Coolreaders COOL-ER (E-Book-Reader) Review

"... we do have strong concerns over it's built quality. For nearly £180 it just feels 'cheap' ... in its current incarnation, we can't help but feel that it could be better. If the Cool-er was under £100, we'd recommend without a qualm - but spending nearly £200, you won't be impressed with what you're looking at in 6 months time ..."

Value for money: "worth considering" (7 out of 10 points)

"... The Cool-er reader feels as though it was put together in the Fisher-Price factory. Fortunately, there are six other colours available if you don't like our review sample's bright pink colour. With its cheap and cheerful build quality, you won't want to sling the Cool-er in a rucksack unprotected, although at least it only weighs 168g. ... The Coolreaders Cool-er is arguably the easiest of the three readers to use, but its toy-like build quality and high price rule it out as a sensible option. ..."

"The Cool-er has all the hallmarks of a product in Version 1. The interface needs to be a lot more intuitive and the reader needs to handle supported document formats more accurately. With recent news of Asus intending to release an eReader for under £100 by Christmas, the Cool-er and others are also looking too expensive."

"It's lighter and more colourful than other eBook readers, but the COOL-ER is poorly made and clunky."

"Long battery life and light weight, but there are too many software problems for our liking."

Ejecting from the Mac Finder proved problematic, and build quality of Interead’s COOL-ER Reader feels weak. Though format support and performance are both good, the current price limits its mass market appeal.

"The COOL-ER Reader is a good, if not perfect, electronic reader. It can store a large quaintly of books and read a wide variety of formats ... We have concerns over the build quality though ... and we just feel these devices are too expensive in the mass market."

"... attractive design ... but it fails in terms of usability. It's not that it doesn't work, it's the fact that for practically the same price you can get a pretty identical eBook reader without the frustrating kinks ..."

"... It'll support all common formats, meaning titles from Amazon or Borders will work just fine. As will free downloads from Project Guttenberg. Cool-er even has its own online book store ... Is the Cool-er eBook the perfect mobile reading device? Not a chance. But it's the most well thought out. There are no bells or whistles, just tons of capacity, an adequate screen and capable software, all at a fair price. ... A cheap eBook that's guaranteed to leave you cheerful."

Small and thin, stylish and portable, Coolreaders' Cool-er eBook reader comes in as an entry-level device and this shows in some corners being cut. Somewhat awkward interface and navigation is countered by its compact size and choice of colours.

Using the now standard e-Ink technology in its 6" screen and with 1GB storage plus SD card slot, the only real limitations in Interead's Cool-er Reader budget eBook reader are lack of comprehensive format support and no wireless. In the end it's a matter of taste though.