REB 1200

[Jenny Levine]

	I just returned from the Best Buy in Countryside, Illinois (in 
case anyone on the list lives nearby) and they have one REB 1200 in 
stock.  They only received one, so they haven't sold any yet.  It's kept in 
the locked case behind the computer service desk (along with the hard 
drives and memory) so it's certainly not out where anyone could chance 
upon it or find it on their own.  Because of this, it was annoying that I 
had to wait for a salesperson to free up to open the case for me.
	I played with it for about five minutes and it is definitely an
improvement over the Rocketbooks.  The only titles loaded on it were a 
Jules Verne novel and the standard dictionary, so I couldn't really test 
how images looked.  The software seems more Windows-like, so it is a 
little more familiar.  In addition to the adjustable settings for 
backlight and font size, there is now a setting for ink thickness, but 
this didn't substantially change my ability to read the screen.
	I was more impressed by the 1200 than I thought I would be (the 
store hasn't even received the 1100), but I'm a perfect target audience 
for them and I still wouldn't buy one.  $700 is just way too much for a 
device like that (especially a dedicated one) and the fact that I can't 
load my own documents on it is insane.
	I'd love to get a look at the eBookmans because the REBs just 
aren't worth it.

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Jenny Levine					125 Tower Drive
Internet Development Specialist			Burr Ridge, IL 60521
Suburban Library System				+1 (630) 734 5141
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/			levinej at sls.lib.il.us