I found what looks to be a good deal on some iLiads

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by JWLaRue

Based on his eBay name and where he is, I'm thinking that these iLiads are extra stock from the eFlyBook project that the ARINC engineering (?) department had as leftovers.

That would be a good guess.

[bobowvu]

I was unaware of the eFlyBook project, but it certainly makes sense with the username and all. There was no special packaging/labeling on the boxing or the unit. Just the iRex logo on the top right corner of the reader.

[JWLaRue]

I ended up buying one of these units and picked it up in a face-2-face transaction. Definitely from an ARINC project.

So perhaps the question now is, can these units be upgraded with the new battery and back cover? I mean will iRex let us pay for the upgrades, not whether or not is physically possible.

..and I like Adam's question as to whether iRex would just ship the back cover and let him do the install. I figure that if the cover is removed, replacing the battery would then be dead simple. Can't be that hard!

-Jeff

[rio]

Originally Posted by JWLaRue

I ended up buying one of these units and picked it up in a face-2-face transaction. Definitely from an ARINC project.

So perhaps the question now is, can these units be upgraded with the new battery and back cover? I mean will iRex let us pay for the upgrades, not whether or not is physically possible.

..and I like Adam's question as to whether iRex would just ship the back cover and let him do the install. I figure that if the cover is removed, replacing the battery would then be dead simple. Can't be that hard!

-Jeff

I just bought one as well (waiting for paypal's echeck to clear ...). What's the batterie difference with the v2 ? I mean, I thought the difference wasn't that much, particularly if installing the new firmware...

[Shaggy]

v1 is basically 12 hours of battery life and v2 is 15 hours.

In either case, I thought the battery upgrade program has expired. As far as I know there was a deadline of signing up for it by November 2007. Are they still letting new customers get in on the upgrade?

[JWLaRue]

The v1 iLiad that I have has now been booted up and running for a total of 13.5 hrs, this after the first recharge. (a total of two full charge cycles) The battery indicator still shows at least one bar. A good part of this time it has just been sitting 'idle'. I believe that I have something like 5 hours actual reading time during this period.

Having said that, I *think* I remember reading somewhere on one of the iLiad forums here that the v1 unit gets about 12 hours use and the v2 unit gets about 15 hours use. (ymmv of course)

Question: does page turning take more power than just sitting idle?

re: battery upgrade - I was referring not to the 'free' upgrade that expired last year, but to the program whereby owners can pay for the battery (and back cover) upgrade. Sorry for the confusion!

-hope this helps,

Jeff

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by JWLaRue

Question: does page turning take more power than just sitting idle?

re: battery upgrade - I was referring not to the 'free' upgrade that expired last year, but to the program whereby owners can pay for the battery (and back cover) upgrade. Sorry for the confusion!

With the latest software versions, they are throttling the CPU somewhat in between page turns. So, theoretically letting it sit idle would use less power than turning pages, because everytime you turn a page the CPU jumps back up to full speed, which should use more power. How much difference does it really make... I don't know.

I thought that the free upgrade and the pay upgrade were part of the same offer. The way it was written, there was one battery/cover replacement program that you had to sign up for by November 2007 if you wanted to participate. If your iLiad was purchased before March 15 2007, then the battery was free, otherwise you had to pay for it.

As far as I know, the entire program expired in November. I don't remember seeing anything posted that said only the free part of the offer expired. The signup page for the program now just says that it has expired, and you can't sign up anymore.

[JWLaRue]

I found the following at the iRex site (http://http://www.irextechnologies.com/batteries):

"The one year warranty on iRex' electronic reading devices includes replacement of a defective battery. After the first year you can request a battery replacement from iRex Service for 75 Euro or 84 US$. iRex will make sure your battery is disposed in an environmentally-friendly manner."

I *think* that means folks can pay for an upgrade......

-Jeff

[Shaggy]

I'd forgotten about that.

I was thinking along the lines of the "upgrade" from the v1 to the v2. They do have a program where you can pay to have the battery replaced when it eventually wears out. I assume they would put in a v2 battery after your v1 is no longer working, but I don't know? I don't expect that they would continue to keep both versions in stock.

[brecklundin]

well, cool that they did turn out to be decent deals after all...I opted for a Nokia N800 but still lust after something that is a cross between the iLiad and the N800...

[rio]

Just received mine
So far so good, I played a bit with it and it's now updating the OS. I find it faster than what I expected, on the other hand there's much more ghosting and less contrast than what I thought... But maybe the software update will solve/improve the ghosting.

[Kingston]

I'm kind of embarrassed to post this, but I went ahead and bought one. I've had my v.2 Iliad for around 3 weeks and it is indispensable. The price, while not a barn burner, was damn good. $180 or so less than the v.2.

Over the years I've found if I get a gadget that becomes a high-use item it sometimes pays to have a backup unit...in case one fails or breaks or whatever.

This paid off when my ReplayTV (dvr) was fried by lightning around 6 years ago. I bought 3 replacements.

Now ReplayTV no longer makes dvr's and I can't find a dvr which will record both cable and satellite in one unit---which my old dvr does.

This may turn out to be a waste of money, but one never knows...could be money well spent.

[Kingston]

Got my v1 yesterday from the eBay seller. It came 4 days after ordering it using the least expensive shipping rate.

I've had no problems operating it, and updating the firmware went smoothly, though it took a lot longer than the v2 because of about 5-6 updates to be added, vs. 3 for the v2. There's a somewhat scary phase where you are warned to save all your data as it will be erased. I did so and was rewarded with two versions of the user manual. It's great to have the original documents which were on the 'old' firmware and have the new ones to compare it to.

There is a pretty significant and highly visible difference in screen clarity. On the v2 images are of such clarity that it is breathtaking---they look like high-res images printed on glossy paper.

On the v1 images are comparitively grainy with rougher edges and loss of fine detail.

On closer inspection there is 'ghosting' of type behind the images. This does not happen on v2.

The type on v2 leaps off the page.....one doesn't get this '3D' like effect on the v1.

Bottom line, if you want the absolute best ebook reading experience spend a little more and get the v2.

If your budget is tight, a new v1 at this price is still a damn good buy. But you will not get the satisfaction of the ultimate Iliad experience, that only comes with the v2.

[JWLaRue]

Very interesting! I had not heard that there was any difference in the screens between the two versions of the iLiad.

-Jeff

[-Thomas-]

So do you use your iLiads two-handed Or do you use them in dual-head mode to view A4 PDFs in original size?

SCNR