Literati eReader Review

The Literati by Sharper Image is an eReader that is a scaled down version from many other models like the Kindle and Nook, as it is made specifically for the mass audience of people who do not have the money to spend on more expensive models.

Unfortunately, this eReader has been universally panned as an awful gadget that should never be purchased. Is the Literati really that bad? Or is this just the fumings of some eReader elites who can’t bear the thought of paying less than $200 for a device? Continue our Literati eReader Review to find out.

Specifications

The specifications for the Literati are rather simple. It is an oblong shaped unit that is quite long with a 7-inch LCD screen with a 480×800 resoltion that displays color. It comes with a keyboard, and the default internal memory is 250MB, but it can be pushed all the way up to 8GB with an SD card.

Positive Points of the Literati eReader

The Literati is connected to the Kobo network, which has a wide array of books. Not only that, but if you are a Kobo customer, then you can add your books into the Literati.

Though the Literati’s screen is not touch screen, there are buttons near the screen for turning pages. These buttons are on both sides, so it doesn’t matter if you are left-handed or right-handed, you can easily flip pages.

When you purchase the Literati, you get 25 free classical books, and the other ebooks from the Kobo network tend to be cheap.

You can easily store and save Doc, PDF, TXT and ePub files onto your Literati right from your computer.

The Literati is set at a low entry-level price of about $159, depending on the seller. This means it easy to buy this device without breaking the bank.

You can increase the font size of the menus if you have difficulty reading small text. The screen also lights up to make it easier to read it dark environments.

Negative Points of the Literati eReader

The Literati is in color. However, very few ebooks available for the Literati come in color, meaning you rarely see it. Many people also report that the color looks very low-quality, with most colors turning out as a chalky pastel.

There is a keyboard attached to the Literati. If there were any search bookmark or annotation functions, then the keyboard would be useful. However, the keyboard is rarely used for anything, making it just a waste of space and quite an eyesore.

Many people have reported their Literatis load ebooks very slowly.

This is odd, considering that the Literati device is only made to support ebooks. Due to this, it would be sound to think that the ereader would be fast, but it can actually take a long time to turn pages or go through different ebooks.

While the Literati’s oblong design is love it or hate it, the plastic material the Literati is made from looks very cheap. If this were placed near a child’s toy, it would be difficult to distinguish the two.

There is no audio system with the Literati. While you may not want to listen to music with your ereader, this means you cannot listen to any audio books, or are there storybooks for kids that they can listen to.

To download ebooks without having the device connected to the Internet, the Literati comes with Wi-Fi functionality. However, even in a hotspot, the Literati rarely picks up Wi-Fi. Whenever it does, the speeds are very slow and unresponsive.

The page turn buttons are made for easy use. However, they tend to be very sensitive. This means if you accidentally touch them, you may turn the page without meaning to.

Since the Literati’s screen is very long, all of the text tends to look squished when you are reading a book. Unlike other ereaders, where you can change the page’s orientation, all pages are in portrait regardless of how you move the Literati.

Stability has been brought up as a problem for many units. Some units seem to work just fine, while others seem to be buggy and unable to properly load ebooks or process your instructions. This problem is uncommon, but there still seems to be many models like this.

Litarati eReader Review Conclusion

While there are a few benefits to the Literati, it has a lot of issues and downsides. Perhaps its biggest benefit is that it is meant for the entry-level market, so if you want to play with an ereader before getting one, or if you don’t have the money for a more expensive one, this is a viable choice.

However, if you are looking for a responsive and powerful device, you are not going to find it here. For the Literati to compete with the bigger units, there needs to be a lot of changes.