10-10-2009, 11:47 PM | #1 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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Device: ECO Reader
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Eco Reader - Bebook - Hanlin V3
Tell me if i am wrong. Eco Reader and Bebook are both rebranded Hanlin V3"s, are they all identical or are there any differences other than the brandname?
I want to buy an e-reader before Christmas. Living in Australia there is not a great deal of reasonably priced e-readers, just the Eco Reader and Bebook. The Eco Reader is au$449, Bebook au$499 and Hanlin V3 (on ebay) au$413. I'm not interested in a Kindle as it is tied to Amazon. There is also the 5" display e-readers which i haven't looked at yet. Hoping someone can enlighten me. Cheers Seanno Last edited by Seanno; 10-11-2009 at 03:26 AM. |
10-11-2009, 01:59 AM | #2 |
Bookaholic
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The Eco, BeBook, EZ Reader and LBook are all the same as the v3 although IIRC the LBook uses it's own custom firmware. AFAIK the others, not totally sure on the Eco, use the stock Jinke firmware branded to their device.
The 5" version of the Hanlin is the v5, also known as the BeBook Mini or EZ Reader Pocket Pro. |
10-11-2009, 02:30 AM | #3 |
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Since you live in Australia it would make sense to buy the ECO Reader. If you have problems you can get help in Melbourne. I have an ECO Reader and a V3. The V3 I bought in February and I've left with Mobipocket the ECO Reader came with Adobe.
I'm happy with the ECO Reader. It has a slightly more modern menu screen - but that could just be because it's newer. |
10-11-2009, 08:37 PM | #4 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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Thanks for the advice, i think i will buy the Eco Reader. I'll wait for 4 weeks to see if the price drops or something better comes on the market
Cheers Seanno |
10-12-2009, 04:36 AM | #5 |
Zealot
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I dont know if you are interested at all but I purchased a Sony Prs 505 from BHPhotoVideo for about $420AU shipped
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10-12-2009, 06:21 PM | #6 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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Thanks, i looked at BHPhotoVideo and it tells me that their Sony Prs 505 is discontinued.
Cheers Seanno |
10-13-2009, 10:35 AM | #7 |
Junior Member
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hanlin V3
the pixelar's Hanlin V3 bundles are good value at the moment. I bought good price bundle from their main site at www.mye-reader.co.uk.
it is same as bebook,but on the surface at least ,service is much better |
10-15-2009, 12:31 AM | #8 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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Thanks for the info on http://www.mye-reader.co.uk/ I checked it out and the price of the Hanlin V3 is much cheaper than here in Australia, £186.99 (AU$324.30), compared to AU$449. Their delivery fee is "£42.00 - Australia and New Zealand". See http://www.mye-reader.co.uk/delivery.php. This brings it up to around AU$400. It would have to be made of gold before i'd pay a delivery fee like that. I think i'll stick to the Eco Reader, it might cost me a littler more, but i will get the warranty.
Thanks for the tip, it was worth looking into. Cheers Seanno |
10-15-2009, 01:46 AM | #9 |
Frenetic
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... and you'll get local tech support with an ECO Reader, Seanno.
One of the main differences in price is that you have to pay GST when you purchase locally. Delivery fee to anywhere in Aust is $7.95. With an ECO Reader, you'll be advised when firmware updates are available and you can download the files quickly from DA's Melbourne server. Also, every one of the 76,000+ ebooks in our ebook store will be compatible with an ECO Reader and every one of those ebooks is available to Australians and New Zealanders. Launch date for our ebook store is November 2009. More info at: http://www.ecoreader.com.au/get_ebooks.asp In case you hadn't guessed, I'm affiliated with DA Direct Last edited by cbell; 10-15-2009 at 01:48 AM. |
10-19-2009, 05:21 AM | #10 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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I have just ordered an ECO Reader from DA Direct.
What I need from an ereader is: At least a 6” screen. SD Card. USB Connection. Replaceable and rechargeable battery. A Warranty, as I’m a newbie with ereaders. Multiple book formats. The ECO Reader/Hanlin V3 has all of these. Looking at the list of classics and freebies on offer, I think I shall be quite happy re-reading those that I have not read for many years and reading others that are new to me. I’m not that bothered about buying and downloading the latest new releases. I think I’ll be busy for the next year (and longer) reading the free ebooks. Maybe next Christmas I’ll look at what is available. By then of course there will be even more free books to read. Rupert Murdoch of News Corp seems to be looking for some form of news ereader. That will be interesting as there are not a lot of newspapers available in my part of Queensland, Australia. Having the world’s newspapers at my fingertips would be very nice. According to my research, the price of the ECO Reader/Hanlin V3 is about the same everywhere, after you convert to the local currency and add on the delivery fees and warranty/no warranty. Thanks to everyone who replied to my post and offered their suggestions. I’ll let you know how I feel about the ECO after it has arrived and I've had time to test-drive it. Cheers Seanno |
10-19-2009, 05:27 PM | #11 |
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Hi Seanno,
I'd be very interested to read your comments... the eco-reader is one that I am looking at with a view to buying, too. Paul Canberra, Australia |
10-19-2009, 06:26 PM | #12 |
Frenetic
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Seanno, I see your order, thank you! Your ECO Reader leaves Melbourne via registered Aust Post this afternoon. Please allow a few days for transit to Qld.
I hope you'll do a review for Mobileread after your test-drive. Reviews are really helpful for people who are agonising over which device to choose. |
10-25-2009, 04:47 AM | #13 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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My ECO Reader arrived on Friday, it took four days, but I blame that on Australia Post.
I’m impressed with the screen; it really does look like a page of a book and is very readable, which is what it’s all about. I can read all day without straining my eyes. I downloaded some free books from Gutenberg.org in Epub format and found that I couldn’t get the text size right; it was either too small or too large for my aged eyes. (Sorry if this sounds like Goldilocks and the three bears). Then I tried it in Txt and found I could get it just right. You can download from Gutenberg in Txt, HTML, Epub and PRC and a couple of others that I’ve never heard of. They have all the latest (at least some) of the out of copyright free books. The downside is that the page turning seems slow, about two to three seconds and I would prefer a larger screen instead of 6”. Also the price, at AU$449 is rather expensive, so I won’t be buying ECO Reader‘s for Christmas presents. Maybe next Christmas if the price comes down. The USB 1.1 won’t work properly on my pc, so I use the SD Card, which is no problem and probably faster. Apart from the slow speed and high price I’m very happy with it and will recommend it to anyone wishing to buy one. Kindles do not interest me. Much too expensive to maintain. Even their free books have a download fee. There are plenty of free classics out there for ereaders like ECO Reader/Hanlin V3 etc. The free books will just keep coming. Yes, I like the ECO Reader and I’m glad I bought one. Everybody, go and buy one. Cheers Seanno “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.“ Arthur C. Clarke Last edited by Seanno; 10-25-2009 at 04:49 AM. Reason: Spelling mistake |
10-30-2009, 07:56 AM | #14 |
Captain - Space Patrol
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Device: ECO Reader
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It's one week since i've received my ECO Reader and I have a firmware update from DA Direct. The new firmware improves the zoom in epub ebooks and there are improvements in bookmarking, I'm very pleased with this. There are various other improvements that I don't think will affect me. I now press the page turn button, as i get to the second last line of the page, to compensate for the slow page turning. So my only complaint now is the price. I'm still glad i bought the ECO Reader.
Cheers Seanno “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.“ Arthur C. Clarke |
Tags |
australia, eco reader |
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