MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - iRex iLiad vs Sony Reader 505 for a university student

Marjorie · 06-15-2008, 02:33 PM

I find it amazing that in this mobile read community that no one replied to your post in the past 6 months!!!

I do not have an iLiad to test. I only have what people say in reviews on the Internet.

A few things I remember off the top of my head: The operating system of the iLiad is Linux. I am not familiar with AbiWord, so I do not know its operating system. I do think it would be remarkable if you could copy the program on a flash drive and then actually install it from the flash drive to the iLiad. I assume that only data files can be read by the iLiad and that there is no way to run an executable file.

Everything I have read about the iLiad screen is that it is better or at least equal than the Sony Reader Screen. The iLiad screen is larger, but it uses 16 shades of gray as opposed the the Sony's 8 shades of gray. In a case where the Kindle's screen is the same size as the Sony's, then the Sony has the advantage with its 8 shades of gray over the Kindle's 4 shades of gray. In terms of dpi, Sony has the highest at 170; Kindle's is 167 and iLiad's is 160 (due to the increased size). I have not seen comments that the iLiad's screen has any problems. I did read in one place that the 16 shades of gray really improved the details in photos and graphics.

Also, the iLiad does not have a problem with its battery power. You can turn off the WiFi to lessen that drag. Actually, I believe it turns itself off. You press a button to start the session with the iDS; when all content that is waiting for you is downloaded to you, it turns itself off. Power is also consumed by the underlying Wacom technology, but when you put the pen in its cradle, that system is turned off. The only power consumption after that is the turning of pages, which is very small in its draw. I think your fears about running out of power are not well founded. The iLiad can be charged using the WiFi hub which also has a USB connector to connect the iLiad to a computer. I remember reading that you cannot just use an USB cable from the USB port to connect to a computer. Maybe the 2nd edition is different. Your link to the solar charger does not seem to have any mention of a solar charger.

There is now an iLiad 2nd edition that may improve some functions and I am not clear myself if what I have read is from the 1st edition or the new 2nd edition (apparently just came out in the spring of 2008). In the area of pdf's I do not believe your can search them. While you can change the size of the type, it is through a menu system that seems cumbersome. In your case, I believe the documents you will be looking at are from scans, so they couldn't be searched in Adobe Acrobat either since they are graphics.

As far as drawing on the iLiad, I have read that it is not so good for engineering drawings. You can change the shade of gray and the width of the line. It does not sound as if it is pressure sensitive as an Intuos3 tablet is.

Annotations of reading material are in two separate files that are merged using iRex software on your computer.

Since 6 months have passed, what did you decide to do?

06-15-2008, 02:33 PM	#2
Marjorie Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Yonkers, NY Device: Treo	I find it amazing that in this mobile read community that no one replied to your post in the past 6 months!!! I do not have an iLiad to test. I only have what people say in reviews on the Internet. A few things I remember off the top of my head: The operating system of the iLiad is Linux. I am not familiar with AbiWord, so I do not know its operating system. I do think it would be remarkable if you could copy the program on a flash drive and then actually install it from the flash drive to the iLiad. I assume that only data files can be read by the iLiad and that there is no way to run an executable file. Everything I have read about the iLiad screen is that it is better or at least equal than the Sony Reader Screen. The iLiad screen is larger, but it uses 16 shades of gray as opposed the the Sony's 8 shades of gray. In a case where the Kindle's screen is the same size as the Sony's, then the Sony has the advantage with its 8 shades of gray over the Kindle's 4 shades of gray. In terms of dpi, Sony has the highest at 170; Kindle's is 167 and iLiad's is 160 (due to the increased size). I have not seen comments that the iLiad's screen has any problems. I did read in one place that the 16 shades of gray really improved the details in photos and graphics. Also, the iLiad does not have a problem with its battery power. You can turn off the WiFi to lessen that drag. Actually, I believe it turns itself off. You press a button to start the session with the iDS; when all content that is waiting for you is downloaded to you, it turns itself off. Power is also consumed by the underlying Wacom technology, but when you put the pen in its cradle, that system is turned off. The only power consumption after that is the turning of pages, which is very small in its draw. I think your fears about running out of power are not well founded. The iLiad can be charged using the WiFi hub which also has a USB connector to connect the iLiad to a computer. I remember reading that you cannot just use an USB cable from the USB port to connect to a computer. Maybe the 2nd edition is different. Your link to the solar charger does not seem to have any mention of a solar charger. There is now an iLiad 2nd edition that may improve some functions and I am not clear myself if what I have read is from the 1st edition or the new 2nd edition (apparently just came out in the spring of 2008). In the area of pdf's I do not believe your can search them. While you can change the size of the type, it is through a menu system that seems cumbersome. In your case, I believe the documents you will be looking at are from scans, so they couldn't be searched in Adobe Acrobat either since they are graphics. As far as drawing on the iLiad, I have read that it is not so good for engineering drawings. You can change the shade of gray and the width of the line. It does not sound as if it is pressure sensitive as an Intuos3 tablet is. Annotations of reading material are in two separate files that are merged using iRex software on your computer. Since 6 months have passed, what did you decide to do? Last edited by Marjorie; 06-15-2008 at 02:39 PM.