Bookeen Cybook Opus (E-Book Reader) Review

Value for money: "all right" (6 out of 10 points)

"... Unfortunately, it isn’t all good news and no matter how much we like the size and shape of the Opus it’s hard to get away from the frustrating combination of high price and low build quality. Looking further afield there’s very little modding going on for the Opus too, which gives the Kindle or Sony’s Reader series another lead. Bear in mind that you can pick up a Sony PRS-300 for £50 cheaper and that the steel construction of that model won’t break as easily and it’s hard to recommend the Opus over the competition despite how taken we are with it."

"The Bookeen Cybook Opus has pretty much everything you need to read a lot of books, in a very small and lightweight package. But you won't find extras such as a music player, the ability to create notes, or text-to-speech support . And though the Sony Reader Pocket Edition is heavier than the Opus and has fewer font options, it is similar in size and usually costs less. Then again, if extra features aren't important to you and portability and great font-size flexibility are prime concerns, you might find the extra money well spent on the Bookeen Cybook Opus. It's certainly nice to have the choice."

Value for money: "poor" (2 out of 6 stars)

"Small, light and with some nice touches, but the price and menu system kill the appeal."

"A simple ereader with support for open formats, the Opus is light, easy to use and stylish, and our only concern is that it's too expensive."

"... another solid addition to the ever-expanding range of e-readers out there, and its size and weight are big assets. The high price, however - more than the Sony Reader Pocket or Amazon Kindle - is too much ..."

"We found the Bookeen Cybook Opus very easy to use and it's certainly one of the best devices in its class. It's not cheap: we haven't seen the Opus available for less than £210 and more often than not as much as £250, the same price Sony is asking for its 6in, eight-greyscale, audio-enabled PRS-600. Sony also offers the £180 PRS-300, which, like the Opus, has a 5in screen - but no Jpeg support and no memory card slot. Of the two, we'd rather have the Opus."