Blio: New Ebook reader I Just Tried Out

So I am cruising around my Internetz with the top down, and this little bird dropped a new ebook service called Blio on me.  Pleasantly surprised, I loaded it up ran it through its paces.  Here’s what I liked and disliked:

Liked:

Well, it is free. That’s cool.  Eventually you will have to pay for books, but right off there are plenty of free items out there thanks to the Project Gutenberg.  The presentation is beautiful.  Take a look at this library shot:

They even start you off with a weird pedifile collection.

Each book is well presented, easily accessible, and the searching is right there at the top.  Much like every other reader service, Blio connects to a license store of tons of books and has a link that will lead you to free books that are available.  When opened, each book is given a full two page spread, with transitions between pages and options for zoom.  I really liked the transitions:

  

  

There’s something about a page turning that just makes me feel good.

Dislike:

There are only a few problems I found, and mostly they are the same as just about every ebook reader out there.  First, I really hate when the “camera” moves around the page, showing me pieces of text and pictures.  I can see how it would help kids, but only with an audio backing.  The only successful use of this that I liked was the Marvel Comics app because comic books just lend themselves better to that type of reveals.  Second, the performance of Blio is kinda chunky.  I expect with better hardware in the coming years this reader will improve, but right now there seems to be a bit of a refresh problem. 

Final: 
A descent contender to amazon and itunes, but by no means a replacement.  The audio content seems fresh, but rights usage may be a little tricky down the line, making me wary of outright letting known how good or bad it is.  All in all, not a bad giving but nothing I am too excited over.