BeBook review

We don't envy the BeBook. There's currently so much scepticism around the eBook concept that a new device could levitate five feet off the ground and predict the future and still be written off as a passing fad. And competition isn't exactly light. Sony's PRS-505 has already impressed us with its beautiful design and fantastic screen, while Amazon's Kindle currently has the US market in a headlock, leaving the BeBook with a lot to do in order to make up ground.

Unfortunately, first impressions are underwhelming. Whereas the Sony PRS-505 slid from the box like a Bentley whispering out of the showroom, there's a real bargain basement feel to the BeBook. The black leatherette sleeve is more 80s filofax than first edition Dickens, while the matte-black plastic case feels cheap and suffers from a design that's utilitarian rather than evocative.

A 6in screen dominates the device's face, beneath which there are two rows of numbered buttons and a circular menu button. Page turn controls are located to the left of the screen, with another set in the bottom right hand corner, meaning the device is useable in either hand, particularly useful if you spend your morning commute standing. Weighing in at 210 grams the BeBook is also reassuringly solid, but while it's certainly tidier than the unwieldy Kindle, it's unlikely to elicit any gasps on the Tube.

Things don't much improve much when the device is switched on. E Ink technology is the innovation that has made the entire eBook reader concept viable as it mimics the look of words on paper to wonderful effect. While the BeBook does utilise an E Ink screen, it only renders in four shades of grey, rather than the Sony's eight. As a consequence, text on the Bebook appears slightly pixellated compared to the Sony's smooth characters, with pictures appearing grainy and bleached.

This is a shame as in other areas the Bebook has the PRS-505 and Kindle beaten. The device has a huge 512MB of built-in flash memory, more than enough to hold 350 books, and anybody looking to upgrade the BeBook from a study to a full-blown library can add up to 4GB with an SD card. The integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery is good for 7,000 page turns, and there's a huge range of supported formats, including DOC, HTML, TXT, non-DRM PDF, RTF, EPUB, Mobipocket and pretty much any other combination of acronyms we can think of.

This is made more impressive by the BeBook's ability to properly handle PDFs, something the Sony PRS-505 struggled with. Mobipocket support is also a welcome addition, not least because the software allows you to download RSS feeds to the BeBook, and catch up with the latest news at leisure. This has to be done over USB, though, as there's no Wi-Fi.

There's also no software supplied with the BeBook. Instead, when you hook it up to your PC, a screen flashes up on the reader instructing you how to drag and drop files onto the device just as you would a removable drive. Personally we prefer this to installing and then fiddling around with the software offered by the other manufacturers but it does mean that if you download DRM-laden titles, you're going to have to locate the software to unlock them yourself.

The BeBook also scores points for its sensibly arranged menus. Unlike the frustrating layout of the Sony, which occasionally made you feel like you were chasing a fox through half a dozen hedges, the BeBook ensures you're rarely two taps away from your book of the choice. The recent documents tab is also a welcome addition.