Review: Wyzeman 7 Colour eReader

The Wyzeman 7 Colour eReader is a solid device with a black plastic casing, featuring the bare minimum in the way of keys. It has a simple, but pleasing design. Moreover, the Wyzeman 7 is easy to use and its functionality goes beyond that of a typical e-reader.

At less than 400g, the Wyzeman 7 is lighter than some books, and certainly lighter than hardcover books or ones longer than 500 pages. This is one of the main features that attracts me to e-readers. Not having to hold up a book while in bed is a bonus, and the lighter tablet ensured that my arms didn't fail on me. Unfortunately, the plastic cover was a magnet for fingerprints.

Another great thing about e-readers (and I haven't converted yet, but I'm getting there) is that you can essentially carry a number of books with you, all in one small device. So it's great for travellers. The Wyzeman 7 is no different. It's light, yet solid, making it easy to chuck into even the most precarious backpack.

I did, however, have a gripe with the keyboard. There are seven keys for various functions, including 'power', 'zoom' and 'menu'. These are rather pointlessly interspersed with what appear to be 'dummy' keys. While they have no markings and don't respond to pressing, their size makes them look like the other keys. I don't understand why the designers did this. They could have made the functioning keys larger, or the keyboard smaller.

There are also scroll keys to the left and right of the e-reader, which make turning pages and scrolling up and down, and from side to side, fairly simple in most instances.

A pleather cover is included with the Wyzeman 7. The cover is well tailored, so even while the e-reader is inside the cover, users have access to the full screen and all the keys.

The interface is bright and clear, with large icons. Navigating between menus is made easy by way of the scroll buttons on the sides of the e-reader. I was initially thrown because I expected the e-reader to be touch-screen. However, once I got used to the scroll buttons, I found navigation easy.

Unfortunately, the e-reader did not handle all files without any snags. I found that it battled with some PDF files. These files opened fine, but were problematic when I had to zoom in to make the font larger. This would result in me having to scroll up and down the page to read the document, and then I would have to zoom out before I could turn the page.

This was somewhat frustrating and could have been avoided with dedicated buttons for scrolling and for turning pages.

The Wyzeman 7 displays text files in a number of formats, including RTF, TXT, PDB, HTML and PDF. In addition to this, the Wyzeman 7 has a video player, a music player and a gallery. While the sound quality is not great, free earphones are included and users can always get better quality earphones if they want to use the Wyzeman 7 as a dedicated music player.

Moreover, the e-reader is also able to play audio files and books, and users can store photos in the Wyzeman's gallery.

These features make it a great multimedia device for travellers or mobile workers on a budget.

The Wyzeman 7 has a seven-inch display, which is roughly the same size as a page from an A5 book. It's more than adequate for reading, and users are also given the option to zoom. I found that while the screen resolution did not allow for a great image when watching movies, the display is more than adequate for reading text.

The sound was very tinny, and would only do justice to the most vile house music. However, the Wyzeman 7 does have an audio output, allowing users to plug in a pair of earphones. Essentially, the Wyzeman 7 is an e-reader, so the sound and movie functionality is really a bonus. In any case, users making use of these options are likely to do so in transit, so they will probably use earphones anyway.

Unfortunately, the Wyzeman 7 does not come with Internet connectivity. This means users are unable to download content onto the device.

The e-reader does ship with a USB cable, however, so users can transfer files to the e-reader from their mobile phones and computers.

According to the manufacturer, the Wyzeman 7 supplies 12 hours' of battery life when used for reading.

I found that the battery lasted roughly a week while using it on a daily basis and throwing in the odd video, too (The review unit came with some funny clips as well as an episode of the IT Crowd).

At just under R1 000, the Wyzeman 7 Colour eReader is affordable compared to others. It can also play audio and video files, and can be used as a mobile photo album. It is not the slickest e-reader on the market; however, at its price, it boasts great functionality and is ideal for people on the go who don't want to shell out the cost of a high-end e-reader.