Bookeen Cybook Odyssey review

There’s no dedicated software for the reader, but it’s compatible with Adobe’s Digital Editions. You’ll need to either register the reader with an existing Digital Editions account or create a new one to use books that rely on this DRM system. Your Adobe authorisation is set up automatically when you create a Bookeen account either on Bookeen’s website or by connecting the reader to the internet over Wi-Fi and logging into the Bookeen store. You can also transfer non-DRM files to the eBook reader using your computer’s file manager or a third-party eBook management tool such as Calibre. The reader can also handle EPUB, PDF, HTML, FB2 and TXT document formats, plus JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, ICO, TIF and PSD image formats. It’s worth noting that the reader can’t reflow PDF files as you zoom into them, so you may find yourself scrolling around the page if you need to zoom in to read a PDF comfortably. This situation can be improved slightly by turning the Odyssey to read in landscape mode.

Unlike most eBook readers, the Odyssey has an accelerometer which lets it rotate the page depending on whether you’re holding it in portrait or landscape mode. Unfortunately, the reader sometimes rotated its display at random during our tests, rather than in response to how we were holding it. On one occasion the page turning function also got stuck, causing the reader to turn page after page without any interaction from us. Both these issues occurred in slightly damp conditions, so they may have been caused by moisture interfering with the touchscreen on a damp train platform.

The onscreen keyboard is a good size, making it easy to enter Wi-Fi passwords and search terms, but the default font size is too large for the screen. It’s easy to avoid a lot of unnecessary page turning simply by adjusting the font size in the reader’s settings menu, though. You can even change the font family, which is helpful for those who find it easier to read serif fonts. Like most eBook readers, you can add and edit highlights, bookmarks and notes. You can also jump between pages and pull up your eBook’s contents in a separate menu, instead of having to go back to the main contents page.

At around £130, the Odyssey is surprisingly expensive for a touchscreen eBook reader. It costs more than both the outstanding Sony Reader PRS-T1 and now budget £80 Kobo eReader Touch. Bookeen has incorporated some unique features, most notably the capacitive touchscreen and the accelerometer. However, during our testing the capacitive touchscreen didn’t make a great difference and had some possible drawbacks. If you’re looking for an EPUB reader, which lets you shop around for books, we prefer Sony’s Reader.