A visit to the Freescale booth at CES

Nate the great · 01-09-2010, 10:10 PM

Freescale is a CPU manufacturer. Their chips are in a lot of devices including ebook readers. They had in their booth one of each of the major ebook readers that use a Freescale processor. I'd like to thank whoever thought up that idea; it was fun to see all those devices in one place.

The list of devices include:

Onyx Boox
Irex DR1000
Irex DR800SG
Sony PRS-300
Sony PRS-600
Freescale's own reference design
Kindle DX
Kindle 2
Playaway Audio Book
txtr

The txtr was really the only reason I stopped by the booth. It didn't show up until Friday morning, and that was because the developers who brought it from Germany didn't arrive until Thursday night. I played with the txtr on Friday afternoon, and then happened to meet the txtr people at a private party that night. I couldn't play with it Saturday because it was stolen Saturday morning. (I didn't do it, and I have security camera footage to prove it.)

It's a really neat device, and after having used it I understand why it's restricted to Germany at the moment. It relies heavily on txtr's servers. It is significantly more connected than any other ereader. I'm not going to give a detailed opinion on it because I couldn't test all of its abilities. But I did get a number of photos; they are attached.

I went back Saturday to play with the txtr some more. It wasn't there, so I had a look at the DR800SG. The first bad impression was when I realized there was no slot for the Wacom stylus, and it went downhill from there.

The txtr folks came by shortly after I started. One wanted to make a video so it could be discussed back home, and I'm glad he did. I know from the time stamp on his video that the DR800 has a boot time of well over a minute.

The firmware is very limited in its abilities. I'm shocked at how much it couldn't do:

only one font size
can't draw on the screen
can't highlight
no font choices
dictionary didn't work

The DR800SG is not ready to be released, and there is no way it could have been released in late October. I can only conclude that the original release date was an outright lie on the part of Irex.

Mr. Goodbar · 01-09-2010, 11:23 PM

I wonder if the irex was running an old version of firmware? The reason I ask that is because there are a number of videos floating around from the launch and the Frankfurt book show that demonstrate it changing through many font sizes. There has also been confirmation from irex that it had a suspend feature and wake up from suspend was on the order of a few seconds. With that said, I was an early iLiad adopter so what you saw in the unit there doesn't necessarily surprise me. A single font seems to just put it on par with many of the devices like the Kindle and Sony.

Ervserver · 01-09-2010, 11:36 PM

Kinda funny off all the devices the txtr got stolen, I wonder if a spy from Amazon could be the culprit

Nate the great · 01-09-2010, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ervserver

Kinda funny off all the devices the txtr got stolen, I wonder if a spy from Amazon could be the culprit

I do wonder if it wasn't one of the device companies that did it, yes.

Shaggy · 01-09-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I do wonder if it wasn't one of the device companies that did it, yes.

Wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.

Mr. Goodbar · 01-09-2010, 11:45 PM

With the crowds and devices present at CES I wonder how many things end up "missing" by the end of the show.

m-reader · 01-10-2010, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

With the crowds and devices present at CES I wonder how many things end up "missing" by the end of the show.

I've already got a search going on eBay. Will let you know if I find anything

Over · 01-10-2010, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

A single font seems to just put it on par with many of the devices like the Kindle and Sony.

But he also said one font size only! That's really limiting.

der-Matt · 01-10-2010, 07:19 AM

Thanks for the Info about the txtr, we still hope it will be available in the future...

BlueMonkey · 01-10-2010, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I couldn't play with it Saturday because it was stolen Saturday morning. (I didn't do it, and I have security camera footage to prove it.)

That's not fair to steal the toys of others

People should have learned that in kindergarten...

Still, thx for sharing your impressions. Did you have the chance to talk to txtr staff or was there only the device for display?

Nate the great · 01-10-2010, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMonkey

That's not fair to steal the toys of others

People should have learned that in kindergarten...

Still, thx for sharing your impressions. Did you have the chance to talk to txtr staff or was there only the device for display?

The booth was staffed by Freescale, so they didn't know much about the devices.

Mr. Goodbar · 01-10-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Over

But he also said one font size only! That's really limiting.

I agree, but the confusing part is that there are videos of the 800 being demonstrated that show i believe 5 or 6 font sizes in the menu selection and there are videos that show the font size being changed. I looked at some of them again last night and saw 3 distinct font sizes in actual use.

I'm in no way questioning what Nate saw just pointing out that contrary information exists in these actual videos, which would lead me to believe it was an early firmware version or somehow some books are locked down to only one font size which would be really weird as well. I guess time will tell, if they ever actually get this thing in the stores.

andrys · 01-10-2010, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

...I went back Saturday to play with the txtr some more. It wasn't there, so I had a look at the DR800SG. The first bad impression was when I realized there was no slot for the Wacom stylus, and it went downhill from there.

The txtr folks came by shortly after I started. One wanted to make a video so it could be discussed back home, and I'm glad he did. I know from the time stamp on his video that the DR800 has a boot time of well over a minute.

Long-time problem.

See older review of iRex iLliad's slow boot, other problems, and customer service by a long-time owner of the device at
- AlexOnLinux

Quote:

The firmware is very limited in its abilities. I'm shocked at how much it couldn't do:

only one font size
can't draw on the screen
can't highlight
no font choices
dictionary didn't work

It should be able to allow one to write on a PDF though. Hmmm.

The 'edit' tools were not going to be 'ready' until 2010 but they weren't going to charge for adding them though they do with the 'DR1000S' model, an added $100 there.

Review of the DR1000S model and the 9 steps it takes to close a file in some instances.
- Paper tiger

Quote:

The DR800SG is not ready to be released, and there is no way it could have been released in late October. I can only conclude that the original release date was an outright lie on the part of Irex.

High hopes, usually and marketing vs engineers.

- Andrys

01-09-2010, 10:10 PM	#1
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 8,967 Karma: 67673 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Airpanel 100, Jornada 720, Kindle, Smart Q7, Zelda has Sony 600 & 700	A visit to the Freescale booth at CES Freescale is a CPU manufacturer. Their chips are in a lot of devices including ebook readers. They had in their booth one of each of the major ebook readers that use a Freescale processor. I'd like to thank whoever thought up that idea; it was fun to see all those devices in one place. The list of devices include: Onyx Boox Irex DR1000 Irex DR800SG Sony PRS-300 Sony PRS-600 Freescale's own reference design Kindle DX Kindle 2 Playaway Audio Book txtr The txtr was really the only reason I stopped by the booth. It didn't show up until Friday morning, and that was because the developers who brought it from Germany didn't arrive until Thursday night. I played with the txtr on Friday afternoon, and then happened to meet the txtr people at a private party that night. I couldn't play with it Saturday because it was stolen Saturday morning. (I didn't do it, and I have security camera footage to prove it.) It's a really neat device, and after having used it I understand why it's restricted to Germany at the moment. It relies heavily on txtr's servers. It is significantly more connected than any other ereader. I'm not going to give a detailed opinion on it because I couldn't test all of its abilities. But I did get a number of photos; they are attached. I went back Saturday to play with the txtr some more. It wasn't there, so I had a look at the DR800SG. The first bad impression was when I realized there was no slot for the Wacom stylus, and it went downhill from there. The txtr folks came by shortly after I started. One wanted to make a video so it could be discussed back home, and I'm glad he did. I know from the time stamp on his video that the DR800 has a boot time of well over a minute. The firmware is very limited in its abilities. I'm shocked at how much it couldn't do: only one font size can't draw on the screen can't highlight no font choices dictionary didn't work The DR800SG is not ready to be released, and there is no way it could have been released in late October. I can only conclude that the original release date was an outright lie on the part of Irex. Attached Thumbnails

01-09-2010, 11:36 PM	#3
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,344 Karma: 4754 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Sony 505 & Kindle 1	Kinda funny off all the devices the txtr got stolen, I wonder if a spy from Amazon could be the culprit __________________ Old people don't need companionship. They need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be extracted for our personal use Homer Simpson

01-10-2010, 07:19 AM	#9
der-Matt Student Posts: 203 Karma: 472 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Jena Device: Pocketbook 360° /302? (asap)	Thanks for the Info about the txtr, we still hope it will be available in the future... __________________ "Der-unablässig-Pocketbook-Weiterempfehlende"

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01-09-2010, 11:23 PM	#2
Mr. Goodbar Guru Posts: 782 Karma: 446 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iRex DR800SG, Kindle DX, iRex iLiad	I wonder if the irex was running an old version of firmware? The reason I ask that is because there are a number of videos floating around from the launch and the Frankfurt book show that demonstrate it changing through many font sizes. There has also been confirmation from irex that it had a suspend feature and wake up from suspend was on the order of a few seconds. With that said, I was an early iLiad adopter so what you saw in the unit there doesn't necessarily surprise me. A single font seems to just put it on par with many of the devices like the Kindle and Sony.

01-09-2010, 11:45 PM	#6
Mr. Goodbar Guru Posts: 782 Karma: 446 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iRex DR800SG, Kindle DX, iRex iLiad	With the crowds and devices present at CES I wonder how many things end up "missing" by the end of the show.


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