Counterfeit Hero

After nearly a week of trial use, I’m writing this piece about Bambook, hoping to share some of my insights with friends interested in buying an e-book.

Receiving the Bambook was delightful for me. I’ve wanted to purchase an e-book for more than half a year, but I’ve been waiting in anticipation for the Shengda e-book.

In my view, an e-book that only has books like ”Dream of the Red Chamber” and ”Journey to the West” without internet access is just a solitary island of reading. It can’t be called a real e-book. And those so-called e-books with regular screens, like MP4s, are far from meeting my requirements.

My expectations are:

First, I hope to use an e-ink display for an experience similar to reading paper books, without having a headache or blurred vision from constant refreshing.

Second, I want to hold an e-book that can seamlessly integrate with online platforms like Qidian, and find trending traditional books, professional books, biographies, and even health and wellness books. Only such an e-book can meet my reading requirements.

These two points are what I value the most.

Opening the packaging and seeing the Bambook, I actually didn’t feel much. I haven’t purchased other e-books for comparison, and since my preferred color isn’t white, my rather dull senses weren’t particularly impressed.

However, once I held it, I had to admit there was little to criticize about Bambook’s craftsmanship. Whether it’s the screen, the feedback of the buttons and gaps, the framework construction, or the slightly matte texture on the back, the legendary magnesium-aluminum alloy anti-roll frame (even though you can’t see it inside, it gives peace of mind) all tell me this is an industrial product that can complement your Thinkpad computer, Apple or Nokia phone, without any sense of being a shoddy imitation.

The book is very light, similar in weight to Hann Han’s ”Anarchy in Changan,” and much lighter than larger volumes like ”The Count of Monte Cristo” or ”Gone with the Wind,” almost weightless.

Switching it on and starting it up, I quickly entered my bookshelf. Since it was already linked to my Qidian account, the books on my shelf quickly appeared before me. Seeing familiar titles, especially the five words ”Counterfeit Hero,” felt very comforting.

Other professional evaluations are everywhere online, so I won’t detail them here. I’ll just share my feelings.

Familiar novels on the computer turn into the feeling of reading paper print, which is very comfortable.

The online updates are fast and convenient. You can post book reviews, find new novels, and download them within one or two minutes. Synchronizing novel updates is easy, with no discomfort.

There are many novels in the Cloud Library; within an hour on the computer, I added both current bestsellers and a series of classic masterpieces to my shelf, which felt very fulfilling.

The screen doesn’t strain the eyes, no matter how long you read. It’s very portable, perfect for traveling, seeing as much as you want wherever you go. The battery life is also great.

Now to talk about the shortcomings.

Since this is a beta test, there are still relatively few channels to the Cloud Library on Bambook. The best way to find books in the Cloud Library is to search on the computer, add them to the shelf, and update Bambook. It’s very convenient. However, if you’re not near a computer and only use Bambook, the joy of book discovery is much reduced. I believe this will be solved as the Cloud Library improves. After all, for electronic products, non-hardware issues aren’t really problems.

There are many books in Cloud Book City. Friends who are uncertain in this regard can first explore Cloud Library before purchasing Bambook. Once you buy Bambook, you have access to that vast library.

I found ”On War,” which I’ve always wanted to buy, Andersen’s Fairy Tales with the story-telling feature for my daughter, and ”If Life Were Only as it First Met,” which I’m preparing to change my reading experience.

Additionally, in areas like subscription options and wifi auto-shutdown, the settings aren’t user-friendly enough. A pleasant reading experience is a product’s primary goal. I hope to see added wifi options to keep it on continuously instead of shutting off after ten minutes of inactivity because sometimes, after finishing updated books, I want to subscribe to new ones but find the wifi turned off, requiring reconnection.

Thirdly, regarding bookshelf functionality, two to three hundred books on a single shelf are rather inconvenient. This issue could be easily resolved, and I hope for more bookshelf designs.

That’s about it. Anyway, I now mostly read using Bambook. Without needing printing or paper, it turns online text into a reading experience akin to paper books—fantastic.

The above are honest words. I’m no spokesperson, nor am I a shill. I hope Shengda can increase Bambook’s integration with readers after this beta test.