Skimming Stones | Sula's Blog | Sula1968 A South African poet, potter and mother
Ever since e readers came out I have wanted one. Since all electronics come down in price after a while I decided to wait before getting one. This year before my birthday I made some very unsubtle hints to my husband regarding what I wanted.
He bought me a Prestigio PER3274B e reader from CNA (pity they don’t have them available to order online) and I’m delighted with it. They are very well priced coming in at almost half the cost of the cheapest Kindle. I was a little worried when I saw that it is made in China but from what I have seen so far there is no problem with quality at all.
I have a few comments positive and negative to make.
Positive
* It has a colour screen so great to download children’s picture books
* I can also download and listen to audio books
* The back light means that I don’t have to buy a light to use with it. Perfect for when I’m lying in bed getting my toddler to sleep or when my husband wants the light out and I want to continue reading. I use the lowest brightness setting.
* I can change the text size with most book formats making it easier on my over 40 eyes.
* I can load kids videos onto it and my kids can watch their favorites when away from TV
* Doubles as an mp3 player
Negative
* I can read outdoors in the shade but in direct sunlight, can’t see the screen
* You can set bookmarks but once (in the reading of 10 books so far) it seemed to loose the bookmark and when I pressed ‘load bookmark’ nothing happened which meant having to page through the book from the start which took an age.
* There is a setting to turn off the backlight when idle for a while but the options for this range from 5 seconds to 30 seconds which is not long enough to finish a page meaning that I have to select the option “always on” which uses more power. There really should be an option for 1 min or even up to 5 mins. This seems a clear example where the person developing software has not actually tried it themselves and it should have been seen to before sales.
* It does not have a built in dictionary which I would like
E readers are great for travel and for getting books which are not easy to find. I do however find the price of e books very unfair, there are no printing, warehousing or distribution costs the profit margin is much much higher than a printed book, this really should reflect in the pricing.
I have discovered that it is very important to keep the battery charged as it is very annoying to have to stop reading because the battery dies.
It took a while to figure out but I have found that you do not need to save bookmarks when you stop reading, if you turn off the device or exit the book when you go back into it, it returns to the place where you were. I now only use bookmarks when I want to mark certain pages which I may want to go back to.
I bought a pair of small Enzatec speakers from Matrix for R127 and loaded a whole lot of mp3 music on my reader which now doubles as an mp3 player with excellent sound quality. The reader is 4GB, now I’ve filled it up with music (a lot) so next addition will be a 32 GB micro SD card which will give me huge storage. Way way cheaper than an ipod.
I will never move away from printed books completely, I love the feel of a book in my hand but e readers are great.
Since getting my reader my daughter has bought the Prestigio 8″ tablet and a few of us clubbed in to buy my Mum the same. I have not used the tablet but they love them.
Hi, glad you like yours, I just got mine today (I had an older model but it suffered an accident so I had to replace it.. with this one).
You say there is a setting for turning off backlight – could you please tell me how to get there? I can’t seem to find it… Where is the menu, which icon do I use for this?
Thanks a lot!
Amalia
PS I also use it when putting my baby to sleep 🙂
Sorry you can’t turn off the backlight, that is 1 complaint with it, if you go to the ‘settings’ icon by dragging yr finger from right to left across the bottom of the main page you can set it to turn off after between 5 and 30 seconds but that is not long enough for me to read a page so I have it set to ‘always on’ which uses more battery.
Wishing you happy reading
I think I found a solution to the above problem – I changed the backlight setting to be permanently on, and then set the sleep timer to 5 minutes. (this can be set to less) – this means that if I fall asleep reading, or leave the ereader for 5 minutes, it goes into sleep mode, and then you just press the power button once to reactivate it.
Wow thanks so much for your reply after having mine for over a year, at last I know what to do.
HI:)
I’m thinking of buying this one myself. But I’m still not sure, since this is not a e-ink model, does your eyes get tirred or not? Fow how long does the baterry keep while just reading? Thank you:)
Hi my eyes don’t get tired but I have mine on the lowest brightness setting. I read for long stretches and have now found that it is best to charge it every day or night as it is hugely annoying when the battery dies while I am reading.
Hie
I seem to be having trouble in finding how to adjust the font size,,I noticed there is the zoom in icon at the bottom but when I do that the words fill up the whole screen and cuts the sentences.
Elizabeth
hi the zoom icon works for me, have you tried it on a medium zoom. I think it may just be something to do with the format that the book is in. I noticed with 1 book that I read the zoom did not work at all which must have been something to do with the file format. Have you tried it with more than 1 book? I would suggest posting a question on the prestigio facebook page maybe they will be more help than me
Hi Elizabeth
Not sure if you can answer this but – Do you have to download books from their own site or can you also download Kindle books to this?
Hi I think that you can also download kindle books I have downloaded many on other sites not sure what language kindle is in but this reader supports EPUB, PDF, FB2, MOBI, HTML, PDB, RTF & WTXT. Kindle is probably one of those.
Hi All,
Can someone please tell me how do I change the date on this e-reader? PLEASE
Thanks
Lana
slide yr finger right to left on icon section at bottom of screen and have a look at the icon marked ‘user manual’ it explains there, another good way to get help with queries is on the Prestigio facebook page
When you change the orientation to “landscape” and zoom in. Does you page start at the top if you go to next page or does it start at the bottom and you have to scroll up to read the next page. I cant seem to fix this problem.
sorry I’m half asleep and don’t have mine close by, I think post the question on Prestigio facebook pg
Hi, Sula! I’ve also got my e reader from CNA but, even when I connect it to the computer with the supplied cable, the computer do not show anything. I’ve wrote my question for support on Prestigio’s facebook page, but I did not get any reply from them!
Please be so kind and contact me via email so we can discuss this: chrisvvm@vodamail.co.za
Hey, I have the same Reader as u, but I don’t know how to get book in it. Help!!! I’ve had it for two weeks now and I still haven’t read from it. Please help. Anyone.
Hi I downloaded books then saved them on my computer, then plug the reader into the computer with the cable given and copy the book from the folder where they are saved on the computer into the books folder of the reader which you can view while it is plugged in. I may not have put this very well for more professional help maybe post this question on the prestigio facebook page and you will be sure to get a more comprehensive reply.
Thank u so much… That’s perfect! Initially I thought about that, but didn’t do it 4 sum unexplainable reason. I get it. Thanks:).
So glad I was able to help
Hi, Treasure! Did you know by this time how to load books on your eReader? If so, please contact met via email! chrisvvm@vodamail.co.za
5 x 10. Unfortunately, there is no option for additional memory storage space
via a micro – SD slot. 3 version of Android and may be upgraded
to 4.
Hi, i just bought the e-reader, but having such difficulty with it, please can you e-mail me on sadia.vanwyk@marsh.com so that i can ask you some questions,
Hallo,
Could you please tell me if you ever experienced the problem where your reader does not go to the main screen. I got mine today and it gets stuck turning on and does not do anything. Not sure if I am doing something wrong?
I’m not sure if I have had that problem, I have found that with some books it can be very slow opening the book, sometimes as long as a few minuites. If you are worried I think take it to the store where you got it and ask them to check it. Are you in South Africa, if so I can give you the e-mail address for the agents who are very helpful
Thank yo for your reply. I managed to get some help on fb and as it tuns out I only ha to use a different thin object to press the restart button.:) Thank you also for all the information you provided with regard to this product. It was one of the main reasons I got this reader!
So glad that you got help. Lovely to know that my blog was of use to you. Hope you have lots of fun with your reader
Hi we bought our daughter one for her birthday she is turning 9 and its not her birthday yet but can you please tell me where can I download Afrikaans ebooks for her…she loves to read but the ebooks on it more for me than for her….would be very helpful cause I have search the web and nothing and more girly stuff she aint like kids her age she stills like to play with dolls and her games are like for Barbie e.g so if anyone can direct me to a site for books , wallpapers , games I would be forever grateful…Thank you soooo much…Please do email me….
Have you tried Kalahari.com and exclusives?
Hi Sula. Could you please let me know what is the mane of the game is on the e-reader! I had one but it got lost. Now I bought the prestigio tablet But its not in it! Its the vame with all the little picture blocks…..
Please help so that I can dowload it from the android site if possible!!!!!!!
I would appreciate it very much.
Thanks Kelly
Hi Kelly, it’s called LLK Game. Now I will have to try play it, I’ve never really looked at the games.
HI Sula
Just a quick question, i just now received my ereader, but it is connected to the pc and I have downloaded the Adobe Digital, but i dont know how to get the books on the device as i dont know where to find it as no icon is popping up. Can you perhaps help me?
Thank you
Berinda
Hello, sorry I’ve taken so long to reply I am currently away from home and have no internet access. To open reader, plug into computer, go to ‘my computer’ and you will see it there. From there you can open it create new folders on your reader and delete what you don’t want. You then copy and paste the books on yr pc onto the reader.
My wife’s one broke, it’s been sent in for repairs. Hopefully it will be fixed soon as it’s been a week and they are saying there is no stock. Very annoying when they take almost a week to tell you that.
I love my Prestigio ebook reader. My only complaint is that I find the backlight too bright, even on the lowest setting. I wish it could also remember more last read books as well. Otherwise it is fabulous!
Agreed, I would also like a slightly softer backlight which would save battery power too. Not too fussed about last read books, I tend to delete them when I’m done
Hi Sula, I just bought my Prestigio Nobile PER3274b and I am trying to copy e-books from my PC, but it doesn’t want to paste and gives me an error message saying : Cannot find the specified file. Make sure you specify the correct file name and path.
Is there something else I need to do or download once I’ve plugged the E Reader into the PC via the supplied USB cable?
Thanks in advance
Hi
you need the Adobe Digital Editor downdoaded on your pc.
once done, reboot your pc, then after swithcing on, connect your ereader. if it is still not showing in the Adobe program, then reset your e-reader. this is what helped me as i had the same problem. then you drag the the new downloads to your Adobe and then once in Adobe, then you drag it to your e-reader that should show in Adobe as an additional file.
Hope this is of some help.
Hi Sula, I just bought my Prestigio Nobile PER3274b and I am trying to copy e-books from my PC, but it doesn’t want to paste and gives me an error message saying : Cannot find the specified file. Make sure you specify the correct file name and path.
Is there something else I need to do or download once I’ve plugged the E Reader into the PC via the supplied USB cable?
Thanks in advance
Thanks Sula, but I managed to get it right to copy the e-books onto my reader. Great product and I am very satisfied and soooo happy with this amazing e-reader…….
so glad that you solved your problems!
I have not had a problem doing copy and paste from folders on my PC to the reader but I see that Berinda had a similar problem and explained a way to get around it.
I have just bought my son the Prestigo eReader and doesn’t know much about. it. Can I directly download books or textbooks with the eReader?
Hi Stella, you need to first download them to a computer then plug the reader into your computer and copy them to there
If the e-reader is already attached to your computer, you can save directly to a folder on the e-reader too. I prefer to do it this way instead of having double copies on my computer and the Prestigioi
I have just been given a Prestigio e-reader for my birthday. Thank you for this blog. I just absolutely love the e-reader and some of these comments have saved me hours of figuring it out, although it really is simple to use! I love the fact that it is in colour too.
So glad you’re enjoying it! And that my blog has been of help
Hi there,
Please can someone explain to me how to get my 3274 back into alphabetical order? I’ve copied some books on it, now everything is out of order, from the menu page : starts from video instead of audio and even the languages are from z – a instead of the other way around and so are the books. So frustrating!!!
sorry I have no idea, maybe someone else here can help you.
What about trying to sort your books when it is plugged into your computer – like you would with a flash drive
Hi Ros,
I’ve tried that, but it doesn’t change anything. Am I maybe copying and pasting incorrectly? Just don’t understand why everything is mixed up
I have quite a few photographic ebooks on my computer. How do I change the format to read them on my ereader??
I’m sorry I’m not sure, what format are they in?
Hi I bought my Presigio at CNA – im having trouble with some of my epub books, i read them halfway and then my presigio turns off and on and i cannot seem to get past a certain page. Ive reset my e-reader and deleted the specific books and reloaded them without any success. Does anyone have any advise is this regard. Its also slow when turning pages??
Hi Mariska, sorry I can’t help with your query, you can contact Dean, his contact details are at the bottom of the blog post. Mine is also sometimes slow turning pages but that doesn’t bother me too much.
The ereader is slow with large digital books that are not designed for ereaders. I have tried reading “A4 sized” magazines that are +-30mb big, and it is too slow for this. I rather read these on the laptop. I also find that using the scroll buttons rather than the touch screen improves the reading experience. On the book getting stuck – I have had that a couple of times – the first time, I went to the reading history and deleted the history for that book (that sorted it). Afterwards, I just leave the book for about a minute, and the ereader seems to fix the problem – it seems as if it lags in loading the book occasionally.
HI. I was wondering how do you download Ebooks?
Can get from Amazon and many other sites, download onto your computer then plug your reader into the computer and copy onto your reader. When plugged in you can change the names of existing folders on the reader or create new ones.
how long does your battery last?
I’m not sure probably about 6 hours but that’s just a guessw
Mine lasts about 5-6 hours if I am reading and about 3-4 if I am watching movies
Hi there. Can we download games for our ereader 3274b?
I’m sorry I don’t know, you can ask on the Prestigio Facebook page. It comes with a few games but I don’t think so because it is not Android, but I could be wrong
Hi Sula, do you purchase books from kalahari.com? Im a bit skeptical as I know you have to download to your PC first. But how do you do this as it says on kalahari that it will download to your library on the prestigio? is this correct?What about kobo website? can we buy books from there?
You need to have Adobe Digital Editions, and authorise your computer. You then download the books to your computer. They save as a “.ascm” file – this is a temporary data file. drag these into Adobe Digital Editions, and you can read them on your computer. Plug the ereader in to the computer when Adobe Digital Editions is open, and it picks it up and shows it in the menu on the left hand side. Right click on it and click on “authorise” to authorise the ereader (otherwise you cannot read your downloads on the ereader).
search your computer for “*.epub” – this is the format that kalahari.com gives you most ebooks in (Adobe Digital Editions converts the .acsm files to .epub files). Open the folder with the epub files.
Go to “My Computer” and open the ereader folder, and go to books.
drag the epub files into the books folder (in the correct language) {I deleted all the other languages, and just left the english folder}.
Unplug the ereader and turn it on. Your books should appear, and you should be able to read them.
Hi I am afer an ereader and have been looking at your reviews cld anyone tell me which sites I cld download books from and is it wi fi and can u download books traight to the ereader wld anyone know where I cld get ine from I am In the uk birminghsm
an help wld be much appreciated
Cld unlet me know by email if there r any comments thanks
The ereader is not wifi enabled.
it reads a wide range of ebooks, so most sites should be fine.
I purchased my Prestigio Nobile PER3274B eReader about a year ago. I find that for the past three months, the battery depletes very rapidly. I need to recharge after reading approx. 15 pages, if I’m lucky. My son in law who has the same device reports that he is experiencing the very same problem. I have the backlight set to 1 which is the minimum.
The battery discharges even though the device has been on charge overnight. I read using the device for about 3 hours a day, but this is interrupted by having to recharge continuously.
Whilst reading, an error message instructs me to switch the device off because the battery is very low, but after connecting it to the charger, the device is fully charged within 5 minutes after being connected to the charger unit, then the battery needs charging after the next 10 or so pages have been read. Prestigio’s support site is of no help, I feel that they are interested in sales, not backup. Pity though, even with all the hassles, I love my device, because apart from the battery issue, it does everything else extremely well.
Thank you,
B A Conyers
That is a pity, mine is a year and a half old and still holds battery pretty well, although not as long as it did when I first got it. If you are in SA maybe contact Dean, his details are at the end of my post.
Wow! that was a quick response, thank you. Both I and my son in law are now resident in the UK, and I came across you blog site purely by luck. My son in law bought his device in SA from CNA in Cape Town, and I bought mine online direct from Prestigio.
I was hoping to find a repair service for the Prestigio here in the UK but to no avail.
I have written a letter to Dean asking for any advice or information which might be of help in trying to sort out our problem. I agree that these are fantastic devices, and user friendly as well, and I love mine.
I would like to thank you for giving us Dean’s email address, and I’ll keep in touch to let you know, if he was able to be of any assistance.
Kind regards,
Brian Conyers.
That’s great, I hope that you manage to get your problem resolved
Hi there, I have a Prestigio Multipad 7.0 HD, and it’s the 2nd one I have as the 1st one was replaced after I experienced the following problem, which is now happening again. In the middle of reading a book, my multipad just completely shut down. I then had to hold in the power button in order to switch it back on. And now, when I open E-reader and try to open any book, the multipad shuts down every time. As stated, this happened on my previous pad as well, so not sure if I’m perhaps doing something wrong? Can you give me any advice?
Hi Natalie, sorry I don’t know what to suggest, if you are in SA maybe contact Dean, his contact details are at the bottom of my post
Hi! Sula, I wrote to you about a month ago, regarding the battery failure on my PER3274B ereader, and followed your suggestion of trying to contact Dean which I did do. Unfortunately I did not get the courtesy of a reply, possibly because Dean no longer handles reported problems regarding these devices, or that there are so many complaints regarding these ereaders, being swamped with complaints that that office has been closed. I have tried with no success to contact Prestigio direct, so it seems that when the devices do malfunction, the purchaser is on his or her own. which is unfortunate, because of it being such a nice friendly device to use. Thanks for trying to assist anyway. Kind regards, Brian Conyers, Norwich United Kingdom.
Hi I’m very sorry to hear that you have not had feedback, that is very frustrating! Is there anyway you can get a replacement battery? I’m not sure how I would go about that but just wondering
Dear Sula,
There is a sticker on the back of my eReader marked “VOID”, which I believe, if broken, the guarantee or warranty would immediately fall away, so I am not keen to tamper with the device, or open it up. I would only do so as a last resort. I am not sure if a replacement battery would be found to replace the device’s existing battery, it having to be a rechargeable type that must also fit inside of the eReader’s case. I am concerned that it will be a purpose made battery available from Prestigio only. I have tried contacting Prestigio using the Prestigio customer support site, but have not had a response to my enquiry, and as mentioned earlier, was hoping to get contact details through Dean, but unfortunately he has not replied either, so it seems that I have exhausted all the avenues known to me, to have the device repaired through Prestigio themselves. I have had the eReader for almost a year now, yet can’t get assistance from Prestigio’s customers support. I have searched the web for Prestigio repair centres here in the UK, and that is how I located you through your website in South Africa. If by chance you should come across any helpful info that could be of any assistance in this matter, won’t you kindly pass it on to me? Your assistance in this matter would be much appreciated.
Thanking you in anticipation,
Brian Conyers.
will do, have you tried to contact Prestigio via their FB page? I understand your frustration
Hi! Sula, Compliments of the Season to you and your family.
Well, this Christmas started off well for me regarding ereaders. A short while ago, I made contact with you via your website, trying to find a resolution to the issues I had regarding the very rapid battery discharge on my Prestigio Nobile PER 3274 B device. After trying many avenues here in the UK to have my device repaired, the Prestigio Support asked me to contact a company called:
iThinkit Limited
Unit 17
Stafford Park 12
Telford
United Kingdom
Website: http//support.ithinkit.com/
I contacted this organisation, and was instructed to send the device to them to attend to the necessary repairs, which I duly did. They acknowledged that they received the device, would check it out which they did, and informed me that they were waiting for spare parts to do the repair. About 2 weeks after, I received a message from iThinkit, saying that they could not repair the unit I had sent to them, and were going to send me back an upgrade, which I received in the post on Christmas eve. I am now the proud owner of the Prestigio MultiReader PER5474BC a 7″ Android device, that links to the Internet via wi/fi , identical in performance to that of a tablet.
So I am very chuffed, and would like to thank you for suggesting that I should contact them through the Facebook site.
Kind regards,
Brian Conyers
Dear Brian, I was wondering if you ever found a solution, so glad that it was resolved, great news! Have a wonderful new year
I am too daft to use technology like this. In fact, I am to scared to get a smartphone and have no idea what the difference between a laptop and I-pad is.
If you face any issue regarding Prestigio Battery then feel free to visit.
Prestigio Battery
I am in East London and my Prestigio is not working. The on button is gone i think cant get it on, where can i take it to for repairs.
Hello, you can try the contact details at the end of this post, hopefully they are still valid