Why I like the Iliad

mattimatt · 10-01-2006, 11:44 AM

When I first read about the new Sony Reader about to hit the market using an e-ink technology, I was ecstatic. Finally I would be able to buy a reading device with a large enough screen and without any screen flicker. The only problem I could foresee is Sony’s love of DRM and dividing the planet up into zones of sale (thus probably devising a scheme to stop European consumers from buying books from the US).

I started reading web articles about the new device and about the E-ink technology. When browsing the web I discovered the Iliad, another E-ink Reader promising almost nothing but having a great potential. The price tag spoke heavily against the Iliad but Sony’s proprietary way of delivering content, how Sony announces release dates to build expectations and recants some weeks later, and the announcement from Sony regarding sales outside of the US helped me make my mind regarding what to buy.

IRex’s enthusiasm does not bother me as much as does Sony’s sales policy and erroneous statements regarding release date. I am totally happy using my Iliad Reader. Currently it does not show the battery status nor am I able to get the keyboard working but frankly I do not care. I know that I can send the device to the Netherlands via UPS for a repair if needed and I can read a pBook in the meantime.

I download content from Manybooks and I buy books for a Reader program that I have installed on my PC. I use a converter to change the books into html’s which I print as PDF’s and read them blissfully on my Iliad. I used to read books on my Palm Tungsten C making the Iliad a dream come true.

I understand and sympathize with those who are not happy with their Iliad for any reason. Some perhaps live in the US and really wanted a Sony Reader but lacked patience and faith in Sony’s announcements. Others perhaps really wanted a cool gadget they could hack and reprogram. Still others are waiting for the 20 hour reading experience.

None of the above is an issue for me regarding a reading device. I simply can not read for 20 hours at a time. I have work and family and I’m not traveling to Hong Kong anytime soon. My programming needs are met at work and instead of declaring the grapes sour and saying that I’m not interested in the Sony Reader I will state the obvious fact. E.g. I do not live in the US so for me the Sony Reader is a dud in the water.

Bob Russell · 10-01-2006, 11:50 AM

Great post, mattimatt! I bet there's a lot of others out there that want to share why they love their iLiads also. Despite the issues, it's got a nice large screen which is also touch sensitive. In some areas, the Sony Reader could never even try to compete.

So how about it? We've heard the complaints, but surely people are thrilled to have iLiads also!

TadW · 10-01-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattimatt

I download content from Manybooks and I buy books for a Reader program that I have installed on my PC. I use a converter to change the books into html’s which I print as PDF’s and read them blissfully on my Iliad. I used to read books on my Palm Tungsten C making the Iliad a dream come true.

Is your converter ConvertLIT by any chance?

I think the biggest asset of the iLiad: its magnificient display! Especially for the scholars among us, the bigger screen compared to the Sony Reader is essential for reading A4 documents.

Now, if iRex could somehow get the power management working... but that's another story.

Mike Kostousov · 10-01-2006, 01:12 PM

Exactly... despite all troubles with iLiad, iRex, GPL, SDK I really like my iLiad, and every day I am waiting for time when I will be able to read.

I've found a way to convert everything to pdf for iLiad. djvu is converted page by page by ddjvu to tiff, after that I crop it. And black and white tiff converted to pdf by "tiff2pdf -z". And splits by gs to one pdf. html is converted to pdf by htmldoc. chm are extracted to html, html are converted to pdf.
So everything I need I have... Yes, there is no bookmarks, there is problem with turning pages, but so good display is wonderful... And seense that you have 20-30 very big books in good quality about everything accessable just by 3-5 clicks is so amazing....

mattimatt · 10-01-2006, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

Is your converter ConvertLIT by any chance?

Something like that

rlauzon · 10-01-2006, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattimatt

I am totally happy using my Iliad Reader. Currently it does not show the battery status nor am I able to get the keyboard working but frankly I do not care.

This is a known bug. Let iRex know. I belive that they have a patch that you can simply download (like all the other firmware patches) that will correct this.

yokos · 10-02-2006, 09:36 AM

Yes, iRex has big problems to achieve the promised features. Nevertheless I like my iLiad - I read more than 2 hours on it every day.

@ Mike Kostousov: I converted many djvu files to pdf in same way, too.

lufee · 10-02-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yokos

Yes, iRex has big problems to achieve the promised features. Nevertheless I like my iLiad - I read more than 2 hours on it every day.

@ Mike Kostousov: I converted many djvu files to pdf in same way, too.

and i am also try to read books on iliad and try to make my own books which download form website. and also i am trying to record anything to iliad with notes. i like though it have many bugs.
waitiing for the competely future.

VillageReader · 10-02-2006, 01:31 PM

I'll add my two cents. I like it. I've read several magazines, a large number of professional articles, and eleven books so far. Comfortable, nice size, easy on the eyes (at least mostly, the occassional .pdf has a font that would be nice to enlarge). But, I use it nearly every day, often several hours a day. It has already proven itself on one business trip where I didn't take any paper reading material, relying entirely on the Iliad for books & magazines (Finished one magazine and either 2 or 3 books that trip).

It can only go from good to better, in my opinion.

Malder1 · 10-02-2006, 02:08 PM

I just received my iLiad and I love it.
It has terrific display like paper.

Latest update from 2.4 to 2.6.1 gave several major improvements.

mori · 10-03-2006, 04:56 AM

I like my iLiad as well, my main reason was that they have an open system that will support many formats, and the bigger screen.
However the price is very steep... 450euro or so would be a better price i think.
Anyway I am saving some cash with "free" content :-)
www.gutenberg.org

<Note from the Editor: Thank you for not posting links to illegal content...there is enough free and legal stuff out there... >

tribble · 10-03-2006, 07:02 AM

come on people, dont post information like that on the forum.

Riocaz · 10-03-2006, 07:10 AM

Gotta agree with Tribble. It's not exactly hard to find these places if you want/need them . And will only serve to give Mobileread a bad name.

Bob Russell · 10-03-2006, 07:17 AM

Thanks for the heads up guys. Yes, that's exactly right! This is most certainly NOT the place to share details about how to get pirated content, and we do not in any way support that type of activity. I've edited the post to remove the offending info.

Quick Update... Thanks Mori... another fix to that post by the original author makes things nice and good!

CommanderROR · 10-03-2006, 07:18 AM

OK Bob...now who edited which edit away...:-)

hmm...now i'm confused...I think 3 people just edited that post...you did, I did and mori did???

10-01-2006, 11:44 AM	#1
mattimatt Vits er þörf Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Iceland Device: Kindle 3, Bookeen Gen3, iLiad	Why I like the Iliad When I first read about the new Sony Reader about to hit the market using an e-ink technology, I was ecstatic. Finally I would be able to buy a reading device with a large enough screen and without any screen flicker. The only problem I could foresee is Sony’s love of DRM and dividing the planet up into zones of sale (thus probably devising a scheme to stop European consumers from buying books from the US). I started reading web articles about the new device and about the E-ink technology. When browsing the web I discovered the Iliad, another E-ink Reader promising almost nothing but having a great potential. The price tag spoke heavily against the Iliad but Sony’s proprietary way of delivering content, how Sony announces release dates to build expectations and recants some weeks later, and the announcement from Sony regarding sales outside of the US helped me make my mind regarding what to buy. IRex’s enthusiasm does not bother me as much as does Sony’s sales policy and erroneous statements regarding release date. I am totally happy using my Iliad Reader. Currently it does not show the battery status nor am I able to get the keyboard working but frankly I do not care. I know that I can send the device to the Netherlands via UPS for a repair if needed and I can read a pBook in the meantime. I download content from Manybooks and I buy books for a Reader program that I have installed on my PC. I use a converter to change the books into html’s which I print as PDF’s and read them blissfully on my Iliad. I used to read books on my Palm Tungsten C making the Iliad a dream come true. I understand and sympathize with those who are not happy with their Iliad for any reason. Some perhaps live in the US and really wanted a Sony Reader but lacked patience and faith in Sony’s announcements. Others perhaps really wanted a cool gadget they could hack and reprogram. Still others are waiting for the 20 hour reading experience. None of the above is an issue for me regarding a reading device. I simply can not read for 20 hours at a time. I have work and family and I’m not traveling to Hong Kong anytime soon. My programming needs are met at work and instead of declaring the grapes sour and saying that I’m not interested in the Sony Reader I will state the obvious fact. E.g. I do not live in the US so for me the Sony Reader is a dud in the water.

10-01-2006, 01:12 PM	#4
Mike Kostousov Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 861 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: Zaurus C1000/iLiad/SE K750i	Exactly... despite all troubles with iLiad, iRex, GPL, SDK I really like my iLiad, and every day I am waiting for time when I will be able to read. I've found a way to convert everything to pdf for iLiad. djvu is converted page by page by ddjvu to tiff, after that I crop it. And black and white tiff converted to pdf by "tiff2pdf -z". And splits by gs to one pdf. html is converted to pdf by htmldoc. chm are extracted to html, html are converted to pdf. So everything I need I have... Yes, there is no bookmarks, there is problem with turning pages, but so good display is wonderful... And seense that you have 20-30 very big books in good quality about everything accessable just by 3-5 clicks is so amazing.... Last edited by Mike Kostousov; 10-01-2006 at 01:30 PM.

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10-01-2006, 11:50 AM	#2
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Great post, mattimatt! I bet there's a lot of others out there that want to share why they love their iLiads also. Despite the issues, it's got a nice large screen which is also touch sensitive. In some areas, the Sony Reader could never even try to compete. So how about it? We've heard the complaints, but surely people are thrilled to have iLiads also!

10-02-2006, 09:36 AM	#7
yokos Pac-Man caught my iLiad. Posts: 807 Karma: 3595 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany; next to Baltic Sea Device: Boox Max Lumi, iRex iLiad (RIP)	Yes, iRex has big problems to achieve the promised features. Nevertheless I like my iLiad - I read more than 2 hours on it every day. @ Mike Kostousov: I converted many djvu files to pdf in same way, too.

10-02-2006, 01:31 PM	#9
VillageReader Evangelist Posts: 430 Karma: 2718 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Iliad	I'll add my two cents. I like it. I've read several magazines, a large number of professional articles, and eleven books so far. Comfortable, nice size, easy on the eyes (at least mostly, the occassional .pdf has a font that would be nice to enlarge). But, I use it nearly every day, often several hours a day. It has already proven itself on one business trip where I didn't take any paper reading material, relying entirely on the Iliad for books & magazines (Finished one magazine and either 2 or 3 books that trip). It can only go from good to better, in my opinion.

10-02-2006, 02:08 PM	#10
Malder1 Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006	I just received my iLiad and I love it. It has terrific display like paper. Latest update from 2.4 to 2.6.1 gave several major improvements.

10-03-2006, 04:56 AM	#11
mori Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: France, Nice Device: iRex iLiad	I like my iLiad as well, my main reason was that they have an open system that will support many formats, and the bigger screen. However the price is very steep... 450euro or so would be a better price i think. Anyway I am saving some cash with "free" content :-) www.gutenberg.org <Note from the Editor: Thank you for not posting links to illegal content...there is enough free and legal stuff out there... >

10-03-2006, 07:02 AM	#12
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	come on people, dont post information like that on the forum.

10-03-2006, 07:10 AM	#13
Riocaz Fulfilled but not by iRex Posts: 932 Karma: 286846 Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Device: Far too many	Gotta agree with Tribble. It's not exactly hard to find these places if you want/need them . And will only serve to give Mobileread a bad name.

10-03-2006, 07:17 AM	#14
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Thanks for the heads up guys. Yes, that's exactly right! This is most certainly NOT the place to share details about how to get pirated content, and we do not in any way support that type of activity. I've edited the post to remove the offending info. Quick Update... Thanks Mori... another fix to that post by the original author makes things nice and good!

10-03-2006, 07:18 AM	#15
CommanderROR eink fanatic Posts: 2,022 Karma: 4924 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Germany Device: STAReBOOK, iRex Iliad, Sony 505, Kindle 2	OK Bob...now who edited which edit away...:-) hmm...now i'm confused...I think 3 people just edited that post...you did, I did and mori did???

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