A long-life battery allows users to read for 20 to 40 hours without recharging. With a larger color display and faster modem, the REB1200 is ideal for displaying graphics-rich content. The 1200 can store approximately 3,000 color-intensive magazine pages or 5,000 typical book pages. Both devices feature a built-in dictionary, word search, and a touch screen for users to navigate, highlight, bookmark, underline and make notes. Users can also adjust the font size, back light, or the page display.
Titles cost roughly the same as their hardcover equivalents.
Readers can also select an issue from over 30 magazines and newspapers like the New York Times, Newsweek or Time to download to their REB device. But content is limited to titles that are negotiated by Gemstar, so bibliophiles may be unable to find the niche or genre titles that they are looking for. That's limiting what the devices can do and that's not what consumers want. RCA says its bestseller focus is part of its strategy to jump-start the category before turning its attention to other markets, such as textbooks. Much to the chagrin of Rocket eBook fans, RCA removed the popular RocketWriter feature, a utility that allows authors to create their own files and convert them to REB format.