The friendly folks over at the
iRex booth had their
iLiad 2nd edition on display. I admit I am a devoted Sony Reader user; but, this is the first time I've seen the iLiad at first hand, and what I've seen knocked me dead. The screen is wonderfully bright and, no question here, it's big! Instant gratification. Yes, two more inch can make a difference especially if you intent to display complicated layouts on your e-book reader. My only gripe is still the bit of a steep price (US $699).
I chatted with Peter Maas who is responsible for market research and online retailing. Interestingly, Peter too was wondering what prevented Amazon from unveiling the long-prophesied Kindle reader
during their presentations (so we shared the disappointment). For iRex, Amazon & co. are not necessarily competitors. In fact, Peter told me, as long as we are dwelling in a niche market, it only helps when new players enter the market (to spread the word, to raise awareness). He also mentioned that iRex is going to step further into retail business, with the first stores in Holland likely to carry iLiad devices soon ("you must be able touch it before you buy it"). I agree one hundred percent.