iRex DR800SG Delayed till end of November

[badbob001]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

Not according to the latest email Nancy received from them, it doesn't. From her post #173 on this thread of yesterday:

"1. Will the battery be user replaceable, meaning can we replace the
battery ourselves ?

The battery must be replaced via our service desk who will be situated
in the States, so this might only take a week. We don't excpect that you
must replace the battery, within the first years, so this is not
something to worry about."

Well, perhaps she's talking about obtaining a replacement battery and not the physical act of swapping out the battery. The actual battery would likely be unique to the dr800 and thus you will need to get a replacement from irex.

Then again, the battery door does have a screw and perhaps they put a void sticker on it to keep you from opening it.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by badbob001

The actual battery would likely be unique to the dr800 and thus you will need to get a replacement from irex.

If that's true, then it would be a change from the iLiad and DR1000, both of which use commodity lithium-ion batteries. You probably can't find them on the shelf at WalMart, but there are websites where you can go and order them.

Designing a new/unique battery for a device like this would be unusual.

[badbob001]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

If that's true, then it would be a change from the iLiad and DR1000, both of which use commodity lithium-ion batteries. You probably can't find them on the shelf at WalMart, but there are websites where you can go and order them.

It's possible that the dr800 battery has a custom shell around the battery cells to at least provide a simple contact-only power connector, much like the batteries found on cell phones and laptops.

The iliad and dr1000 are internal batteries and connect with a wired connector, like those found in cordless phones or the 9V connector in an alarm clock. The wired connection is the cheapest way to go but I don't think IREX will design their battery that way. Imagine opening the back cover of the DR800 and have the battery pop out and hang from its wired connector. It is also possible the cover itself is part of the battery casing.

And regardless, a company will usually suggest their own supply of batteries, which they have tested with and will support. I seriously doubt that if I call Sony or Canon regarding a camera battery, they would suggest I check ebay or google a chinese website, even when those alternatives obviously do exist.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by badbob001

And regardless, a company will usually suggest their own supply of batteries, which they have tested with and will support. I seriously doubt that if I call Sony or Canon regarding a camera battery, they would suggest I check ebay or google a chinese website, even when those alternatives obviously do exist.

Depends on what camera you buy as my Canon just wants simple AA's

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by badbob001

It's possible that the dr800 battery has a custom shell around the battery cells to at least provide a simple contact-only power connector, much like the batteries found on cell phones and laptops.

The iliad and dr1000 are internal batteries and connect with a wired connector, like those found in cordless phones or the 9V connector in an alarm clock. The wired connection is the cheapest way to go but I don't think IREX will design their battery that way. Imagine opening the back cover of the DR800 and have the battery pop out and hang from its wired connector. It is also possible the cover itself is part of the battery casing.

And regardless, a company will usually suggest their own supply of batteries, which they have tested with and will support. I seriously doubt that if I call Sony or Canon regarding a camera battery, they would suggest I check ebay or google a chinese website, even when those alternatives obviously do exist.

Keep in mind that accessories and/or replacements is typically where companies make a rather high profit margin. They will always try to dissuade you from going against their recommendation mainly due to that reason. However, when it comes to batteries there are a lot of knock off and inferior ones on the market selling for really cheap on ebay. You typically get what you pay for with these.

The batteries for the iliad where readily available from other sources, but the internal nature made replacement difficult, although not impossible. I would think that as long as you can access the battery compartment on the 800, then replacement wouldn't be a big issue.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by badbob001

And regardless, a company will usually suggest their own supply of batteries, which they have tested with and will support. I seriously doubt that if I call Sony or Canon regarding a camera battery, they would suggest I check ebay or google a chinese website, even when those alternatives obviously do exist.

I think that's really the root of it. In a response on the iRex forum, they said that the battery is user accessible, but that they do not sell or supply replacement batteries. All "official" battery replacements would be handled as a warranty item.

However, like many other devices, I would assume that a user can "unofficially" replace their own. They just have to find a source for getting it.

[badbob001]

IREX Support site now has info and downloads for the DR800S and DR800SG. To access the manual, download the device software zip and look in the help folder.

Some interesting stuff I found:

• Power switch: slide and hold left to turn off. slide right to lock device buttons.
• Under battery door is MicroSD slot and SIM card slot.
• Margins can be set to none.
• Device will go into standby after 30 minutes of idle.
• Open Source licensing includes Webkit, the browser technology for the iphone, android, etc.
• Battery connects with a wired connector. Ha!
• Stylus is cheaper than the one demoed (looks like the iliad stylus) and still attaches to the leather cover.
• FCC ID is: NCMOMO0491‐I (the mother load, filed 01/13/2010)
• external photos
• internal photos
• This warning is in the manual on the FCC site:
  

  Warning / Caution: to comply with FCC RF exposure requirements the Digital Reader must be secured to the cover that is supplied in the box during normal operations as shown in figure 1.0 below this text. The cover must not be removed when using the Digital Reader.

  I guess they HAVE to supply the leather cover with the DR800SG.
• In DoC Test report: Highest clock frequency is 400MHz (CPU?)
• Request for 90 day confidentiality for photos and manual submitted on Oct. 7, 2009.

Can't seem to find info on the capacity of the battery. Given many of these reports and tests were done after Oct 2009, it's possible FCC certification held the device back.

UPDATE: mgmueller's unboxing shows that the battery is 2800mAh. I believe the latest version of the similar iliad has two 1100mAh batteries, so the battery capacity for the DR800x is better by 600mAh. I think the DR1000s has a 1400mAh battery. Hey, if you can't fix the power management, then just throw more money into the hardware to compensate.

[etienne66]

Let's see. They finally have their FCC ID. They have a new support site and have a new support phone number for the Unites States, as well as for about 7 other countries. Maybe they were being honest this time when they said Mid-February. Time will tell, but I am still waiting for a review and the annotation feature to be completed. Although if notes can be added to bookmarks with an on-screen keyboard, that will be sufficient for me as long as the dictionary works.

Etienne66

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by badbob001

[*]Battery connects with a wired connector. Ha!

So do Palm pilots, but they're easy to change as well. Just means you need to connect the cable instead of just snapping it in, but that's not a big deal. I'm glad it's not soldered though, like the iLiad. That would have made it more difficult.

I think the only reason iRex says user's cannot replace them is because they don't sell batteries and don't want to officially support third party ones. In reality though, it sounds like replacing your own battery should be pretty simple.

[badbob001]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

So do Palm pilots, but they're easy to change as well. Just means you need to connect the cable instead of just snapping it in, but that's not a big deal. I'm glad it's not soldered though, like the iLiad. That would have made it more difficult.

All the Palm Pilots I had used AAA batteries. The Palm V had an internal rechargeable battery which I assume needs dismantling to replace. Were there newer Palms with a battery door and a battery connected with a wire? That would be interesting since I've never seen anything but model-specific battery cases in many of the Windows Mobile devices I've used. I don't think any company would say a battery is *user*-replaceable if accessing the battery requires a set of uncommon screwdrivers and levers to be purchased (just ask Apple with respect to the ipod and iphone).

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by badbob001

All the Palm Pilots I had used AAA batteries. The Palm V had an internal rechargeable battery which I assume needs dismantling to replace. Were there newer Palms with a battery door and a battery connected with a wire? That would be interesting since I've never seen anything but model-specific battery cases in many of the Windows Mobile devices I've used. I don't think any company would say a battery is *user*-replaceable if accessing the battery requires a set of uncommon screwdrivers and levers to be purchased (just ask Apple with respect to the ipod and iphone).

I've replaced the internal battery on my wifes Palm pilot. I don't remember if it was the Palm Tungsten E2 or the Palm TX. Whichever one it was used a battery with a wire that you had to disconnect from the board. It was pretty simple though. Replacement batteries were easy to find on Ebay.

Sounds like the same sort of thing, except that the DR800 gives you a door to make getting to the battery a lot easier.

[junkyardwillie]

With the iPad at $499 irex had better reevaluate its pricing structure or they will be irrelevant very quickily

[etienne66]

Originally Posted by junkyardwillie

With the iPad at $499 irex had better reevaluate its pricing structure or they will be irrelevant very quickily

Only if the Irex DR800SG has a 10 hour battery life like the iPad. The iPad doesn't impress me, but I'm sure the Apple fanbois are all over it.

Etienne66

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by etienne66

The iPad doesn't impress me, but I'm sure the Apple fanbois are all over it.

I saw one blog where a fanboy was saying that he had already decided to buy the, as yet unannounced, new Apple product. He didn't even care what it was or what it did, he just knew he wanted one.

Apple fanboys crack me up.

[junkyardwillie]

I'm sure there will be lines of people sleeping outside for one. The no multitasking kills the iPad for me, its a bit silly to only be able to run one application at a time. Its really just a big ipod touch which doesn't cut it for me. It'll still be very rough to get a eReader device sold for more than this one is priced at for non hardcore readers which is a big portion of the market.