Sunday, December 21, 2008

eSlick

eSlick is a new ebook reader @ $229.99! only (cheaper than Amazon Kindle, iRex, Sony).
  • Built in mp3 player.
  • 4-level gray scale. (same as the kindle)
  • colors: white, black, gray.
  • storage: 2GB SD card included (supports up to 4 GB).
  • OS: Embedded Linux.
  • No WiFi Access (unfortunately).
Complete specs are here.

Pre order page is not yet active. I'm thinking of getting one, which color shall I pick?

22 comments:

The Extravagate said...

I still read the classic way :P

Nemo said...

yeah i know :p
i wanna give it a try :p

Nemo said...

malait mn el shipping cost!

Bashar said...

It is slick. Does it look comfortable for reading Harry Potter? Or Advanced Java?

Nemo said...

good question ...

madri! all i know is that i want one :p

Anonymous said...

I would like to read more reviews about it...

Bashar said...

Usually, I would say women. Now, geek women! Makes spending much worse :)

Nemo said...

Amu: google it :)

Bashar: lol oh yeah spending is much worse :p

Bashar said...

But @ least you're a geek. And your spendings are pushing technology forward, if that makes u feel a bit better ;)

MBH said...

-The Kindle's wireless connectivity is limited to the US and it's not WiFi (not 802.11). Read here.

-It's 10.3 ounces, where eSlick is 6.4.

-Kindle has a keyboard which makes searching for titles or making comments easy (if supported).

-Does the eSlick have handwriting recognition?

-Kindle doesn't require a PC and since wireless is limited to USA, then how will you put your ebooks?

-Kindle's screen is more crisp & sharp. Better view.

-Battery life for eSlick is estimated at 8000 pages. Doesn't need power to maintain the page on the screen. Recharges in 3-4 hours.

-Kindle's battery life is a junk estimate of a "week" -- how many hours do you read in a week? That's variable. No real indication of actual battery life.

-According to wikipedia, Kindle uses the USB to transfer Audio only.

-Kindle's format is proprietary, which gives Amazon the right to change its format rendering your old purchases unreadable. (Microsoft did this many times to music formats)

-Kindle holds 200 non-illustrated titles (180MB of available storage space) = 200/180 =~ 1.2MB per book.

-eSlick is limited to 4GB of space, which holds much more than 200 non-illustrated titles. Assuming the PDF file is of the same size as the kindle file (1.2MB), you can store 1024*4/1.2 = 3413.3 books.

-eSlick does PDF only (with zooming). MANY ebooks already exist in PDF format. (legal or not, this is another story)

-Kindle has its own store with 200,000 titles available.

-eSlick relies on the fact that you'll find the PDF, PPT, TXT, HTML file yourself. (peer-to-peer anyone?)

My verdict: eSlick if you're ok with spending time seeking pirated books :p

Bashar said...

MBH: That should be a post man :)

MBH said...

Bashar,
Haha! I would've if I was on the lookup of such a device. But since Nemo already decided on the devices, I just dissected them :p

Nemo said...

Thanks MBH for the review!!! :D

as for the kindle => they say that in version 2 there will be WIFI ...

Nemo said...

i still want an ebook reader 7ata law "y6ee7 eb chabdy" :p

Nemo said...

MBH: can you search for the right ebook reader for me? :p

MBH said...

Nemo,
My pleasure! But tell me what are the essential features that you have to have in such an ebook.

P.S.: wifi isn't a great feature to have. Seriously, how often are you gonna put books/stuff on an ebook reader?!?! Just plugin the freakin thing with USB!

erm .. I have quirky feature-requirements so I'll just run a comparison without choosing one :p

Nemo said...

you're right about the wifi, usb is more than enough ...

as for the requirements, i believe that once I have one of those i'll know what i really want .. or maybe i'll realize that i dont need one :p

if you know other alternatives ... tell me :p

MBH said...

FreeBooks.com

MBH said...

After digging through wikis, forums and review sites, I think the Sony PRS is a good gadget and fits your needs.

Its features aside, there's a Sony dealer in Kuwait, and you'll likely be able to either get it from here, or at least a warranty if you get it from the Internet.

This video shows a realistic usage of the device. Some reviews didn't like the 700 one, while others said they liked it, but not enough to pay for its declared price.
One thing for sure, the PRS-505 has a much better screen than the 700, which many have declared their hatred to.

If you read while in office or home and not under Sun light or while traveling, I'd say go for the 700. If it's available locally, you might wanna try it. The PRS-700 can read both free PDF and DRM-PDF files (along with other formats).

Another reader whose screen has got great reviews is the CyBook. (extra info here).

If you buy the Sony one, you can buy books from Sony's website.

PRS-700 charges via USB or DC and is seen as a Mass Storage Device (i.e., compatible with Mac, Linux & Windows). As far as I can tell, the PRS-505 plays well with Windows only (not confirmed).

Note: All E-Ink readers have a VERY fragile screen. A tiny hit would render the screen dead! (if you're to get the device shipped, do NOT use ground shipping!!!)

Nemo said...

first of all - thank you so much!!

i'm currently checking all the links - saw the video about the sony e-reader, and checking Cybook

+ one thing i wanted to add is that i saw the sony 505 this summer in the states, the only thing i didnt like about it is the dark screen (8-graylevel) unlike the kindle (4-graylevel)

MBH said...

As far as I understand, 8-graylevel means you get more levels for your screen, so you should be able to adjust it to a lighter setting.

Check out its specs here.

Nemo said...

hmm interesting kent fahma '3ala6!
i'll check

thnnnnnnnnnnxxxx