bmp files Support for eBook contents in Albanian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Faeroese, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian & other European languages Bidirectional dictionaries for certain European languages (including German & Spanish) available Multilingual interface options including German & Spanish Requires 4 AA batteries Dim: 6.02"L x 4.33"W x 0.51"H Weight: 9 oz
Ectaco Jbl-en Jetbook-lite Ereader Features
- Pre-loaded CIA World Factbook. Bookmarks and auto page turn functionality. Adjustable font type and size.
- Bidirectional dictionaries for certain European languages (including German and Spanish) are available.
- Support for eBook contents Screen rotation support for both portrait & landscape modes. SD card slot. Batteries 4xAA
- Support of DRM format through Barnes & Nobles. True pocket-sized portability for thousands of eBooks.
- Support of ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, txt, pdf, fb2, jpg, gif, png, and bmp file formats
$99.00
In a nutshell: The Jetbook-lite ebook reader works GREAT until it FREEZES on you after a month of usage!
Negative:
-IT FROZE PERMANENTLY. After about a month of use, it froze up when I was in the middle of reading a book. I couldn't restart it. I had to take the batteries out to turn it off. When I tried to power it back up, it froze on the first screen. I've tried removing my SD memory card, no luck. I've tried hooking it up to the computer, no luck. I've tried updating the firmware, no luck. I'm in the middle of contacting the seller and the company, hoping for help or at least a replacement. I've read on forums about others having this problem as well, but I've seen nothing about it here in the Amazon reviews. So beware when buying this product, it might freeze up after only a month of usage.
Neutral:
-Pdfs are annoying to read on the Jetbook, but converting them into epub files with Calibre took care of that problem quite easily.
-Doesn't play music, but we all have ipods/mp3 players for that.
Positive:
-Cheap ebook reader. I got it for the price of $99.
-Easy to read in any light. No back light, but that's okay with me. Adding one would have sucked up the battery's power much quicker anyway.
-Comfortable to hold, and relatively light.
-Batteries last a long time.
-Works as it should for the most part. -- Fine until it FREEZES!
I bought this to take to the beach with me but I take it everywhere. I easily transferred books from my computer and now I always have something to read while I am waiting... especially at the doctor's office. Since it comes already loaded with over 50 classics I have found myself rereading some of the books I enjoyed as a kid. Great product. The only complaint is that although it can easily be read in bright sunshine, I have to have a light on to read it in bed. -- Great reader for the price.
Just a note, I bought this Ereader and at first was dismayed with its inability to handle PDFs that I had and its sluggishness when transferring PDFs to the device.
BUT! I did realize after looking at the details on the item, that it is running USB 1.1, which means it will not be as fast as your IPOD or many otehr devices that are running USB 2.0...so it was there in plain print, I didnt see it but once I saw it I went OHHHH Ok, its slower than USB 2.0 so I dealt with it. Not a HUGE deal after all, how many books can you read at one time? Its not like Im going to be adding books 2 -3 times a day. In fact I dont see myself adding more than a few at a time maybe once every 2 weeks. I found the BEST way to get books onto the device is with an SD card, place the SD card in your regular computer, transfer books to that card, THEN put the card in the ereader. SOOO much faster than with the cable etc.
My second complaint was with the PDF format support. It says plainly it supports PDF, so I was upset when I transferred a bunch to it, and could not read most of them. It just wouldnt display a MAJORITY of them... BUT! I took a look at some of the ECTACO website information and noticed there was a NEW firmware/update for the device. I went ahead and updated the device to the latest (I believe its 16g) and VOILA! My PDFs all are readable and look great even with all their pictures and everything. Also, comics in PDF format look great on this too! Dont forget you can swivel the screen for wider viewing.
So, its little slow when transferring multiple books via USB cable...a little sluggish when loading SOME books/pdfs (improved after updating) and you most DEFINITELY will want to update to the latest update once you get your device. Do it right away since you are asked to have a blank SD card handy to do the update!
Now I am reading, Epub books, tons of PDFs, and PDF comics and I have to say for the price I paid its not bad at all. Dont get too frustrated at first! Update the device to its latest update(firmware) and get an SD Card for sure! I couldnt fit alot of PDFs on the internal storage so the SD card was vital and absolutely necessary to perform the update. For under $90 I didnt mind having to put a little work into it. A 4gb SD card and the latest firmware, and I have no problems whatsoever. -- Little slow on USB transfer and be sure to update FIRMWARE!!!
