[KillerRabbit]

I hope that iRex, Sony, Hanlin and others read this and see my comments as an opportunity. I realize that this specific forum is for iRex, but I really didn't see one that was more appropriate.

I am Army National Guard officer and am currently a staff officer. That means, among other things, that I lug around a large box of books (primarily Field Manuals). Most of these are available for download as PDFs. While I do have a laptop and use it to view these manuals, I really think that a eink-type device would make my life much easier.

I suspect that there is a significant market available in other military offiers / NCOs like me. I am sure there are other fields / professions where similar interest and opportunity exists.

However, looking through the specs of all the readers, they all seem to have shortcomings.

1. Standard batteries. The best would be AA, although AAA would be OK as well. The most common battery in the Army inventory is D, but I think that would make the device too big. AA are also quite readily availble through the supply system. Worst case, I would simply take a supply of my own AA or AAA rechargable batteries and a recharger to the field and that would work just fine. However, having to put the device on the charger for several hours that may be running off a generator (in some cases, I recall that it would be overnight), would be a problem.

2. Screen size. It seems that the iRex has the largest screen (8" diagonal) and the Hanlin & Sony both have 6" screens. I'm not sure how well a 6" screen would work. I have my doubts. A 10" screen would probably be the optimal balence between screen size and overall device size.

3. Price. I'm willing to pay some coin for this, but iRex's price of $810 US seems a bit steep. I'm probably willing to pay a little more than most people, since I think I could use it as a tax deduction.

4. Formats supported.
a. PDF is a must and it -must- be directly supported, i.e. does not require using an application on a computer to fold/spindle/mutilate to then transfer to the ebook device.
b. MS Office formats. This would be nice, but not essential. Again, reference would be for direct file support vice conversion to some other format. Worst case, I would conver to PDF on my laptop and use it.

5. Search, bookmarks. It would be really nice to have a easy method to search through an ebook for a string and to be able to bookmark pages, chapters, etc.

6. Color vs. B&W. Color would be nice, but not essential. If it only raises the price, say 10% above B&W, then I would probably spring for color (everything else being equal). However, having bought more than a few electronic devices over the years, I would probably go cheaper for my first device and then a few years later, upgrade to whatever new product comes to market.

7. Interfaces. I read that the iRex has USB, Compact Flash, and internal flash. I like that. I really don't see that I would have much use for the wireless interface. If I can transfer files from PC to ebook reader directly via USB, that would probably be sufficient. If I could also transfer from USB stick or CF card (in addition to reading files from those storage devices), to internal flash or another attached storage device (i.e. USB stick to CF card) that would be a bonus.

8. Page refresh / loading. I've read that the time to change pages takes up to 2 seconds and I've also read that the newest version 2.6 is faster. That's good. There really isn't anything about what I'm doing that requires a fast page change. It's just the same annoyance factor that applies to everyone else.

Well, that is my laundry list.
Thoughts? Reactions?