Easy Reading - Bookeen Cybook Gen 3

Bookeen announces the Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 eBook Reader. With 512mb of internal storage it has space for approximately 1000 books and many more with an optional SD card. The Cybooks is the thinnest and lightest Reader with the largest capacity on the market.

Despite some of the drawbacks listed on various web forums about the flat file structure (instead of being able to make folders or directories to sort the content) I decided that the screen quality was for me the main issue. The Vizplex allegedly has better contrast, clarity and speed. I also read in an interview with Bookeen that they are working on a software version that can do the hierarchical file structure that is handy for managing large numbers of books.

So, my verdict on the product now that I have it: I have no regrets at all. It is very slim and light. The screen quality is truly excellent and the screen refresh on page turning is no slower than turning the pages in a book. I currently don't have enough books to suffer from the flat file structure. I can navigate easily, bookmark my place in books, swap between them and finding where I was last reading easily. Maybe the other e-books are better, but this is good enough for me.

I have seen no great downsides yet. When it first arrived it didn't seem to charge, but this was the USB cable. After swapping to another cable I have no problems. I have not experienced the problems reported in some forums (like sometimes needing to reset the device or difficulties with reading SD cards). I would recommend the leather holder as an extra, however. The thing is so slim, even thought the build quality feels good, I feel safer with the extra protection offered.