Hi!

First off, thank you for having me on your forum. I've been reading this the posts on this site for several weeks now, as I've gone from enthusiastic to frustrated and back to enthusiastic again...

To begin with, I've had most of the ereaders since the Rocket E-Book. I've owned the black and white version, the color version (REB1200) and the Sony Libre...

My best experience (not that you asked, but hey...) was with the color REB 1200. I subscribed to TIME and Newsweek, which were delivered onto the REB 1200; and I found that reading magazines as well as ebooks was a lot of fun.

Time passed, and I read about the Libre. I was an early adopter, flashing an English OS and struggling through downloading text files from Gutenberg. While I liked the e-ink display, the Libre fast became a paperweight in my house.

While led me to the iLiad. The ads showing a newspaper brought back fond memories of downloading newspapers and magazines, and I thought 16 levels of grayscale would mean a great e-ink display. Before I purchased it, I expressed concern to iRex about their lack of content, but the folks over there assured me that a deal would soon be announced with a provider, and that demand was such that I should get my order in ASAP. $700 and agonizing visits Gutenberg/manybooks.net later...

Out comes the Sony Reader. While smaller and displaying only 4 shades of gray, it is supported by an ebook store (content!) and a fairly good interface (remember, I'm a Libre vet). Plus, the purchase price is mitigated somewhat by a $50 credit at the Sony Connect bookstore.

After using both these ebook readers side by side, the clear advantage goes to the Sony Reader. iLiad has a nicer display (though not by much) and that's about the only thing it has going for it at this point. I'm not bothered by the idea that the Sony Connect books for the Sony Reader have copy protection schemes, and I've found that the "iLiad Formatted" public domain books on Manybooks.net look great on the Reader too.

The Reader has a better fit and finish IMO, feeling sturdy and durable. The iLiad looks nice but has a kind of plastic-y feel that makes me want to blow dust off it and place it carefully in bubble-wrap. The Reader feels like something you can carry around with you... The Reader also includes a cover, which the iLiad does not.

The Reader is also faster to change pages - a concern I've read about in many threads.

One thing though - I messed up when I began using it. Without going into the details, which make me look like a cretin, just remember to do the following in order:

1. Create a relationship between the Reader and the PC you're going to use for Sony Connect purchases.
2. Then go to Sony Connect and register.
3. Before you buy any books, make sure that your $50 credit is in your account.

Don't buy books before your Reader is registered - it is bad. I know, and yes, I'm a cretin.

I'll probably keep updating the software on the iLiad as it moves forward in development. But for now it's a work in progress. The Reader is more polished and ready for market.

Cheers!
Larry
:)

Wow, Larry.. you're our kind of guy -- ebook-aholic!! ;-)

I'm not sure why your approach to buying the books is a problem, though. You probably had to pay for some ebooks instead of using the credit, but once you register the Reader, shouldn't it work okay?

Have you called Sony support to try to get that straightened out? It sounds like something that shouldn't be a big deal to get all the books you purchased into the account you need them to be in for your reader.

Wow, Larry.. you're our kind of guy -- ebook-aholic!! ;-)

I'm not sure why your approach to buying the books is a problem, though. You probably had to pay for some ebooks instead of using the credit, but once you register the Reader, shouldn't it work okay?

Have you called Sony support to try to get that straightened out? It sounds like something that shouldn't be a big deal to get all the books you purchased into the account you need them to be in for your reader.

Ebook-aholic?

"Hi. I'm a friend of Bob R..."

Rub it in whydoncha, Bob? :)

I bought about $100 worth of books while the reader was charging for the first time. When the battery was full, I connected and registered it, but the books didn't come across because the computer wasn't certified when I bought them and I had to re-download them all.

That wasn't too big a problem...fortunately. So after figuring that out, I called Sony support, and they said that since the charge had gone through already they couldn't apply my $50 credit.

I do blame myself, as of course I didn't read the instructions. With prior ebooks, I'd download the books to the computer whever I felt like it and then attached the reader at my convenience to port them in. I didn't know you had to set up and register the Sony first, before downloading.

Charm, imploring, and begging didn't work with Sony - they still wouldn't apply the credit or do a refund. It could be worse though - I could have spent $700 on a Reader that's really part of an expensive beta testing program that is now a brick...oh...wait...did that too...

:)

Thanks for the side by side, Larry Z! There aren't too many folks who can give us that sort of comparison. Do please continue to give us your observations!

As far as "having you on the forum," I'd say you're a great addition to it, speaking for myself, so thank you for coming along! :beam:

Thank you, NatCh! :)

I realized a couple of other things in comparison, which may be of use to folks...

1. When using wifi with an Mac/Airport and an iLiad, you need to turn off all security settings on the Mac. Then it will work.

2. The dock that they sell for the Reader is totally worth it, though the Reader fits in spine forwards, which is counter-intuitive. Conversely, the leather cover they sell for the reader isn't really necessary, as the supplied black cover works great.

I wrote a manual for my kung fu school, and I'm going to try and convert it to a PDF and see how it looks on the Sony. It displayed fine on the iLiad...

Cheers!
Larry Z.
:)

I wrote a manual for my kung fu school....I was going to ask if your cool avatar was you, but I think that answered my question!

I was going to ask if your cool avatar was you, but I think that answered my question!

Yeah, it's me - that was taken last weekend, BTW. Been at it for almost 15 years...it's fun, but reading is a lot less painful - at least physically!

I take that back - getting the iLiad to work with Wifi was painful, simply because I was banging my head against the wall so much... :)

Larry Z.

Wow, you have them both: iLiad & Sony Reader. :happy2:
I would be cool to see a photo with both next to each other. Could you shoot one & post it here? :cool:
I know the dimensions of Sony Reader, but I have no idea how it looks in real life in comparison with iLiad.

Wow, you have them both: iLiad & Sony Reader. :happy2:
I would be cool to see a photo with both next to each other. Could you shoot one & post it here? :cool:
Roland had a similar idea (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8104) today. :D

Well Larry Z ! The ball's in your court!

Well Larry Z ! The ball's in your court!
Don't put him under to strong pressure. However, we are waiting for it. :happy2:

Yeah! It's a big order indeed!

I'm thinkin' someone actually posted such a side by side shot already, but I can't find it, which makes me perturbed. :brood:

Bob found it in another thread (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=42682&postcount=6) -- here's the original link
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=39462#post39462

Okay folks stand by - I'll see what I can do...
LZ

Okay, let's see if this works...

There should be four pictures...
Let me know what you think!
Larry Z.
:)

Thanks for the last pics of them in your hand. That helps a lot!

I think I like the contrast on the Sony a bit more....

Is that contrast between background and text that different between the two?

m

Ooops - forgot one. The infamous "key comparison..."

I think for size (my hands are pretty big) you should think "Comic Book" for the iLiad and "paperback book" for the Sony Reader.

The iLiad does have a better image - 16 level greyscale vs. 4 - but for regular text (not photos) they are identical, at least to my bloodshot eyes.

Cheers!
:)

Very nice. Thanks!
What can you tell us about the difference in screens other than size. Is there a different tint, texture, surface feel, brightness or contrast?

Hmm -

Good question, Bob. I'm staring at them right now, and id' have to say that the iLiad has a "matte" feeling screen while the Reader feels more "glossy."

Tint-wise, they both look grayish with black text. However, the iLiad is slightly lighter gray, lending a slight better image. We're mincing hairs here, however, as both really look good - particularly with text.

Brightness and contrast are a wash. I have loaded my kung fu manual into the iLiad, and the photos display very nicely. I haven't gotten the PDF into the Reader, however, so I can't really compare the two there. At least, not yet.

It's important to note that the Reader is WAY easier to operate. You can bookmark, change books, and move around with ease. When you turn the Reader on, it comes up on the last page you read. The iLiad take a couple of minutes to start up, and then you have to re-open the book you're reading. I think that, plus the lack of available commercial content, is what prompted me to buy the Sony...

:)

Thanks! Great descriptions.

I'd ask you about what screen surface seems sturdier, but I'm afraid you'd push on them and do damage. But can you tell from normal gentle handling which screen seems sturdier? (I'm guessing the Sony just by virtue of its smaller size, but am wondering if you observed any other difference in how sturdy they are.)

Come to think of it, how about the feeling of a GENTLE touch on the screen? Does one seem more slippery, or seem more likely to collect grease and dirt, or seem harder to wipe off. I know, I'm getting really nitpicky here, but I'm just very intrigued at the screen comparison. The same company makes them and they are supposed to be identical except for the size, but surely the surface or other qualities will vary with the model and/or the reader components that go over or around the screen. (For example the touchscreen surface is probably on top of the e-ink screen, isn't it? Or is it part of what e-ink delivers as part of the screen component?)

Offhand, I'd say both screens feel pretty solid. The iLiad seems thinner and bigger, hence the comparison to a comic book. The stylus is not really useful, and the response of pen to screen is pretty poor - you can't even set up the stylus to your writing style. I'm not a big Wacom fan anyway.

The Sony feels more substantial. The screen does seem slippery (the "glossy" description applies here) where the iLiad is a little more textured. Maybe that's the touchscreen component you referred to...

I am pretty nitpicky visually, and I still think that both screens look fairly even. Part of the problem in comparing is that Sony allows me to resize the fonts and I can't do it on the iLiad. So the text on the iLiad is tiny and on the Sony I can make it large, medium or small. The iLiad might have that function, but it doesn't work on my Gutenberg collection of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie books.

If I had it to do over again, I would surely get the Sony and spare myself the expense and hassle of the iLiad - which comes off as an interesting prototype, but not ready for prime-time.

:)

I think the wacom digitizer is RF based (?) rather than touch based, and probably behind the whole display ... isn't it? :confused:

Yep, you're right. It uses an active pen. Don't know what that means about the location of the digitizer or whether it's part of the e-ink supplied component.

Tonight I was able to get my class manual on the Sony, and...it doesn't look great. However, I scaled it so that fonts were bigger, so maybe that has something to do with the text looking washed out.

I haven't tried to put the scaled version on the iLiad yet to see if it looks equally bad. I suspect it will.

Also, the page turns are a little slower with the PDF file, but from reading other threads this is well-covered ground.

Cheers -
Larry Z.
:)

What format is your class manual in? Is it pictures or text?

Hi All,
Currently I'm still reading on/with the good old GEB2200, but I'm really tempted to go for one of the E-ink thingies, but I'm not yet decided whether it should be the Sony or my Dutch neighbour.

From the photos Larry kindly provided I'd think the Ereadier is quite handy and better to my gusto (I still have an even older rocket ebook, ahh how perfectly that widget fit my hand... and you could even rotate the text.... maybe it's worth having a look at it once again :-)

So, one of the things I'd like to know is whether anyone has heard anything from sony when/if they will ship their reader to Europe? (My last glance didn't reveal anything in that direction)

And further, is there anyone who plugged his reader (Ereader vs Iliad) to a Linux box? And how? What are the experiences?
For the GEB I need to start Gemstar's converter(using wine under Linux) in order to get my source file into that imp-format of theirs... and in the long run it's just a pain in the a*, as compared with the prospect to simply copy any HTML or PDF to the device.

Best Regards and happy reading (and be it on paper),
Tommy

Welcome to MobileRead, Tommy!

The short answers to your questions are that Sony hasn't really said anything about shipping outside the U.S. except that they're not doing it presently, and that the Sony PC side software will only run in WinXP at present, but I don't think the iLiad cares what it's connected to.

You can poke around the respective forums and find a wealth of detail on those topics, and many others, but that's the nutshell version. :beam:

What format is your class manual in? Is it pictures or text?

The manual is a Word Docment, converted to a PDF file according to the spec's posted in another thread.

I can use the document - it's just the text is small. It's mostly text, but there are some graphics and photos. The photos don't look great but they're there.

:)
Larry Z.

I've found bump the text up to 16-18-20 point, should look a lot better coming from Word.

The manual is a Word Docment, converted to a PDF file according to the spec's posted in another thread.

Have you tried simply importing the Word doc itself or changing to an RTF? The Sony Reader does a better job with RTFs vs. PDF, I've found. I agree that you may have to enlarge the font to 16-20 pt for better reading.

I tried importing the Word Doc, and the Reader crashed on it (though it did come up in the main menu).

I haven't tried RTF - the PDF is serviceable for now. Thanks a lot!

Larry Z.
:)

I should correct that iLiad starts not several minutes, but 45 seconds. And as you said some time to find and load a book.

With latest version 2.7 iLiad turns a page in 1.5 of second in PDF file.

I should correct that iLiad starts not several minutes, but 45 seconds. And as you said some time to find and load a book.

With latest version 2.7 iLiad turns a page in 1.5 of second in PDF file.

Maybe my iLiad is slow - (or it's owner is slow) but it does take over a minute to start up. I just timed it, and and it booted up in about 75 seconds. Then to load my manual takes another minute or so.

I haven't, however, upgraded to 2.7. I will do so eventually, but I have to remove the security settings from my airport to get the wifi connection to work and it's just a hassle. I'll revisit the iLiad with some enthusiasm when they announce a deal for content. I can only reread "The Sign of the Four" so many times before I start calling my wife "stout fellow," clutching a pipe and looking for clues everywhere...

Right now I'm reading "The Secret Man," by Bob Woodward - the story of "Deep Throat" from Watergate. I wish I could read it on the iLiad - but not so. At least, not yet...

Cheers!
Larry Z.
:)

40 second startup here, version 2.7
Looking forward to suspend mode though, with immediate restart...

Hey! Are you guys using metric time or US time?

Larry,
I agree with you that even 45 seconds and 1 minute to find and load last book is too long. And I more like that Sony have sleep mode.

But I write to iRex and they told me that that hardware of iLiad doesn't allow sleep mode. So I'm afraid we will not see several seconds of waking up.

Hi Malder1,
It would be interesting to see what iRex told you in the email - from discussions in the iRex forum it seems like suspend mode (even between page turns) is a future possibility. Implementing this should get us closer to the promised 21 hr battery life (currently at around 11 hrs).

iRex stated somwhere, that the wacom tablet gives them trouble, so the processor cant go to 33MHz.

Larry,
I agree with you that even 45 seconds and 1 minute to find and load last book is too long. And I more like that Sony have sleep mode.

But I write to iRex and they told me that that hardware of iLiad doesn't allow sleep mode. So I'm afraid we will not see several seconds of waking up.

You know, I've always shut it off before using it - so I've never really tried to resume a session... I should give that a shot one night...

I still haven't tried 2.7 either... Maybe I'll give that a go tomorrow.

Cheers!
:)

Hi all -

I updated my iLiad software to 2.7, and I have a few additional reactions...

1. I boot up to the main menu in about 40 seconds, and it takes an additional 30 seconds or so to get to the book menu, select my book, and begin reading. The Reader, on the other hand, starts right up where I left off in about 2.5 seconds. That's a big difference. Making a pot of coffee to drink while I'm reading takes exactly the same amount of time regardless of device. :)

2. Now I have to revise a point I made earlier in the thread. The iLiad's larger screen is discernably better. I found it easier on the eyes, and I think tonight was a better time to judge, because I read the Reader for about two hours before I did the update to the iLiad.

3. Page turns on the iLiad are feeling better to me after the update, but still not quite as fast as the Reader. (Close though...)

4. The page turning bar on the iLiad feels more natural than the button on the lower left of the Reader. I realize that the Reader has the little "arrow" buttons to turn pages on the spine, but since I use the Sony Leather Cover those buttons are a little inconvenient.

5. At this point, I still favor the Reader based on two main points... First - content. Sony has the ebook store. That's a huge thing for me. Second, the "wake up" time of 2.5 seconds. Hit "on," and begin to enjoy the book. That's the way it should be, and how it works with paper copies.

The iLiad's wifi connection is a great idea, but the fact that I need to reconfigure my router every time I use it (I'm on a security enabled Mac) is a pain. If iRex sorted that out and had an online bookstore that could be accessed by wifi that'd be great.

I'm not sure if the iLiad will mature in that direction, but I'm happier with it after the update. It's getting better, but still not there yet IMO...

Larry Z.
:)