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| RCA eBook Reader (REB1100) | 
 enlarge | Brand: RCA
Category: CE
Buy Used: $79.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Media: Electronics
Modem: Modem (analog)
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
MPN: REB1100
Model: REB1100
UPC: 034909091531
EAN: 0034909091531
ASIN: B00005T3UH
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Fully functional REB1100 ebook. Has necessary micro-USB cable and original manual. Missing original power supply -- will include one constructed by electronics tech that does the job.
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| Features:
| • | eBook digital reader | | • | 8 MB memory, expandable to 72 MB with Smart Media Card | | • | 33.6 Kbps (V.34) modem included | | • | Monochrome LCD display | | • | Built-in rechargable lithium battery; comes with stylus, power adapter, phone cord, USB cable and more |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
eBook 1100 is simple. It is portable, compact and easy to use. There is no need for a PC when you use its built in modem. It's flexible. Use the touch screen to access your latest selection on your eBook or your personal bookshelf. It adapts to you. Change the font size, adjust the back light or the screen orientation. Loads of eBook titles are available. Choose Gemstar eBook titles from authors like Stephen King or Patricia Cornwell or select a magazine or newspaper issue like the New York Times.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Great eBook reader March 19, 2008
I'll let great functions & reviews speak for themselves - the is reader is good. I liked being able to read in car or at night with back light and larger font (which is adjustable). Reader doesn't quite "feel" like a book, but close enough to fill the need to hold a book instead of laptop for reading.
I downloaded a FREE copy of the old Gemstar-Rocket Reader library program which DOES have ROCKET WRITER to convert non-proprietary Word and HTML to RB format for reading; so was thrilled that most of my eBooks DID convert to be able to read on this reader. I'm not a geek and found this easy to do - all you need is the extra time & space on PC for conversion. REB 1100 came with its own Librarian program for PC storage of eBooks; so I used the PC and REB Librarian not the phone connection for my book downloads & storage.
The only difficulty I found with converted books is sometimes the spacing was different in the conversion. (I found this with Mobipocket conversions, too; so was not surprised)
excellent ebook reader April 11, 2006
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have this unit (purchased on eBay a couple of years ago) as well as the original Nuvomedia Rocket eBook. I purchased this device only because I was concerned that one day my original Rocket would stop recharging. That's the reason for 4 stars: proprietary, non-replaceable battery. However, battery life is excellent. With backlighting set at 20%, I get 8-12 hours of reading on a charge. That's enough for a flight from Chicago to Tokyo. So far, both my devices are still holding a charge just fine.
The backlight is the biggest drain on the battery. At 100%, you can use the reader to light your way down a dark hall. Imagine what that does to your eyes when reading! I find that 20% is sufficient to make up for most odd lighting conditions where you can't read the screen without backlighting. Too bad E-Ink technology wasn't around when they were still making this device.
As a boon to those of us with aging eyes, you can download any TrueType font currently installed on your PC (unfortunately for us Mac folks, this device's software is PC-only; this device is the main reason I keep a PC in the house), at any size. You can choose two different typefaces to keep in the reader, and each can be a different size.
The buttons to advance from page to page are large and well-placed. You can decide which one is 'forward' and which is 'backward.' (I prefer the bottom button to advance pages.) You can also decide which orientation works best for you: buttons on the left or the right with the screen vertical, or buttons at the top or bottom with the screen horizontal. This is handy because the reader can get a little heavy if you're holding it one-handed. If I read while eating, I like to orient the screen with the buttons at the top; the battery 'bump' serves as a stand, holding the reader at an angle I can see without craning my head.
If you keep the supplied dictionary loaded, you can look up words in a story as you read it. You can add 'margin notes' if you like, although they don't appear alongside the text. The note is attached to a highlighted section of text, and touching the highlight opens a window with the note in it. There's a bookmarking facility, as well. This isn't necessary if you keep the story loaded in the reader until you finish it; every time you come back, the reader is on the page you last read. However, bookmarking is useful if you want to unload the story before finishing. Just connect the reader to your PC, launch the librarian software, and let it update itself with the data in the book. The bookmarks and notes will transfer to the librarian, and then back to the reader when you reload the story.
The unit's built-in 8mb of memory is sufficient for dozens of short stories as well as several full-length novels. I have a 128mb SmartMedia card installed so that I can carry a lot more novels while traveling.
There is a certain paucity of material available for download nowadays, unfortunately. Baen Books supports the REB format for science fiction, and Fictionwise sells short stories, novellas and full-length books of various types. However, the major publishers -- and thus the major booksellers -- dropped the format when Gemstar (which bought the device from Nuvomedia) scrapped the readers because it was no longer possible to make REB format files that were encrypted to a specific reader. (You know how most publishers love their DRM. After all, we're just slavering pirates waiting for the opportunity to bootleg their books. Makes you wonder why publishing houses aren't organizing protests in front of libraries and photocopier manufacturing plants.)
Fortunately, the original RocketLibrarian software and the later eBook Librarian software will convert text into the unencrypted version REB format. You use a subset of HTML commands for formatting, and can run just straight through from start to end or break it up into chapters, with links at the end of each to the table of contents or the next/previous chapter. It just depends on how detailed you want to get with the HTML code.
And because HTML is the lingua franca for creating your own REB files, you can pull down Web pages and convert them, too. However, this works best with pages that stick with simple HTML and don't have dozens of advertising links. The librarian software ignores any code it doesn't understand, but it will follow links to other pages if you tell it to, which can lead to huge files, and not necessarily organized in any fashion that makes sense. Where copyright law stands on this, I can't say. Suffice to say that doing this to a Web page so you can read it at your leisure and then delete it is probably okay. Passing the file around to other people, whether or not you charge anything, is probably not okay.
Connection to your computer is via USB cable. It's a nonstandard connection at the reader end. There's also a built-in modem, which was once used to connect directly to Gemstar's bookstore; as far as I know, it's of no use now.
As of today (11 April 2006), you can still download the librarian software, which will let you create unencrypted REB files, at this site: http://www.rocket-ebook.com/Readers/Software/index.html. However, Gemstar has stated that they will completely close all ebook operations as of 16 July 2006 (http://www.gemstar-ebook.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/eBookstore.woa/wa/default?56,7). Quite likely, this page will then disappear.
All in all, this is an excellent ebook reader. It's easy to use, has good battery life, and with the appropriate librarian software, will let you add your own content to your library. Reading material is available for sale, if not necessarily the bestsellers. You might prefer a regular hardback to sit around the house -- I still buy them; just ask Amazon! -- but for travel, this device is ideal. Highly recommended, while it's still available.
A Great Device March 6, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Why would someone write a review online for a product that has not been produced for over 3 years? Two reasons. One, I really do love this unit and believe it is the closest to a workable model for and Ebook reader yet. Second, I wrote my Masters thesis on this topic so I have had to spend far too much time looking at the market and usage of these devices.
This is the direct descendent of the Rocket Ebook by Nuvomedia. The REB 1100 from Gemstar was the first unit released by Gemstar after they bought both Nuvomedia and Softbook. The REB 1100 is the product of the Nuvomedia purchase and the REB 1200 is the product of the Softbook purchase. The REB 1200 is a nice unit with color and all kinds of extras. The problem is that the unit was heavy, battery power was inadequate and the ability to create your own content was minimal.
The REB 1100 allowed you to create content, although you had to use other software, and easily transfer purchased and user created data from the PC to the REB 1100. The unit was significantly lighter then the original Rocket Ebook with minimal battery life loss. The battery still could last a good 20 hours with backlight turned on. The unit also has a SD slot to expand memory up to an additional 128 MB of RAM. Even the native 8 MB holds 10 novels easily.
The REB1100 was followed with the REB1150. The REB 1150 was a similar unit but it made the creation of user content for the device more difficult and moved the repository for content online versus on your PC. The REB 1150 is no longer manufactured under that name either and Gemstar has shutdown Ebook operations several years ago. Recently the REB 1150 has been repacked and is being sold under a different name by an online Ebook vendor.
I still own 3 of these and use them all the time. There are a number of other devices being released summer of 2006 that claim to do similar things but only time will tell if they are as versatile as the REB 1100 was. The truth of how great a product this is can be seen by the fact that the resale price of these units continues to climb as the years progress. If you can get your hands on one of these I doubt you will be disappointed.
Do not believe the hype February 25, 2006
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
To address a previous poster's concerns - they are baseless - this unit works fine with HTML, TXT and other formats.
First off, there's the issue with software. Here are links to websites that provide software that will create rocketbook documents
[...]
The Rocketwriter will convert html documents and text files to the rocketbook format. The Publisher is a more advanced tool, allowing for font selection, etc. The final link is for open source software that can grab webpages for the device.
So I have no idea where the previous poster got their ideas from.
About the product:
Its lightweight, the batteries last a very long between charges, despite 8mb of internal memory, many many ebooks can be stored.
It is totally possible to use available tools to convert PDF's, word documents and LIT files for use with this device. Just google it.
DON'T Upgrade the REB 1100!! November 6, 2004
29 out of 32 found this review helpful
Just a note to future readers -
If you take Gemstar up on their offer to "upgrade" this model you will receive some nice new features, however what they don't tell you is that your machine will become PROPRIETARY! All the books you had before will become unreadable and your ebook will only be able to "read" Gemstar books in the future. This means you are force to buy all future books from the Gemstar catalog only!
The new features that come with this upgrade to the 1150 model are hardly worth being locked into one ebook vendor forever. The openness of this little model is it's beauty - it's the last one of it's kind, as all future models are proprietary.
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