Hi MR and folks,
I have been ghosting(since jan) and posting a few(since 1 month) in MR now.
A few days ago I finally worked up my nerve to push the order button on amazon.co.jp, for the
Iliad BE 
It just got delivered yesterday; Had some funfare at the Lawsons store Loppi Terminal, where I had shipped it. I couldnt figure out how to get the payment receipt and neither could the shop assistant. The Loppi terminal was an old one. So came back, rechecked Amazons not-so-clear japanese directions and made my trip back.
I finally got to take home the device.
My first choice for an E-Reader was the BeBook; But the iliad was love-at-second-sight
I have been tinkering with it since then. I also ordered and got the M-Edge cover.
I still feel edgy with the her(consider the device a live being..female..)
Not sure what makes her feel good and bad.
The device costs 599 USD or ~420 Euro. I managed to get it for 60K yen incl everything.
Had i ordered it from irex, my cost would have gone up. But still its very expensive.
Another reason for my edginess.
Main driving factors
Pros
1. Comfortable reading for both novels and technical documents. Mostly computer related. a 5/6' screen really limits me.
2. Extensiblility: potential to support as many formats as possible.
Cons
1. Cost. Have lamented enough about this.
2. Lack of official support. But MR and iliad community more than make up for it. (
)
3. Device stability. Unknown factor yet.
4. Lack of SD card support. MMC is a joke. CF, cant use with laptop. Pendrive sticks out and wastes power.
5. Uncomfortable Charger. Read enough about the physics of the charger, but still..; Got to live with it.
More pros than Cons, but still decided on going forward.
It is now unpacked and fully clothed.
I am not good with pictures;
Desilinguist has done a great
first impressions review recently.
Observations
0. This is my first reader. Hence dont know what to expect.
1. Device feels nice, almost like a Readers Digest magazine
The M-edge is very restrictive. Cant access the pen.
The device feels lop-sided; Seems like Pinnochio's nose.
Its not a perfect rectangle. The top right corner curves out a little.
2. Buttons are slightly uncomfortable.
I have to cramp my thumb to try to go to the next page.
Also have to frequently use my right hand to use the up/down/select buttons.
3. If I tilt the device, I can feel something moving inside.
Almost like some of its innards are loose.
Has someone already felt this? Is this a cause for concern?
4. Boot time was lesser than the 50+ seconds. But not very fast.
The screen display was a surprise and a little unnerving too. Like an old B/W movie.
5. Tried out some
mobi docs,
sherlock holmes omnibus. Reads like a
gem.
6. Tried out a 10MB tech doc pdf. Works very well.
It opens a little slow; The indicator buttons cycle twice.
But the file displays good.
The font is just 1-2 sizes larger than the unreadable level.
I dont like the zoom functionality. I can see a lot of white space on the borders.
I would have like to do a % based zoom to zero-in on the whole page;
But the iliad zooms in onto a particular text fragment.
Maybe i havent experimented enough.
7. I tried to open a jpg pic from my camera. It seemed to take like forever. So had to stop it. Anyways pic display was not important.
8. Tried out a couple of SD cards. But none worked.
Have to get a CF Or maybe I will try a SD-CF adapter. That way the SD can be used in my laptop and the SD-CF in the iliad.
USB pen drive works, Transcend 4gb V30 drive.
But did not work for microsd to USB adapter. Maybe the USB adapter is USB 2.0 only, while pendrives may support usb 1.1 too.
9. I tried to connect to iDS. As expected no updates, except for an italian language pack.
10. Until i am comfortable, I am going to leave it at home. I almost dropped the charger on it once already.
11. I have my n95 for RSS. But will try it out with the iliad too.
12. PC connection works well.
Have copied all books as backup. It has a paltry 64MB extra, so will delete the default books as my classics preference is very limited.
13. I can read while I am charging. But not when connected to PC via USB.
14. I am still keeping the device under wraps.
Cant explain to my friends the reason for getting this! Most of them are non-readers. I am the wolf among the goats.
1. I would like to add ppdf(pviewer), cbr reader, fbreader, new contentlister functionalities(and more..).
Is it necessary to get the developer package and shell access?
How safe or how vulnerable is my iliad if i do so?
I am a little concerned about the voided-software warranty.
However i am also not ready to ship the device back and have read that I can reflash it myself.
Its not like i am a total newbie. I am very comfortable with computers and Linux in particular.
But I am a nobody when the talk goes deep into hardware.
2. I feel there is something loose inside.
Is this normal? Can I do something about it?
3. Anything else I missed out or potential tryouts?
Almost forgot..how mean of me..
Thanks to
MR and
all the folks here.
I havent seen a more open forum and a more understanding bunch of people.
Hope to contribute more in the near future.
Whats next?
Play around with the iliad..look around for a second device that I can comfortably lug around with me. The king(or is it the queen?) stays in its throne..
Now for some heavy reading..
