ArsTechnica reviews the iRex iLiad

coleman · 02-19-2008, 08:41 AM

ArsTechnica has posted a review of the iRex iLiad. Their conclusion:

The Good

Annotation works well
US/UK charger included
USB mass storage device
Accepts CF, SD, flash drives, Ethernet, and USB connections
Excellent screen

The Bad

Handwriting recognition software is $70 extra
Not quite as attractive as the Kindle and the Reader

The Ugly

The huge premium for paying in euros

tommy still · 02-19-2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [*

Not quite as attractive as the Kindle and the Reader

Was this review written by a blind man ? The Kindle is plug ugly !

TadW · 02-19-2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy still

Was this review written by a blind man ? The Kindle is plug ugly !

I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.

John Constable

tommy still · 02-19-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.

John Constable

Constable obviously never painted a Kindle.

daudi · 02-19-2008, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.
John Constable

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy still

Constable obviously never painted a Kindle.

We need "fortunes" for the iliad, and this quote and reply gets my vote for the first ebook fortune.

grimo1re · 02-20-2008, 04:30 AM

They think the Kindle looks better than the iLiad? What's wrong with these people, seriously...

dodowolf · 02-20-2008, 08:07 AM

Nothing entirely wrong with them, it's just Jeff might have paid.

HappyMartin · 02-20-2008, 09:32 AM

What kind of light would make the Kindle look good? The mind boggles. Perhaps a coal mine at midnight?

JSWolf · 02-20-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

What kind of light would make the Kindle look good? The mind boggles. Perhaps a coal mine at midnight?

The light of the dark maybe?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-20-2008, 09:55 AM

Moving beyond ugly... the Iliad has a lot of things to like. A friend of mine showed me his, and I could surely stand using a device like this, but for two things: Price, which I agree is daunting; and lack of color.

Heck, when for $700, I can buy a new laptop or small UMPC and basically duplicate and surpass Iliad's functions (and I don't have issues reading on LCD screens as some people do), I just can't see the value in the Iliad.

carandol · 02-20-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Moving beyond ugly... the Iliad has a lot of things to like. A friend of mine showed me his, and I could surely stand using a device like this, but for two things: Price, which I agree is daunting; and lack of color.

Heck, when for $700, I can buy a new laptop or small UMPC and basically duplicate and surpass Iliad's functions (and I don't have issues reading on LCD screens as some people do), I just can't see the value in the Iliad.

Well, if you don't have a problem with reading on LCD screens, then the value of the Iliad is lost on you. Its the epaper screen which you're mostly paying for. Personally, I've been reading a lot on my Palm, and I'm finding I'm getting a lot less eye-strain since I got my Iliad. Being an easily distracted person, I also find that I'm getting more reading done, since I'm not tempted to check my emails, or browse the web quite so often :-) Lack of colour doesn't bother me, since none of the books I've read on it would have been in colour anyway (apart from the cover, which you should never judge a book by, so they say).

Ebook readers are not really about having lots of functions, they're about reading books, in the same way that TVs are about watching TV. I mean, I've got a Swiss Army Knife, which does all sorts of things, but I don't eat my dinner with it

nekokami · 02-21-2008, 12:23 PM

I could never have paid full price for my iLiad, but I bought mine used. It's a huge help to me in most of my graduate classes, which require heavy reading of journal articles. I love being able to have all the articles on my iLiad, including markups. (Page turning speed is still an issue.)

I don't think the Kindle is that ugly, but I can't see anyone complaining about the looks of the iLiad. What did they want, speckle-metallic paint with racing stripes?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-21-2008, 12:45 PM

Of course not!

Carbon fiber with 3-M reflective piping and LED marker lights will do nicely, thank you.

Adam B. · 02-21-2008, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

I don't think the Kindle is that ugly, but I can't see anyone complaining about the looks of the iLiad. What did they want, speckle-metallic paint with racing stripes?

I think that the iLiad looks more "industrial" than your average consumer device. It's not quite as polished and shiny as people are used to... I personally like the look.

snookums · 02-22-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy still

Was this review written by a blind man ? The Kindle is plug ugly !

Do you actually own one? I bought the Kindle because of its features, but I was worried because it didn't look very attractive in the pics. When I got it I was very happy with the aesthetics. It is actually a beautiful device and the material feels very good in your hands.

02-19-2008, 08:41 AM	#1
coleman Connoisseur Posts: 95 Karma: 38 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: Android tablets and phones, Windows tablet, Kobo Aura One	ArsTechnica reviews the iRex iLiad ArsTechnica has posted a review of the iRex iLiad. Their conclusion: The Good Annotation works well US/UK charger included USB mass storage device Accepts CF, SD, flash drives, Ethernet, and USB connections Excellent screen The Bad Handwriting recognition software is $70 extra Not quite as attractive as the Kindle and the Reader The Ugly The huge premium for paying in euros

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02-20-2008, 04:30 AM	#6
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	They think the Kindle looks better than the iLiad? What's wrong with these people, seriously...

02-20-2008, 08:07 AM	#7
dodowolf Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: iRex iLiad	Nothing entirely wrong with them, it's just Jeff might have paid.

02-20-2008, 09:32 AM	#8
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	What kind of light would make the Kindle look good? The mind boggles. Perhaps a coal mine at midnight?

02-20-2008, 09:55 AM	#10
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Moving beyond ugly... the Iliad has a lot of things to like. A friend of mine showed me his, and I could surely stand using a device like this, but for two things: Price, which I agree is daunting; and lack of color. Heck, when for $700, I can buy a new laptop or small UMPC and basically duplicate and surpass Iliad's functions (and I don't have issues reading on LCD screens as some people do), I just can't see the value in the Iliad.

02-21-2008, 12:23 PM	#12
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I could never have paid full price for my iLiad, but I bought mine used. It's a huge help to me in most of my graduate classes, which require heavy reading of journal articles. I love being able to have all the articles on my iLiad, including markups. (Page turning speed is still an issue.) I don't think the Kindle is that ugly, but I can't see anyone complaining about the looks of the iLiad. What did they want, speckle-metallic paint with racing stripes?

02-21-2008, 12:45 PM	#13
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Of course not! Carbon fiber with 3-M reflective piping and LED marker lights will do nicely, thank you.