Like most readers, the Pyrus comes with its own software - you'll find Windows and Mac OS X installers on the reader's internal storage.

These controls let you move around your library, select letters in the text entry matrix for the search box and navigate menus. In the centre is a four-way navigation pad with a centre button with an uncomfortably spiky nubbin in the middle. There are four labelled control keys at the bottom of the reader, which take you home, open the settings menu for whichever screen or document you currently have open, go back a step and open the search box. The page turn buttons are well positioned, though - there are forward and back buttons on each side of the display, so you can easily reach both buttons whether you have the reader in your left or right hand. The reader's design isn't brilliant either - it's a little too wide to hold comfortably with one hand, particularly if your hands are small. We don't seriously object to the slightly yellowish background colour, but the soft edges to text and slow refresh rate don't compare well to most rivals.

We've seen much better-quality e-paper displays than the Pyrus's 6in version.

Calibre ebook reader review