At the risk of sounding like an utter corporate stooge, I think it is a relatively inoffensive and technically interesting DRM scheme. Primarily because, once you've downloaded your DRM-infected book, you don't need to rely on an online server to unlock it.

How does it work?

When you buy⁰ a book, your vendor sends you a .lcpl file. This is a plain JSON file which contains some licencing information and a link to download the ePub.

Here's a recent one of mine (truncated for legibility):

{
    "issued": "2025-03-04T12:34:56Z",
    "encryption": {
        "profile": "http://readium.org/lcp/profile-2.0",
        "content_key": {
            "algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#aes256-cbc",
            "encrypted_value": "+v0+dDvngHcD...qTZgmdCHmgg=="
        },
        "user_key": {
            "algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha256",
            "text_hint": "What is your username?",
            "key_check": "mAGgB...buDPQ=="
        }b
    },
    "links": [
        {
            "rel": "publication",
            "href": "https://example.com/96514dea-...-b26601238752",
            "type": "application/epub+zip",
            "title": "96514dea-...-b26601238752.epub",
            "length": 14364567,
            "hash": "be103c0e4d4de...fb3664ecb31be8"
        },
        {
            "rel": "status",
            "href": "https://example.com/api/v1/lcp/license/fdcddcc9-...-f73c9ddd9a9a/status",
            "type": "application/vnd.readium.license.status.v1.0+json"
        }
    ],
    "signature": {
        "certificate": "MIIDLTCC...0faaoCA==",
        "value": "ANQuF1FL.../KD3cMA5LE",
        "algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig-more#ecdsa-sha256"
    }
}

Here's how the DRM works.

1. Your client downloads the ePub from the links section.
2. An ePub is just a zip file full of HTML files, the client unzips it.
   • The metadata and cover image are not encrypted - so you can always see the title and cover. All the rest - HMTL, images, fonts, etc - are encrypted with AES 256 CBC.
3. The .lcpl file is placed in the META-INF directory and renamed license.lcpl.
4. A new ePub is created by re-zipping the files together.

When your client opens the encrypted ePub, it asks you for a password. If you don't know it, you get the hint given in the LCPL file. In this case, it is my username for the service where I bought the book.

The password is used by Readium's super-secret BLOB to decrypt the file. You can then read the book.

But here's the nifty thing, the encrypted file is readable by any certified app. I used the LCPL to download the book in two different readers. I unzipped both of them and they were bit-for-bit identical. I copied the book from one reader to another, and it was read fine. I built my own by downloading the ePub and manually inserting the licence file - and it was able to be opened by both readers.

Apps and Certification

In order for this to work, the app needs to be certified and to include a binary BLOB which does all the decryption. Readium have a list of readers which are available, and there are plenty for all platforms.

On Linux, I tried Thorium and FBReader. Both were absolutely fine. For my eInk Android, I used FBReader Premium (available for free if you don't have Google Play installed). Again, it was a decent reading experience.

I took the file created by Thorium on Linux, copied it to Android, set the Android offline, typed in my password, and the book opened.

Open Source and DRM

To be fair to Readium, they publish a lot of Open Source code and the specification seems well documented.

But the proprietary BLOB used for the decryption is neither libre -

Thorium Reader supports LCP-protected publications via an additional software component which is not available in this open-source codebase

Nor gratis -

Our pricing is structured into tiers based on a company’s revenue

What's the worst that could happen with this DRM?

Ultimately, our fear of DRM comes down to someone else being able to control how, when, and even if we can read our purchased books. Could that happen here?

I'm going to go with a cautious maybe.

Positives

Once downloaded, the ePub is under your control. Back it up on a disk, store it in the cloud, memorise the bytes. It is yours and can't be forcibly deleted. You can even share it with a friend! But you'd have to tell them the book's password which would make it trivially linkable to you if it ever got shared widely.

At the moment, any LCP book reading app will open it. Even if your licence is somehow revoked, apps don't need to go online. So there is no checking for revocation.

ePub is an open standard made up of zipped HTML, CSS, images, and fonts. An unencrypted ePub should be readable far into the future. LCP is a (paid for) ISO Standard which is maintained by a foundation which is primarily run by an EU non-profit. So, hopefully, the DRM scheme will also be similarly long-lived.

Because the underlying book is an ePub, it should have the same accessibility features as a normal ePub. No restrictions on font-sizes, text-to-speech, or anything similar.

Privacy. The BLOB only checks with the issuer of the book whether the licence is valid. That's useful for library books where you are allowed to borrow the text for a specific time. If you bought books from a dozen sources, there's no central server which tracks what you're reading across all services.

Downsides

Will the proprietary BLOB work in the future? If it never gets ported to Android 2027 or TempleOS, will your books be rendered unreadable on your chosen platform?

The LCPL file contains dates and signatures related to the licence. Perhaps the BLOB is instructed to check the licence after a certain period of time. Will your books refuse to open if the BLOB hasn't gone online for a few years?

If you forget your password, you can't open the book. Thankfully, the LCPL does contain a "hint" section and a link back to the retailer. However, it's up to you to securely store your books' passwords.

The book seller knows what device you're reading on. When you load the LCPL file into a reader, the app downloads the ePub and sends some data back to the server. The URl is in the status section of the LCPL file. After opening the file on a few apps, mine looked like:

{
    "id": "fdcddcc9-...-f73c9ddd9a9a",
    "status": "active",
    "updated": {
        "license": "2025-03-04T12:34:56Z",
        "status": "2025-03-09T20:20:20Z"
    },
    "message": "The license is in active state",
    "links": [
        {
            "rel": "license",
            "href": "https://example.com/lcp/license/fdcddcc9-...-f73c9ddd9a9a",
            "type": "application/vnd.readium.lcp.license.v1.0+json"
        }
    ],
    "events": [
        {
            "name": "Thorium",
            "timestamp": "2025-03-04T15:49:37Z",
            "type": "register",
            "id": "7d248cae-...-c109b887b7dd"
        },
        {
            "name": "FBReader@framework",
            "timestamp": "2025-03-08T22:36:26Z",
            "type": "register",
            "id": "46838356-...-73132673"
        },
        {
            "name": "FBReader Premium@Boyue Likebook-K78W",
            "timestamp": "2025-03-09T14:54:26Z",
            "type": "register",
            "id": "e351...3b0a"
        }
    ]
}

So the book seller knows the apps I use and, potentially, some information about the platform they're running on. They also know when I downloaded the book. They may also know if I've lent a book to a friend.

It is trivial to bypass this just by downloading the ePub manually and inserting the LCPL file as above.

DRM Removal

As I've shown before, you can use OCR to rip an eBook. Take a bunch of screenshots, extract the text, done. OK, you might lose some of the semantics and footnotes, but I'm sure a bit of AI can solve that. The names of embedded fonts can easily be read from the ePub. But that's not quite the same as removing the DRM and getting the original ePub.

When the DeDRM project published a way to remove LCP 1.0, they were quickly hit with legal attacks. The project removed the code - although it is trivial to find on 3rd party sites. Any LCP DRM removal tool you can find at the moment is only likely to work on Basic Encryption Profile 1.0.

There are now multiple different encryption profiles:

In 2024, the EDRLab Encryption Profile 1.0 was superseded by 10 new profiles, numbered “2.0” to “2.9”. Every LCP license provider chooses one randomly and can easily change the profile.

If I'm reading the source code correctly¹, the user's password is SHA-256 hashed and then prefixed with a secret from the LCP code. That is used as the decryption key for AES-256-CBC.

I'm sure there's some digital trickery and obfuscation in there but, at some point, the encrypted ePub is decrypted on the user's machine. Maybe it is as simple as grabbing the binary and forcing it to spit out keys. Maybe it takes some dedicated poking about in memory to grab the decrypted HTML. Given that the key is based on a known password, perhaps it can be brute-forced?

I'll bet someone out there has a clever idea. After all, as was written by the prophets:

trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet²

But the other day I had someone scoff at me and say "Good luck reading when civilisation collapses! I'll still be able to read by candle-light."

This is nonsense. In the case of a Zombie Attack, am I really going to lug a few hundred kilograms of books with me? Or am I going to slip a lightweight eReader into my pocket and have ten thousand books at my disposal?

Also, where is he getting all those candles from? My eBook has a built in light which is less likely to attract Zombies and isn't a massive fire hazard.

Perhaps he's concerned that an eReader battery won't last more than a couple of weeks and then I'll be stuffed. OK, sure. But I have a solar powered portable battery. As long as the dust clouds don't blot out Earth's yellow sun, I should be able to read indefinitely.

Now, it's true that my eReader might get a damaged screen, or dropped in a puddle, or suffer any of the same calamities which can also befall paper books.

Perhaps my interlocutor's glasses will break. If so, an eBook would let him boost the font size quite comfortably.

Frankly, the only thing paper books are good for in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is burning for fuel⁴.

But - and this is a big but - even if eReaders are vastly inferior in an emergency... so fucking what?

If civilisation doesn't collapse, I'd've wasted time, energy, money, and effort maintaining a physical library. I'd be limited to how many books I can take on a beach holiday. Every time I moved house I'd be straining my back carrying all of them. The fire-risk of hundreds of books would have been for naught.

It's the same as people who don't pay into a pension because they might be hit by a bus tomorrow. Sure. But what if you're unlucky enough to reach old age?

You can either live each day like its your last - and deal with the consequences of tomorrow when they come - or you can take a reasoned approach to the inevitability of the future.

So I'm going to enjoy all the comforts of an eReader now. Come the end-of-the-world, I will regret... well, probably nothing.

I don't want to live like a prepper and have a basement full of pickled vegetables slowly fermenting, or a library of paper slowly crumbling.

I want to take full advantage of the modern world while it still exists.

I have their previous model, the Likebook Ares. After less than a year of use, I noticed screen discolouration. The eBay reseller wasn't interested in helping me with a return. Boyue ignored my repeated complaints - and I was stuck with a defective unit. So I waited until Boyue released their new version and cheekily asked if I could review it. They happily sent me this in exchange for an honest review and YouTube video.

So here is my extremely honest review!

If you're a casual eBook user - you're almost certainly better off with a Kindle. Amazon have perfected an ecosystem where you can buy a book from your eReader and have it in seconds. They may be evil, predatory capitalists, but if your Kindle breaks or goes a bit wonky they're great at fixing it or sending you a fresh one. Amazon will provide constant software updates and work hard to make sure the Kindle is easy to use. Amazon have customer service agents to hold your hands if you don't understand how to use your Kindle, or if it is faulty.

The Likebook P78 is everything a Kindle is not. And that may be a good or bad thing depending on what you want to do with it.

You get no support - other than what the community can provide on Reddit or MobileRead Forums. Boyue will not respond to your emails or Tweets. You might get a firmware update - but it will be a painful, manual process to apply it.

P78's killer feature is that it is fairly open Android (V8.1) tablet. Want to install random apps on there? Go for it! Want to replace the homescreen app? Fine. Don't like the default reading experience? Install a different reader. Need some different fonts? Copy them over via USB or Bluetooth and you're good to go. Change the keyboard, music player, and every single aspect of the device until it's unique to you.

Want to SSH into it, or copy your library using NextCloud, or play Angry Birds - it's all possible. It's a reasonably hackable device - with none of the polish of its Amazon rival.

If you're happy with that (and I am!) read on...

Unboxing

Here's a long video showing how the unboxing and initial set-up goes:

As you can see, it isn't exactly slick. But once done, you get a well-specified tablet.

Tech Specs

USB-C! This is the main reason I got the previous model. One cable to charge my laptop, phone, headphones, and eReader. Nice! Not even Kindle can do USB-C yet.

In terms of size, it is identical to the previous Ares model. It even fits into the same case.

Unlike the Ares - this doesn't have a Wacom digitiser. So you can use the touchscreen with your fingers, but not a stylus.

It also gains a MicroSD slot. I don't really get why. Most eBooks are under 1MB. Even if you want to carry your entire comic book collection around, the ~20GB of usable space on the tablet should be sufficient. But, hey, shove a spare card in their and go nuts.

Speakers on the bottom a good enough for speech. You probably won't want to use them with music - but for an audio book, they're sufficient. It also has BlueTooth if you'd rather listen on headphones.

Text to speech is build in. The default Android experience is adequate.

Cool Android Features

Cast! Yes, the device supports casting - so you can share your books to any big screen that has a ChromeCast plugged in.

But... You're limited to 720p - so text looks like shit.

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

I can cast my eReader to my TV - but the resolution is rubbish.
Anyone know how to set Android to mirror the cast destination's resolution rather than the native one? pic.x.com/vrafyium33

---

Copy books over via USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi. You're not shackled to Amazon's ecosystem.

Sideload apps. Play OGG, MP3, and FLAC. It can do everything an Android tablet can do.

Screen and lighting

Like most modern eReaders, it has a set of LEDs round the edge of the screen. You can set the brightness and the colour temperature. If you prefer a gentle orange light for reading at night and a bright white light for the beach, that's only a tap away.

The screen is gorgeous. It's a single slab of glass, so there are no shadows from the bezel. The screen isn't too shiny - so it's great for reading even in strong direct sunlight.

The resolution is 1872x1404 - that's even better than the most recent Kindle! Text rendering is smooth and beautiful. It's even better quality than printed paper.

Default Reading Experience

And this is where it all goes wrong. The in-built z-Reader is garbage.

Perhaps that's a bit harsh. It has lots of customisable options to play with, and supports horizontal layout if that's what you like.

But the text layout engine is just unsuitable for English text. Letters frequently overlap, hyphenation is all over the shop, and the fonts aren't particularly nice. Although you can install your own.

The user interface is poorly translated - with lots of Chinese characters popping up. The default dictionary is Chinese - even if you've set the interface to English.

You can follow my guide to adding an English Dictionary to Boyue Likebook eReaders.

At best, I'd class it at "barely adequate".

You can install 3rd party eReaders, like Kindle and Google Books.

Install KOReader

I use KOReader. It's a brilliant and hackable eBook reader. Lots of lovely options to fiddle with and very customisable. Once installed, it can notify you of updates and install them for you.

Customisation

There are lots of options to go through. Sadly, the UI isn't very well done - with lots of instances of overlapping elements.

Localisation

Like most cheap Chinese electronics, there is only a cursory effort to localise the interface. You're probably not going to spend a lot of time in the settings screen, but it shows how much of an afterthought usability is.

Install apps

You can side-load whatever Android apps you want. There is an in-built store:

Again, poor localisation. And what's with have store categories with no apps in there?

(Note - it produces colour screenshots, but the screen itself is greyscale only.)

Verdict

If you want an eInk Android tablet - this is pretty good buy for under £200. If you're happy with lots of customisation and fiddling around, get it. If you want a seamless reading experience, grab a Kindle.

For those of us who like diving into every setting, changing every last feature of our devices, and can overlook a badly translated and messy UI - it's a good device.

The LikeBook range is mostly sold on eBay and AliExpress. Buy with caution and in the expectation that, if something goes wrong, you'll be left in the lurch.

KOReader is the best eReader software I've found. It works beautifully on eInk screens, Android, and Linux. Just a gorgeous - and infinitely customisable - experience.

There's one thing I don't like - to move forward a page, you have to click the right of the screen and, to move back, the left. That's fine if you're holding the book in your right hand. But sometimes I behave in a sinister fashion and hold it in my left. I want to tap the bottom of the screen to move forward, and the top to move back a page.

My previous eReader had an easy-settings menu like this:

KOReader doesn't have anything like that - yet - so here's how to set it up manually.

1. In the book selection screen (not when reading a book) tap the top of the screen to bring up the menu bar, then press 🛠️ for Tools
   
2. At the bottom of the menu, scroll across to page 2
   
3. Select "More Tools"
   
4. Select "Advanced Settings"
   
5. Read the big scary warning message and press "OK"
   
6. Scroll along until you find "DTAP_ZONE_BACKWARD". Tap on it, and edit the values to read h=0.5 w=1 x=0 y=0
   
7. For "DTAP_ZONE_FORWARD", set the values to h=0.5 w=1 x=0 y=0.5"
   
8. Press the "X" in the top right corner, and restart KOReader.

Done!

Adapted from this GitHub issue. I've also added these instructions to the KOReader Wiki

Install VMware Virtual Machine

Download the latest version of the Virtual Machine.

Make the downloaded file executable.

chmod +x VMware-Player-16.1.0-17198959.x86_64.bundle

Run the app as root: sudo ./VMware-Player-16.1.0-17198959.x86_64.bundle

Download the latest version of the Windows 10 Virtual Machine. It is free, fully functional, and doesn't require registration: wget https://aka.ms/windev_VM_vmware

Unzip the file unzip windev_VM_vmware

Run the VMware program and import the Windows image.

Configure

The most important setting is this: Make sure that the USB Compatibility is set to 2.0.

Reboot the Ares

1. Hold down the power button until the eReader shuts down. Make sure it isn't plugged in to a USB cable.
2. Put one end of a USB cable into your computer - do not plug it into the eReader.
3. Hold a paperclip into the reset hole to the left of the USB port.
4. Keeping the paperclip in, plug the USB cable into the eReader.
5. Once the red LED in the top right switches on, release the paperclip.

To check it has worked, run the following command in Linux:

lsusb

You should see the following output:

ID 2207:330a Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Company RK3368 in Mask ROM mode

Launch the VM

From here, it should be as simple as following the official instructions but, for completeness, here's what to do.

Download the drivers. Unzip and install them.

Download the flashing tool. This is in RAR format - so it may be easier to unrar it in Linux. If you'd rather, install 7Zip in Windows.

Unpack the folder to C:\Android Tools

Download the Ares software. Unzip the file and place the update-131.img in the same folder as the tool.

Configure USB

When the VM starts up, you should see this screen: If it doesn't show the removable devices screen, click one of the USB icons in the bottom right. Select the eReader - and it should be detected by Windows.

Flash

Run the AndroidTool. It should detect the eReader as a "LOADER device".

On the "Upgrade Firmware" tab, click the "Firmware" button, and select the update-131.img file. Then click the "Upgrade" button.

You'll see debug output on the right.

And done!

Once it has reached 100%, the device will reboot. This may take a little time - and you'll spend a bit too long staring at a black screen.

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentINSTALLING NOW! pic.x.com/S1E2iyRYG2

---

Once it boots up, it will be a blank slate. Go through the usual Android configuration procedure. Once connected to WiFi, it may update again. And then once more for good luck. Eventually, you'll get Android 8.1 on there:

What didn't work?

Marek Skrobacki has a guide to upgrading using VirtualBox but I just couldn't get it to work.

There are various Linux tools for Rockchip - but I couldn't get them to work

The Likebook Ares is a fine bit of kit - I just wish the manufacturer was more responsive to feedback.

Boyue Likebook & Meebook

@BoyueTechnology

Replying to @edent@edent Hi friend, yes, the updating is released on the basic of Android 8.1 system, if you want, you can update to 8.1 system manually first (different android system upgrade need to finish it manually )

---

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @BoyueTechnology@BoyueTechnology thanks. Can I upgrade from Mac or Linux? I don't have Windows.

---

End Result

An eInk screen which displays the trains I can catch from my local station.

It shows the next few available trains, and whether they're delayed. It also shows how long until the next local bus to the train station.

Updating the Nook

Before doing anything, manually update the Nook's firmware. You can download the latest version from Barnes and Nobel

Copy the .zip file to the root directory of your Nook via USB. Unplug the Nook and turn it off. After a few minutes, it should detect the file and perform the update.

Sadly, it's only Android 2.1 - and the TLS implementation is artificially restricted. More on that later!

It's worth deregistering your Nook and then resetting it. You have to press a few buttons to use the Nook without a B&N Account.

Rooting the Nook

Download Nook Manager (or compile it yourself from the open source code).

Unzip the file. It should just contain NookManager.img. Write the disk image to a microSD card. Follow the instructions on XDA Developers to root the device.

Changing the Launcher

I used ReLaunchX which is an eInk optimised Android launcher. Download the latest Android version from F-Droid.

With the Nook connected to your computer by USB, run:

adb install com.gacode.relaunchx_200105000.apk

That will install the launcher. When you hit the Nook's home button, you will be able to select it as the default launcher.

Electric Sign

Running a modern web browser on the Nook is close to impossible. So I recommend using Electric Sign. It's an open source Android app which periodically calls a URl, turns it into an image, and then uses it as the Nook's screensaver.

You can download the latest version from APKpure.

Again, install it using:

adb install Electric\ Sign_v1.0.3_apkpure.com.apk

Launch it from ReLaunchX and follow the setup screen. I set it to reload every 5 minutes from 7AM until 9pm.

TLS Woes!

Here's where life gets complicated. The World Wide Web is changing to become more secure. Sadly, this means older browsers simply cannot access modern web servers. Even though B&N have updated the Nook to use TLS 1.3 - it only works with their own servers. Trying to access modern https:// sites just won't work.

So, you will need to point Electric Sign to an unencrypted website.

Train API

UK trains have an open API, the snappily named Live Departure Boards Web Service (LDBWS). You need to register for an API key, which is pretty much instant.

There's a great PHP library for OpenLDBWS. You can also find libraries in most popular programming languages.

I created a quick little page which displays the trains that either my wife or I can catch to get to our jobs. When we're sat eating breakfast, we can see if our regular train is delayed.

Bus

I have an Alexa skill to tell me the bus times - but listening is much slower than reading. So I also added bus times.

You can also see that I've only included trains we can actually catch. There's no point showing a train leaving in 5 minutes if it takes 10 minutes to walk to the station. The train API shows the departure time of delayed trains, so the code takes that into account.

Physical Install

I used a double-sided 3M sticky pad and plonked it on the wall. No fancy hooks, screws, or magnets. Just glue.

It's conveniently close to an electrical socket. But having a trailing wire looks messy. So we'll only plug it in when it needs a top up. I replaced the Nook battery a few years ago so it should last several days without a recharge.

Code

All the code - plus backups of the binaries - are available on GitLab.

What next?

I don't really care about the weather or the news, and there's limited screen space. But if you have any suggestions for what it could display, do let me know.

Hope you found that useful!

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentI declare this project complete!
We now have a passive display showing us bus & train times.
Blog post coming up this weekend. pic.x.com/m2emF5rq3e

---

OK! OK! That's not the main reason. It has pretty good support from the manufacturer and a vibrant community around it. Masses of memory, warm lighting, and oodles of space. And, I think, pretty hackable.

Quick video

Specifications

• Android 6.0 - with a promise to update it to Android 8.0
• Touchscreen with Wacom stylus
• 1.5GHz CPU
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage plus a microSD slot
• 7.8 inch E-ink Carta HD (300 PPI) screen
• Dual colour front lights
• USB-C for charging, data transfer, and headphones
• WiFi and Bluetooth
• Speakers and microphone
• 3200 mAh battery

Essentially it's an Android tablet with an eInk screen. The Wacom stylus can be used for handwriting and note-taking.

The reading experience

Amazing! The screen is goregous. You have precise control over the thickness of the fonts, line spacing, word spacing, and more. Pinch to zoom works perfectly. You can even side-load your own fonts. You can also read in landscape mode with two columns. I find that particularly useful.

Links within books work, as do footnotes and endnotes. The keyboard is pretty quick for searching. You can change how bright the light is - and flip between warm and cool lighting.

It also does Text-To-Speech, so a little robot can read books out via the stereo speakers. It'll also play MP3s. No headphone jack - but it supports Bluetooth and USB-C.

There are some glitches in the default reading experience - especially when it comes to punctuation.

Formats supported

A sample of ePub, .mobi, PDF, and .txt files all worked well.

It shows up as an MTP device when connected to a computer via USB. Or you can send files via Bluetooth. It also has a built in webserver, so you can send via WiFi.

ePub 3

I tried the default reader using some of the sample ePub 3 documents. It coped with Arabic (right to left), Japanese with Ruby, and inline images.

Weirdly, it didn't like linebreaks in running text - collapsing them so there was no spaces between words.

It didn't support embedded fonts in eBooks. But, that's ok, you can add your own!

Fonts

Create a directory called /fonts/ on the device. Paste in either TTF or OTF fonts. They magically appear in the reading app!

No support for WOFF / WOFF2 fonts in the default reader.

Apps

There are a few built in apps - the standard Android browser is included. There's an app store and the ability to side-load. There are a bunch of reading apps if you don't like the default one.

Yup, you can install the Amazon Kindle app if you really want to!

(Screenshots are in colour, but the screen is black and white.)

Note taking

I don't like handwriting - but the Wacom stylus is easy to use. You can draw on the screen, annotate PDFs, and erase your scribblings.

Quirks

It doesn't come with a case, nor a screen protector. I'm in two minds about this. It has a glass screen, so should be fairly rugged. I don't plan on using the Wacom stylus, so I doubt that'll scratch it. But seeing as any blemish interferes with your reading experience, some protection is a must. I purchased a £20 case for it.

Start-up time is slow. This is an Android tablet, so doesn't have quite the same energy efficiency as other readers. From off to reading takes about 45 seconds. You can set it to never switch off, but you'll need to charge it a little more often.

The UI isn't brilliantly translated into English. You'll understand it, but the grammar and spacing are quirky. You can also see a few HTML entities in the the UI. So, not perfect quality. But usable.

There are also some untranslated /UI elements.

The UI takes a little getting used to. Some options are hidden away in menus, others behind icons. Most things you'll only have to set once, but it can be a challenge finding everything.

The first time I rebooted, it reverted to Chinese, but it was pretty simple to set it back.

Cost and Verdict

I paid £190 from eBay - plus £20 for a case. I reckon that's a bargain! There are cheaper eReaders out there - but this is the only one I found with USB-C. It doesn't tie you in to the Amazon Kindle monoculture.

As an Android table, it's basically fine. Good enough for occasional web browsing, and some specifically optimised apps.

And as a book reader? Close to perfect! Text is crisp and clear, page turns are instant. Lots of options to fiddle with to get your books just right.

One thing that annoys me about the Nook is the fact that you have to register for a Barnes & Nobel account before you can use it. I dislike their geo-restrictive terms and conditions, and the fact that they place advertising on my home screen. I also don't particularly want my reading habits fed back to anyone. No one needs to know that I like reading Star Trek slash fiction, and that I've read chapter 5 of "Spock ♥ Tribbles" seventeen times.

So, here's the quick illustrated guide to running your nook without a bn.com account. There's no scary hacking, formatting of SD cards, or fiddling with computers. This is a ten second hack which just involves tapping a few buttons on your Nook. This works with the original Nook Simple Touch Reader and the new one with GlowLight.

Step 1

Charge your Nook fully. Switch it on using the button on the back. Do not begin the setup process.

Step 2

Hold down the top right page turn button. While holding down the button, swipe the top of the screen from left to right. Release the top right button.

Step 3

A "Factory" button will appear on screen. Press it and you'll be taken to this "Factory" screen.

Step 4

Again, hold down the top right button. While doing so, tap the bottom right corner. A "Skip Oobe" button will appear. Oobe - stands for "Out of box experience".

Step 5

Press the button! Go on, you know you want to :-) You will be instantly rewarded with a homescreen with no adverts and no requirement to sign up for a bn.com account.

Step 6

Enjoy!

V0.47 was released on 12th March 2010. The previous firmware (V0.41) was released on 18th January 2010. The next release should include note taking functionality.

You may be interested in part 1 and part 2 of my review.

This firmware update resolves some issues when processing very large eBooks, word wrapping issues and some minor bugs with symbols. You can now mount the eBook on Linux - I don't know about Mac. It also adds a new menu item "Digital Editions" for any DRM'd eBooks you may have rented.

New features!

Search with ePubs.
Jump directly to chapters within ePubs (Menu - See List).
Search within PDFs.
The system font looks clearer to me.
The default font is smaller and clearer
Auto Shutdown is can now be set to 40 minutes, 60 minutes or never.
Let me know in the comments if you spot any more!

So, how do you install the new firmware?

1. Download the .zip file from Elonex.
2. Unzip the file - there will be two files inside update.bin and update.cde.
3. Plug your 511EB into your computer via the USB cable (or insert the microSD card into your computer)
4. Place these two files in the root directory of your SD card.  This means the very top directory.
   

   Root Folder

5. Unmount the eReader or SD card.  Place the microSD card back in the reader.
6. From the main menu of your 511EB go to "5 Settings"
7. Press the right arrow twice, then the down arrow twice so you're on "System Maintenance".
   

   511EB System Maintenance Screen

8. Press "1" to update the firmware.
9. Here's a video of what happens
10. Your reader is now updated!

I updated from the orignal software, which was

System ver: 2.21

Software ver: 0.35

My eReader now shows

Hardware ver: 2.21

System ver: 0.47

Software ver: 0.47

If you have any problems, you can call Elonex on 0871 222 3456

Run VT, Errol!

Startup Screen

Click to download full size

I've set my startup screen to show my phone number and email address. Combined with the startup password, it's a fairly simple way to protect your device and hopefully get it back if lost. Of course, all of your books can be taken from the SD card - so make sure you've got a backup!

Click on the above image to download the file. Edit it to show your details then save it to the root directory of your SD card as "start.jpg". Unplug your reader and press "5" Settings. Press the right arrow twice. Press down twice to select "System Maintenance". Then press "3" Startup Pic. If it has found the file, press enter to confirm. You can always change your image again to anything you like.

Screen Refresh

The refresh rate is extremely fast. This is because it uses a "Partial" refresh rather than the traditional "Global" refresh. The advantage of this is speed, and you don't get the momentary inverted screen that you do on other readers. The disadvantage is that you can - if you look very very closely - see the faint trace of an after-image. You can just about make out the ghosts of previous letters. Even after 50 page turns, they aren't distracting - but you can hit the refresh button on the keyboard to make them go away. You can also go into the settings menu and set the screen refresh to "Global".

Bugs

• Some have noticed that the 511EB displays Chinese characters where it should be displaying accented European characters like á - this is due to the way files are saved. If they are in UTF-8 format, all characters display correctly.

• The typesetting is a little off. It doesn't force a hyphen into words like a traditional book (this is a good thing), but it breaks the line at any punctuation.

As you can see, when I say " That's a nice book." the line wraps at the wrong place. It' s slightly annoying.

• On the default set of books, some of the words run together. It's arguable whether this is a bug in the book file or the reader - either way, it should have been fixed during QA before release.
• Searching for books works, but looks like it doesn't. Because there are no numbers by the files, it's not immediately obvious what you have to do in order to select them. The search box takes up the first two "rows", so to select the first book it finds, press "3". For the second, press "4" - and so on.
• Text-To-Speech is a nice gimmick, searching within a book is very useful. Yet they're both absent from PDFs and the hugely popular EPUB formats. I cannot fathom it. They're both rendered as text on the screen - so what's stopping the reader from searching and speeking?
• Mac and Linux compatibility. This is a Windows CE device - but there's no reason for it not to work on other operating systems. If a simple card reader from PoundLand can work, there's no reason why this cannot. Removing the card isn't hard, but it's an annoyance for those of us not on Windows.
• The keyboard is slightly wasted. There is no note taking facility. The password screen only accepts numbers. Yes, it works, but it could be so much more. The placement of the Delete key is odd. It's next to the spacebar. I'm used to the delete key being above the enter key. On this model, that's the cancel key. So, rather than deleting a character, I often find myself cancelling.
• The Title Bar shows the title of the book you're reading. Fair enough. But it truncates it for no apparent reason. So, if your book is titled "Lewis Caroll - Alice in Wonderland", all you'll see is "Lewis Caroll - A..."
• The truncating is present on the Bookcase. If your books are titled "Cory Doctorow - Ander's Game" and "Cory Doctorow - After the Siege", all you'll see is "Cory Doctorow - A..." - good luck working out which is which! The solution is to save books in folders. So, for example, I have

|-- e_book | |-- Cory Doctorow | | |-- Ander's Game.txt | | |-- After the Siege.epub | |-- Lewis Caroll | | |-- Alice in Wonderland.txt | | |-- Alice Through the Looking Glass.epub

• PDF zoom. PDF is a rubbish format for an ebook. The page paradigm really doesn't work when you're on a screen. When the 511EB zooms in to a PDF, the page down button litterally takes you to the next page - not the next part of the page you're on. You have to use the arrow keys to scroll around the page.

Finally, there's no screen rotation. To be honest, this isn't a feature I'd ever use - but some people like to have it.

Conclusion

As I said before, this is a cheap and cheerful ebook reader. The speed of page turning speed is impressive. EPUBs and PDFs work well, but missing some of the extra features like searching and Text-To-Speech. It handles large files - although performance takes a slight hit. The build quality is what you would expect, a bit cheap and plasticy. But it only weighs 190 grammes. The quality of the keyboard is sufficient and the display is as good as any other eReader.

A Word on Waterstone's

Given the number of bugs (admittedly, fairly minor) it seems odd that Waterstone's are heavily promoting this model. My local shop has 3 rather prominent displays. To dedicate so much space without even testing the unit takes some bravado. They have taken over half of their window display.

511EB in the window of Waterstone's

They have a whole book case devoted to the unit.

Heavily Promoted

They're also putting it up against the much more expensive Sony eReaders.

Dummy Model

Yet they're not as committed to this as you may think. There are no working models on display. With the Sonys, you can try them out, see if they're fast enough, explore their menus - the lowly 511EB gets a cardboard dummy.

The majority of questions people have asked me could have been answered by having a working model. The Waterstone's website is also full of people asking basic questions. Questions which really should have been preemptively answered on the site. I've registered with the site so I can answer some of them, but a device like this deserves more information up front. Elonex - the reseller of this device from Hanvon - have committed to firmware updates. I hope, for Waterstone's sake, that they come out quickly and regularly. Otherwise, Waterstone's will face a lot of angry customers and will set back the progress of eReader adoption.

Ebook readers are the latest in a long line of "written-word" technology. From clay tablet to papyrus to the printing press, humans have always found better ways of displaying words. The latest innovation is e-Ink. A remarkable material which simulates the look and feel of paper - but where the display is controlled by microelectronics.

As a book lover, I've been eager to get my hands on a Kindle, or nook, or Sony eReader - but they're all prohibitively expensive. Until now. Waterstones - a leading book retailer in the UK - has started selling the Elonex 511EB. An eReader with the retail price of £129.99. Now, that's not quite as cheap as paper - but it's around half the cost of the Kindle.

Unboxing

The Elonex 511EB.

You also get a quickstart quide, a USB cable and iPhone-esque white earphones. The device comes with a 4GB micro SD card (Sandisk branded) - enough for around 8000 books. There are 100 free eBooks included - you can also download them directly from Elonex.

What's In The Box

Cost

I won a £20 Waterstones voucher in the Times' Cheltnam Microfiction Competition - so the cost for me was £110. You can also sign up to Waterstones' loyalty card - which will net you 389 points. That's £3.89 off any subsequent purchase.  At a shade over £100 it's certainly the cheapest eReader I've found.  It lacks some of the features of its high-priced cousins - no wireless, no touch screen, smaller screen.  But, to my mind, that's not a problem.

Features

Here's a run-down of some of the more interesting features of the device.

• Text-to-speech.  A synthetic voice will read in English, Mandarin or Cantonese.  The voice can be set to male or female.  It's not the best TTS I've encountered, but it's adequate.
• Memo recorder. As well as a QWERTY keyboard for you to write your own novel on, there's a built in microphone so you can record any thoughts you might have.
• Format support.  The device will render TXT, HTXT(?), HTML, PDF, ePub and DOC.  It admits that complex DOC and PDF may not render correctly.  It has Adobe Digital Editions support should you wish to read a DRM'd eBook.
• SDHC.  The device comes with a 4GB microSD card and will take up to 32GB.  That's probably more books than you could read in a lifetime - but leaves plenty of room for...
• Music playback. MP3, WAV and WMA. It doesn't say what bitrates etc it supports.  No support for OGG, which is a disappointment.  The two speakers on the back are loud enough - but aren't going to be replacing your HiFi.  The headphone socket is a standard 3.5mm jack.
• 

  MP3 Screen

• Picture support for JPG, TIFF, PNG, GIF and BMP.  Obviously it's only a black and white screen with 8 levels of grey.  You can set one of your images to be the start-up screen.
• Security. You can set a password if you're worried about it being lost or stolen.
• The screen is 800*600 at 170dpi.  The refresh rate seems a mite quicker than the more expensive screens - but only a mite.
• The device shows as a mass-storage device when plugged in to a computer - so there's no software to install on your Mac or PC. I did have some troubles with Linux - see the bugs section.
• There's a lock button at the top.  It also has the usual array of eReader functions - bookmarks, text search, remembering your last position, font size changing.  It comes with two built in fonts - Arial and Times.
• Lots of settings to play around with.

Bugs

For a device this cheap, there are bound to be one or two gremlins.  There's support in the device for firmware upgrade - so hopefully Elonex will fix them.  Incidentally, eReaders like this usually run Linux.  There's no mention of it on the box and Elonex doesn't link to any GPL'd sources - so maybe it's running a totally custom OS. Update! Pdurrant at the MobileRead forums notes that this is a rebadged version of the WISEreader N520 - a device made by Hanvon and running WinCE 5.0.

Firstly, it doesn't seem to handle non-standard characters very well. The "é" in "Les Misérables" is rendered as Chinese character. (The text is a lot more crisp than my scanner can show)

Character Encoding Bug

Text doesn't flow very well in text files. It takes all the line breaks a literal breaks in the text - as you can see here.

Text Flow Bug

This is particularly bad in HTML as you can see here.

Alicehastextflowissues

When we take a look at the HTML, we can see the issue.

Alice's Adventures in HTML

The line breaks here are ignored which leads words to run in to each other. This is the fault of the HTML file - but this shouldn't have got through quality control.

Linux support. I'm one of those crazy people who runs Ubuntu Linux. The 511EB should just show as a USB drive when plugged in. It doesn't. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I can't get it to show up. The SD card is removable so you can get access to the files that way.

File System

It's a little inconvenient - but it did lead me to this discovery...

Beneath a rubber flap is the microSD card and a rather strange looking port. It may well be a micro USB connector - the new standard for charging mobile phones - or it could be something proprietary.

micro usb?

There's no manual. Most of the features are self explanatory - but for those who don't like exploring a device, it wouldn't have been any effort to include a manual on the device.

Verdict

This is a great device.  It is missing a few of the features of the Kindle - but at this price point, who cares?  Sure, no one wants to throw away £100 - but if you left this on a train, you wouldn't be half as upset as if you'd lost an eReader costing £250.

The e-Ink screen is made by Prime View International - they're the same company who make Sony's eReader screens.  So the quality of the screen is really good.  It has a crisp display - once you've set the fonts to your preference - and a quick refresh rate.  Like all e-Ink screens, it can be read in direct sunlight.  There's no backlight, so you'll need a torch if you want to read under the covers.

There are a few bugs - but they're not show stoppers.  Hopefully there will be some updates to the firmware.

If all it did was display text - it would be a bargain.  Considering it plays music, has text-to-speech, has a full keyboard for note taking AND a microphone, it's a lot of kit for very little cash.

I haven't exhaustively used the device - so I may be missing something that's important to you.  Please leave a comment if you'd like to know anything specific about it.

Waterstones

I'm a little disappointed to have to write this review.  But the information on Watersons' website is woefully inadequate.  Would it have been too much effort to link to a manual, explain what file formats it supported, or had several pictures of the device?  I bought this from a physical store where they didn't even have a working device on display - only a cardboard model.  If retailers are serious about selling high-tech kit, they need to ensure that all the information a customer needs is available to them.

Who would spend over £100 on a device without first seeing a detail spec-sheet? I hope this review has given you enough information to make your mind up about this device.

Read part 2 of the review.