Best Buy DR800SG Has Arrived

[Mr. Goodbar]

Well, UPS delivered it at 5:50 PM, just in time for me to have to leave for one of my daughters tennis matches. Initial impressions are good. Feels really, really solid in the hand. Almost like a solid piece of plastic/metal. Included case is different from European version. It's a black neoprene slip case with a pen slot in the back. Looks much nicer than the European version. That's it for now as I have to run out the door.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

Well, UPS delivered it at 5:50 PM, just in time for me to have to leave for one of my daughters tennis matches. Initial impressions are good. Feels really, really solid in the hand. Almost like a solid piece of plastic/metal. Included case is different from European version. It's a black neoprene slip case with a pen slot in the back. Looks much nicer than the European version. That's it for now as I have to run out the door.

Different than this sleeve? https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...40&postcount=6

[repods]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

Well, UPS delivered it at 5:50 PM, just in time for me to have to leave for one of my daughters tennis matches. Initial impressions are good. Feels really, really solid in the hand. Almost like a solid piece of plastic/metal. Included case is different from European version. It's a black neoprene slip case with a pen slot in the back. Looks much nicer than the European version. That's it for now as I have to run out the door.

please photos !

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Different than this sleeve? https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...40&postcount=6

Yes, I'll try to take some pictures later and post them.

[MobileTechReview]

Different case from yours, repods (I received my DR800SG today as well). Neoprene slip case, similar to that which came with the Sony PRS-600, for those who are familiar with that device.

[Mr. Goodbar]

A few additional comments:

1. The device is very fast.....I would say the fastest ereader I've used and my comparisons are the Sony's, Cybooks, Kindles and previous iRex devices

2. The battery is dead, dead, dead when it arrives. You'll need to let it charge for a bit before you can even turn it on

3. Wireless works fine, but seems rather slow. I haven't downloaded anything yet, but just page changes seem rather slow

4. It takes awhile for the battery to fully charge, at least from it's initial dead point

5. pdf's and epubs are working fine, but haven't yet tried an ereader or html file. Will do that tomorrow

6. The flip bar has a really nice feel to it. Sort of a soft click, quiet, but you can definitely feel it. Rather hard to explain, but I definitely think it has a good, high quality feel

7. Overall build quality is top notch and the neoprene case is actually pretty nice

8. I replaced the 2GB card with a 4GB and it is working just fine. Simply copied the directory structure and content from the original card over to the new one and re-inserted.

9. When inserting a memory card be very careful. It is actually possible to slide the card below/under the actual slot. It's definitely a little tricky and I can see someone losing a card in the back of the device because of this.

10. Difference between small font and medium font seems pretty big to me. Would like to see either small as one point bigger or medium as a couple points smaller. Not a major issue and the small is perfectly readable. Switching between font sizes is very fast.

UPDATE: This is more of an issue with my calibre converted books. Looks like I may need to reconvert with a different base font size.

That's it for tonight. I'll post some more thoughts later and let me know what questions are out there and I'll do my best to answer them. Overall, I think iRex did a killer job on this device. It needs a few software tweaks like the dictionary, annotation and pdf zoom. With those it's really going to be a standout device in my opinion.

[repods]

Originally Posted by MobileTechReview

Different case from yours, repods (I received my DR800SG today as well). Neoprene slip case, similar to that which came with the Sony PRS-600, for those who are familiar with that device.

ok so we really need some home made pictures..
can you take them ?
and maybe it has a browser ?
it seems that this is the way the b&n store is accessed..
can you check ?
let me know

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by repods

ok so we really need some home made pictures..
can you take them ?
and maybe it has a browser ?
it seems that this is the way the b&n store is accessed..
can you check ?
let me know

I'll try to post a couple of pictures later today. It has a limited browser to access the stores, but I don't see anyway to access other sites. There is no address window and I don't seen any independent way of launching the browser.

[repods]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

I'll try to post a couple of pictures later today. It has a limited browser to access the stores, but I don't see anyway to access other sites. There is no address window and I don't seen any independent way of launching the browser.

but can it navigate the stores like an usual browser on an usual pc ?
if yes an hack should not be difficult..

[MobileTechReview]

We'll post photos and a video later today on MobileTechReview. We may actually end up doing several videos since the Irex is sufficiently different from the known quantities here in the US (Kindle, Nook, Sony). Sorry for the US-centric thing, but that's where we're based.

There is no web browser per se, the browser powers the "ebookmall" which has links to B&N and NewspaperDirect at the moment. Hope they add more since the PC version of ebookmall also has Diesel Books, Feedbooks and Many Books. B&N and NewspaperDirect detect the mobile browser and serve a mobile-optimized version of their sites.

Does anyone use NewspaperDirect? I've used it on my desktop computer where you can do some reading for free, but the version for the Irex requires that you pay for any issue you want to read. That's understandable, but the prices are certainly high compared to Amazon, Sony and B&N (sometimes $2 for a newspaper single issue).

[MobileTechReview]

BTW, mine arrived dead as a doornail too. I had to charge it for 10 minutes before it would turn on. But after 18 hours of charging (with some use during that period), it's still not quite charged! Looks like it has a few percent to go before it reaches full. Weird.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by MobileTechReview

We'll post photos and a video later today on MobileTechReview. We may actually end up doing several videos since the Irex is sufficiently different from the known quantities here in the US (Kindle, Nook, Sony). Sorry for the US-centric thing, but that's where we're based.

There is no web browser per se, the browser powers the "ebookmall" which has links to B&N and NewspaperDirect at the moment. Hope they add more since the PC version of ebookmall also has Diesel Books, Feedbooks and Many Books. B&N and NewspaperDirect detect the mobile browser and serve a mobile-optimized version of their sites.

Does anyone use NewspaperDirect? I've used it on my desktop computer where you can do some reading for free, but the version for the Irex requires that you pay for any issue you want to read. That's understandable, but the prices are certainly high compared to Amazon, Sony and B&N (sometimes $2 for a newspaper single issue).

...but the newspapers are substantially better than the others: You get the "newspaper look" and the reflow version. You decide whether to zoom in our just read the reflown text. Totally different experience.
Unfortunately, for me in Germany it's not really interesting because it lacks all the major local newspapers. Other users said the same about Hungary and other European countries. For the US it should be fine though.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by MobileTechReview

... since the PC version of ebookmall also has Diesel Books, Feedbooks and Many Books...

This should be usable with iRex 800S as well? Any idea where to download it? In the iRex 800SG-US forum I only find "Device software" and "Documentation".

[MobileTechReview]

mgmueller, go to ebookmall.irexreader.com using your computer to see what I described.

I'm curious to know what's different between the 800S and 800SG: what is listed in your ebook mall app on the Irex 800S?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by MobileTechReview

mgmueller, go to ebookmall.irexreader.com using your computer to see what I described.

I'm curious to know what's different between the 800S and 800SG: what is listed in your ebook mall app on the Irex 800S?

There is no ebook mall app at all on 800S (no 3G, no WiFI = no way to use it). You can enter your B&N code (name and credit card number used for decryption) in settings, that's it. No icon (I saw it in the annoncements for 800SG) for any mall.
The decryption of B&N books works flawlessly. For ePUBS you don't have to enter anything at all. For PDBs, you need the name and credit card number. They even have been thinking ahead: You can add more than one name/credit card combination. I've got old fictionwise PDBs, bought with an old credit card years ago. Working as well, thanks to the 2nd settings.