Archive for the ‘bebook neo ereader’ tag
BeBook Neo and Club get firmware updates no comments
BeBook has released updates for the Neo an Club ereaders. Some of the improvements:
- Increased battery life
- Support for file formats .CBR and CBZ (digital comics)
- Low battery indicator added
- Improved MS Office documents
- Improvements for zooming, font size, search and bookmarks
- On device copying and moving of files and folders
- Display of title and author if metadata is found
- Built-in dictionary
- External Adobe fonts can be used to improve PDF reader launch performance
- Support for games (no games included)
- Automatically reopen previous document
- Automatically create link to accessed websites
There are also almost 20 bug fixes. This is a pretty major update. Finally a built-in dictionary!
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BeBook Neo in Alice in Wonderland Special Edition no comments
BeBook has entered into a promotional agreement 
with the Walt Disney company and will be releasing a special edition Neo ereader to celebrate the release of the Alice in Wonderland movie by Tim Burton on DVD.
The special edition Neo will come with a leather case, the Alice in Wonderland ebook and a poster and greeting cards. The limited edition Neo will have territorial restrictions and will not be available everywhere. The BeBook website will have details soon.
(via eReaders.nl)
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BeBook Neo Firmware Update Available no comments
BeBook has just announced that they have a new firmware update for the Neo. Some of the fixes are:
- Wi-Fi compatibility: Neo will now be able to connect with WEP/WPA/WPA2 encryption – formerly WEP was not supported.
- MP3 playback.
- Shortcut added to manually pull up the virtual keyboard.
- Power management improved.
- "Over the air" fulfillment of transactions using the (on device) Adobe Reader has been improved.
- Memory usage has been optimized.
- Touch screen response improved.
- Page turning speed improved.
- Java Script compatibility has been improved.
Too bad I have not got my Neo ereader back yet so that I can try this out. The update can be downloaded from BeBook’s Neo support section, where you will also find instructions on how to do the install.
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Bebook Neo Update: Wi-Fi and the eBook Store Portal no comments
One of the interesting features of the Neo ereader is its ebook store portal which is accessed through the wireless connection. Depending on what country you are in the portal will list different participating third party ebook stores from which you can use your wireless connection to purchase ebooks.
At the moment the Neo only uses the WPA wireless protocol rather than the more common WEP. I just got a chance to switch my cable modem to WPA so I can check out the wireless features of the Neo.
In the United States the participating stores that are listed in the ebook portal (Mybebook in the pic below) and from which you should be able to wirelessly download ebooks are:
- eBookMall
- Project Gutenberg
- eBooks.com
- Barnes & Noble
In addition to shopping for ebooks, you also have access to Wikipedia and Google – from which you can browse the Web, check your email, etc. As expected, the browser on the Neo is a bit clunky, but browsers on dedicated ereaders usually are.
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Bebook Neo Unboxing no comments
Imagine a tech company that not only gets its new gadget out by the
announced date but even manages to fill the preorders a week early. This is what Bebook has done with the Neo ereader, which I received a couple of days ago.
As you can see in the pic, the Neo comes with a USB cable and quick start guide. No sleeve or cover. In fact Bebook does not yet have covers for the Neo. I suspect that nook covers might fit the Neo as the two ereaders are almost the same size, but I have not been able to try that out yet.
I like the Neo, but I have had a couple of problems. First of all, I have not yet been able to make my wireless network available to it so I have so far been
unable to use the Wi-Fi. This is disappointing as one of the interesting features of the Neo is the ebook store portal. I also have a problem with Adobe Digital Editions and have not yet been able to read a book with ADE DRM. More on that later.
Some things I like so far:
- The ereader itself seems to be well built and feels very solid; comes with a 24 month guarantee.
- When you zoom in on PDF documents your zoom is maintained when you turn pages – you don’t have to zoom in again for each page as you do with some other ereaders. There is a panning function as well.
- The Wacom – based display gives you some of the benefits of a touchscreen without sacrificing display quality.
- Both Onyx – which manufacturers the hardware – and Bebook are working to add features. The latest firmware from Onyx has been successfully installed on the Neo, and presumably the Neo firmware from Bebook will also work on the Onyx Boox 60 when it is available for download. If you prefer one firmware over another you should be able to choose.
Everything on the Neo ereader does not work perfectly yet. Unlike the nook, which when released by Barnes & Noble felt barely functional to me, the Neo is quite usable and just feels like most of the foundations of the features are in place but some of them need to be fleshed out more or further refined. Some of the problem areas I’ve found so far:
- The dictionary function needs lots of work.
- Annotation feature is not yet fully implemented. You can highlight, and on PDF documents you can do freehand drawing and notes. There is also a notepad feature where you can draw and write.
There are also a couple of features that may not appeal to some:
- No page turning buttons on the sides of the ereader. The control ring at the bottom is used instead. It works fine for me, even when reading in bed while holding the Neo with one hand, but side buttons would add convenience if you want to change position. You can also use the stylus to do a page turning swipe.
- Some do not like using a stylus. For me the stylus is much better than the screen glare associated with other types of touchscreens.
Overall I like the Neo ereader so far and think that it will be a keeper for me. My biggest problem right now is getting Adobe Digital Editions to work.
When I connected the Neo to my computer ADE asked if I wanted to activate it. I clicked yes and the program seemed to do the activation. There were certainly no error messages telling me that the activation process had been unsuccessful. However, when I tried to open a book with DRM by ADE the Neo was unable to open it. So I reconnected and Adobe asked me again if I wanted to activate the ereader. I went through this process several times, tried deleting the book and reinstalling it with the same result. Then Adobe spit out the “too many activations” error. So I had to submit a service ticket to Adobe and am waiting for them to reset my counter so that I can try again.
When looking at Adobe’s DE forums I find a number of people there with the same problem with various brands of ereaders or with their computers. Many are irate because they are waiting a long time for Adobe to fix their problem by resetting their account and cannot access books they have paid for in the meantime. This is DRM hell of the worst possible kind. Adobe really needs to get this straightened out. One poster even asks if Adobe works for Amazon and gets rewarded for converting people into Kindle buyers.
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BeBook Neo Shipping Early no comments
BeBook has just announced that they have received the first shipment of their new Neo ereaders ahead of schedule. Preorders should be filled sooner than the original February 25 shipping date.
The Neo is a rebranded Onyx Boox 60, and looks quite promising.
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A New eReader From BeBook no comments
Endless Ideas, which is the company behind the BeBook ereaders, has announced a new ereader – the Neo. Is this finally The One?
The Neo does have some interesting features. For example, WiFi and a webkit based browser. A Wacom technology touchscreen which gives you glare-free annotating, freehand drawing, etc.
BeBook also claims that the Neo is the fastest ereader currently available, with speeds of up to 2.5 times faster than the competition.
The Neo supports over 15 different file formats including ADE for your DRM ereading pleasure.
I’m not sure about this, but the Neo appears to be a rebranded Boox.
The Neo will be available on February 25, but you can preorder now for $299 plus shipping. This is the lowest price that I have seen yet for an ereader with a touchscreen based on Wacom technology.
£149.00
£109
