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Endless Ideas BeBook eBook Reader Review

Author Niall Magennis
Published 31st Dec 2008
Manufacturer Endless Ideas BV
Supplier Play
Price £199.99 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £229.99 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 6 for Design
Features Score 7 for Features
Performance Score 7 for Performance
Value Score 7 for Value
Overall Score 7 for Overall
Endless Ideas BeBook eBook Reader
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Unlike the other eBooks on the market the BeBook only supports USB 1.1 so file transfers are rather slow. It's especially noticeable when transferring larger PDF or MP3 files to the device. If you've got a card reader you can get around the problem, but really in this day and age there's no excuse for using USB 1.1 on a device.

As well as support for the document and picture formats, the BeBook also supports MP3 files and comes with a pair of in-ear headphones that connect to a standard 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom of the device. MP3 is the sole audio format supported, and the audio player is very basic - it doesn't even support ID3 tags or playlists. You do get some EQ presets (rock, jazz etc), but playback can be a bit glitchy on higher bit rate tracks. However, at least you can use the music player to listen to tracks while reading a book.


The BeBook charges via its mini USB port and there's no charger provided in the box, which is a bit of an issue if you're going to be away from a PC for a significant length of time. Battery life for eBooks are given in the number of page flips you can perform before the battery dies. This is because the devices only really draw significant amounts of power when they're refreshing the screen. From a three hour charge the BeBook is good for 8,000 page flips according to Endless Ideas. As a comparison, Sony says the PRS-505's battery lasts for around 6,800 page flips. In reality you'll get around a week's worth of relatively heavy use out of the BeBook before it needs a charge.

Verdict

The BeBook is not a bad device. It supports a broad range of formats, has a good screen and long battery life. However, the interface is a bit hit and miss and in general the device feels a tad more sluggish than other eBooks we've looked at. The biggest issue, however, is that although it costs around £30 more than Sony's PRS-505 it doesn't look anywhere near as stylish and its menu system isn't as polished. Given these issues the price difference is a pretty significant deal breaker.

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Latest 4 of 6 Comments

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comment Gerry said on 1st January 2009

Hear, hear, I really don't see the point of all these dedicated gizmos. My smartphone does the same job and I have several hundred books (.lit format) on a mini sd chip. Likew... more

comment haim said on 2nd January 2009

errrr I think the e-ink display might just be the attraction. I'm sure anyone can appreciate the difference between reading off real paper and an lcd screen, this stff addres... more

comment Frank said on 7th January 2009

I bought this BeBook device and swiftly returned it to Amazon.
It crashes constantly and using SDcards is a nightmare.
In my opinion this device is for users who like... more

comment Ann Drummond said on 4th August 2009

I love my Bebook! I've had it almost a year and I'm not sure how I managed without it. I've just been overseas and I was able to load more books than I could possibl... more

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