ECTACO - Jetbook Mini for $99US

ECTACO - Electronic Dictionary, Handheld Electronic Dictionaries, Electronic Translator, Translation Software, Ebook Reader.

The Jetbook mini is a nice design and looks like an easy device to use. I like how Calibre compatibility is a required feature for e-readers these days.

* Multi-Language interface support for English, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Polish and Russian
* First and only eReader in the world to run on 4 AAA batteries (Energizer batteries included)
* Up to 90 hours of reading time
* All-way reading rotation for righties and lefties
* 5" TFT screen and smaller size for ultra portability
* Adjustable font sizes
* Text alignment, spacing, breaking, and encoding options
* Clock and date functions
* Support for LIT, MOBI, EPUB, HTML, PRC, RTF, PDB, PDF via Calibre conversion to TXT and FB2.
* SD Card expandability up to 2 GB

My next e-book reader

Yesterday, after recharging, my ebookwise 1150 world not power up. After a moment of panic I enabled the hard reset feature and it came back to life. After two and a half years of constant use I was worried that it had permanently given up the ghost, I knew that the device was manufactured several years before it got into my hands so parts could expire at any time.

I've been very careful with the reader. I always run it until the battery is completely exhausted and then do a full recharge. I managed to only scratch the glass once; and that was a tiny nick. Hopefully it will last for another year or two (or three), but just in case I'm going to keep track of the best bargains out there in case I've got to replace my reader. My basic requirements are that its at least a 5" screen and is priced well under $150 (under $200 if it is really awesome).

NOTE:
The Delstar OpenBook E-Book Reader (available at Walgreens's for $95 US) that I mentioned in a previous post is, apparently, a piece of crap. It is horribly slow, does not render documents well, crashes frequently, and has serious problems with its basic features (i.e. if you change font size it resets to the first page).

I think the the Ectaco Jetbook Lite may be the best bargain right now. Its available at Newegg.ca at $139 Cdn.