B&N and Verizon Jump Into E-Reader Fray with iRex

[jotas]

Originally Posted by badbob001

From: http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/N...R800SG/?kc=rss

• Processor -- Freecale iMX31L (ARM11); iRex Delta display controller
• Memory -- 128MB Mobile DDR RAM
• Flash -- 256MB internal NAND flash
• Flash expansion -- 2GB microSD card included, expandable to larger format
• Display -- 8.1-inch, 768 x 1024, 160dpi, E-ink based electrophoretic display (16 grayscales)
• 3G cellular -- Qualcomm Gobi 2000 chipset (this may be questionable)
• USB -- Micro-USB port
• Operating system -- Linux 2.6.24

CPU and Ram-wise, pretty much the same as the DR1000S, which hopefully will make development easier and offer feature parity. This is certainly not a repackaged iliad.

The Irex device supports the open ePub format, as well as multiple DRM solutions, and Adobe PDF support is expected to be available via a firmware upgrade in the fourth quarter, says the company

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by jotas

The Irex device supports the open ePub format, as well as multiple DRM solutions, and Adobe PDF support is expected to be available via a firmware upgrade in the fourth quarter, says the company

This article contains some useful information, but much of it seems to have come from multiple sources on the web - rather than directly from iRex. The Adobe PDF in Q4 report was originally for the DR1000S. The DR1000S already reads PDFs but not with Adobe DRM, so this involves switching the DR1000S from its poppler-based PDF renderer to Adobe Digital Editions. The DR800SG will come initially with ADE, so its PDF support may be significantly different from that on the DR1000S today. There isn't any particular reason to think that PDF support will be missing on initial release, but iRex has said that note taking will not be initially available and that is almost certainly because of the switch to ADE.

The "multiple DRM solutions" are Adobe and eReader. I assume that the DR800SG will have Adobe PDF and Adobe ePub in the initial firmware. However, iRex has a strong incentive to get something out before Christmas and only reader reviews will tell us what the DR800SG is actually capable of.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Ea

I crashed the screen of my first e-ink reader (a cybook) by falling on top of it (it was in its cover), and since then I've been quite paranoid about taking *any* e-ink device I've owned around with me. That's what I use the Touch for

I think if I got one of these devices it would be mostly for home use and I'd keep using my more portable 505 the rest of the time.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Crowl

I think if I got one of these devices it would be mostly for home use and I'd keep using my more portable 505 the rest of the time.

I don't bring my DR1000s around much, and my sony505 always only in its M-edge cover, which is quite sturdy.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by badbob001

I saw some videos of the plastic logic device and the prototype showed some rows of e-ink pixels that were not working, so maybe too much flexibility can damage the e-ink cells.

Not the eInk itself, but the TFT underneath (proven by the fact that the lines were always running vertical). Which is why Polymer Vision uses so called organic transistors to make their eInk displays rollable.

[Faenad]

On the kindle, does having the bezel much whiter than the screen make the screen darker, lighter, or no difference?

This was much discussed on the Sony forums, as the Sony readers are available in several colors.

A whiter color makes optically the screen darker (reduced contrast).

A darker bezel thus improves contrast but make the screen looks smaller in dimensions.

A bezel with about the same color as the screen (like the DR800 or the silver Sony 505) makes the screen appear bigger and also allow to use smaller margins without being optically disturbed (as there is little contrast between the screen background and the bezel).

Thus I believe the white color of the Kindle is the worse choice -reduced screen contrast, while the contrast between the gray screen background and the white bezel is still important enough as to countervail any "bigger screen" optical effect.

[Faenad]

It's totally subjective, but on the Kindle applying a solid black (or dark color) skin to the bezel increases the contrast on the screen - makes the text look darker & sharper.

Other less scientific, more subjective findings of the Sony users are that red readers allows faster reading (perfect for speed reading), while silver readers makes you smarter and blue reader more juvenile

On the other hand, Astak users have found that colored readers generally makes you dumber (the colored paint finish peels off in two days, you return it, and then have to watch some stupid TV shows till you get the reader back)

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by badbob001

... Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same_color_illusion

Square A appears to be darker than square B...


... it's only in your mind ...

I love optical illusions. They tell us so much about the nature of our senses and how easily they can be fooled.

That's a great one.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I love optical illusions. They tell us so much about the nature of our senses and how easily they can be fooled.

You'll love these then.

I find these two particularly amazing:

[astra]

Originally Posted by Jellby

You'll love these then.

I find these two particularly amazing:

I checked the website. I moved mouse over the mask with two tables and manually measured the tables. They are different. The yellow and blue lines are of different length, just like my eyes are telling me.

[rhadin]

Astra,

I think you need to correct your Einstein quote so that it reflects today's truth. There are 4 infinite things -- the universe, human stupidity, the egos of politicians, and the egos of the political pundits like Limbaugh and Beck.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Astra,

I think you need to correct your Einstein quote so that it reflects today's truth. There are 4 infinite things -- the universe, human stupidity, the egos of politicians, and the egos of the political pundits like Limbaugh and Beck.

But what about bank CEO's Bonuses?

[Faenad]

Originally Posted by astra

I checked the website. I moved mouse over the mask with two tables and manually measured the tables. They are different. The yellow and blue lines are of different length, just like my eyes are telling me.

The yellow and blue lines indeed are of different length, the lines that are supposed to have the same length are the two blue lines and the two yellow lines. I just checked and they do have the same lengths.

But some monitors with strange aspect ratio, or a LCD monitors that isn't at its native resolution can display them incorrectly.

We are seriously getting off topics lately Does anybody have some news about the DR800 lately? The reader is supposed to be released this month, but we know very little.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Faenad

The yellow and blue lines indeed are of different length, the lines that are supposed to have the same length are the two blue lines and the two yellow lines. I just checked and they do have the same lengths.

But some monitors with strange aspect ratio, or a LCD monitors that isn't at its native resolution can display them incorrectly.

My bad. I incorrectly expressed my thoughts. I had to say yellow lines on different tables and blue lines on different tables or something like that. And my monitor has a standard resolution of 1600x1200, and standard aspect ratio of 4:3 and not too small - 20".

[jessTay]

i agree! I'd like to hear more about the new reader.
When is the exact date of release?