KOGAN: 6" EBOOK READER WITH 1500 FREE EBOOKS

The 6″ ebook market is where all the action is these days with new models coming out, it seems, every month. Australian online electronics company Kogan, perhaps better known for their cheap tellies, has dived in with their first ebook reader, the ‘Kogan 6″ eBook Reader‘. It comes equipped with a 6″, 4 bit (16 shades) e-ink screen, 2GB of onboard storage, SD card slot and an mp3 player. Here’s my take on it.

Look and Feel

The Kogan feels very solid, with large rounded edges, a glossy front and matte, rubberised plastic back. All the buttons are on the front with the exception of the power button which is hidden around the back on the right top edge. Size-wise it’s a tiny bit smaller (and a lot more functional) than my poor smashed Kobo.

The case has a strange, rounding droop on both sides while the top and bottom, have the reverse angle creating an overhang. This unusual design makes it a little difficult to pick up one-handed as your fingers tend to slide off the edges when you grip it. I found I had to use two hands to pick it up to ensure I didn’t drop it.

 

The forward and back page-turn buttons are located on the left hand side of the screen, with a column of context-sensitive buttons running down the right side of the screen. I must confess that this is possibly the most bizarre layout I’ve ever seen. If you have large hands and hold the reader with your left hand you can just reach the page turn buttons with your thumb but it leaves you with a tenuous grip on the reader. Smaller handed people you’re out of luck. If you hold it with your right hand then you need to use your other hand to press the page turn buttons. I like to use e-readers one handed so I found this a bit bothersome. People who are happy to read with two hands probably won’t find it a problem.

 

Most ebook readers see you right with just the reader and a USB cable, but the Kogan does do quite well with included extras. There’s a quite nice folio-style, leather case and that will probably save you $40. Including a case is a nice touch and it’s quite stylish with its contrast stitching and super-easy magnetic latch.

 

There’s also a mains USB charger and cable, so you won’t need a computer to recharge it if you take it away with you, and there’s also a pair of earbud earphones.

The other “killer” feature of the Kogan is the 1500+ included ebooks (stored as .txt files), scraped from the Gutenberg project. If you put all this together it means the Kogan is ready to use straight out of the box even without a computer. I think most people will do a hearty cull of the included books simply because they get in the way and it takes ages to flick through them or to search. Either that or offload them onto a PC and come back to them later as you need. Source: Redferret

Main Features----------------------

6" E Ink ScreenFeels and looks like a real book, with the freedom of E Ink

Glare-Free Screen

You can read at night with the light on, or in direct sunlight outdoors

FREE Leather case
Every Kogan eBook comes with a stylish leather carry case at no extra charge!

Multiple File Formats
The Kogan eBook Reader embraces open source and multiple file formats. You can read an eBook bought anywhere online, or even read work documents like PDFs on the go. Save on paper and money!
Sync with Adobe Digital Editions
Transfer all eBooks purchased online to your eBook reader. This is especially useful for and .EPUB and .PDF files, as well as managing and syncing your eBook library.
Quick response
No more waiting for pages to load. Turning pages on the Kogan eBook Reader is as fast as turning pages on a traditional paperback.
Long battery life
The Kogan eBook Reader battery lasts an amazing 10,000 page turns, meaning you'll very rarely be plugging it in for a recharge
Expandable memory
The built in 2GB of memory is enough to store thousands of books. But for the real book lovers who need more, the Kogan eBook Readers supports SD and SDHC cards to upgrade the memory up to 32GB.

Multimedia Playback
The Kogan eBook Reader will also let you give JPG images an E Ink makeover. It won't replace a Kogan Digital Photo Frame anytime soon, but can be used in presentations, or to display graphs and other illustrations.

Kogan's eBook Reader will ship straight to you with over 1,500 FREE Australian and International classic books preloaded on the device. Click here to see complete list of Free books

source: Kogan