For those of you who have spent the last few days in an isolation chamber, the iRex iLiad e-book reader is supposed to come out very soon and British epaper.org.uk apparently got their hands (http://www.epaper.org.uk/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1) already on a preview unit. Alas, you need to e-mail them (info at afaics dot net) if you want to receive a copy of the preview. We'll let you know once we get it!

Related: Sony Reader vs. iRex Iliad e-book reader (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5664), iRex iLiad reader too slow for "live" websites (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5969), iRex Iliad will be available for around 400 Euro (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5916)

Thanks for the info. I contacted them as well and am still awaiting a reply.

still waiting..damn...what are they doing?
was it a hoax..nah...not much sense in that... :scholar:

Why couldn't they just publish the preview on their site?

So far I haven't heard back from them either.

I just sent an email to the marketing guy in charge of the site asking what's going on...
In addition to requesting the review I also did the "epaper questionnaire" on the afaics.com website (the same people that run the epaper.org.uk site) and have not received anything from there either...

Very strange company I must say... :vulcan:

Well they updated their contact e-mail address! So if you're still waiting, you may as well want to try the updated address:

Peter dot setterington at afaics dot net

I think I actually sent an email there and even tried to phone them...guess what...no one answers...only a tape on the other end...I guess they're not in at the moment...maybe on a convention somewhere or something like that...I'll keep trying.

The review just arrived...reading now...

is it aloud to post it online? I'm too lazy to email and wait an eternity.

I'm not sure...but emailing them is no prob...the delay was apparently due to a mail-server problem...should work now.

short version:

some good new, some bad news, price given as 649Euro...wlan only for IDS.

If it weren't for the price I'd buy it straight away (as soon as available).
For 649Euro it's a bit too heavy...I'm not sure whether i'm willing to pay that price.

iRex is targeting businesses and you see this reflected in the features and the price.

They apparently could not test the touchscreen interface because it was not fully implemented yet...at least the "drawing" part was not...that does not really sound like a product that is about to launch in 2-4 weeks...
and apparently has launched in some form in china... :rolleyes5

649eu?? That would be like $700~$800?? There goes my dreams ... :(

Maybe I'll get a Nokia 770 + BT keyboard + extra battery pack and still come in below $500. *sigh* ... I see a few future headlines already ...

"iLiad start off to lurkwarm response"
"iRex still positive in having a strong quarter to end 2006"
"iRex fails to meet analyst's expectations"
"Will iLiad make it this time (2007)"
"iRex officials admit to overproduction of iliad units"
"Consumers chose Sony Reader over iLiad's superior specs"

ok, I think I should stop ... :p ... *sigh* ... what a sad day. It's bad enough that UMPC will very likely only retail in the high $800 or more (Samsung's UMPC will retail for over $1k), and that its battery life will only be 2.5 ~ 3hrs which is paltry for such a tiny MOBILE device! And now iLiad is going to retail at such a high price ... aye aye aye

The review just arrived...reading now...
Still waiting ;(

I received the preview by mail. It's really good too in giving more insight how the iLiad works and how iRex is planning to commercialize the reader.

I just read the review awhile ago. Quite neat. CF + SD slot. I'm not so worried about the specs, I'm more worried about the price.

I'll only get it if it falls below $449 ... trouble is will it ever reach that price before it disappears into oblivion. And will it take too long that other companies arrive first ...

I like the iLiad, but price is a bit steep [400-650 Euro/$500-800] for an individual. There must be a way individuals who are VERY interested and don't want to wait (like I believe most of those on this site) could play to the iRex focus on business/group purchasers to create such a group amongst ourselves and perhaps get some sort of price break per unit?

I'd be interested in exploring options.

Cheers.

yep...sounds like a good idea...but...iRex doesn't even answer emails, so it might be hard to contact them...