I was going tu buy it but reading some posts it seems to me that the iliad hardware is pretty unreliable. the screen is fragile, but i already know this, what kind of other weakness does the iliad have?
Thank you

I was going tu buy it but reading some posts it seems to me that the iliad hardware is pretty unreliable. the screen is fragile, but i already know this, what kind of other weakness does the iliad have?
Thank you

The hardware is as reliable as any other device with a large screen... If you get a cover for the screen then its fine...

without a cover the screen is very vunerable to pressure. since getting a cover it travels with me everywhere no probs

Mark

other that the screen is there any other major reliability issue?

none from me.

i am happy with the hardware.

mark

same here, the hardware is so far not a problem. You just have to be careful with the screen. (but thats the same with the Sony, or not?)

Agreed.

I think the first few inital devices may have had some hardware problems, but it looks like they've gotten everything sorted out.

Don't expect the power will last more than 8 hours after turning on even not doing anything! The power management may be a problem if you would like to use it for >8 hourswithout turn it off. I fully charged my ereader, it took 7-8 hours to drain all the juice even not doing anything........

Actually from 2.8 update, you get 10 hours. That's my observation.

As I unhappily discovered the screws can work lose from the bottom of the case. The large case flexes which I think is what contributes to the screws working loose. In my 3rd unit (the previous 2 having been DOA) this lead to failure of the page flip bar.

In my experience iRex's hardware support is a nightmare. Any kind of repair to the main device requires a trip to Germany and as I discovered: iRex's promises to pay for return shipping aren't always kept. I still haven't heard back from them regarding the 12/27/06 back billing from UPS for a return made last September!

Other hardware issues. Examine the photos taken of the inside of the device. It isn't a single printed circuit board design. The stacked layers of circuit board design used is historically more vulnerable to flex and vibration than a single circuit board design (as used in the Sony Reader). One of the things we humans are worst at are connectors and with stacked circuit boards you have many connectors being stressed and waiting to fail.

From the photos the Wifi is implemented as a CF card. If the CF card connection flexes too much and the connection becomes intermittent you can't re-seat it to restore proper operation. You can't access it, there is no access door.

The stylus is very flexible and seems to bend easily and comes with no replacement nibs. In addition the stylus is small and has no hole in it to secure it to the main unit with a tether. iRex only has one $40 shipping charge so ordering a replacement stylus begins with paying $40 in shipping to the USA (which is almost the same as the cost of the stylus on their site.)

In addition to main unit failures I've also had one bad travel hub, which is the only way to recharge the unit. Everything about the design of the travel hub lends itself to "dangle" which puts stress on all the cables and all the connectors inside the travel hub as well as the docking connector in the main device itself.

So long as iRex stood behind their product I was willing to put up with these issues but now that I've been back billed by UPS and iRex has yet to resolve that weeks later? I have little confidence in iRex anymore. Coupled with slow development, constant delays in promised major features, failure to promptly ship my ordered cover and sliding delivery for other hardware accessories... They now seem to me like a startup that has burned through its initial money and is now teetering on the precipice of going under.

damming indeed.

As i have said before in other threads, if they opened up the source code completely to the community they could have developers working on it whilst they provided the units and distribution of publications

I am with Scotty on this, i think the end is nigh sadly.

I am with Scotty on this, i think the end is nigh sadly.

Isn't this what someone says every month or so...? But if the Iliad ever does "fail" I would think it might be more to do with constant negativity that surrounds some, rather than any major failings...

So some units were DOA, and there was a bit of shaky start but thats what happens if you try new and ground-breaking things, and I personally am very happy that Irex have produced what they have and stuck the course. :cool:

This sounds not so good.
I thougth I should wait until the price is at least under 500, but now...
Are you too pessimistic? Or maybe the Iliad is the first and last attempt to make an reader for open formats?

This sounds not so good.
I thougth I should wait until the price is at least under 500, but now...
Are you too pessimistic? Or maybe the Iliad is the first and last attempt to make an reader for open formats?

Is that 500 euros or $ 500...? :blink:

Jaed,

If it were easier to port software without the risk of bricking etc then i am sure that the community would embrace it.

With Sony, Iriver and others chasing the same market, the Iliad is already looking functionally poor and it has had a years advantage.

I think the negativity on these forums is partially due to fustration with what could be a fantastic device, at least we care !!! Its the lack of others we should be concerned about , i cannot help but notice the tumbleweed blowing through these forums.

Mark

With Sony, Iriver and others chasing the same market, the Iliad is already looking functionally poor and it has had a years advantage.

Not quite sure how you get that... What with the Iliads network connectivity and being to add and record notes...

I think the negativity on these forums is partially due to fustration with what could be a fantastic device, at least we care !!! Its the lack of others we should be concerned about ,

I realise this, but sometimes it just feels like this fantastic device and the work the Irex team have put into it isn't appreciated...


i cannot help but notice the tumbleweed blowing through these forums.

Well... A lot of topics on the Sony Reader side seem to be things that are taken for granted on the Iliad... Reformatting pdfs, USB connectivity, etc...

lets be constructive here, what can we do to make the situation better ?

is there anything we can do on the windows platform to make the creation of well formatted PDF'S a one click process ? This is probably one of the single most annoying things that we could sort out.

is there anything we can do on the windows platform to make the creation of well formatted PDF'S a one click process ? This is probably one of the single most annoying things that we could sort out.

For the Iliad... Since Zoom/Pan there's not much that needs to changed... :blink:

:huh: it doesnt work well on mine, its not user friendly and seems to give me loads of blank space and an unpredictable zoom

lets be constructive here, what can we do to make the situation better ?

is there anything we can do on the windows platform to make the creation of well formatted PDF'S a one click process ? This is probably one of the single most annoying things that we could sort out.
That depends on what source you have got -- are you thinking of reformatting PDFs?

If you have text, open-office makes this a breeze. HTML should be a breeze as well, haven't tried it in a while.

On PDF formatting and zoom/panning:

I want to make it clear to others unfamiliar with the iLiad, that there is no problem with PDF viewing whatsoever. There has been issues, when landscape viewing or zooming did not work properly but it is the past now. These functions work as perfectly as possible with an eink device (that gives you no immediate feedback on what you are doing, because takes time to refresh the screen - I know it is an inconvenience but it is not such an unsurpassable problem).

With any books I had (even with A4 documents downloaded from the web) I managed to zoom and pan them to eliminate wide margins and make fonts readable. I realised that I am able to change the zoom for virtually any document to make it readable, and I never failed so far.

Here is the process for you:

1. Turn on the continuous mode, so that you can see the real margins of the page

2. Select "Zoom" icon, and select a range of the screen with the stylus, that you want to see, but make sure:
-- you allow for a small margin still (2-3 mm)
-- you don't select vertically the whole visible area, you rather focus on what you select horizontally, because the aim is to eliminate left and right margins, rather than top and bottom margins (remember you are in continuous mode)

3. After zooming, if you don't get exactly what you wanted you have 2 options:

- go back to full page and start zooming all over (step 2)
- go to pan mode and slightly move the page left or right, so that nothing would go off the page, then turn off pan mode

4. Finally when you are ready, with zooming you have to do nothing else just to remeber:
when you exit from the file, the zoom setting will be saved and next time you can continue with the zooming, so that it does not matter how difficult it was to set up the zooming, once you have done properly, you don't need to redo the whole process again.

I think this is a child's play.
I think there is nothing to complain about.
I think it's not necessary to reformat or reflow PDFs any more.
IMHO

By the way I am currently moving to the UK, I will live near London area. Would anybody be interested to meet and set up kind of an "iLiad users club". We could discuss how we use the device, what we read and maybe form a strategy how we communicate to iRex to get done what we wanted.

Jaed,

If it were easier to port software without the risk of bricking etc then i am sure that the community would embrace it.

Yes to have "unbricking" functionality would be important but IMHO what's even more important is a complete SDK and release of the kernel sources. With those I'm quite sure that not only me but a lot of other people would be willing to take the risk of bricking the device now and then.

With Sony, Iriver and others chasing the same market, the Iliad is already looking functionally poor and it has had a years advantage.

Functionally poor? As far as I can tell the iLiad have at least the functionality of the Sony reader (except wendor-locked DRM). Regarding other future readers, who can tell?

Is that 500 euros or $ 500...? :blink:

Euros. Not that I think this would be a suitable price for the mass market, but I would have it then already...

This movie (http://www.bright.nl/uitpakparty-iliad) may be of interest to you.

The movie (an "unpack party") itself is in Dutch and it will show you the company Irex on the Philips Tech Campus. The interesting part comes to the end, where there is a comparison between the Iliad and a laptop, including a drop on the ground of the Iliad, which the device should be able to hold without damage. You'll find this apart at 5"40'

the drop it on grass :), is different that drop on a normal floor :)

the drop it on grass :), is different that drop on a normal floor :)

Sure, but still I wouldn't want to drop my notebook even if it ware grass.

the drop it on grass :), is different that drop on a normal floor :)
True, on grass, it could have falled on horse dunk (definitely b-a-d for the electronics). ;)