Hardware
It’s a Kindle clone, obviously. I’ve covered the specs before (here), so I’ll just give a brief description. It has a 7″ LCD screen (not a touch screen) and there are 4 buttons to the left and 2 buttons to the right of the screen. Beneath the screen is a keyboard, joystick, and several extra buttons (menu, back, symbol). All the ports and card slots are on the bottom edge and the battery is not user accessible. On the bottom edge we have power jack, USB port (mini-B), headphones, SD card slot, and power button.
My first concern was that the long screen + keyboard would make the e-reader feel big and awkward. Nope. It is bigger than the Kindle, but I think it has just the right proportions. It’s difficult to explain the aesthetics, but they work.
The screen wasn’t what I was expecting, though. It is completely usable for reading or browsing, but I don’t think a video buff would be happy. It’s backlit, and you can adjust the setting. I spent some time outside, and I’d say that this screen is definitely usable in full sun.
I like where the page turn buttons are placed. They are at just the right height so this is one handed e-reader for either hand. The keyboard OTOH isn’t very usable. You might not want to use it to take extensive notes because all the punctuation is accessed with the alt key (rather like some smartphones). But if you’re used to typing at length on a smartphone, you might not mind. BTW, the punctuation is printed in a really tiny font. I have to hold The Book about 6″ away from my face before I can tell which button I want to push.
The way you select the punctuation is kind of funky. Take the exclamation point, for example. It’s printed above the letter q, but alt+q doesn’t work. Instead you have to do shift+1. I wish they’d stuck with one or the other.
It comes with a basic black pocketbook style case. Even though it has a cheap feel to it I’m still glad to have it. When closed it looks good, and when open it makes it easier to hold The Book. The case is a plus.
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Kmart Stocking A $90 Reader - Augen The Book | Best Ereaders // Jul 21, 2010 at 3:58 pm
[...] over at The-Digital-Reader just posted a review of a new $90 eReader called Augen The Book that is avaliable in Kmart brick [...]
Although it can surf the web it won’t let you access web based email like yahoo or hot mail. That’s too bad.
Augen The Book Hands-on | e-Bookvine // Jul 22, 2010 at 9:53 pm
[...] These videos are from The-Digital-Reader. [...]
There is a firmware upgrade that is required to view DRM-protected files. I’ve had mine for two weeks and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Check out augen.lefora.com to see the good, the bad, and the ugly from users.