800SG more function less price???

[droople]

Hi

I saw the bestbuy website and found that the price of 800SG is $399, which also includes Premium Wacom navigation stylus, Castelijn & Beerens leather cover.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/IREX+-+D...r800&cp=1&lp=1

And in Irex shop, the price of 800S is $599, and only has Protective sleeve
and normal Stylus.
https://www.irexshop.com/product_inf...a19d2d753f9007

Do you think it's a good idea to ask my friend buy it from bestbuy and post it to me in Australia, even though I may not be able to use the 3G function?

Cheers

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by droople

Hi

I saw the bestbuy website and found that the price of 800SG is $399, which also includes Premium Wacom navigation stylus, Castelijn & Beerens leather cover.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/IREX+-+D...r800&cp=1&lp=1

And in Irex shop, the price of 800S is $599, and only has Protective sleeve
and normal Stylus.
https://www.irexshop.com/product_inf...a19d2d753f9007

Do you think it's a good idea to ask my friend buy it from bestbuy and post it to me in Australia, even though I may not be able to use the 3G function?

Cheers

You definitely won't be able to use the 3G functionality.
I've ordered quite a lot gadgets from the US. In case of warranty you'll run into troubles, most likely will have to send it back to the US. Personally, I'm willing to take that risk.
Usually, I'm not purchasing in the US to save money, but the have the unit way earlier than waiting for official release in Europe.
Will iRex release only the 800SG in the US? Or maybe it makes sense to wait for the 800S in the US, which should be even cheaper?
BTW: I've got the 800S for 10 days now and really like it a lot. But I prefer Sony 900 a little bit over it. Mainly because of its (as usual) great design. iRex 800 has better contrast though.

[droople]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

You definitely won't be able to use the 3G functionality.
I've ordered quite a lot gadgets from the US. In case of warranty you'll run into troubles, most likely will have to send it back to the US. Personally, I'm willing to take that risk.
Usually, I'm not purchasing in the US to save money, but the have the unit way earlier than waiting for official release in Europe.
Will iRex release only the 800SG in the US? Or maybe it makes sense to wait for the 800S in the US, which should be even cheaper?
BTW: I've got the 800S for 10 days now and really like it a lot. But I prefer Sony 900 a little bit over it. Mainly because of its (as usual) great design. iRex 800 has better contrast though.

Hi mgmueller

Thank you for your post.

No, I don't need the 3G function, but '200 USD less' is more attractive to me.

I thought irex provide global warranty.

I read your 800S post and thought you like 800s more

[Mr. Goodbar]

Everybody has different needs and different areas that are important to them, but as someone who has used a Sony 900 I would definitely encourage everyone to try one somewhere before buying one. I find the contrast to be significantly lower than the non-touch panel devices.

The iLiad v2 I had with the viziplex screen was better than my Sony 505 and I would expect the same from the 800. The Sony 900 is not even close to the old iLiad or 505 in contrast, clarity etc. If you typically read with large fonts it might not be an issue, but if you read with a font size that is comparable to a printed book it's pretty bad. I was comparing it side by side with my Kindle DX using similar font sizes. In lower lighting where the DX was perfectly legible, the Sony was essentially useless. As a side note, my low light vision has been measured by a doctor as being much better than normal.

I believe the Sony 900 has other very compelling points, but from a straight readability perspective it is much lower on the legibility scale. Just my .02 for anyone comparing these two devices.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by droople

I thought irex provide global warranty.

iRex has said that warranty work for the DR800SG will be handled in the US. I assume the warranty for the DR800S will be handled in Europe.

[droople]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

Everybody has different needs and different areas that are important to them, but as someone who has used a Sony 900 I would definitely encourage everyone to try one somewhere before buying one. I find the contrast to be significantly lower than the non-touch panel devices.

The iLiad v2 I had with the viziplex screen was better than my Sony 505 and I would expect the same from the 800. The Sony 900 is not even close to the old iLiad or 505 in contrast, clarity etc. If you typically read with large fonts it might not be an issue, but if you read with a font size that is comparable to a printed book it's pretty bad. I was comparing it side by side with my Kindle DX using similar font sizes. In lower lighting where the DX was perfectly legible, the Sony was essentially useless. As a side note, my low light vision has been measured by a doctor as being much better than normal.

I believe the Sony 900 has other very compelling points, but from a straight readability perspective it is much lower on the legibility scale. Just my .02 for anyone comparing these two devices.

Hi Mr. Goodbar

Thank you for your sharing.

Can you compare DX with iLiad?

Cheers

[droople]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

iRex has said that warranty work for the DR800SG will be handled in the US. I assume the warranty for the DR800S will be handled in Europe.

Here is the warranty term.
https://www.irexshop.com/information...ebeeadd6034881

Maybe they forgot to change it?

[rfog]

Well, after being thinking about it, it seems EU version will be cheaper than bringing an US version to Europe.

$399 base prize plus 16 to 20% VAT: $462 to $478
$60 shipping
$60 customs
-------------
$582 to $598

$582 is 418€
$598 is 430€

That's the lowest price. I paid 80€ for my Kindle DX US customs, and 60€ for the shipping.

And of course it is the warranty.

[droople]

Originally Posted by rfog

Well, after being thinking about it, it seems EU version will be cheaper than bringing an US version to Europe.

$399 base prize plus 16 to 20% VAT: $462 to $478
$60 shipping
$60 customs
-------------
$582 to $598

$582 is 418€
$598 is 430€

That's the lowest price. I paid 80€ for my Kindle DX US customs, and 60€ for the shipping.

And of course it is the warranty.

What's the VAT, you mean if I buy that machine, I need to pay extra money to US gov?

In Australia, you only need to pay the custom if the value is more than 1000 AUD, so saving $60

[owl123]

Just checked on Wikipedia. VAT is called "GST" in Australia and it's a 10% tax collected by the Australian government.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by droople

Hi Mr. Goodbar

Thank you for your sharing.

Can you compare DX with iLiad?

Cheers

I can give some general thoughts on the two based on my personal use and can do that again once I get my DR800SG.

The DX shares all the benefits of the Kindle platform such as free wireless, good book selection, easy downloading, etc. but with the larger screen that makes pdf viewing much better than the smaller kindle. The screen quality is good, but not quite as good as the viziplex version of the iLiad or the Sony 505. This might be more of a font issue than actual screen differences. I find the DX much improved after adding a different font through the font hack. The downside to the DX is it's size. I love the larger screen size, but it's probably a little bit too big for my general reading habits which are for pleasure/general education. I don't do a lot of business reading on it so the larger screen is probably lost a bit on me, but I still prefer it to the six inch devices.

For the iLiad, I personally think the eight inch screen size is the ideal compromise and will be fantastic with the small case dimensions of the DR800S/SG. As has been noted elsewhere the iLiad is pretty flexible with some of the hacks and built in pdf functionality. The boot time is a major issue for me since it tends to keep me from reading at times. A close to minute boot time will keep me from doing some quick reading at times where a device with a suspend would allow me to capture those snippets of time. Probably more of an issue for me than others, but still a bit annoying. Screen quality is great, but battery life is just ok. If you feel comfortable modifying your device the battery hack will greatly increase your battery life. It is not hard to do, but if you're not comfortably with electronics I wouldn't recommend it. One thing on the iLiad that I really like is the full screen pdf viewer. It maximizes screen real estate and fits my needs perfectly. You don't lose any screen real estate to some designers perspective on what you want to see on your screen.

Hope this helps.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by droople

Here is the warranty term.
https://www.irexshop.com/information...ebeeadd6034881

Maybe they forgot to change it?

That just states what the warranty terms are, not where your device will have to be shipped in order to be repaired.

[droople]

Originally Posted by owl123

Just checked on Wikipedia. VAT is called "GST" in Australia and it's a 10% tax collected by the Australian government.

but if you import less than 1000AUD, you don't need to pay GST

[droople]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

That just states what the warranty terms are, not where your device will have to be shipped in order to be repaired.

Hope Irex not easy to be broken

[smerrall]

I just hope Best Buy don't know (or care) about sending to a re-shipper. They say they'll ship to a US address for a foreign card holder, but not to re-shippers. Guess I'll find out in a few days.