Rating: 
Summary: Nifty but not quite there
Review: The eBookman is a nifty little package with a slim profile but a large screen so graphics and text are easily readable. It has the basic features of a PDA (address, to do, memo), an easy to learn and reliable natural handwriting recognition system, plus additional features (the best of which is that it can play MP3s). In spite of this, its irritating to find out that, after loading in all its applications, there is barely enough memory to load in additional content (eBooks, MP3s, AudioBooks). No wonder its memory is expandable ... for the right price. Plus, it uses as a power source 2 AAA batteries which, as Ive found out, lasts less than two weeks before you have to replace them. Worse of all, if you're unlucky enough to not replace the empty batteries within 1 minute, you'll lose everything loaded in the eBookman including the OS. When this happens, its back to square one for you and you'll just have to reload the OS, applications and backup data from your PC.
Rating: 
Summary: Waiting for Franklin...
Review: The Franklin EMB-901 has a lot going for it. I like its price, size, weight, screen, and wheel control. Unfortunately it has one significant strike against it: Franklin... The latest operating system, released early in May, was buggier than the one before it. Every time I change the batteries, I lose the memory; as another reviewer pointed out, this means you can't take the 901 with you on vacation unless you bring the PC you need to "synch" new reading material. The new operating system also screwed up the Franklin Viewer, a text reader, which was already full of bugs; now it refuses to display the second half of text files longer than 100 pages or so.... At any rate, the 901 may not quite be ready for primetime, but thanks to enterprising third parties like Mobipocket, it may still have a future. Until Franklin fixes the operating system, however, I would say stay away unless you have the time and patience of an early adopter. There's a reason the company is now throwing in extras like the leather case and extra styli...
Rating:
Summary: Getting better
Review: The Good: - Outlook synchronization built in (costs extra on a Palm Pilot) - Larger screen than anything else for even twice the price - Free MobiReader software to make reading text and HTML files much easier - Plays MP3s (although you'll need more RAM to do so) - Plays Audible.com files (in low RAM even) - Nice fast USB connection - Free MobiReader software available on the net to make reading text and HTML files much easier - Free developers kits for software and content (not for wimps) - Franklin seems committed to making it the best it can be - Lots of potentialThe Bad: - The OS takes up about 3M of the 8M RAM. This leaves plenty left over for apps and data, but forget MP3s without more RAM. - Known problems with USB timing on VIA chipsets. This isn't the only device to see this problem (my Kodak camera does too), but it seems to be fixed with the OS version 1.04 that just came out. - Backlight really only useful when it's dark out, not just dim - No OS out of the box, so you have to hit the website before you can play with it. This also means demo models in stores often won't be functional except for the running demo. - The sound recorder program is still in development, but is supposed to be out this Spring. - The Microsoft Reader program is also still in development, but is also supposed to be available very soon, - Included reader for non-Franklin format is crappy (use Mobireader) Overall Conclusion: Depsite some problems, I've been pretty happy with my 901 for the week I've had it. I wouldn't buy the 911, since for the price difference you can get a 32M RAM upgrade for the 901 from Sandisk over the internet. I wouldn't pay Franklin's RAM prices, since you can get the Sandisk MMC cards for less than HALF of that. I would also buy some rechargable batteries for it.
Rating:
Summary: Device has lots of capabilities...
Review: This is an amazingly capable device. In just a couple of hours, I was able to install applications, build a text book from a project Gutenberg source, download and read current news articles and listen to an audio book from audio.com. If the device has a weak point, it is the handwriting recognition. I vaguely prefer graffiti. Physically, the device seems much more "together" than the early Palm Pilots did. .
Rating: 
Summary: The best PDA ever!
Review: This PDA/ebook is the best handheld I've ever had. Forget those expensive Palm Pilots and personal PCs. This works better than any other! I recently found this software that allows me to read word, excel, and powerpoint on my ebookman. I've never been so satisfied!
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea, poor execution
Review: This product is a real disappointment. I received my EbookMan this past Friday and spent the weekend attempting to loan the operating system. It never worked as promised. The included installation materials were a joke, the instructions, such as they were, had to be written by a committee of 3 year olds. If you wanted complete documentation, you had to download 150+ pages. Not that it would have helped all that much. By Sunday afternoon, I decided that the EbookMan was not worth the hassle and will send it back to the retailer. Franklin should not have rushed this product out to the public before it was ready. Their reputation will be tarnished and the ebook segment will be hurt again by poor product.
Rating:
Summary: Good for the price.
Review: This product stinks. Typically, the documentation is not written in standard English, but in some cyber-patois that no civilized person understands. Their support material is exhaustive and exhausting and solves no user problem. I bought it primarily for book reading and, so far, have not been able to access a single one. The "desktop manager" tells me the "synchronization" went ok, but that proves to be false. The stories I downloaded are nowhere to be found. I look under Franklin Reader and find nothing. I look under Mobi Reader and find the same. I don't need another calculator, or memo book, or solitaire game, or voice recorder, or mp3 player, or phone book. I wanted a portable library for fiction, nonfiction, whatever, and this gadget will not give it to me. If you remember the Seinfeld episode in which the foreign professor threw the electronic organizer out the window, you have an idea of what I feel like doing with this thing. I bought it from a clearance company on ebay for 50 bucks, so it's not a huge loss. But I did want an ebook reader. Apparently, there are a lot of ebooks online for the taking (or buying), but I'll never see them, not with the Franklin ebookman anyway. And I'm certainly not going in search of another device. Once burned, twice shy!
Rating:
Summary: How about a hammer for a stylus?
Review: This product stinks. Typically, the documentation is not written in standard English, but in some cyber-patois that no civilized person understands. Their support material is exhaustive and exhausting and solves no user problem. I bought it primarily for book reading and, so far, have not been able to access a single one. The "desktop manager" tells me the "synchronization" went ok, but that proves to be false. The stories I downloaded are nowhere to be found. I look under Franklin Reader and find nothing. I look under Mobi Reader and find the same. I don't need another calculator, or memo book, or solitaire game, or voice recorder, or mp3 player, or phone book. I wanted a portable library for fiction, nonfiction, whatever, and this gadget will not give it to me. If you remember the Seinfeld episode in which the foreign professor threw the electronic organizer out the window, you have an idea of what I feel like doing with this thing. I bought it from a clearance company on ebay for 50 bucks, so it's not a huge loss. But I did want an ebook reader. Apparently, there are a lot of ebooks online for the taking (or buying), but I'll never see them, not with the Franklin ebookman anyway. And I'm certainly not going in search of another device. Once burned, twice shy!
Rating:
Summary: Great idea, poor execution
Review: Though the concept of the eBookMan is appealing, Franklin's execution is nothing short of a nightmare. The instructions were nil, and I had to get a tech-oriented friend over to help me set it up. When I finally got my eBook set up, I expected good results, but, take note, potential customers: NOTHING IS FREE. Now, I have no problem paying for a book for my reader, just as I would for one in a store. But the disturbing incident here is how Franklin has run up the cost of even the most basic applications (solitaire is $..., a scientific calculator $...!) Though I've had no problems with battery life, memory is a whole 'nother question. One mp3 file takes up 2/3 of the 901's memory! This basically makes ownership of this product not at all feasible unless you drop another $... on a 64 MB memory card and books. If you have a hectic life or are expecting to only have to pay for books post-buy, this is not for you. Please don't make the mistake I did in wasting my money on this product.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I hoped
Review: Unfortunately, my experience with the EbookMan was not so good. I find that it lacks many features and has a few bugs: 1). When the backlight is turned on, it has a loud and very annoying high pitched sound, I don't think I could use it at night. 2). The screen quality is quite poor, it seems blotchy, and there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust the contrast. 3). Although the franklin viewer is advertised as being able to read HTML files, every time I try to load one, it hangs. 4). The fact that the developer's kit for books is a technical nightmare for users who are not programmers, makes it impossibe to create books. 5). No really useful manual comes with the unit, everything must be downloaded. 6).It appears that only multimedia files can be loaded on to the expansion card. 7). The ergonomics and case quality are quite poor. I recently purchased an RCA Ebook, which for a little more money is a far superior product, having adjustable contrast, adjustable backlight, a good book developer (which is very easy to use), an excellent ergonomic feel, and a quality case and design.
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