Windows InTune trial
Delicious/delimiterau
- Privacy chief probes Google
- Suncorp rules out outsourced IT as customers go online
- Peak provider aspiring to grow iiNet's reach
- Conroy may act following Optus court win
- NSW Businesslink eyes Oracle CRM on-demand
- Q&A;: Department of Human Services CIO, Gary Sterrenberg
- Accenture wins $111m health data warehouse deal
- Photos & review: Qantas’ in-flight iPad entertainment system
- Optus wins TV-recording case
- Optus tops political donations list
Opinion - Written by External Contributor on Monday, July 12, 2010 12:04 - 2 Comments
An overview of Officeworks’ eBook readers
opinion I was recently surprised to see in my local Officeworks store a range of eBook readers (admittedly, I had to look down as they where stocked next to W-Fi dongles in one of the strangest shop fittings I have ever seen).
Now the range is rather varied in price, from the Stash W950 at $129 right up to the Hanvon BC10C Touchpad at $898.
I quickly looked at the Pico, which seems to be the brand name for the e-ink version of the Stash, as well as the Stash itself. On paper, both look impressive, with 2GB memory, a wide range of format support, and reasonable prices.
The stats for the Stash (thanks to AprilHare fom Mobilereads for the data):
- Display: 5″ TFT LCD
- Built-in memory: 2GB
- External memory: SD/SDHC up to 16GB
- Battery life: eBook up to 7 hours, eBook & music up to 5 hours*
- Resolution: 800×480
- Digital file formats: eBook: ASCII,UNICODE TXT,LRC,PDB,PDF,HTML,FB2,EPUB,WTXT Music: MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, WAV, OGG Image: JPEG, BMP,GIF Video: RM, AVI, RMVB, 3GP, FLV, MP4, DAT, VOB,, MPG, MPEG, MKV, MOV
- Preloaded with 100 free books
- 12 months manufacturer’s warranty
And the Pico (from Officeworks’ Website):
- Display: 6″ e-nk 8 grey level
- Built-in memory: 2GB
- External memory: Micro SD, up to 16GB
- Battery life: eBook: 4000 pages (up to 20 hours), eBook & music up to 7 hours
- Resolution: 800×600
- Digital File Formats: eBook: ASCII,UNICODE TXT,LRC,PDB,PDF,HTML,FB2,EPUB,WTXT Music: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC Image: JPEG, BMP
- Preloaded with 100 free books
- 12 months manufacturer’s warranty
So off to Mobileread forums I go, where a really great blogpost from Chris Grey highlighted some issues with the Pico.
Some interesting quotes:
The positives:
It feels great in your hands, and the weight (a mere 156g) is evenly balanced and considerably lighter than anything else on the market. The page turning buttons on the back are a welcome change from most readers, and even being a southpaw they’re still more handy than front navigation. The internal 2GB memory seems more than enough for a dedicated eBook reader without having to use an SD card. Plugged into USB it becomes a mass storage device, so it’ll play friendly with Linux and anything else you throw at it. Even though you could drag and drop books onto it, you’ve got full Calibre support to make life easier.
Unfortunately, the many negatives:
The obvious kickers with a no-frills reader; no touchscreen, no Wi-Fi, no 3G, and no dictionary. Piano black finish is a terrible fingerprint magnet, but great for forensically proving who deleted your bookmarks. The screen, although bright (and with that trademark light-catching background) has a fair degree less contrast than a regular book. The feather-touch navigation buttons on the bottom are all too easy to press accidentally while reading, and recovery is made more difficult by the confusing menu system.
Format-wise, ePub worked fine as did plaintext, but I couldn’t get plucker books to work at all. I didn’t test PDF, although the manual states that PDF rendering is so intensive that MP3 support is turned off during reading. Forget trying to change the font if it’s not your style; the only one available looks a lot like Arial. There are five sizes, although anything beyond the smallest two are laughably impractical for reading. Although the page turns are what you’d expect from an e-ink screen refresh, there seems to be a distinct lag to certain operations such as changing the font sizes.
There’s no slipcase or cover to protect the screen, and with it’s odd size and protruding navigation button, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything off the shelf to fit well. The operating system is not designed for readers, with several confusing levels and really ugly UI. The box states that you expand the memory with micro SD, yet the slot is for regular SD. Worse still … The single worst negative is the false advertising — both on the box, online and in store.
Chris takes the effort to do a grayscale test on the Pico and found it to be 4 shade greyscale and not the advertised 8 shades. Four shades makes the price cheaper, but it is illegal to improperly advertise the wrong specs in a product. Hopefully Officeworks will fix this glaring issue.
For me, one important fact is that neither the Pico and the Stash have any DRM whatsoever. Yes, DRM is poopoo bad, but it means that these two devices can not be used with ANY commercial eBook store in Australia is rather disappointing. Devices like these will not endear themselves to eBook retailers, and seem to be marketed at the people who actively avoid DRM or use less than ethical means of obtaining books.
The Stash is a very cheap reader, in my opinion, at a great price point at $129. Howwever, LCD screens are power-hungry compared to e-ink, and 7 hours is not great. However, both the Stash and Pico both have audio playback function, making this a good compromise between the bare bones Kobo and the full featured Kindle and nook.
My recommendation, if you don’t care about buying books through Australian eBook stores is that the Pico and Stash are very good value. If you do want to purchase commercial books in Australia, this is not the device to use with our DCMA-inspired Free Trade Agreement legislation.
Darryl Adams is a government worker and internet tragic. A former IT worker, he still pines for the days of IBM keyboards that go CRUNCH and the glow of green screens. He can be found on on Twitter or on Facebook. Check out his site oz-e-books.com for more articles about e-book readers, retailers, formats and news (or will have when Darryl can be drawn away from reading Delimiter).
The views expressed here do not reflect the views of his employer, the ATO.
Image credit: Officeworks
Related posts:
2 Comments
Leave a Comment
Enterprise IT, News - Feb 2, 2012 18:20 - 0 Comments
Defence hasn’t tested IBM contract since 1999
More In Enterprise IT
- Govt still hasn’t certified Apple iOS devices
- Westpac still running IE6
- Bendigo and Adelaide Bank deploys next-gen IBM storage
- Atlassian sends graduates to beach house
- Improving technology’s grades in Australian education
Analysis, Telecommunications - Feb 3, 2012 13:49 - 63 Comments
Correction: NBN prices will not be higher
More In Telecommunications
- Fletcher wants Oz to learn from UK broadband policy
- Exetel’s John Linton has passed away
- Turnbull wants strong ACCC oversight of NBN Co
- Optus lacks vision and strategy, says Budde
- Correction: Cutting the NBN won’t save money
Analysis, Gadgets - Feb 3, 2012 11:10 - 2 Comments
Who owns footy rights? Optus web copyright victory explained
More In Gadgets
- WA Govt trials iPads in schools
- TV Now: Why the AFL should be grateful
- Telstra launches next-gen
Samsung Windows phone
- Woolworths walks away from Dick Smith
- Nintendo Wii U to hit Australia before Christmas












Hi Darryl,
Many thanks for bringing the grayscale e-ink panel levels to our attention. We have looked into this and the manufacturer has confirmed that Pico W960 has a 4 greyscale e-ink panel whereas the Pico 6001 has an 8 greyscale e-ink panel. You’re absolutely right, there was a misprint on the W960 packaging – it should in fact read 4 greyscale and not 8. The manufacturer is in the process of amending the packaging which we aim to have in our stores ASAP.
Thanks again for your help, it’s much appreciated.
Felicia Booth
PR Manager
Officeworks.
That’s good to hear, although I do still wonder if the 1500mah batttery claim is true – the other rebadged units in other countries are only 1000mah.
I do feel sorry for OfficeWorks here, they jumped in (much like those selling the Kobo) at exactly the wrong time. If they can meet the new market pricing, great, but a $200+ ereader has to be very special to compete with the new Kindle models and what Sony is releasing soon.