Should I Buy the iRiver Story - Page 2

martinmach · 12-20-2009, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyflyer

I bought mine from Webhallen on Sveavägen 39 in Stockholm. It seems that they have no more readers in stock in the shop but they have in their central stock so if you place an order you should be able to go to their shop and pick it up after a day or two.

Thanks for the address. Did you try it before buying ?

mgmueller · 12-20-2009, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rejet

Hi,

Currently, my country, Singapore, has only 1 e-ink reader for sale. It's the iRiver Story. Apparently Amazon doesn't want to bring the Kindle into the SE Asia market. I have the option to import Sony readers, but it'll compromise warranty and support as Sony doesn't have technical support for their e-readers in Singapore.

My question:
I have a collection of e-books, mostly in pdf format. I tried it out with my own SD card at the store, and reading is quite erratic for pdf files. ie,
a)I can't zoom on certain files,
b)have to read on landscape view, instead of my preferred portrait view
c) on files that can be zoomed in, i have to pan around the page to read it completely
So, is it because I have to format my pdf files somehow, or is it because the device can only read pdf files this way?

Or should I convert the pdf files to ePub format on Calibre then transfer it to the iRiver?

I hope you guys can help with my problem. Thank you for your time.

Hi,
I'm from Germany, but I've bought half a dozen readers in the US.
Realistically, I'll use each reader for about 2 years, then they'll most likely be replaced by new technology.
Within those 2 years, I'm optimistic having no technical troubles at all.
In the very worst case, I'd have to send a reader back to the US.
Given the savings I've got per reader because of the actual Dollar rate, this would be more or less even.
From my personal experience I'd recommend, going for the reader of your choice, whether it's available in your region or not.

Skyflyer · 12-20-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinmach

Thanks for the address. Did you try it before buying ?

No, I didn't. But I did read whatever reviews I could find on the internet.

fireforce · 12-20-2009, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rejet

Hi,

Currently, my country, Singapore, has only 1 e-ink reader for sale. It's the iRiver Story. Apparently Amazon doesn't want to bring the Kindle into the SE Asia market. I have the option to import Sony readers, but it'll compromise warranty and support as Sony doesn't have technical support for their e-readers in Singapore.

My question:
I have a collection of e-books, mostly in pdf format. I tried it out with my own SD card at the store, and reading is quite erratic for pdf files. ie,
a)I can't zoom on certain files,
b)have to read on landscape view, instead of my preferred portrait view
c) on files that can be zoomed in, i have to pan around the page to read it completely
So, is it because I have to format my pdf files somehow, or is it because the device can only read pdf files this way?

Or should I convert the pdf files to ePub format on Calibre then transfer it to the iRiver?

I hope you guys can help with my problem. Thank you for your time.

Hi Rejet,

It was because of warranty coverage that I got the iRiver Story for myself.
Just got it a couple of days ago, still playing around with it.

I managed to get ADE & Calibre working on my notebook. Got a bunch of news feeds and books into the Story. Text is clear and the zoom is adequate.

Problem I get is that for books I borrow from the library (DRMed PDF), my Story keeps telling me "Unable to open file", even though I authorised my device with Adobe Digital Editions.

My Story comes with firmware 1.11 and I suspect a firmware upgrade to 1.50 may solve my problem. I have tried the link mentioned earlier but can't seem to download the file.

Anyone care to email the firmware file to me instead? Really appreciate any help.

Rejet · 12-21-2009, 03:09 AM

Hi fireforce. I'm currently on firmware v1.5 for the iriver story, and also facing the same problems as you. ( drm PDFs from the NLB overdrive can't be opened on the iriver). I've called up McCoy and they have yet to get back to me. Maybe we'll have to wait for another firmware update.

. If you need the 1.5 update, PM me your email add.

caxandra · 12-21-2009, 08:51 AM

www.canman.se
www.dustin.se

These have the reader.
Swedish warranty as they should =)
Both will deliver rally soon.
Get it from canman, pay by creditcard and you can hve it before Chrstmas if you call and ask them really nice =)
They sent my stuff within 24 hours every time =)

I did not try any reader before getting this one but I got enoyed over all the fuss of the Kindle and all it´s restrictions so I got a good, easy and quick one =)

martinmach · 12-22-2009, 06:26 PM

Can you highlight text with the story?

caxandra · 12-23-2009, 12:26 AM

No, I dont think so.... Why would you? To know where you are while you go make some lunch? But I´ll check... Not that I could find, but then I'm not the sharpest tool in this shead=)

isaak · 12-23-2009, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinmach

Can you highlight text with the story?

No, it's not possible. Also it's not possible to annotate or search within an ebook.
Perhaps in a future firmware upgrade..
An English dictionary/thesaurus would be higher in my wishlist as well (now available only in Korean.

swiftmox · 02-21-2010, 03:47 AM

Hi Rejet, fireforce, I'm looking to get the iriver story too. is it being sold in sim lim or funan? what price is it being sold at?

ikan kona · 03-11-2010, 07:53 AM

Iriver story

I updated to the 1.61 and like the reflow and really dislike the corner zoom, but from a developers point of view, I understand the problems.

Most of mine ebooks are pdf, and if I can use reflow on them it really works nice, but there are really big problems.

Problems to consider:

1. The Zoom with the four steps, should be possible to customize in settings, so I would be able to have it on medium/sec.medium/high as my own customized standard.

2. Zoom in both versions does not work in landscape mode. Why?

3. The corner Zoom has to be easier in functionality, (sorry but to 80es software engineer loves his idea)

4. When I have a book on my SD card and read in it, the Story does not save my Reflow and Zoom settings, this means that i every time I read a book from my SD card have to inter the settings once more. (sorry but that's really crappy)

5. Why does the Story not recognize any book in the book section when i only have my books on a SD card, should recognize them. (have my books on diffrent SD cards, categorized)
This means that each time re-inter another SD card it shall remember where i was in the book and what Reflow/zoom i had, otherwise it wont be real to call it an expansion possibility.

6. The Reflow display some pdf, very weird, exampled under:

Fred is fat and lives in a shel
ter while eating fish with his toes, and usually he sleeps with fresh herring under his pillow.
Unfortunate for the other resi
dents in the shelter, he is resisting any fish related arguments.

So it breaks the lines in some words, this is really not acceptable, please fix it.

7. Must agree with critics that it is cheap not to deliver a cover with the story.

8. There should be a possibility to set the story, to re-inter directly into the book you just read last time, so you dont have to g0 through the menu every time.

9. I can not bookmark pages in pdf's.

10. Recent book, should be resent books, if you are reading several at the time.

angelad · 03-11-2010, 12:00 PM

Thanks for the update.

greenapple · 03-11-2010, 08:57 PM

In addition to what ikan kona mentioned, I hope iriver could improve on landscape view of PDF. When I view the top half of the page, and press next, it shows the lower half of the page, with an overlap of a lot of lines from the top part of the page.

This is very problematic when one is reading a book. Because of the large overlap, when you view the bottom half of the page, you have to search the line where the top half of the page left off.

I don't know how iRiver can improve on this, but in the current state, it is really tough to read PDF without reflow.

Khai · 03-12-2010, 09:27 AM

Hello fellow Singaporean!!

I was in the same position as you, and I checked out the iRiver Story in the Popular iKnow booths and I kinda like it, but it looks a lot like the Kindle and I didn't get the chance to test it cos the ppl manning the booths were usually mean...lol

Anyhoos, I contemplated between the Story and Oaxis W960 (which were both avail. in Singapore) and I finally went with the B&N Nook even though it wasn't available outside SG. I just imported it, and warranty-wise, there's a 1-yr warranty and if the worst happens, I would only need to sacrifice around S$40 for the shipping to US & back. Which is okay compared to the $400+ that I splurged on getting the Nook.

Hope you enjoy yours!!

greenapple · 03-12-2010, 10:19 PM

I think all ebook readers have pros and cons. It is usually not easy to uncover the 'cons' just by testing it for a few minutes at the retail booth.

The best way would be to rely on detailed user reviews, and only go for well-known and tested brands, such as sony, kindle, or nook. Because of the large user base, these manufacturers have a lot of incentive to keep improving the device with better firmware.

I've learned my lesson the hard way. I'd jumped on the opportunity to buy iRiver Story, which did look good. But the honeymoon soon ended when I discovered more and more issues.

Anyway, it may still be a fine reader. It's still early to draw conclusions. There's always hope that iRiver will release another firmware to improve on some of the problems.

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12-21-2009, 03:09 AM	#20
Rejet Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Iriver Story	Hi fireforce. I'm currently on firmware v1.5 for the iriver story, and also facing the same problems as you. ( drm PDFs from the NLB overdrive can't be opened on the iriver). I've called up McCoy and they have yet to get back to me. Maybe we'll have to wait for another firmware update. . If you need the 1.5 update, PM me your email add.

12-21-2009, 08:51 AM	#21
caxandra Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sweden, Strängnäs Device: iriver Story	www.canman.se www.dustin.se These have the reader. Swedish warranty as they should =) Both will deliver rally soon. Get it from canman, pay by creditcard and you can hve it before Chrstmas if you call and ask them really nice =) They sent my stuff within 24 hours every time =) I did not try any reader before getting this one but I got enoyed over all the fuss of the Kindle and all it´s restrictions so I got a good, easy and quick one =)

12-22-2009, 06:26 PM	#22
martinmach Junior fish Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Stockholm Device: Iriver story	Can you highlight text with the story?

12-23-2009, 12:26 AM	#23
caxandra Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sweden, Strängnäs Device: iriver Story	No, I dont think so.... Why would you? To know where you are while you go make some lunch? But I´ll check... Not that I could find, but then I'm not the sharpest tool in this shead=)

02-21-2010, 03:47 AM	#25
swiftmox Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: none	Hi Rejet, fireforce, I'm looking to get the iriver story too. is it being sold in sim lim or funan? what price is it being sold at?

03-11-2010, 07:53 AM	#26
ikan kona Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: iriver story	Iriver story I updated to the 1.61 and like the reflow and really dislike the corner zoom, but from a developers point of view, I understand the problems. Most of mine ebooks are pdf, and if I can use reflow on them it really works nice, but there are really big problems. Problems to consider: 1. The Zoom with the four steps, should be possible to customize in settings, so I would be able to have it on medium/sec.medium/high as my own customized standard. 2. Zoom in both versions does not work in landscape mode. Why? 3. The corner Zoom has to be easier in functionality, (sorry but to 80es software engineer loves his idea) 4. When I have a book on my SD card and read in it, the Story does not save my Reflow and Zoom settings, this means that i every time I read a book from my SD card have to inter the settings once more. (sorry but that's really crappy) 5. Why does the Story not recognize any book in the book section when i only have my books on a SD card, should recognize them. (have my books on diffrent SD cards, categorized) This means that each time re-inter another SD card it shall remember where i was in the book and what Reflow/zoom i had, otherwise it wont be real to call it an expansion possibility. 6. The Reflow display some pdf, very weird, exampled under: Fred is fat and lives in a shel ter while eating fish with his toes, and usually he sleeps with fresh herring under his pillow. Unfortunate for the other resi dents in the shelter, he is resisting any fish related arguments. So it breaks the lines in some words, this is really not acceptable, please fix it. 7. Must agree with critics that it is cheap not to deliver a cover with the story. 8. There should be a possibility to set the story, to re-inter directly into the book you just read last time, so you dont have to g0 through the menu every time. 9. I can not bookmark pages in pdf's. 10. Recent book, should be resent books, if you are reading several at the time.

03-11-2010, 12:00 PM	#27
angelad Groupie Posts: 163 Karma: 64 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: kindle dx	Thanks for the update.

03-11-2010, 08:57 PM	#28
greenapple Evangelist Posts: 404 Karma: 664 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DX, Kobo Aura HD	In addition to what ikan kona mentioned, I hope iriver could improve on landscape view of PDF. When I view the top half of the page, and press next, it shows the lower half of the page, with an overlap of a lot of lines from the top part of the page. This is very problematic when one is reading a book. Because of the large overlap, when you view the bottom half of the page, you have to search the line where the top half of the page left off. I don't know how iRiver can improve on this, but in the current state, it is really tough to read PDF without reflow.

03-12-2010, 09:27 AM	#29
Khai Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 12 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: nook	Hello fellow Singaporean!! I was in the same position as you, and I checked out the iRiver Story in the Popular iKnow booths and I kinda like it, but it looks a lot like the Kindle and I didn't get the chance to test it cos the ppl manning the booths were usually mean...lol Anyhoos, I contemplated between the Story and Oaxis W960 (which were both avail. in Singapore) and I finally went with the B&N Nook even though it wasn't available outside SG. I just imported it, and warranty-wise, there's a 1-yr warranty and if the worst happens, I would only need to sacrifice around S$40 for the shipping to US & back. Which is okay compared to the $400+ that I splurged on getting the Nook. Hope you enjoy yours!!

03-12-2010, 10:19 PM	#30
greenapple Evangelist Posts: 404 Karma: 664 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DX, Kobo Aura HD	I think all ebook readers have pros and cons. It is usually not easy to uncover the 'cons' just by testing it for a few minutes at the retail booth. The best way would be to rely on detailed user reviews, and only go for well-known and tested brands, such as sony, kindle, or nook. Because of the large user base, these manufacturers have a lot of incentive to keep improving the device with better firmware. I've learned my lesson the hard way. I'd jumped on the opportunity to buy iRiver Story, which did look good. But the honeymoon soon ended when I discovered more and more issues. Anyway, it may still be a fine reader. It's still early to draw conclusions. There's always hope that iRiver will release another firmware to improve on some of the problems.

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