This review is from: Sharper Image Literati Wireless Reader (Electronics)
I bought this Literati from woot.com for a little less than $50. I already own a Kindle 3, but I had read a number of reviews before buying this one and wasn’t expecting it to compare favorably to my Kindle. I purchased the Literati mainly for my kids to use since I am loathe to let my Kindle out of my hands.
My initial reaction upon receiving the Literati was that it is a nicer package than I expected. It comes with a well-designed, protective case – a big plus since a case is essential. The Literati feels flimsier than my Kindle and I suspect it wouldn’t survive being dropped very often. The keyboard at the bottom is adequate, but the navigation wheel is woefully small. Since you use the nav wheel heavily, this is a big issue. I began using the eraser end of a pencil almost immediately for this.
The wifi setup was easy, and it picked up all the wireless networks in my neighborhood immediately. Please note: your wireless router must be set to broadcast your SSID. If not, there is no way to manually set up a network it cannot “see”. Also note, depending upon the unit you get, your firmware will automatically upgrade as soon as you set up your wifi. Apparently there is no way to upgrade your firmware other than via wifi.
To use your Literati, go to kobobooks dot com to download and install the desktop application on your computer. You can also install it from your Literati via the supplied usb cable, but that is slow and not the latest version. Once you have installed the app and set up a Kobo account, you can purchase books from Kobo. There is also a limited selection of free books at Kobo, although certainly not the number or wide selection available on Amazon. If you are used to a Kindle, you will see that downloading or updating or just booting up is a sloooow process. There are no indicators that it is “working”, so you just have to take it on faith that is will eventually finish.
Unless you plan to buy all of your books from Kobo, you will need to download a file converter such as Calibre in order to take advantage of all the free e-books available on the internet. The Literati has an SD card slot, which makes adding converted books and .pdfs to your device much quicker and easier. Just load them onto your SD card and then pop the card in your Literati. The SD card slot is one of the surprisingly great features that I wish my Kindle had.
The screen is much, much better than I expected. It is back-lit, so there is no need for a book light for night time reading. Page turns are quick, and the turn “buttons” on each side are super sensitive. You can easily change font size and there is even a night time setting which reverses the page to black and the text to white! I really have no complaints about the display – and it’s color to boot.
Battery life is no where near as good as my Kindle, but it is adequate. You will need to recharge every day or two, depending upon your usage.
My final thoughts are that if you get a Literati for $50 or less, you will have a basic e-reader with some really nice features and a few quirks. It meets my expectations at less than $50. At the list price, you will be much happier with a Kindle, although it lacks a color display. If you really want color and you want more than a basic device, you’ll need to spend a good deal more for a Nook.
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This review is from: Sharper Image Literati Wireless Reader (Electronics)
For those of you who got this as a gift at Christmas and are confounded by it, try the following before you return it, you might be happy:
1. Connect it to a wifi hotspot. You will find this option in the Settings menu. 2. It will tell you you need an update. Update it over wifi. This may take two downloads (one for the update installer, one for the update). Then hard reset with a paperclip in back. 3. Download on your computer Calibre. Run Calibre 4. Turn on the Literati. Connect with USB 5. Calibre will recognize the Literati as an obscure Russian reading device. 6. You can then manage your books and Calibre feeds through Calibre and transfer and delete them on the device.
I am using this as my primary commute reader now, after doing the above.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sharper Image Literati Wireless Reader (Electronics)
This ereader is very good for the price. I bought it for my wife for Christmas and she loves it. I like the color display screen,the fact that you can use it with a wi-fi connection, you can insert your own SD card to expand on the 512mb of memory already on the reader. My wife loves to read and it turned out to be a great gift for her. I picked it up and started reading a book and i ended up buying one for myself. Now we sit and read together. From what i see you can buy the name brand ereaders(Kindle,Nook,…) or buy this one and save at least $70 bucks. Seems like you are paying for the name.You have acces to over 190 free books with this ereader. I strongly suggest it.
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Authors bio is coming up shortly. 
A very basic e-reader, with a few surprisingly great features,
I bought this Literati from woot.com for a little less than $50. I already own a Kindle 3, but I had read a number of reviews before buying this one and wasn’t expecting it to compare favorably to my Kindle. I purchased the Literati mainly for my kids to use since I am loathe to let my Kindle out of my hands.
My initial reaction upon receiving the Literati was that it is a nicer package than I expected. It comes with a well-designed, protective case – a big plus since a case is essential. The Literati feels flimsier than my Kindle and I suspect it wouldn’t survive being dropped very often. The keyboard at the bottom is adequate, but the navigation wheel is woefully small. Since you use the nav wheel heavily, this is a big issue. I began using the eraser end of a pencil almost immediately for this.
The wifi setup was easy, and it picked up all the wireless networks in my neighborhood immediately. Please note: your wireless router must be set to broadcast your SSID. If not, there is no way to manually set up a network it cannot “see”. Also note, depending upon the unit you get, your firmware will automatically upgrade as soon as you set up your wifi. Apparently there is no way to upgrade your firmware other than via wifi.
To use your Literati, go to kobobooks dot com to download and install the desktop application on your computer. You can also install it from your Literati via the supplied usb cable, but that is slow and not the latest version. Once you have installed the app and set up a Kobo account, you can purchase books from Kobo. There is also a limited selection of free books at Kobo, although certainly not the number or wide selection available on Amazon. If you are used to a Kindle, you will see that downloading or updating or just booting up is a sloooow process. There are no indicators that it is “working”, so you just have to take it on faith that is will eventually finish.
Unless you plan to buy all of your books from Kobo, you will need to download a file converter such as Calibre in order to take advantage of all the free e-books available on the internet. The Literati has an SD card slot, which makes adding converted books and .pdfs to your device much quicker and easier. Just load them onto your SD card and then pop the card in your Literati. The SD card slot is one of the surprisingly great features that I wish my Kindle had.
The screen is much, much better than I expected. It is back-lit, so there is no need for a book light for night time reading. Page turns are quick, and the turn “buttons” on each side are super sensitive. You can easily change font size and there is even a night time setting which reverses the page to black and the text to white! I really have no complaints about the display – and it’s color to boot.
Battery life is no where near as good as my Kindle, but it is adequate. You will need to recharge every day or two, depending upon your usage.
My final thoughts are that if you get a Literati for $50 or less, you will have a basic e-reader with some really nice features and a few quirks. It meets my expectations at less than $50. At the list price, you will be much happier with a Kindle, although it lacks a color display. If you really want color and you want more than a basic device, you’ll need to spend a good deal more for a Nook.
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|Wait…Before You Return It,
For those of you who got this as a gift at Christmas and are confounded by it, try the following before you return it, you might be happy:
1. Connect it to a wifi hotspot. You will find this option in the Settings menu.
2. It will tell you you need an update. Update it over wifi. This may take two downloads (one for the update installer, one for the update). Then hard reset with a paperclip in back.
3. Download on your computer Calibre. Run Calibre
4. Turn on the Literati. Connect with USB
5. Calibre will recognize the Literati as an obscure Russian reading device.
6. You can then manage your books and Calibre feeds through Calibre and transfer and delete them on the device.
I am using this as my primary commute reader now, after doing the above.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Nice Ereader for the price,
This ereader is very good for the price. I bought it for my wife for Christmas and she loves it. I like the color display screen,the fact that you can use it with a wi-fi connection, you can insert your own SD card to expand on the 512mb of memory already on the reader. My wife loves to read and it turned out to be a great gift for her. I picked it up and started reading a book and i ended up buying one for myself. Now we sit and read together. From what i see you can buy the name brand ereaders(Kindle,Nook,…) or buy this one and save at least $70 bucks. Seems like you are paying for the name.You have acces to over 190 free books with this ereader. I strongly suggest it.
Was this review helpful to you?
|