Franklin EBM-911 eBookMan (Translucent Graphite)

Rating:
Summary: excellent (if you ONLY use it to read ebooks)
Review: After a looong wait Franklin finally gave the ebookman a decent OS, that allows you to put ebooks on the (optional) memory card. It's now a decent ebook reader, even if the screen still reflects light like a mirror. If the only thing you want to do with your handheld is read ebooks, this is a nice machine! With an optional 64Mb card (dirt cheap now) you can put hundreds of books in this unit. Those who also want a personal planner or even worse an MP3 machine, please buy something else (the ebookman can do it but how..........).

Rating:
Summary: Had one, lost it, now I bought a Palm
Review: I had the same problems with the Ebookman. There wasn't enough room to download a whole book, which to me was very inconvenient. I also wanted to use the voice recording feature that they advertised, but it was never available the whole time I had my unit. I also had the same problem every time I changed batteries, about once a month. Lost EVERYTHING everytime. I emailed and talked to Franklin people numerous times, but nothing changed. Then I lost it.....serendipitous? Perhaps. Now I have a Palm M105 on the way.

Rating:
Summary: Was going great
Review: I bought this product for my husband for his Birthday. He loves it. Takes it with him everywhere. Yes, 8mb of memory is not enough to get the most out of the bookman. Things were going along fine - until he replaced the batteries!!! Now it doesn't work. Upon going to the Franklin website, he is not the only person with this problem. Apparantly it must be some kind of defect with the product. Now I'm not sure what to do.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I purchased this device to use as a ebook reader. The screen glares so badly I cannot read it. The fonts are not really adjustable. It is difficult and slow to try to turn a page. All the other features are really great, audible book player is is good and address book etc. The display was a big dissapointment.

Rating:
Summary: Buy a Palm
Review: I read mixed reviews on the ebookman. I should have listened. I'm sorry, but this thing is a piece of junk. I have a Palm M500 too, and it is GREAT! The ebook reader in the Palm system is much better, IMO. The ebookman will conk out for no reason, and then you have to reload everything. Batteries go dead, reload everything. It would make a great paperweight. Buy a Palm, be happy.

Rating:
Summary: eBookman Great For Me
Review: I love it. I've been a palm user for a couple of years, but I never really used the product much. With my ebookman, I get my phone book synced just like palm, but I also get reading material and other stuff that is nice to have when i'm stuck waiting in an office or something. the larger screen and the page turning button are perfect for short reading materials. I can sync for a short edition of newsweek and other news and I have some other books that are good for down time. the audio books are great.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of potential but limited value.
Review: I purchased the EMB-911 for the size as it has a larger screen than my palm for reading; however, the backlight is really bad and for someone who has visual impairments, would be impossible. I also did not like the constant hummmmmm from the unit when I was using it. Having been a proud owner of one of the first Rocket ebooks, I expected similar quality, but was sadly disappointed. I hope that in a year, this product will be improved and there will be more applications available to compete with the Palm OS. I wish that I could use all my wonderful Palm applications on the EBM!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Idea!
Review: I've had my Franklin EBM-900 for just over a week now and I and happy with it! I really have only a couple of complaints with it. First 8mb is not quite enough memory for this device. Second some of the free e-Books that are available from Franklin do not download as complete copies. Some of them stop a few pages before the end of the book. Some of the books offered take up far too much memory and are not practical choices. I'm glad I did not splurge for the 901 with the backlight as in my case I don't need one. Some people may want to get the 901. I like some of the features such as the stalagmite game which is supposed to help you become used to writing on the display, I admit some letters are still difficult for me to write on it. I have yet to try some of the programs on it, such as the address book and the memo, but I will try them soon. So far I am still on the first set of batteries, so no problems there, The only real difficulty now is having to wait the Eight weeks for the rebate to arrive. Meanwhile I think I'll go buy an MMC for it. As I said before 8mb is just not enough, but then what do I expect for $...??? All in all the Franklin EBM-900 is a good idea. The Audible books sound fine on it, music sounds okay on it, I can't comment on the Franklin e-Books that you have to purchase for it, as I only have a free download of a dictionary to look at, adding items to the 900 is quite easy the manager and the device do all the work, I just click on the item I want to add the the eBookman and it gets added, just as long as there is enough memory available for it that is. Do I regret buying the 900? No I like my little e-Bookman. One suggestion to the folks at Franklin, how about a few more color choices?

Rating:
Summary: This product is not for the visually impaired
Review: The idea behind this product is great. I was excited to see that there was a portable e-book reader, but was disappointed when I recieved it. I have a visual impairment and simply could not read the display. It was hard for me to see. I think I would have enjoyed the product if it had a larger screen and text inlarging ability. I am not saying that this is a bad product because it is a great idea. I just wish that Franklin would make a larger book sized model. A Model the size of a Bible or a Guidepost magizine would be nice. Come to think of it, a PDA from Palm, Handspring, etc would be nice as well with larger displays and text enlargement on ALL screens. :)

Rating:
Summary: 4 +
Review: I received my Franklin Ebookman earlier this week and I think it is fantastic! After spending three hours trying unsuccessfully to download the OS system, I contacted the Franklin Live Tech Support. I got an immediate answer and then was switched from instant messaging to phone call where the tech talked me thru some of the problems I was experiencing. I have to give Franklin's support 4 stars also. In addition to the live support there are answers to lots of troubleshooting questions which were very helpful. I've downloaded and printed out the User's Guide and it has been very helpful also. I had several books on diskettes I have been unable to read because you need to sit at your computer and without any problems I was able to download them to the ebookman - Franklin Viewer. After finally finding that the little wheel on the side of the ebookman is a better way to turn pages than using the stylus - I have been enjoying reading my books. The only negative I have to give is the glass screen which catches the glare from the overhead lights - if they could come up with an anti-glare screen and Microsoft Reader compatibility - the ebookman would be well worth the money spent. As it stands without those two things - I still do not regret that I spent the money on it. The only other negative is that I am still waiting for... special offer of case, stylus, and earphones. This did not come with the ebookman as advertised.