Houston we have lift off

Bah spoke too soon.. My money's going to Sony:

Sales iLiad about to start.

With the first tests running in several countries, the long awaited sales of the iLiad is about to start formally.

In order to be able to manage the indicated response, iRex Technologies will follow a phased approach with respect to iLiad deliveries:

* We will first roll-out the sales to our B2B customers in Europe, who will be personally invited by e-mail in June to place their orders.
* In alignment with the availability of the formal approbation certificates, our B2B contacts in other parts of the world will be invited to enroll by July.
* To individual consumers who have sent in their request for notification, we recommend to wait for our consumer version, which will have a more extended functionality (September 2006).

In a stepwise sort of way... ;)

But at least we have a timeline!! :D

Hmm, I see that the box to leave your e-mail which they mention on that page is not presently, er, present.

Ah, there it is now.

that's just evil...

Like I said, B2B is their main focus.

So.... we submitted our email address for notification for the shop opening in May. End of May... we resubmit our email address for notification of the shop opening, presumably, in September.

I for one will not be buying off a bunch of lying t*ss*rs.

Look on the bright side: at least the consumer edition has "extended functionality".

havent been so angry in a very long time

Ditto

Like I said, B2B is their main focus.

Indeed. They never denied this.

September is rather annoying. But hey it's at least a date.

anyone know what that phrase means?

* To individual consumers who have sent in their request for notification, we recommend to wait for our consumer version, which will have a more extended functionality (September 2006).

My reading of it:

Their B2B clients may be intending to sell this unit on to individuals. However they are recommending that you wait until September when we intend to release another model which is more directly aimed towards the Consumer market.

Although I have not been actively posting, I have been following the discussions on this forum whilst eagerly awaiting iLiad. To say I am disappointed would be a major understatement. I somehow doubt we (the small guys) will even witness a timely release in September.

I feel we have all been kept in the dark! I seriously doubt I will consider this product in the future.

The sad thing is, Sony do not seem to be up to much better either.
:uhoh2:

I must admit that i'm seriously vexed!!!

They were very clever to "delay" that message till it was too late for people to call them...I just tried and of course nobody was there...but i'll call them tomworrow and I think I might get just a bit rude.

Saying the device will launch for retail customers in a couple of days and then saying it will launch in September is just pure crookery.
This "we recommend" is a bit of an enigma, but I don't think we will get much from it.
The extended functionality will probably just be an updated software, not more and not less...
I'll try to clarify this as soon as possible...and I sure hope they're not planning on dragging this out till September after aying April and May up to today.

I'm mad enough that they didn't manage to launch anything in May, mad because I don't have a device to play with during my trip to Murnau and even more mad because they still haven't given us even one peice of useful information.

Please note that they didn't say "have launched to b2b", they are still talking about soon and almost there...

BASTARDS!!!
but the fact that they made this announcement now, shortly before closing their offices was really clever...that way we can all cool down before we get a chance to jump them...but I intend to keep my anger simmering...

the real crux is that neither Sony nor Jinke have a device that can match the Iliad...I got so hyped about it's features that I'm finding it hard to consider one of the other devices.

However, Jinke has so far responded to every one of my emails and has always been very free with information. They even visited the forums and actively answered people's questions here...so at least in that respect they are way ahead of irex.
They have however also not been able to launch anything and have postponed their "samples" (whatever that means) to june instead of may.

Indeed. They never denied this.

September is rather annoying. But hey it's at least a date.

I think the community here had become a little too psyched about this device over the past few weeks, with polls, speculation, etc. (MobileRead is turning more into a support group for deprived e-book junkies.) Irex may have overlooked the demand for this device, but they're just a startup, so give them a break. From Henrycat's postings I gather that the thing is not ready for primetime yet, so it's a wise decision to delay the "consumer edition" anyway.

Yup I agree.

On the otherhand it led me here and gives me several more months to get more highscores in the Arcade :-)

It may be wise or it may not be Laurens, but it's not OK to tell people "in the next few days" and then "in a couple of months".

CommanderROR: Well "couple" can mean a few or several. So in all fairness if it's available to the B2B market it could well be available to you (as a secondary sale) soon enough.

All Irex are saying there is that they are working on a true 'consumer' product which they expect to have available in September.

Again they haven't directly lied. They havn't told the whole truth. But they havn't directly lied.

well...I think they have directly lied. They actually told me "word for word" that the webshop for individual (retail) purchase would open in the next couple of days, and that is in direct contradiction with what is happening now.
I don't see much room for misinterpretation here to be honest...

It may be wise or it may not be Laurens, but it's not OK to tell people "in the next few days" and then "in a couple of months".

Maybe their PR lady just didn't know or they decided to delay at the last minute.

Ahh sorry CommanderROR I obviously missed that.

When I phoned I was only told that the launch was going ahead in a "couple of days".

That said they havn't actually actually said that the webshop won't be opened until September. Just that they are recommending that Indiviauls wait for their consumer version.

Maybe the consumer edition will be cheaper?

yep...unfortunately the lady told me exactly that...i'll call them tomorrow to clarify...though i doubt i'll get a lot of clarity...

I also contacted Jinke...I'm very seriously thinking of abandoning iRex and getting a device that could actually appear on the market sometime...I haven't given up completely, but i'm very close.
Let's see whether my questions to jinke about the V3 will be answered so quickly and efficiently as they always were in the past...

CommanderROR: Well "couple" can mean a few or several. So in all fairness if it's available to the B2B market it could well be available to you (as a secondary sale) soon enough.

All Irex are saying there is that they are working on a true 'consumer' product which they expect to have available in September.

Again they haven't directly lied. They havn't told the whole truth. But they havn't directly lied.


Haven’t directly lied?! Oh silly me! I got all confused and thought they had completely lied. Well then, if it’s only a half lie it’s all ok then.

In my moment of weakness I almost started blabbering about customer trust, business ethics and transparency.

Luckily now I realise it was only a half lie and all will be………………………

Maybe the consumer edition will be cheaper?

I don't think so, because it probably wouldn't be subsidized by long term subscription contracts with publishers and such.

I don't think so, because it probably wouldn't be subsidized by long term subscription contracts with publishers and such.


Well, I have a tendency to disagree.

The b2b orders should be 'volume' users (although a sole proprietorship would probably qualify as b2b even with QTY1). In electronics, higher volume nearly always leads to a lower price on components. By September, iRex might be willing to pass that savings to consumers and keep margins constant rather than increasing.

I would also point out that from a marketing perspective consumers may not be willing to pay the b2b price (think Saturday stay overs for airlines or weekend rates for hotels) as businesses can justify the expense based only on ROI.

SO, my guess is a lower price by September (another poll, anyone).

Haven’t directly lied?! Oh silly me! I got all confused and thought they had completely lied. Well then, if it’s only a half lie it’s all ok then.

Where did I say that. Oh wait I diddn't. I was making a distinction between a direct untruth and lying by omission. And I was assuming that CommanderROR was refering to the conversation that I relayed and that someone else had had via email.

Since he has clarified that he was refering to his own communication with Irex where they specifically stated that the webshop would be open for individual orders that point is moot anyway.

And as Laurens said that could have been the truth at the time of the phonecall.

In my moment of weakness I almost started blabbering about customer trust, business ethics and transparency.

Customer trust: Things get delayed. Ok they could have been more upfront about it. Yes it's annoying I am probably as annoyed about it as you are. But as has been pointed out numerous times new products are often subject to delays at short notice.

They are only delaying by a few weeks (presuming that will actually be released within the next few weeks) even added to the previous 4/6 week delay this is still pretty small. If it gets delayed beyond that then start worrying.

They have suggested that the consumers (vs the 'professional' market they have always maintained was their primary focus) may want to wait for a planned "consumer version" rather than go with the inital offering. As that will be more directly geared towards them.

That haven't said you won't be able to get it. Just that they recommend that you wait a bit.

Transparency: This is a new marketplace with _3_ new products coming out in a relatively short period. There is transparency and then there is outright stupidity. "Lets just tell these 2 competitors, one of which is a huge corporation with very deep pockets, what our problems are!"

Business ethics: IMO thats an oxymoron.

It's bad business practice to deliberatly mislead your potential customers. On this I think we can all agree.

Without knowing exactly what has been happening at Irex recently no one can state that they had no intention of releasing the iLiad either in April or May. I sincerely doubt they intentionally mislead anyone here.

They may not have told the whole truth. But equally people have been reading their own meaning into what they actually have said. As Laurens mentioned earlier we have generated our own hype about the product.

The b2b orders should be 'volume' users (although a sole proprietorship would probably qualify as b2b even with QTY1). In electronics, higher volume nearly always leads to a lower price on components. By September, iRex might be willing to pass that savings to consumers and keep margins constant rather than increasing.

That was exactly what I thought when I read the announcement.

What they said before:

"Although the business focus of iRex Technologies is Business-to-Business solutions, we will also make our product available for individuals, who can order via our iRex Technologies web retail. (April 2006)"

They then postponed April to May because of "technical glitches" with the Web store.

Sorry, but I have to say, their customer relations needs some serious revamping.

A great lesson from irex on how to handle customers: Say May, deliver September....sorry Irex, you've just lost a lot of potential customers.

What they said before:

"Although the business focus of iRex Technologies is Business-to-Business solutions, we will also make our product available for individuals, who can order via our iRex Technologies web retail. (April 2006)"

I vaguely remember reading that the direct to individuals part was added later. But I admit I may be wrong and The Archive isn't responding so I can't check for myself.

They then postponed April to May because of "technical glitches" with the Web store.

Yes but there has been a hot of hot air along the lines of "setting up a webstore doesn't take a month".

But to look at it from another perspective. They could mean it's something related to the webstore (billing/delivery etc etc) which is causing the problem.

One example which I have seen with a friends company which seems to fit. They were a wholesale firm which decided to sell direct themselves. And set-up a website. What they diddn't take into consideration was that their billing system was quite labour intensive.

The website got launched became very popular (The retail side soon overtook the wholesale side) and their accounts team got swamped with work because selling 1 seperate unit to 1000 customers produced a lot more paperwork than selling 1000 units to 1 customer.

Sorry, but I have to say, their customer relations needs some serious revamping.

No arguement. I still haven't had a single reply to any of my emails.

Don't get me wrong. I am very very annoyed over this. I'm just doing my best to take a step back and see it from another angle.

I'm going to go with Babylon 5 and the statement "a half-truth is the worst kind of lie".

Whoever made the decision to be so misleading should get sacked*. There is no reason why Irex could not have been more forthcoming.

As far as I can tell Irex still doesn't have readers that support power saving features. Yet they had the audacity to claim that the only thing holding back sales was the webshop? Outrageous!

-Drachasor

*Or demoted and retrained, but I'm a softy

All Irex are saying there is that they are working on a true 'consumer' product which they expect to have available in September.


Speaking of a consumer model, has anyone toddled off to MobiPocket to see the newly release version 5.2? If this is fully implemented in the iRex, gang, I think we might have something to wait eagerly for.

wow , nice to read

My Iliad - History ....
10 print "Announcement for 2005/12"
20 goto "First delay to 2006/4"
30 print "Problem with Webshop .." ; goto "delay to 5/2006"
40 run "2006/5/31 irex take us for a ride"
...
50. 2006/9/30 goto 30

i called irex too, "... launch at end of May ... " and now ? Waiting for the next delay ?...

... look to samsung q1 or asus umpc ...

Well, I'm definitely disappointed.

I was very much ready to put an order in today when I saw the first post in this thread.

But I'm trying to see the glass as half-full. I'm hoping the inevitable bugs will be worked out before the "consumer version". I'm also hoping the price will be (MUCH) less than the speculated $800. If not, I really think this device will be a flop. The sony ready is supposed to be about half as much, if not less. And while everyone here knows why the iLiad is so much better, the majority of people looking for a reader will not. Nor will explaining the differences have any effect. Not at double the price point. :(

Here's hoping it's better and cheaper in September.

As far as I can tell Irex still doesn't have readers that support power saving features.

As a matter of fact, I doubt, they have enough quantity of deviсes with or with no power saving features :(
And I doubt, they have a great demand for Iliads from their "B2B partners".

Saying, they start to sell Iliads to their "B2B partners" they can hide from people shortage or total lack of devices. But for start selling it to individuals - the main thing they need - is a great nomber of real devices, which they haven't...

One more outrageous lie - nothing more... It's an... Irex :D (New slogan for them)

As a matter of fact, I doubt, they have enough quantity of deviсes with or with no power saving features :(
And I doubt, they have a great demand for Iliads from their "B2B partners".

Saying, they start to sell Iliads to their "B2B partners" they can hide from people shortage or total lack of devices. But for start selling it to individuals - the main thing they need - is a great nomber of real devices, which they haven't...

One more outrageous lie - nothing more... It's an... Irex :D (New slogan for them)

Well, really the market for e-book devices is not that great yet. I remember reading somewhere that the total production run for the Librie was about 4,500 units - seems very low even when considering the DRM limitations it had. The masses (not us, the devoted fanatics who are ahead of the curve on tech adoption and e-book understanding) won't buy without easy access to media either, which is not present yet.

I understand them wanting to focus on a potentially more lucrative B2B market, but I don't think that's going to be a proper strategy for growth and development in the long run, certainly not when they can and will be undercut by Chinese manufacturers even if the competing technology is inferior.

I hope I'm mistaken, but seems to me Philips is one of those companies that are always running behind trying to play catch up. Even when they innovate, they seem to always drop the ball when it counts. I hope that doesn't permeate to Irex.

I certainly understand a company running into snags before launch, but it was their lack of communication that pissed me off. What I Have to ask myself is do I want to give a company like this $800 with no garuantee that their support is any better than their customer relations? I'm sorry, but is was their lack of honesty to their potential early adopters, who are always the ones who test the waters for everyone else, that makes me want to steer clear of this company.

I'm just wondering if September is going to change to November, then December and so on and so on.

Hopefully the Sony Reader is available before then and some people who receive evaluation models do a thorough test of it. I may just wind up buying one and save myself a few hundred bucks.

I'm just wondering if September is going to change to November, then December and so on and so on.

That's a given. I think that the company is just placating the people here and at teleread. No one else cares.

They are just stringing us along.

I doubt that it will ever be released to the public. The power issue will remain a big problem. When does "Enhanced Functionality" ever cost less? The consumer model will probably cost more! There will be no interest in a overpriced device, consumer marketing will be dumped and they will focus on their B2B customers who will wholeheartedly without question accept the shortcomings of the device.

Indeed. They never denied this.

September is rather annoying. But hey it's at least a date.

Well, April and May were dates as well ... :sleepy: :huh: :o