$89 e-reader can display zillions of books from Google, Feedbooks, Manybooks and Gutenberg—aided by Calibre
Just in case you haven’t noticed, eBookwise is selling the model 1150 for just $89.95 and shipping (as little as $10 in the U.S.). It includes 64Mb of internal memory.
You don’t have as many DRMed commercial books to choose from as with more modern readers, and the display is an LCD, not E Ink. But thanks to Calibre, you could choose from zillions of nonDRMed ePub books available via Google and convert them to the .rb format for the eBookwise.
Feedbooks, Manybooks and Project Gutenberg are among other sources of ePub titles and others, including .rb books in Manybooks’ case.
In the place of eBookwise, now owned by Barnes and Noble via its Fictionwise subsidiary, I would commission a simplified version of Calibre designed especially with eBookwise users in mind.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I have had one of these readers for years and I’m very happy with it. The only problem is it does not read pdf files. The ebookwise site is easy to use. Uploading my own files is no problem.
In light of the many recent advances in readers, I do wonder how long the ebookwise reader will be around. This $89 sale sounds a bit like “going out of business” to me, especially as it comes right after the introduction of the Nook.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Thanks, Kara. Actually, via Calibre, you my be able to read nonDRMED PDF. As for going out of biz, I doubt that eBookwise is about to do that, but if so, the people at ETI might be one place to turn for support. Garth and friends have been involved with this class of hardware for years. – David
November 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I bought my eBookwise years and years ago, and while I’ve been coveting so many of the new readers out there, I’ve been waiting for something that perfectly suits all my needs (picky, aren’t I?). I’ve found that there isn’t much I can’t convert to work on the eBookwise, so, primitive as it seems compared to what’s out there now, it still works perfectly for me. And the adjustable backlight for reading in bed is still the best thing out there.
And Kara, you can convert your PDFs to HTML or Word and upload them. Even without Calibre.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Left a long post but it seems to have been eaten. I love my eBookWise. At this price, it’s a great gift, a nice introduction to eBook reading, and it has back lighting so you can read it in bed.
For those who are waiting for next year’s Kindle/Nook, why not buy an eBookWise while you wait?
Rob Preece
Publisher
November 4th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I have thought about buying an ebookwise because I have heard a lot of good things about the device. Right now I have the Sony Pocket Edition, which I love. But the Sony/Amazon/B&N devices are very expensive.
The ebookwise has a good price tag that will hopefully entice more newbies to ebooks to take a chance on a device that is inexpensive and easy to use.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
My understanding is that the Ebookwise only reads .imp books, not .rb ones. Am I wrong?
November 4th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
The most recent firmware reads IMPs not RB. (Nice UI, though.) But eBookwise librarian (among others) easily and cleanly converts RBs to IMPp. Should be no issue.
http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/IMP_software
The biggest handicap to the reader (which is really nice–it has the best ergonomics of any reader out there) is the use of Smart Media cards; they’re getting hard to find and are absurdly priced.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Good point about the Smart Media cards. I found mine on eBay, and picked up 2 just to be safe.
November 4th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Thanks for the tips about reading pdf files. I’ll look into Calibre. I used to copy and paste pdf files into a Word file. Then the Word file could be transferred to the reader. In the last year or so I’ve had problems with that. The spacing in the Word copy gets all messed up.
I, too would love a Nook or Kindle, but for now I am happy with my ebookwise. I’ve had it for years and it still works perfectly.