Bebook Mini
Filed under 5-inch eReaders
As its name implies, the Bebook Mini neatly slots into the 5-inch category of ebook readers with its slim dimensions and size. But can the Bebook Mini prove that dynamite does in fact come in small packages?
Design
With dimensions of 151×105.5×10mm and a weight of 160 grams, the Bebook Mini may be small, but its design is fairly bland and its plastic-looking case is unlikely to win any awards for style.
Aesthetics aside, the Bebook Mini has a functional and ergonomic design with a set of page-turning controls located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand. Having buttons on both sides also caters for the very natural tendency to shift weight and change position as you can use either hand to turn pages.
The SD card slot as well as the USB port are situated at the top of the Mini, but regrettably, the headphone jack has been placed on the bottom right corner and has a tendency to get in the way of your hand.
Display
With a 5-inch e-ink electronic paper display screen with a 600×800-pixel resolution and 8-level greyscale, the Mini’s screen is clear and sharp just like a printed page. Of course, the smaller screen fits less text per page than larger ebook readers but this comes with the 5-inch screen territory. However, this does mean that some of the books/files you want to read on the Mini have to be formatted to the right size to be able to fit on the screen.
Navigating your way around the menus takes a little getting used to as its numbered keypad system is not very intuitive. In order to navigate through the menus, you need to select the number which corresponds with the folder/file you wish to open. The controls are adequate for reading books, but searching is a cumbersome task. The lack of a keyboard means you have to use the number keys in a similar fashion to typing an SMS on a conventional mobile phone – without predictive text input.
You often find that you are tempted to use the touchscreen (which doesn’t work), so it may be worthwhile to go through the user guide for a crash course. With a little time and patience, you will soon get the hang of it and find it easy to use.
Software
With 512MB of internal memory, the Mini can store up to 1000 books which is fine for many readers, but those who need more can do so through its SD card slot. The memory can be expanded up to a huge 16GB via an SD memory card, so you can carry the whole library with you if you like.
The Mini plays a ridiculous number of files – pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3. BeBook touts the ebook reader’s ability to access the many public domain and free works available on the internet (through sites like Project Gutenberg), but you can also buy DRM-protected books from vendors like Dymocks. Although the Bebook Mini supports a huge range of files, be warned that it can often display strange text layouts in certain file formats. For example, in Word and PDF files, odd line breaks tended to appear and the text can be abnormally small. Luckily, you can zoom in!
The BeBook Mini doesn’t have 3G or wi-fi connectivity, so you have to connect to a computer via USB or use SD cards to load books.
Battery life
The battery appears to last up to 7,000 page turns per charge which is not too shabby.
Conclusion
The BeBook Mini is comfortable to use with its page-turning controls at your fingertips and is the perfect size for someone on the go who loves to read.
The controls and menus do however take a little getting used to and having some form of wireless connectivity would be very convenient.
