Why i think the Illiad will fail (or has already).

[markiehill]

it happens when you zoom trying zooming in a few times with a smallish font in a pdf document.

Mark

[jæd]

Originally Posted by markiehill

it happens when you zoom trying zooming in a few times with a smallish font in a pdf document.

Do you have an example so that a complete case can be made in Irex's bugtracker...?

[skk06]

Does anyone feel that the product just overall is not all that it is cracked up too be; that it doesn't really stand out from the competition? Iliad is a good product but it does have many glitches (at the very least) that need to be worked out. i think someone else mentioned that the price is a big problem because it is higher than the quality and function of the product at this time. However, I do not feel the product will completely fail.

[nekokami]

Three factors make the iLiad stand out from the competition, in my mind: the larger screen, pen input, and the (relatively) open development environment. No other e ink device has any of these so far. I think the price is still a bit high for the market, though. A lot of that is the cost of the actual hardware (the e ink screen, the Wacom tablet, the wireless interface, and the multiple types of external memory). Hopefully the price of the e ink screen will drop. Only a hardware redesign is likely to help the other issues (if they can find a design that's more economical to build, for example). It doesn't look to me like the B2B model is working out very well, and now they're in a much more competitive market.

They need another big market differentiator to increase the value at the current cost. Full on-board handwriting recognition might do it, and wouldn't require a hardware redesign. The UI also needs an upgrade. And if they do a hardware redesign, they absolutely have to address the "sleep" mode (whatever you want to call it).

[firekat]

As the device sits right now it is still the "Beta Device" that many here signed a waiver or letter of understanding to purchase. Nekokami has made some valid points. What I see as hobbling this device is the painfully long start up time and the fact that pdf document navigation is rudimentary at best, specifically the ability to use native bookmarks in pdfs.

I have experimented with some of the developers programs that are available here. They initially seem to hold promise and I applaud all these people's actions. What I have found it that unless you have a software development background some of the things are of no use. The ones that I have used are slow, cumbersome and seems more to be a gee whiz kind of thing.

Overall the device appears to be pushing the limits of it's hardware, that or the software/firmware is woefully inefficient and improperly implemented. Mind you I am not an engineer or hacker type, but when I can pick up my little Palm device that starts in an instant, loads programs & documents really quickly I find it irksome that a device like the iLiad takes so long to work when what the biggest difference is simply the display technology. Does e-ink really require so much processor horsepower to refresh that it needs all that time?

I love the idea of the device, I use it everyday at work, I share it with my coworkers who are both in awe and disappointed with it. It is very expensive for what you get.

I am not impressed with iRex as a company. When can we expect the next firmware update? When will the battery/case replacement happen? By the time the iLiad will finally work as initially promised it will be bypassed by either other devices or other technologies.

I really wish that things would work out and improve - dramatically. Not too long from now I will have had this device for two years, a veritable eon in electronic devices. It is still not even close to what was initially marketed. Oh well, hope springs eternal!

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Three factors make the iLiad stand out from the competition, in my mind: the larger screen, pen input, and the (relatively) open development environment. No other e ink device has any of these so far. I think the price is still a bit high for the market, though. A lot of that is the cost of the actual hardware (the e ink screen, the Wacom tablet, the wireless interface, and the multiple types of external memory). Hopefully the price of the e ink screen will drop. Only a hardware redesign is likely to help the other issues (if they can find a design that's more economical to build, for example). It doesn't look to me like the B2B model is working out very well, and now they're in a much more competitive market.

They need another big market differentiator to increase the value at the current cost. Full on-board handwriting recognition might do it, and wouldn't require a hardware redesign. The UI also needs an upgrade. And if they do a hardware redesign, they absolutely have to address the "sleep" mode (whatever you want to call it).

I think increasing the value at the current cost is likely the wrong direction. I have been researching a bit of eBook history and have found that the larger devices have always failed in the marketplace. Check my wiki article called eBooks. It is not done but the history is what I have been concentrating on with some articles about the various devices. eBooks

The telling tails seem to be everyone likes the idea of a bigger screen but they don't buy it. Cost and battery life seem to be the big issues IMHO not wanting more features.

The iLiad is a dream machine for me and it is open but too technical. The openess needs to be integrated into an easy user interface to mainstream the product and the battery life needs more help (likely automatic turn off of battery hogging features and better shutdown will help).

Dale

[nekokami]

You could be right, Dale. Maybe there's no market position for a higher-end device like the iLiad. I view it as a low-end tablet, which is why I bought one, but I bought it used at half price. I never could have justified full price.

That being said, a conference full of traveling training specialists thought it was extremely cool and not too pricey. (I must have been the lowest paid person there!) And I still think it has a lot of possibilities for graduate students and researchers. The battery life is much longer than for any tablet, and most academics don't care about video.

But nearly everyone I've shown it to is surprised that it doesn't convert handwriting to text.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by nekokami

You could be right, Dale. Maybe there's no market position for a higher-end device like the iLiad. I view it as a low-end tablet, which is why I bought one, but I bought it used at half price. I never could have justified full price.

That being said, a conference full of traveling training specialists thought it was extremely cool and not too pricey. (I must have been the lowest paid person there!) And I still think it has a lot of possibilities for graduate students and researchers. The battery life is much longer than for any tablet, and most academics don't care about video.

But nearly everyone I've shown it to is surprised that it doesn't convert handwriting to text.

I was under the impression that this feature is already available as an extra cost addin. Am I wrong about this?

I do believe the battery life is getting close to the minimum which I believe is about 20 to 24 hours.

Dale

[bigumpah]

I've haven't used this product yet, but iRex MyScript Notes 2.1 acts as OCR. At the steep price of $69.99, cheap it ain't.

https://www.irexshop.com/product_inf...82952b63bf8ba0

When my repaired Iliad is returned to me after having spent almost 7 weeks at the repair centre, I will definitely give the 30 day trial a shot.


Vincent

[nekokami]

IRIS OCR has handwriting recognition, as well, and runs on OSX. However, it still requires moving files around and isn't nearly as convenient as on-board HWR.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by nekokami

IRIS OCR has handwriting recognition, as well, and runs on OSX. However, it still requires moving files around and isn't nearly as convenient as on-board HWR.

I hadn't realized that the solution offered required moving the file to a pc but even so if it were on the HWR and the iLiad had enough horsepower to do the job it is not likely to be free and most people would not want the price of the iLiad to be increased for this feature and if it could be added with iRex swallowing the cost I would rather see them lower the price of the unit. I do not believe this technology would is the killer app for the iLiad that will suddenly make it the product leader in the market.

Dale

[nekokami]

I wouldn't include on-board HWR in the base cost of the iLiad, I'd be willing to pay for it separately and install it after purchase. But I think if it were available it would increase the value of the iLiad.

Drawing software is another area that might be of value for the iLiad, but the slow display may make that too problematic. Better wireless backup administration would be nice.

I don't know if the iLiad can survive at this price point, but if they keep the hardware as it is, I don't see how they can lower the price that much, and if they remove the extra hardware, they might as well give the market to Bookeen.

[ig88]

And lets not forget for that high price tag, you can't even search on the thing.

That has got to be the dumbest low-cost item left out of the product at this point (considering what the product already does).

[nekokami]

I use FBReader to search most of my files, but I agree that this is major missing functionality with no good excuse.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by ig88

And lets not forget for that high price tag, you can't even search on the thing.

That has got to be the dumbest low-cost item left out of the product at this point (considering what the product already does).

At this point they have the worst MobiPocket implementation I am told. They really need to get it up to snuff including searching, dictionary support, zooming images, etc. The base functionality should be solid.

dale