Waiting/wishlist for the 3rd Generation

[majutsu]

I've checked about all the ereaders out these days, and I have to say I like the iRex iLiad the best. It has these pros as you all well now:

-runs linux (#1 pro. I hate Windows Mobile, or Windows in general, really. The less I have to deal with it, the better.... if only I could find a car GPS unit that's linux based now...)
-because it's linux based, it has greater software capabilities/expandability than other readers
-biggest screen with 16 shades instead of 4
-use of touchscreen/notebook
-wireless
-capacity (8gb compact flash cards cost $45! only - libraries of stuff)

Cons/Wishlist for 3rd generation
-Battery life. I've read in another thread that we should compare the battery life of the iliad against Notebooks instead of other ereaders. I think that's an unfair comparison. 95% of the time, I would be using this thing as an ereader as I have a faster, color notebook to do actual computing on. I hate charging things every day as is, this should a once a week if not once a month occurence. They need to find a way of having this thing turn off or go into instant-on/instant-off hibernation as soon as a page is turned.
-Speed. Page turning could be a little faster like instaneous.
-Screen. This is out of iRex's hands and more of the epaper manufacturer, but an 8.5"x11" screen would be nice. Color epaper would be nice too

We all know technology moves on, that in 5 - 10 years much better ereaders will be here and for more commodity prices (cheaper!), and epaper for that matter. But I want one now! I would buy an iRex today if only the battery life issue was solved -- I hate charging devices absolutely.

But I have to say I can't help but think Apple is working on an ereader. Maybe not released anytime soon but in a couple of years, but it would be a perfect fit to their iTunes website where they can sell yet another medium. Yes, I know Jobs poo-pooed reading in general, but he has a history of crapping on something before turning around and releasing his own. I can't help but look at the iPhone and think of the great convergence of devices -- with the apps now, the iPhone is a basically a PDA without ever having mentioned the Newton legacy. Will it take form on a Notebook with two screens or something funky like that, or be standalone? I don't know.

But the iLiad is the closest thing to a perfect device right now, hope they get the battery life thing nailed down, then I'm buying. I could always upgrade in 5 years to whatever is offered then (the ereader market seems to be moving at a snail's pace the last 5 years though compared to other technology areas ).

[axel77]

my wishliist:

* If possible get rid of the travel hub, do this 3 connectors really not fit into the device instead?
* Bigger screen.
* Crazy idea would be: Make the device "openable" like a book, and have the screen go from both front and back page, since I've read the e-inc screen is supposed to be bendable, it might work. This would enhance screen secureness if the device is closed...
* If possible make the screen less reflective, so lights behind your back do not reflect in it, like they don't on paper.
* sleep states, or sleep to memory only (halt the cpu like the notebook does) linux can do it on the notebook.
* Fix the stylus gap, if the stylus would be spot on no matter how you hold it, would really enhance the experience a lot.
* Make the stylus bigger, really that all pens today have the size they have is not for nothing
* Make the screen hand touchable. Ideally one should be able to flip pages like on the iPhone, move the hand once over the screen to get to the next side.
* Get rid of audio, really do we need that feature, rather save the space/costs.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by majutsu

-runs linux (#1 pro. I hate Windows Mobile, or Windows in general, really. The less I have to deal with it, the better.... if only I could find a car GPS unit that's linux based now...)

Just FYI: all currently available E-Ink readers run Linux.

[talaivan]

Why can't the Iliad be like the Nokia n800? Both run Linux, both have WiFi. But unlike the Nokia, Iliad has virtually no 3rd-party apps that run correctly. I use FBReader on both. The Iliad version works, sort of, as long as you don't quit it. But it's full of bugs and lacks many of the most important features of the Nokia version. Updating apps on the Nokia is easy -- you just go to the application manager and it's automatic. Of course, there are other obvious things about the Iliad that need to be improved. But if the device is ever to become useful to many people, it has to be opened up to developers in such a way that apps actually work. How about fixing the screen refresh problem?

[axel77]

Originally Posted by talaivan

But if the device is ever to become useful to many people, it has to be opened up to developers in such a way that apps actually work. How about fixing the screen refresh problem?

The screen "refresh problem" is a fundamental part of the underlying e-ink display technology the n800 does not use, nothing irex can do about that. Otherwise AFAIK the iLiad is already pretty open to development, I daresay infact the most open device out there.

[MarkRPenn]

I worry big time about people thinking of the iLiad as an eBook reader, not least iRex.

It is one of course, but it has the potential to be so much more as well. Given that it's the only one you can write on, the screen size, the resolution and the number of grey scales, it could be a near perfect paper replacement if only iRex would recognise it's potential and do something with the software.

We (sorry, I) need the Kindle's super simple access to content (and more content), the iliad's form factor and screen, and note taking software at least as good as Phatpad for the pocket PC. The iLiad's software doesn't come within a million miles of that.

Of course better battery life and a colour screen would be a dream, but what we have now is adequate in that respect IMHO.

Unfortunately, despite being it's USP, note taking on the iLiad is a second class citizen, yet I see no sign at all that iRex see any point in developing it further

I've been looking to replace paper in my (building site based) work for literally years, and it's incredibly frustrating that the iLiad is so near and yet so far.

If I'd wanted an eBook reader I could have bought one for far less. What I wanted was a paper replacement.

Mark

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by axel77

The screen "refresh problem" is a fundamental part of the underlying e-ink display technology the n800 does not use, nothing irex can do about that. Otherwise AFAIK the iLiad is already pretty open to development, I daresay infact the most open device out there.

I wonder is flashing to white instead of black would offer a better experience for the user.

Dale

[MarkRPenn]

Originally Posted by axel77

Otherwise AFAIK the iLiad is already pretty open to development, I daresay infact the most open device out there.

I agree, but with all due respect to the guys doing great work porting apps, no-one's doing it seriously. No-one is developing software specifically to suit the Iliad's features. No-one, iRex included, appears to be fulfilling the potential of the hardware

Mark

[Kingston]

Originally Posted by majutsu

I've checked about all the ereaders out these days, and I have to say I like the iRex iLiad the best. It has these pros
-capacity (8gb compact flash cards cost $45! only - libraries of stuff)
. .

Can you post the link to the $45 8GB flash card?

[MarkRPenn]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I wonder is flashing to white instead of black would offer a better experience for the user.

I don't think it does flash to black as such. It goes negative, which looks like a flash to black because all the white goes black and the black goes white, and there was more white than black. I see it, in a non technical way, as a bit like loosening up all the particles with a good shake ready to set them to a new state.

I for one find it no annoyance at all. It's better than turning a paper page, maybe folding the book back so it stays open, and adjusting my grip so I can now look at the opposite page.

Mark

[Adam B.]

I actually like the reflash of the iLiad better than that of the Sony or Kindle

On to the issue of development:

Refreshes, Refreshes, Refreshes. That alone is the biggest issue in porting applications to the iLiad. Right now, this is done on a per application basis because doing so in an external library would be very difficult. For example, you wouldn't want to do a full refresh if the user has only typed a letter. But you would want to do so if the contents of the screen has changed, or to clear away the ghosting. An external application would have to know how much of the screen has changed in order to determine what kind of refresh is being performed.

The problem is compounded furthermore with writing on the screen. The standard "typing" refresh isn't quick enough to draw lines to the screen. In this case, changes need to be made directly to the framebuffer. This is why you haven't seen a working port of any of the linux note taking apps.

In addition, the iLiad has a very specific user interface which hasn't be made available to developers. This means that any ported application uses the standard gtk theme, instead of a flat, iLiad looking image. That isn't *that* big of a deal right now, as outside of iRex, there is only one program designed specifially for the iLiad community by a 3rd party (the FeedBooks application).

That brings me to the last problem. All external iLiad porting and developent is done by only a handful of people. This is little more than a hobby, and you won't find many *serious* developers in the forum. Perhaps it's because the iLiad wasn't marketed as an open platform, or maybe it's cost prohibitave for a lot of people. Either way, the iLiad community doesn't have near the numbers that the Nokia's have.

Hopefully once we get the community website setup, we can get serious people working on iLiad development... Time will tell.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by MarkRPenn

I don't think it does flash to black as such. It goes negative, which looks like a flash to black because all the white goes black and the black goes white, and there was more white than black. I see it, in a non technical way, as a bit like loosening up all the particles with a good shake ready to set them to a new state.

Mark

Interesting. What would going negative accomplish? It wouldn't erase anything. Going to one color erases everything on the screen and then you can write the new stuff. Also forcing a full color change permits the controller to drive the screen a little harder than normal to force more bits to change. I would think that this must be what they are doing. What makes you think it is going negative? Have you got a write up somewhere that explains this?

edit: Take a look at this video.https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22101

Dale

[rincewind]

Originally Posted by majutsu

-runs linux (#1 pro. I hate Windows Mobile, or Windows in general, really. The less I have to deal with it, the better.... if only I could find a car GPS unit that's linux based now...)

The Nokia n810 runs Linux using the very well supported Maemo platform, has a built in GPS and is delivered with a fairly solid car mount.

/R

[MarkRPenn]

Thanks Adam.

It's incredibly difficult to say what I mean about development without sounding like I'm knocking you guys, which I'm not because I think it's incredible that you're willing to put time into porting apps across for no reward.

But, the iLiad badly needs some serious development. It's a fantastic piece of hardware, badly let down by p!$$ poor software, at least on the note taking side of things.

As a selfish user I don't actually care who does the developing, swo long as it gets done. I also don't think of it like a computer or even a PDA that needs a huge range of applications. What it needs is to have the dogs b0££0*%$ of software to support it's features and obvious (to me) market.

So, IMHO it needs:

- Absolutely top notch notes software. And that means hand-written notes, NOT typed ones. If I want typed notes, I'll use my laptop, not peck away at an on screen keyboard. No-ones ever had any problem with the fact you can't type on a notepad, just with the fact they could never find the note afterwards, so why should it be an issue on an electronic replacement for one?

Top notch means with customisable auto-naming, save as, templates, previews, anti-aliasing if the technology allows, zoom, some way to allow accurate drawing in any orientation, image import page by page, ability to set default pen colour and width (and/or remember the last setting used), shortcut/s (long press/es?) to launching new notes, select area and cut/copy/paste/drag/clear etc, drawing tools like fill, circle/ellipse, rectangle, straight line etc, and the ability to get notes onto the desktop AND a USB stick (so my client can have a copy) seamlessly without having to think about it.

- On machine, or at least transparent-in-the-background-while-syncing handwriting recognition, NOT repeat NOT to convert notes to 100% accurate text docs, because the technology simply isn't there yet, but to create a searchable index of the hand-written notes.

- A proper, intuitive file manager to allow stuff to be moved around (from USB to memory, into folders, etc). I applaud the comunity for porting an app to do this, but I don't think anyone would claim it was intuitive on this platform.

- Web access and content browser ONLY for obtaining content manually and automatically, including RSS. This is NOT a tool for web browsing.

- Although I don't find any issues with the built in pdf and book readers as I can read using them just fine, I guess features like form and template support would be good. Other formats too if people need them. I don't.

- Ability to use it as a card reader, only because it's a handy and obvious thing to do. Not core functionality though.

And that's it. I don't think it needs to be or could be a good PIM or word processor or web browser. There are far better tools for those.

I could name developers I'd like to see working on each of those, but they are so core to the devices success IMHO that it should be iRex doing it. Without decent software the thing will never become mainstream, and until it's mainstream it won't attract the best of the commercial developers.

I have to say that unless iRex get their finger out pretty soon, I think the iLiad is doomed to failure despite it's potential. People don't buy potential

Mark

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Adam B.

Refreshes, Refreshes, Refreshes. That alone is the biggest issue in porting applications to the iLiad.

One of the suggested tasks for OpenInkpot Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is an e-ink device emulator. This is characterized as "easy" for X11/C developers. Without such an emulator, I don't see any simple way out of the "can't do development without buying an expensive special purpose device" box. With an emulator, there is a chance that refresh issues can be addressed in mainstrean builds of common applications.

Note that OpenInkpot has been selected as a GSoC mentoring organization, but that does not necessarily mean any of its suggested tasks will get done. That depends on whether any students want to take them on.