Touch too much
The reason: there's also a rotate gesture detectable by the touchscreen, and it's easy to catch the panel in such a way that it thinks you want it to pivot the screen even when you don't. Or maybe it's just a bug, like the way an opened book sometimes displays in bold text, even though it's not set to do so.
Another touchscreen gesture is drag-to-scroll, which comes into play with the Odyssey's Settings and other menus. This is the reader's key innovation: an e-ink screen that can do animation.
Bookeen has got E Ink Pearl screens to do animation
Yes, it's a regular Pearl panel, but Bookeen boffinry allows it to update often enough to permit low-framerate animation. But that's all – don't expect to watch video on it, even if you didn't mind viewing monochrome content.
That means Bookeen has to reserve the tech for said menus, which slide after a second's lag from the moment you touch the screen; for a zooming book cover that appears every time you open a book; and for an intro graphic when you power the reader up.
Hats off to Bookeen for getting this to work, but it's a gimmick. It doesn't improve the user experience. If anything, it gets in the way.
The Odyssey's main menu (left) and its browser in action (right)
Otherwise, the Odyssey is a very decent ePub-oriented e-book reader. It's compact and pocketable, comfortable to hold, and supports as broad an array of formats as any device can until Apple and Amazon both let other gadgets work with their DRM code.
The Odyssey's UI is attractive, though I'd like different media types to have separate sections – or at least the option to do so – and to have a basic list view of the content loaded on the device. Its web browser is serviceable, but lacks both Flash and HTML 5 support.
Verdict
Ignore the Cybook Odyssey's unneeded animation ability and you're still left with a decent e-book reader. Its 2GB of storage is sufficient for the library of anyone who isn't a compulsive file-hoarder, and if you are, there's a Micro SD slot to add 32GB. I found myself turning against the touchscreen, but I know a lot of e-book buffs like this feature so it's good to see here.
If you're an Amazon-phobe, this £129 reader is a worthy alternative to equally ePub-inclined PRS-T1 from Sony, but the WHSmith-sold Kobo Touch is cheaper. ®
More e-Reader Reviews |
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 Kobo Vox |
 Amazon
Kindle Fire |
 Kobo Touch |
 Amazon
Kindle 4 |
 Bookeen Cybook
Orizon |
Bookeen Cybook Odyssey e-book reader
COMMENTS
still torn betwene Kobo and Sony's
But will look into this, as I like a touch screen.
However, I am postign to say that 'disintersted' does not mean 'uninterested' or 'not interested', it means 'altruistic', as in 'I have nothing personal to gain'.
I know we are fast losing the correct meaning of 'disinterest', as people think it is a posh version of 'uninterested' -- and perhaps the original meaning is not much required these days.
Every time my eyes see 'Bookeen'...
...my brain sees 'Broken'.
Not sure about the name
Every time I see the name of this thing I have to double take, as I read it as "Broken" first time.
Animation
I've got a Kobo touch and when i zoom in and drag i see an animated moving block of test/pictures, same when i am on a webpage, i am able to see the scrolling. How is this different except that it does it in the menus? The Kobo is £40 cheaper, less DRM restricted, better supported and (bar the ridiculous accelerometer) has all the same features. Why does it only score 5% more than this?
So...
"Bookeen boffinry allows it to update often enough to permit low-framerate animation"
So, someone's finally worked out how to do delta updates on Pearl displays then? They certainly took their time: the technique has only been around since (at least) the 1970s.
