ViewSonic VEB620 review

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Verdict:

It's got an excellent screen, but an annoying interface and problems dealing with some eBooks make it hard to recommend.

Review Date: 20 May 2010

Price when reviewed: £199

Supplier: http://www.scan.co.uk

Reviewed By: David Ludlow

Our Rating 2 stars out of 5

If you want to carry digital books on a device that you can read in any lighting condition, you need a traditional eReader with an E-Ink screen, such as the new Viewsonic VEB620. As you might expect from a company better known for manufacturing displays, the 6in model used here has the highest resolution E Ink screen we've ever seen of 800x600. The main benefit this has over other devices we've reviewed is that text is that bit sharper with no jagged lines around text and even the smallest font is clear and readable.

In terms of look and feel the VEB620 is very similar to the current crop of eReaders, with a light plastic case (220g) and a leatherette wallet that folds over to protect the screen when you're not using it.

It's fitted with 2GB of memory (1.5GB is usable), but there's an SDHC card slot at the bottom so that you can easily add more storage space. There's a headphone output, too, although playing music on eReaders is never very easy and you're better off with a dedicated music player.

A USB slot is used for both synchronising with your computer and for charging. Viewsonic provides a mains USB charger in the box, so you don't have to resort to finding a computer when you're running out of juice.

When we first got our review unit it wouldn't work with Adobe Digital Editions, so there was no way to buy DRM-protected books and read them on the device. Fortunately, we were provided with a Firmware upgrade that fixed this problem. With the upgrade in place the VEB620 supported all of the major eBook formats including PDF (encrypted and standard) and ePUB.

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