Cant decide Cybook or iliad?

[dicky]

Hi, I live in Australia and want to get an E-Ink reader, I am drawn to both the Cybook and the Iliad as both support Mobipocket, I already have a lot of these format books in my library.

I just cant decide and its driving me nuts I really like them both, the price difference is not really an issue, the Iliad is retaling here at around $980 and I would have to buy the cybook from Europe, it will be available here soon but no price has been set.

I have eyesight problems so a big screen would be great, even the cybook would be great as its heaps bigger than my palm.

I dont know what to do (aside from get them both ), seriously any help that I can get in deciding would be great. Pro's, cons etc. I keep reading posts and it appears they all have positives and negatives. I want to buy one that will keep me satisfied for a long time, not just until the next gadget comes out, so I really want to make the right choice.

Any help would be appreciated, good to meet you all.

Cheers
Dicky

[HarryT]

Hi Dicky,

Having owned both, perhaps I can offer a little assistance.

The iLiad is more like a conventional notebook PC than a dedicated bookreader. It has a fairly long boot-up time (45s), a fairly short battery life (12-15h of usage - considerably less if you use WiFi or the stylus a lot), and you can install your own Linux applications on it. It's excellent if you want to read A4 PDFs, but its version of the MobiPocket reader is a little primitive. Carrying it around is a little like carrying around a small laptop, in terms of size.

The Gen3 is a lot smaller (almost exactly the size of a normal paperback book - but thinner). It has a much shorter start-up time (around 25s - but you can leave it switched on if you wish) and a much longer battery life (4-5 days if you leave it switched on - weeks if you switch it off after each reading session). It's not at all good for reading PDFs on, but its Mobi reader works very well indeed and is a lot "slicker" than that of the iLiad. It's small enough to carry around with you everywhere you go.

I sold my iLiad and replaced it with the Gen3. I read mainly fiction on my Gen3, and for my uses the Gen3 is definitely a LOT better than the iLiad.

[HappyMartin]

My wife has a Cybook and I had an Iliad. I prefer the reading experience on the iliad and just how it feels in the hand. As I am sure everyone will tell you on this site, the battery life on the Cybook is way better and the device is lighter and makes a better traveler.

I have had very bad experiences with support from iliad so you should factor in that if things go wrong with the iliad some people have had negative experiences with irex support. Not all I am sure but I am unable to say anything good about the support I have received from irex.

[David B]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not at all good for reading PDFs

I have to disagree with you here. Sure it's not as good as the Iliad and its bigger screen but it is good enough for me to read technical papers (in landscape mode of course).

EDIT: Ok if you have eyesight problems it may not be good enough

[dicky]

Thanks for your input guys, I am still very much undecided but am leaning towards the cybook because all I really want is a good e-book reader, it doesnt have to have all the bells and whistles.

I generally dont like PDF documents so will purely use it to read mobipocket books. I like the idea of the big screen and the note book feature but I also like the idea of a paperback book sized one.

Im going round in circles hey

I appreciate your input, hopefully it will help to make my choice a bit easier.

Cheers
Dicky

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by dicky

Thanks for your input guys, I am still very much undecided but am leaning towards the cybook because all I really want is a good e-book reader, it doesnt have to have all the bells and whistles...

I own the Iliad, and humbly offer that your thinking sounds reasonable to me. No doubt part of your dilemma involves being able to get the Iliad in Australia versus having to source the Cybook from overseas - that is, support if anything goes wrong.

Now, I've never had any problems at all with my Iliad, but if you're assuming on buying from the most public Australian provider, Dymocks, then I'll offer my long-running experience with dealing with them - they are completely incompetent boobs who retain marketshare through legacy and minimal competition and may the gods help you if you have to contact them for whatever predicament their latest dribbling, feeble-minded shambles has left you in.

Still, the Iliad's good, and at least you'd have the official consumer channels as backup in forcing them to support the product they sell.

Saying that...well, I'd honestly suggest the Cybook. Harry's comments above fit the bill. If it's just reading you do, I reckon the Cybook's the go (have a look at that new Iliad, but I suspect it's still more than you need, and who knows when or even if it'll be sold locally).

Go on. Do it. You know you want to.

Cheers,
Marc

[Vanessa]

I have the iLiad and I love it. However, if you don't really need to read A4 pdf and comment on documents, I would suggest the Cybook. Some friends have it and they love it. It's smaller, easier to carry around, and as some people mentionned, battery life is much longer and boot time is shorter.

[Onemack]

Hi Dicky,
I have both the Iliad and the CyBook. The CyBook I bought direct from Bookeen, the service and delivery was prompt and excellent. I have read heaps of complaints about them but my experience was excellent. The product was delivered from France to Australia within a week via trackable courier.
The Iliad I bought from Dymocks at twice the price of the Cybook. Their service was good, but they are abysmally ignorant to deal with. "waddya want a device that reads books for?"
To just read Mobipocket books you cannot beat the Cybook, you can enlarge they text through a vast range, the screen is almost as good as a paperback in size and better in visual quality. The same applies to the Iliad except that it is a lot larger and therefore heavier, the battery does not last as long, but this is not a major problem.

After all that the CyBook is real value for money

The only reason I have both (plus a Sony) is that I have more money than sense perhaps, and it can get pretty boring in Baghdad believe it or not.
Cheers

John

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Onemack

The only reason I have both (plus a Sony) is that I have more money than sense perhaps, and it can get pretty boring in Baghdad believe it or not.
Cheers

John

Feel free to send any of that money my way. I can trade for sense if you want.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

I have the iLiad and I love it. However, if you don't really need to read A4 pdf and comment on documents, I would suggest the Cybook. Some friends have it and they love it. It's smaller, easier to carry around, and as some people mentionned, battery life is much longer and boot time is shorter.

If price is the issue then please notice that a new version of the iLiad was just released without WIFI at a cheaper price point.

Dale

[HarryT]

It's still approaching double the cost of the CyBook (£399 vs. £245). Expensive piece of kit if all you want to do is read fiction.

[dicky]

Thank you all so much for your comments ....... ok its becoming clearer, I think im going with the Cybook I reckon I would be crazy to pay almost $1000 to read books, mmmmmm or should I LOL only kidding the
Cybook it is.

I appreciate your help, no matter how many reviews you read you cant beat a "real" users experiences.

Cheers
Dicky

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

<SNIP>
Now, I've never had any problems at all with my Iliad, but if you're assuming on buying from the most public Australian provider, Dymocks, then I'll offer my long-running experience with dealing with them - they are completely incompetent boobs who retain marketshare through legacy and minimal competition and may the gods help you if you have to contact them for whatever predicament their latest dribbling, feeble-minded shambles has left you in.
SNIP

Hey Marc: Don't hold back now, make sure you tell us how you really feel about Dymocks.


Xenophon

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Hey Marc: Don't hold back now, make sure you tell us how you really feel about Dymocks.


Xenophon

I considered it, but I didn't want to hijack the thread...or the forum...or probably large portions of the intarwebs, with my loud and voluminous fleck-spittled ravings.

Cheers,
Marc

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I considered it, but I didn't want to hijack the thread...or the forum...or probably large portions of the intarwebs, with my loud and voluminous fleck-spittled ravings.

Cheers,
Marc

Please do. Given your usual writing style, I really really really want to read your opinion of Dymocks.