New Irex Reader 1000

[Nate the great]

Forbes has an early story on what Irex might announce next week. It might not be true, but I think it is. According to Andy Greenberg:

On Monday, Netherlands-based iRex Technologies is slated to unveil the iRex Reader 1000, the first in a wave of e-reader devices that promise bigger screens and improved interfaces and functionality.

...

The iRex Reader 1000 offers a 10.2-inch diagonal E-Inkscreen, far larger than Kindle's 6-inch screen or even iRex's own 8.1-inch diagonal iLiad, its last e-book model. That stretched display is designed to work with any file format, be it an e-book, a full-sized PDF, a Word document or HTML. Like earlier iRex devices, it sports a stylus and touch screen for taking notes and marking documents.

He even has a price estimate:

Business-targeted readers also come with business-sized price tags. Though Plastic Logic won't yet reveal the price for its device, iRex says its basic reader will start at $650. (By contrast, Kindle sells for $360.) Adding a writable screen to the iRex reader will cost another $100, and equipping it with wi-fi, Bluetooth and a 3G cell connection for downloading documents will raise the price to $850.

This last bit is worth a giggle:

Even with its outsized price, the new iRex reader won't offer two features also missing from other electronic books: color and video capability. In fact, the 16 graytone screen takes about eight-tenths of a second to refresh when loading a new page.

A round of applause for skyblue, who found the article for us.

[zelda_pinwheel]

well well, things are getting interesting in the business world...

[parryl]

omg !! my irex is only 5 days old !!

[BKeeper]

Great, if that's correct it has exactly what I expected.

Now I'm gonna have to buy another iLiad.

[BKeeper]

Originally Posted by parryl

omg !! my irex is only 5 days old !!

Quick, you can still return it to the store.

[Dedale]

Arghh... It's a bit expensive for me but still, it's very attractive !
Wait and See

[Studio717]

Oh, finally!

My waiting wasn't wasted after all. Now the big question: when are they going to be available?

(And please do NOT say next spring! )

[Adam B.]

Quick facts from the article:

• Name: iRex Reader 1000
• 10.2 Inch Screen
• eBook (Mobipocket?), PDF, Word, and html support (probably others)
• Stylus input (wacom?)
• 60-70 hour battery life
• 3 Versions
• Base - $650
• Touch Screen - $750
• Touchscreen + Bluetooth, Wifi, and 3G, $850
• 16 levels of greyscale

[nathany]

Very interesting. There are 50 computer programming books sitting on my Mac in PDF format. I think they would like to be on an iRex Reader 1000. ^_^

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by nathany

Very interesting. There are 50 computer programming books sitting on my Mac in PDF format. I think they would like to be on an iRex Reader 1000. ^_^

For me, not if the PLR is $400.

BOb

[NatCh]

Very interesting, indeed. I shall watch this one with great interest.

[parryl]

omg !! my irex is 5 days old !!!!!

[acidzebra]

The E-ink technology also uses just a fraction of the energy typically needed for comparably sized screens, extending the device's battery life to between 60 and 80 hours.

For me personally, while I am interested in a bigger screen, they are really going to have to do better than that. And be more specific. 80 hours in standby mode? Or what?

E-Ink enthusiasts will likely have to wait until 2009 for color E-ink and as late as 2012 for video, says Russ Wilcox, the chief executive of Cambridge, Mass.-based E-Ink

That's okay, Russ, even if it turns out to be 2011 and 2014 respectively - that is about the time I plan on replacing my Sony if it doesn't break before that. I'm not so much interested in video but color would be nice.

[ashkulz]

If IRex is releasing the eink screen in this format, then that means these screens are rolling into production [I think that they had problems with getting the display controllers right -- it's still a very young technology]. Hanlin can't be far behind with their V9 screens, which will be great news as there will be competition in the bigger than 6" screen space, which had only IRex as a player till now.

[wallcraft]

If the 10.2" size is correct, this is again iRex's own screen - not the 9.7" FlexiScreen from PVI. I wonder what, if anything, they are doing to make the screen less fragile.

Making the touch screen optional lowers the entry price, but complicates porting 3rd party software. Even the existing MobiPocket Reader requires touching icons. Perhaps they added a long row of keys to facilitate the non-touch interface. The Plastic Logic device will be entirely (finger) touch driven.