Ectaco jetBook

The market for ebook readers is expanding all the time. Not quite at MP3/IPod levels of popularity yet the idea of portable libraries is catching on fast however. The Ectaco JetBook is at the moment one of the lesser known ebook readers on the market and that may be very unfair, as it is a very functional device that does the job it was designed for very well.

One of the biggest differences between the Jet Book and its major competitors is the display screen. The Jet Book does not the use the electronic ink technology utilized by the Amazon and Sony readers and it does not use a back lit screen like some of the older e book readers on the market. The Jetbook does have an LCD screen, but it functions more like that of a Palm V, just with far better resolution and clarity. The screen does have a slight greenish tinge to the display, which is noticeable if placed side by side with a Kindle but does not interfere with the overall reading experience.
The Jetbook does not have a touch screen function and it is navigated via the numerical buttons that run along the right side of the reader and directional and page turn buttons located under the screen.

The JetBook does come out of the box with a great deal of reading material pre installed. A huge number of classic authors are included, as well as the King James Bible and the Fodors Travel Guides.

Reading on the Jetbook is a decent experience. As there is no backlight, just as with the eink readers you do have to be in decent light to read, but you do with a regular paper book as well.

Content wise the original  Jetbook does not support DRM files, so many of the bestsellers and popular novels available to Amazon Kindle reader’s are not compatible on this device if you bought a model made before April 2009. Since then new models do now feature support for MOBI. ePUb and other commercial formats.
The JetBook does have the ability to play MP3 files but given that only a 2MB SD card can be used that renders such things an almost useless extra.
The Jetbook is very small and light, but not quite as thin as the Amazon Kindle 2. It is smaller though. The screens are the same size but a lack of the extra real estate around the screen makes the Jetbook a little more portable. In addition to the black and white versions the Jetbook is also available in red, which may appeal to some but actually gives the Jetbook a little bit of an old fashioned Etch A Sketch look in my book.

Priced at around $300, the JetBook is a little cheaper than the Sony ebook  readers but is in same price range with the Amazon Kindle 2. It does provide good competition to the big boys but I like many do prefer the look of the Eink technology to this LCD hybrid technology.

Tagged as: Ectaco Jet Book, ectato ebook readers, Jet Book ebook reader Review