The Cybook Opus is yet another choice for bookworms looking to propel their reading habits into the digital realm. This compact e-reader is the first we’ve seen that features an accelerometer built in – but is that enough to compete with the Amazon Kindle et al? Find out in our full Cybook Opus review.
When you unbox the Cybook Opus, the first thing you notice is that it feels distinctly cheaper than many of its rivals. Sure, it’s lightweight and small (coat pocket-sized, really), which are positives, but it’s also plasticky and flimsy when compared to the Sony Reader Pocket or Amazon Kindle. Surprisingly, though, it’s actually significantly pricier than either of these.
Why? Well, we can’t quite work it out. There’s 1GB of built-in storage (enough for 1,000 ebooks according to the manufacturer), which is decent but nothing special. There’s also a microSD card slot for extra space, and the aforementioned accelerometer – this allows you to switch the 5-inch screen between landscape and portrait modes by simply rotating the e-reader. A neat feature, perhaps, but hardly the sort of killer app that’ll propel the Cybook Opus into pole position amongst its peers.
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The Cybook Opus is reasonably user friendly. You charge the battery (good for 8,000 page turns) and transfer books (epub, txt and pdf are supported) via USB, and navigate the GUI and turn pages by hitting the physical buttons below and to the right of the screen. The page turn controls could benefit from being slightly larger and more responsive, but overall the e-reader is fuss-free to use.
And the screen? Well, it does the job of displaying text and greyscale images nicely, and offers similar image quality to rival models. It’s a little laggier to change to a new page than the Amazon Kindle, but we’re talking a matter of a split second or so.
That said, we can’t really see anything to justify the Cybook Opus’ lofty price tag. The small size is definitely a selling point, as is the expandable storage, but the Amazon Kindle delivers more for less money (around £160). The Opus performs its e-reader functions well, but struggles to stand out from the crowd.
