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The Cybook by Bookeen is a standard eBook reader that emphasizes portability, and long battery life. Using a similar EInk screen as the Amazon Kindle the Cybook drains power from its battery only when changing pages. Bookeen states that the built-in battery can handle up to 8000 page turns on one charge. The Cybook is one of the lightest eReaders available weighing only 174 grams (6.13 ounces).

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Pros & Cons

Pros:
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Long battery life
+7agreedisagree

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Light weight
+7agreedisagree

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Very thin
+6agreedisagree

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Open system - read any document in HTML, TXT or PDF
+1agreedisagree

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Easey to load books through USB port
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
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Small amount of integrated storage
0agreedisagree

Competing products

Bookeen Cybook Gen3 is ranked 2nd.  See the top picks in e-book Readers

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More information

Features

  • 6" EInk screen at 800x600 resolution
  • Portrait and landscape modes
  • Formats: HTML, Txt, PRC, PalmDoc, PDF, Secured Mobipocket
  • 64MB of integrated storage expandable through the SD Card slot
  • MP3 support

Using an EInk screen lets the Cybook have a very long battery life, however the screen is limited to only black and white with no color available. Furthermore the screen is not backlit in any way, and is only readable using ambient light. EInk also has the benefit of being viewable at any angle not susceptible to glare and other issues that plague technologies like LCD and OLED.

Loading content

Loading content onto the reader is done by directly connecting the device to your computer through the USB connection then dragging and dropping files. 64MB of storage are included inside the device which is enough for a dozen or so full books. The amount of storage can be increased through the SD card slot that can be prefilled with books already, or loaded from the computer.

The Cybook supports MP3 storage and playback. Using the integrated headphone jack you can listen to music through the device while reading your books, this feature is unique to the Cybook.

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4 comments about Bookeen Cybook Gen 3

1.  avatar rondar  Jan 14, 2008 7:15pm

Screen size reported incorrectly: "6" E Ink? screen".
2.  avatar Erik  Jan 14, 2008 8:04pm

Corrected. Thanks for the tip.
3.  avatar James Smith  Jul 21, 2008 5:22pm

I purchased a Cybook Gen3 from Booken. I was pleased with the promptness of the shipping and the pre-sale service I received.

Unfortunately, the unit failed in less than a week. The display no longer worked and would show a random series of horizontal lines. This happened after I had been using the unit for an hour or so after lunch. I turned it off and placed it face down on top of a paperback book to protect the screen. About two hours later, I turned it on and it no longer worked. The unit had no had any trauma such as being dropped, hit, or placed in an improper environment.

Booken has declined to repair or replace the unit under warranty saying that "the warranty does not cover broken parts". I wonder what, if anything, the warranty does cover?

They have offered to repair the unit for 100 Euros plus shipping each way (I live in Brazil). I suspect this is about their cost for a new unit.

I was fairly satisfied with the product, but reliability seems to be an issue. The company ethics also seems to be a major problem. If you are considering this eBook reader, I would give some serious thought as to whether you could afford to deal with a situation like this.
4.  avatar johnnywifi  Sep 24, 2008 3:59am

I purchased a Cybook Gen 3 from Bookeen in February 2008. I have been thoroughly satisfied with it so far - the unit is thin and light, it accepts SD cards which enables me to carry on average around 700 books with me at all times.
Reading comfort is very pleasant - actually much more pleasant than I imagined when purchasing the unit.
I got pretty worried after 4 weeks of use when the screen stayed stuck on one page and would not change pages any longer. I called the company and found out that the battery had simply run out of power... Yes, this little thing had finally run out of fuel after 4 weeks as i had completely forgotten to recharge it. And the big difference with a LCD screen is, when there is no power, the screen stays on, but you cannot change the picture any more. Now I know.
Took it out on vacation this summer which saved me the trouble of carrying 10+ books on the way out and 20+ on the way back. And no charger since the battery life is so long.
I would definitely recommend this to all readers.
Only points of improvement I can see:
- boot time could be faster, more than 5 seconds and it gets frustrating when you want to read on the bus and you do not have a lot of time to do it
- I have not used any of the buttons on the side of the device
- difficult to navigate the library when you have more than 100 books on board
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    Key Features:

    MSRP $350.00
    Release Date Oct. 29, 2007

    Sponsors

    Product page stats

    4060 views and 74 edits (see all)
    Created: 11/20/2007 - 17:34
    Modified: 09/24/2008 - 4:06
    Model # variations:

    Gen, 3, Gen3