[OrcaBlue]

I think PDF zoom and annotation are critically needed for the Irex 800 to be competitive now and in the future. I personally read technical and business books. They usually contain charts, diagram and tables. With reflow, it would mess up the layout and making it unreadable. I have seen how reflow works, it make you loose what unique about each different book. It became basically a screen of text after reflow. Sometimes, after reflowing, I don’t even know where the page is within books. Where did the chart or diagram go? The text described a chart but I don’t see it anywhere. I have to go hunt for it. The reader is at the mercy of the reflow process. It does what it wants to do.

I usually mark up my books; hence, annotation is a must. What is the point of a stylus and a touch screen if you can’t annotate? Do I use it just to turn the page? For turning page, a button would do just fine. I am looking for a large screen device but yet still portable. I think DR800 fit into that criterion.

I am excited about the clarity of the Irex 800; however, lacking those two features has stopped me from pressing that checkout button from BestBuy.

As for business strategies, Irex should make these features available in the 800 soon. There are many large screen ereaders coming to the market this year from other manufacturers; Plastic Logic, Asus, Apple, and Samsung to name a few. If Irex have these features now, I would open my wallet and press that checkout button. Otherwise, I believe I can hold on until other future devices. By the end of this year, there will be more choices for the consumers. Hence, it is critical that Irex releases these features when it has the competitive advantage. The window of opportunity will get smaller and smaller as other readers start to emerge.

I also have little nieces and nephews. They’re in elementary school. Yet, their back packs are heavier than mine. Their text books are 5-9 lbs each. I don't know the exact weights of each of them but it roughly around 20-30 lbs for the entire bag. If Irex 800 has the PDF Zoom feature, I wouldn’t mind get each of them a reader to save their back. It seems that many college students are searching for that perfect ereader as well. I believe Irex can be “the company” that can tap into the college crowd. Be that “company” and everybody will love you.

Also, if you already have the firmware available, why wait until later to release it? Why make people wait? There is no better time than sooner.