Update: eVrit e-book Reader

[Dotan Cohen]

2011/2/17 Amichai Rotman <amichai at iglu.org.il>:
> Hi all,
> Just wanted to share my experience with this little device...
> As some of you know, I asked which one should I buy: Amazon Kindle or this
> one. I am glad I have bought this one. It's all I need!
> I have 130 books on the internal 1.2GB memory and I still have lots of
> space.
> I bought it so I can carry around all those 1000+ pages technical books.
> Pros:
>
> Runs Linux!
> Small size.
> Light weight.
> Lots of space (can work with an MicroSD card, up to 32GB).
> Supports Hebrew (none of the other readers out there do).
> Long battery life.
> Cons:
> e-vrit eshop:
> Very uncomfortable to browse the e-vrit website and shop for books (Both
> from the desktop and from the device). While browsing from the device, it
> opens a page on the local FS that asks you to follow a link to enter the
> online shop. This page comes up after connecting to the WiFi network, so
> they could easily take you there directly after the connection was made...
> You cannot search for books by author, and if you find an author you like,
> it is not possible to "click the name to access all the books available by
> that author. This is true for both the device and the desktop sites.
> Note: The site accessible from the device is maintained by Newpan and the
> site accessible from the desktop is maintained by Steimazky....
> A small number of books are available on the shop. No Sci-Fi books at all.
> No old books (those books I bought as a kid and are out of print are great
> candidates for this format).
> When listening to MP3 files - even with the volume all the way up, it was
> too low to hear in a noisy environment. Granted - I only tested Podcasts,
> not music.
> Slow response while switching between books and display modes (full screen,
> back to the main menu). flipping pages work fast, though.
> Terrible for photos / pictures. Too dark, no colors and slow. The books'
> covers and in-book diagrams and line art look great!
> User Experience:
> As I mentioned, I am very happy with the device. It is very light and under
> the right lighting conditions it is very clear and fun to read from. Using
> it under the sun was even better than under florescent light.
> I downloaded a sample book from the Barns & Noble site (what they call a
> 'NookBook) and transfered it to the device directly (an .epub file) - and
> begun reading immediately! no DRM, no conversion - out of the download! I
> called their Customer Support (voice - I needed to hear it) and asked if it
> is because it's a sample. the representative said the sample is technically
> the same as the full book!
> Over the course of the last three years I've read very few books, mostly
> technical books by the computer, but since I've bought this device I have
> read more than 70 pages of a Hebrew thriller, and a few pages of some
> technical books and got the epub version of a 1500 page book I was wondering
> how to carry around with me...
> Conclusion:
> Very good buy for those of you who need the Hebrew support. Not very
> expensive. No dual display. No color display - but perfect for reading
> books!
> I hope I helped someone out there to reach a decision...
> Amichai.
>

Thanks for the info, I was contemplating this device just yesterday.
Tell me, how does it handle PDF files in Hebrew? In English? Images in
PDF files?

Also, I often highlight text in books: yes, I'm that bad! I even fold
the pages to make bookmarks? Does this device support highlighting in
PDF documents? Bookmarks in PDF documents?

Thanks!

-- 
Dotan Cohen

http://gibberish.co.il
http://what-is-what.com