After finding out that I'm able to use the Web browsing feature on my BeBook Neo e-reader, I decided to write a post about it, but it turned out to be quite a long text to add it to the existing article. Thus, I made a separate post dedicated entirely to this fascinating subject.
Ability to browse the Web is one of the most exciting features of Endless Ideas BV's BeBook Neo electronic reader. Its internal browser based on WebKit (the engine used in Apple Safari and Google Chrome) is surprisingly powerful and is able to render even such modern sites as the new Steam games store. This very blog can be viewed on Neo without problems and is as easy to read as any e-book. Despite low refresh rates and relatively small resolution of the device's electronic paper screen (800x600 in landscape mode) it is possible to view many sites designed for computer screens, as long as they are not Flash-based (there's no Flash player on Neo), don't require animation effects to be used, and were made with at least some portability in mind.
Neo would search for wireless networks like any other WiFi-enabled device, letting you choose the network to connect to. It supports popular security protocols, but I had some troubles with them and now stick to MAC address filtering on my wireless router. WiFi module can be enabled and disabled by an external switch on the side of the device, but sometimes it takes an additional "off/on" routine to get it going. The first site opens with a noticeable delay, but further browsing is fast and smooth. You can start your journey at four of predefined web portals: BeBook store, Google, Wikipedia and Adobe's site. Later you can go to any URL by clicking a "www" icon on the bottom "tray bar". Thanks to Wacom "Penabled" technology, browsing using its pen is as intuitive as on any touch-screen device, but without extra glare or visual distortion caused by a touch-screen overlay.
Font size "zoom" is helpful with small print texts, and landscape mode is great for wide sites. Watching Web in black and white is not as strange as it might seem, and I had no problems adapting to it. It would be a nice addition if the browser could somehow turn off animations, because they don't look good on e-paper at all, and distract from reading.
The bugs, however manifest themselves quite soon. There are some problems with text input (sometimes you can't enter text into a form field), scrolling doesn't always work, hiding parts of text, scrollbars doesn't always show (and you can't turn them on or off manually). The browser tries to perform "smooth scrolling" effect when using scrollbars (including drop down menus), which is obviously inappropriate with an electronic paper screen -- such an animated routine takes a long time, drains battery and flickers annoyingly. However, many sites work fine and are fully functional. Partial redraw system works surprisingly fast, but leaves traces of previous content merged with new, which is messing up graphics of the page after scrolling/panning. Thankfully a display refresh icon can be clicked to redraw the screen and clean up the mess when needed.
Overall, Web browsing in BeBook Neo is a lovely feature; whenever you need to read a lot of a online content, Neo can make it easier on your eyes. However, Neo can't be used for "professional" surfing, due to browser's bugs, compatibility issues, screen size and of course limitations of the electronic paper itself. I hope in future Web developers will be making their sites more portable, and such mobile devices as Neo will have less troubles accessing, say, a user's instant messenger or e-mail account. I expect to use the e-reader not only for reading web sites, but my email and instant messages as well.
Instead of making static photos, I decided to try making a video review, that would demonstrate Neo in action. Here it is, and note that it's in HD, so you can catch more details if you take advantage of it.
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