Fortified only by a latte and a Danish pastry from the lovely Tinderbox on Islington's Upper Street, I made my way into the local branch of Borders to check out the new iRex Iliad Book Edition.
It started promisingly - there was a display right by the entrance but wandering round the store, there was no device on display. I asked at the information desk and the guy went and got one for me to look at.
He booted it up and even as it was showing the intial splash screen I could see the screen was something special (this is the first time I've seen an e-Ink device in the flesh, so I guess most readers here already know how good the screen is). He fiddled about with it until we got to the book menu (I suspect the product has only just arrived so there's been no staff training yet) and I had a look.
Holding the unit in my hand, I was surprised how well it fitted - given the larger screen, I was expecting it to be slightly unwieldy. The screen was very crisp (reminded me of an old monochrome LCD with no backlighting) and I didn't find the flicker on changing pages to be particularly noticeable.
Price is £399 and while I said in another thread that was twice what I was prepared to pay for an eBook device, I have to admit that I was tempted. I have been holding out for the Sony PRS-505 to get an official UK launch, but now after the Iliad, its smaller screen might be a disappointment.
The guy on the information desk did tell me that the store manager hasn't yet decided if Borders 20% vouchers (which you get by registering online or in-store) will be allowable against a purchase of an Iliad.
There are a few snapshots here if you're interested:-
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=iRex...26939219%40N00