Ebookwise - Ebook Reader

My ebook reader arrived!! :)

After contemplating and desperat-ing for it for quite some time, my godbrother Stanley came to my rescue, reluctantly (yes, I went through the whole preaching about budgeting and not spending unnecessarily from him, the younger one among the two of us in our godbrother relationship), and told me that his colleague, Julian Kung is able to help me to get the ebook reader I want from America.

Of course I was torn a little between Ectaco Jetbook Reader, which is able to read many formats of ebook and Ebookwise reader. What's the difference? Around RM400. The ebookwise reader I manage to get costs me around RM400. Ectaco may cost around RM800.

I ordered online, and got it to be sent to Julian who was in America. Ebookwise is shipped only in America and Canada. (Of course eventually I came across another page where someone is willing to ship Ebookwise reader worldwide. Link is provided at the bottom.)


So, this is how my ebook reader looks like in my hand. I should be delighted, right? Well, it is only partial of my whole story.

Ebookwise reader uses no latest technology when it comes to the card. It uses the obsolete Smart Media card. I was lucky to have one in my drawer, and luckier that I am able to find it. It is only 8MB and this can already cost a coolly RM50 online.

But the unfortunate part is that laptop nowadays only read SD, MMC etc cards and not SmartMedia card. Last I heard, a smart media card reader costs around RM100+. :(

A check in One-Stop Penang got me to the top floor and I managed to get a reader, costing only RM20. There were two versions. First attempt failed, and succeeded to get the right reader only on the second visit. I should have brought my Smart Media card along during my first visit to try it out.

The purchase of the Ebookwise reader give me these two - a USB cable and a phone line cable. But since that I have the Smart Media card, I doubt I would be using them, since that the process of transferring files from my laptop to the ebook reader is slower through these cables, as compared to by Smart Media Card.

This was my BIGGEST mistake. I don't read. I didn't read of the input power and being the handyman-challenged person I am, I plugged the adapter into Malaysia's power source.


I killed my original adapter. It is no longer able to function - to charge my ebook reader. As the point is really narrow, it is difficult to find one in Malaysia.

I was lucky enough to find one in my second attempt at Macalister Lane. This baby costs me RM42, and it is REALLY heavy. So, imagine me traveling with this adapter. Hm.

Point is - I have my ebook reader now. :) I am so happy.

Samsung I8910 HD vs iPhone 3GS

How much money can one carry in his pocket?

I so want the new Samsung mobile phone. I like it because its screen is 3.7 inches wide. And it records video in High Definition. I am talking about Samsung I8910 HD. However, reality checks. It is RM2899, which is a kind gesture of RM1 off RM2900. So, do I want to buy a RM2900 mobile phone and carries it around with me in my pocket? I mean, carrying an almost RM3000 in my pocket everyday? Since when our pocket become so rich for such pleasure?



So, that left me with the other temptation - iPhone 3GS, which is ridiculously priced in Malaysia as RM1200+, with monthly subscription of RM100 a month for two years. In Singapore, my brother-in-law can get one for only S$250+ and a cheaper subscription. Good, Maxis. Rob the poorer Malaysians for every single cents they have.

What I don't like about iPhone is that I need to install different application to use different files. I want iPhone to read ebooks but I do not want the headache to figure out if the free application is able to gain access to pdf files as well as storing them.

Moreover, my Maxis line is poor in my area.

The bottom line is that iPhone only costs me RM1200+ to carry around, unlike Samsung I8910 HD and it is less painful on my budget on my first charge. But iPhone is unable to record video at HD ability. Sigh..

And I am doing all this sighing even without having the ability to pay for any of this luxury now. Ha!

If You Are Reading This...

Someone in Malaysia does not want me to read. Not only me. I think someone in Malaysia does not want Malaysians to read. Well, perhaps I should be clear on this. That someone does not want us to read books. Newspapers - no problem. Books? This is a no-no.

Let's go random. A book like Twilight, written by Stephenie Meyer. It is priced at USD10.99 in Amazon.com. In Malaysia, Kinokuniya is selling it at RM35.23. This is funny considering the fact that an American earns around USD46,859 a year, which makes that USD3904.92 a month. A Malaysian earns around USD8,141 a year, which is translated to RM28570.91 a year, which means RM2380.91 a month. This means that to buy and enjoy a good novel like Twilight saga, just to learn more about Edward, Bella and Jacob, an American spends 0.13% of his monthly income while a Malaysian spends 1.48%. I thought Malaysia is the poorer country relatively? (By the way, the numbers are taken from International Monetary Fund).

Now, Twilight is a mass produced book, due to popularity, which means the price is lower. If one wants to get books that got rave reviews but not high in printing and circulation, the price can be easily RM50. Which means 10 average meals.

I have been looking for ebook readers. It is so much easier to find ebooks online, and there are a few good bargains. But guess what? Ebook reader is practically not in existence in Malaysia. If there is any consolation, there is no ebook reader sold in Singapore either. There is one ebook reader seller in Batu Pahat, but I'll come back to that later.

Let's look at the famous ebook reader - Kindle. A check on the price on ebay, so that I have an idea of how much I have to pay for it.

A kindle in Amazon.com is priced at USD299. A check on ebay.com.my, I am looking at a Kindle at the price of RM1,757.35. Plus deliver charge of RM85.60. Of course, the Malaysia is kind enough to make things tougher for us to read more, because there is that 30% tariff, which means RM527.21. This means that to own a Kindle by ordering online, I have to pay RM2370.16. Why Americans complain about paying USD299 for kindle is beyond my understanding.

Here's another famous daylight robber of the poor nation - Bebook. Bebook is USD279.99. According to ebay, this book is RM1,395.02, with delivery charges of RM98.76. Thanks to Malaysia custom, there will be a tax of RM418.51. This means I am paying a total of RM1912.29. Yeah right.. I feel super rich enough to buy this.

Okay, the cheaper popular version of ebook reader which is said so often on the news - USD100 cheaper than Kindle. It is USD199. In ebay, I find one that is priced at RM862.61 + delivery charge of RM36.30. Of course uncle tax is RM258.78. This means I have to bleed a RM1157.69 to get this device.

Okay, and then there is this twin brother of Bebook, which is known as Hanlin. Hanlin is one of the two ebook readers that can be found in Malaysia. The shop is located in Batu Pahat. It must be due to cheap land there. And the dealer does not accept paypal nor credit card. From the reviews, I have to say that this is the best in the market, as it is able to read many version of ebook files. Yeah, funny right? Each company that produces ebook reader tries to make sure that the ebook used in the reader that we pay for must fit a certain file extension the company wants. Blood sucker. Hanlin ebook reader can read almost all version of ebooks there are.

So, how much is Hanlin? RM1399. Of course there is no delivery charge and no tax. But still, RM1399. It's like squeezing every bit of my blood drop just to pay for this.

Of course there is the cheaper version - Ectaco Jetbook.
The cheapest I can find in ebay is around RM704. With a delivery charge of RM73.94. Plus tariff RM211.20. This means I have to pay RM989.14. Why Ectaco Jetbook? Because it can be used to read a number of files too.

Of course we can go with the non e-ink ebook reader - Ebookwise, which is only USD109 or USD139, depending on the memory size you want.

The battery lasts only for 15 hours, unlike the other ebook readers. And it reads less formats unlike Hanlin or Jetbook.

So, my government is not sincere to encourage me to read, huh? Why are these so expensive? And I am not even talking about a typical textbook from America, which may cost easily RM100 to RM200 a book. Check out those Economics textbook price. Money kills.

Something has to be done. Get rid of the tariff. Get the ebook reader in. Penang has a Sony factory but we don't have Sony ebook reader. Funny.

It is said that a Malaysia reads an average of two books a year. Gee. I wonder why.