[Nate the great]

I was one of the first to order a DR1000S, and because Irex won't deign to communicate with me I've had a fair amount of time to ponder the features of the Digital Reader. I've come to realize that it costs too much and does too little.

At $750, the DR1000S has to compete with similarly price laptops. I think it needs to be able to match the document handling abilities of a laptop. I know it doesn't have a keyboard, but that wasn't my point: it also lacks Wifi. And this shortcoming is the killer. I want Wifi because I want the Digital Reader to be able to match 3 abilities of a $750 laptop:

1. print using a network printer;
2. send and receive documents from an email account;
3. download and open files from a network hard disk.

The DR1000S cannot do this. Instead, it requires that you plug it in to a computer anytime you want to transfer a file. This makes it a $750 accessory to your computer. I don't want an accessory. For what this thing costs, I want it to be completely independent.

I know someone is going to counter with a comment about how Eink is a more pleasant experience. I agree, it is better that LCD. However, I must ask: is it the better experience worth $750 extra to add the DR1000S as an accessory to your computer? Since I am not bothered by LCD screens, I do not think so.

And yes, I do know about the DR1000SW and that it has Wifi. But until I know that it can do the 3 things I listed, my position will not change.