Franklin EBM-900 eBookman (Translucent Blue)

The Franklin EBM-900 eBookman comes with a one-year warranty.

Product Description
eBookMan series of new PDAs is a brand new device, so called "electronic book" that allows you not only to read thousands of titles available for the Microsoft Reader and Franklin's own library but to listen to audio books as well. 16-level grayscale display with 200 x 240 dpi resolution. In fact, it is a common digital assistant that will help you manage and store address-book, date-book, to-do list giving you a possibility of text entry via touchscreen. You can easily synchronize important data to Microsoft Outlook using Intellisync connection. MP3-capable music player enables you to use both a built-in headphone jack, or a speaker. Voice recording via microphone is also available.The eBookMan comes with 8 or 16 MB RAM, which can be expanded even further, with an option of screen backlighting, and with a number of book titles. A cradle with USB cable, stylus, and Quick Reference Guide are included. The device runs on two AAA batteries.

But, wait - I haven't even gotten to the punch line yet! When the batteries run out, all of the data is lost - INCLUDING THE OPERATING SYSTEM. This is because the unit has no internal battery back-up. It just uses a capacitor which only holds a smal charge for a few seconds (supposedly just long enough to change batteries when the battery indicator is running low). But if your batteries run out, it's BYE-BYE data! So, for the casual user, what that means is that you end up having to re-install the entire operating system and all of your titles every time you turn the unit on (assuming you do not use it an a VERY regular basis). This, by the way, is no short task (although, in fairness to Franklin, it is a simple process). For me, this problem renders the eBookman TOTALLY USELESS. Now, I'm sure there are avid readers or frequent travelers who would love to have what otherwise would be classified as a pretty decent reader for a very decent price. But, for me, it is just a paperweight.

In summary, if you use the eBookman everyday, I guess you could find a use for it. But if you plan to let it rest - even for a relatively short period of time - I would look elsewhere.


The good, the bad and the ugly.   February 16, 2001
Robert A. Lang (Australia)
147 out of 150 found this review helpful

After a prolonged delay, and eager anticipation the Franklin eBookman finally shipped today. Its not every day that a new device comes out that features all the usual organiser/PIM/PDA function but also an MP3 player, an eBook reader and an Audio Book player. First impressions are mixed. The box comes with the device, a flimsy plastic cover, a USB cable and thats all. No user manual or instruction guide. Instead, just a leaflet telling you to download the operating system from Franklin.com. That's right! - You have to download the OS and install it before you can use it. Took me about 1 hour (and I'm not computer illiterate!). Beware - all the basic information takes up almost 5MB of memory. Leaves only 11MB on the EBM911 and only 3.5MB on the EBM900!!

Finally...up and running! The screen is clear, backlight works well. The case is solid (surprisingly heavy). Touch screen is sensitive, and the handwriting recognition software is fairly accurate, even with no practice. A (on-screen) pop-up keyboard is provided if you prefer. The PC-link software is effortless. Simply drag files from the PC screen to the eBookman screen and the file is transfered instantly.

Now, a few bugs emerge. The Date Book funtion allows you to view your appointments in daily, weekly or monthly format. Unfortunately, when adding a recurring appointment in the daily view, it did not show up on the weekly view(!) Easy to miss a crucial meeting this way. Also, the To-Do list is not synchronised with the Date Book. So if you have added a task to do in the To Do folder, it will not show up on the relevent day in the Date book. Annoying.

The MP3 player is surprisingly good quality sound, even without earphones. But it played my test file too fast. I could not find any parameters to change the playback speed.

Still waiting to download an ebook for the eBook reader. The claim is a clear type, resizable fonts, read in landscape or portrait orientation, bookmarkable, searchable text.

Finally, the ugly. The stylus provided is a very cheap, plastic job that looks like it came out of a cereal box. It does not click firmly into the case, so easy to lose.

Overall, this machine has potential. Some bugs need ironing out. Luckily, with the PC synchronising software, this should be an easy job for Franklin, by just providing updates to their downloadable software. The open platform allows 3rd parties to produce custom software. Applications should abound in the near future.

I'm not 100% happy with it yet, but I'm going to keep my eBookman to see what the future holds.


very good but not perfect   May 3, 2005
Teapot Tales (Brooklyn, NY U.S.A.)
36 out of 39 found this review helpful

What I like about it (I own ebm-901):
1. Open platform (thus lots of useful FREE software available).
2. Generic AAA batteries support.
3. Simple USB interface.
4. Large screen.
5. Good handwriting recognition.
6. Sturdy and reliable case.
7. Low power consumption.
8. Good music playback quality.
Now, about its well-known problems: folks, BACKUP your data on your MMC! This way you will NEVER lose your OS and apps! Come on! The device does have a power backup in the form of a capacitor, which is really bad and it hardly does anything. For a techie, it is not hard to put in a differect capacitor. Problem solved. Sometimes it helps keep memory intact if you pull out one dead battery and put it a fresh one, then pull out another one and replace it with fresh.
You cannot manage your files on MMC from within the EBM's OS. Who knows if Ectaco will ever release a new version of the OS.
Otherwise I love my eBookMan, I use it all the time, it's my primary mobile library, and I am quite hesitant to look elsewere for a new PDA.


Very impressive, so far   February 23, 2001
34 out of 36 found this review helpful

I am so far very impressed with this device and think franklin has themselves a winner, especially, if the promised microsoft reader compatibility comes through. Even without this, though, the device fits the bill for my needs. Aside from providing for all your basic PDA needs, the ebook functions work very well. Granted, there are not many free titles yet for the native franklin reader format, however, there are plenty of compatible titles for reading in the franklin viewer format which is compatible with .txt files as well as the old palm pilot .... One of the best ebooks sites, on the web, www.blackmask.com just reformatted their entire collection of 1930+ books in the old .pdb format just to offer it for franklin ebookman buyers. This site increases their content virtually on a daily basis. Project Gutenberg .txt files are also viewable through the franklin viewer. Granted, the viewer does not yet offer, the same glitzy functions that the reader does, such as changeable fonts, bookmarks, change in orientation, etc., but it's still extremely usable and all for free. No copyright infringement, though. In addition, mobipocket reader(www.mobipocket.com) has already released their version for the ebookman, and offers some free etitles in their native format, more than franklin. In addition, copyrighted titles are available for purchase through their site as well. The software appears to work well(.prc format), though I can not yet access .txt and .htm files through it as promised( perhaps not implemented yet). The software for reading as well as basic publishing software, however, is free. The publishing software appears much more friendly than the franklin publishing software and most people will probably be able to convert any txt files of their choosing and convert into the native .prc format. Definitely worth checking out. I'm expecting some significant software updates and changes from franklin in the near future which should improve on some of the little glitches and impairments of the unit. The negative side: For true flexibility, mp3 player,etc, the unit will require memory expansion, of at least 64mb, which is all that is available at the present time. The unit is small, light in weight, but with a very solid feel. I received a nice black leather case for mine, however, this may have been something thrown in by amazon as an initial promotion. The screen is clear and usable in almost all light conditions. The unit is great to read with in bed, in the dark with the backlight on without disturbing your spouse. I recommend it and think at its present price point that it will be a winner. I am reserving the final star for some of the software glitches and problems that are still being worked on.


Mixed Feelings   February 12, 2002
Mark Cullen (NSW Australia)
28 out of 30 found this review helpful

I have used my Ebookman for about 6 weeks now and I have mixed feelings about it. In some ways it is a very good little unit but Franklin still has some problems to sort out with both the hardware and the software. It took me a day to download the Operating System and Software and install it and print out the manual on my Laser Printer. Surely Franklin can provide a CD with the OS and a printed manual.
I bought the 911 model with 16MB RAM and added a Sandisk 64 MB MMC (these are about half the price of an original Franklin MMC).
The screen is sharp and large and has 16 shade grey scale. This screen is much better than the mono Palms.
The processor is a 24Mhz 32 bit propriety processor that Franklin has been given a Patent for. This means the unit is fairly responsive in most situations - certainly more so than the first generation Palms.
Battery life is poor and if you do not want to lose your contents I suggest changing the batteries when the indicator says 50%. Fortunately I have most of my applications on MMC but having to load 10MB via USB when the batteries die is just simply frustrating.
Some of the built in applications work well but the Date Book is particularly buggy. The OS itself is about as stable as Win 95 or 98 ie. it works most of the time but will occasionaly crash for no reason at all.
Mobireader is good and works well but sometimes I have trouble downloading the enews off the web each day. I have one Audible book that is 19.5MB and find that playback is not as smooth as it should be. Whether this is because the book resides in the MMC or the processor is simply just not fast enough I don't know.
If you want to develop software for the eBookman then Franklin has made a SDK available but you have to develop in C++ in a Linux environment. However a port of SmallBASIC has just been made available and this seems to work OK on my eBookman (but only in RAM not MMC).
I suggest you sync your eBookman everyday and then you will not have any problems with losing any valuable data.
The UP side is the screen is better than a Palm and it offers more expandibility than a Palm and is cheaper than a Palm.
The DOWN side is that the applications are not as mature as the Palm and there is only a fraction of the applications available that there are available for the Palm. The 16 shade grey scale is not suitable for displaying pictures - if you want to do that buy a colour PocketPC.