Hi Everyone
This is Quek from Singapore. I have just joined the forum. I got my reader on the 6th of Dec 2006 and have been quite satisfied with it. With the correct expectations set, I think the reader can be a great buy! Here is why:
1. *** Excellent battery life ***
Expect to charge the reader every other day if you play lots of mp3. Otherwise, the battery can really last for at least 4 weeks per charge. I can't remember any other modern gadgets that is on par with its battery life, can you?
2. *** Reading pdf files ***
When I first received the reader, I tried to open a 14Mb pdf file(402pg) using it and it actually froze! So I extracted about 50page and retried. While it was possible to display the text, the page turning is painfully slow. My conclusion on pdf files is that regardless of the size or number of pages, it is going to be slow and impractical. Even if the next firmware upgrade adds more zooming or even panning capabilities, it would still have a speed problem and hence make reading of pdf files a painful process.
I tried to use the librie printer to convert my pdf file to BBeB format but the printout quality was too bad and the text was not legible. Luckily alex_d saved the day with his PDFrasterFarian printer(
http://tinyurl.com/yf6l27). It managed to convert my 14Mb pdf textbook into BBeB format with very good quality. All equations, diagrams can be clearly displayed on the reader. Since seeing is believing, I have attached a sample pdf and its corresponding BBeB output. The file "Razavi.lrf.pdf" needs to be renamed to "Razavi.lrf" in order to be used on the reader.
Setup is simple: Simply download the 4 rar files, uncompress them and execute the file "install.cmd" (Thanks alex_d, just a little advertisement for your tool. I am really happy that you came up with the tool
)
How about conversion to BBeB format for 2-column research papers? The tool is capable of breaking up a page into 4 parts so the text can be easily read. See the attached sample pages. Notice that the tool is even intelligent enough to allocate vertical and horizontal overlaps between pages.
3. *** Connect software ***
It is really strange that I have been reading so many negative comments on it. I think it is a basic but nevertheless ok software. I have encountered worse. So far, it has never crashed, froze, etc. The only complaint I have is that it does not have a button to disconnect the reader. So this means that after every transfer, if I would like to view the file on the reader, I have to close the program before pulling the usb plug from the reader. A minor inconvenience.
4. *** Screen colour ***
As noted in other reviews, the screen is not white as we have hoped that it would be. It is slightly greyish which give a little problem when reading under low light conditions.
5. *** Asian text display ***
While it is not able to display Asian text in BBeB format, it is possible to do so if it is in pdf format.
Hope that this review is useful for those who are still deciding on whether to get an Iliad or PRS500. I have attached a sample picture to help you decide.
Best regards
Quek