First look at DR800SG (video review)

[catharsis]

Probably, at some point, the guy from iRex would pop up and ask you why do you need jump to page for when the flip bar works very well (or the screen or something else...)

[pauli]

I think someone posted a "workaround" somewhere... by using the "search word" function and entering the page number to skip to that page...

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by AlpGlide

Thank you for your wonderful work!
If we can combine DR800 hardware with Sony prs900 software, it will be best of best

I'm actually finding the software to be much better and way more refined than what the iLiad or the DR1000 had. I used a DR1000 when it first came out so I can't really say how it's evolved, but this software is very fast, stable and fairly intuitive. I would say it is generally on par with the other mainstream readers. I like the 15 most recent files added feature and also the sort by recently read. The jump feature by alphabet in books by author or title is very much like the Sony 505 features. All in all they've done a pretty solid job. The biggest thing I'm missing is the dictionary, but I expect that will come. We'll have to wait and see what the story is on annotation and zoom.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by pauli

I think someone posted a "workaround" somewhere... by using the "search word" function and entering the page number to skip to that page...

That didn't seem to work for me.

[professzore]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

You might want to try this one out:
http://www.juliansmart.com/ecub

Thanks, I'll take a loooong look at it. :-)

[Jumpn Jack Flash]

Originally Posted by catharsis

Probably, at some point, the guy from iRex would pop up and ask you why do you need jump to page for when the flip bar works very well (or the screen or something else...)

Most likely it is a slip under the cracks issue where they never got around to implementing it.

Remember they are effectively rewriting all their software to get the the Adobe stuff in. And the golden rule in software do the hard stuff first and leave the easy stuff till last.

So the hard stuff is:
Suspend/Resume and power saving. Suspend and resume has always been an issue on Linux and to a certain extent on Windows ( major changes where done on Vista suspend )
The Adobe epub and the B&N pdb support. The gobi 3G support ( boy has that been screwed up on the European side ). Controlling any sort of modem is a pain in the ass, I know because I have to do it for work in Win32.
Annotation/zooming support for epub/pdb and other apps as these apps have to be modifed.
Merge the 1000/800 platforms together, I can see plenty of unexpected issues coming up there.


Easy stuff:
Go to page
Rotate the other directions ( easy as rotation support is already there ).

<begin rant>
I don't want to sound like I am defending iRex as Shaggy has been tarred with that brush but to me it looks like the iRex developers are on a death march. Been on too many of them in various companies myself curtosy of management having brain farts, a complete inability to listen anything but their own egos and general case of telling their customers what they think they will like to hear instead of telling them what they need to hear.
<end rant>

I assume once the 1000 firmware is out that all the minor issues can be cleaned up.

The 800 looks like it is a very good device with the openness required for 3rd party apps to be developed something Sony does not understand and Amazon has only recently twigged.

Still awaiting mine ( UPS still bouncing it around Europe grrr ).

The major issue I will have about iRex is their managements complete stupidity. The whole handling of the delay of the 800 and the zooming issue has to make you wonder about their viability in the face of the looming Chinese tidal wave of devices.

But at the moment, I consider the 800 to be the best hardware out there ( with some software issues ) which is why I have bought one despite its lack of wifi support.
As a bonus most of the software sources are there. If the delta driver sources where not in the kernel sources I would have bought an Onyx ( very nearly did !).

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by Jumpn Jack Flash

Most likely it is a slip under the cracks issue where they never got around to implementing it.

Remember they are effectively rewriting all their software to get the the Adobe stuff in. And the golden rule in software do the hard stuff first and leave the easy stuff till last.

So the hard stuff is:
Suspend/Resume and power saving. Suspend and resume has always been an issue on Linux and to a certain extent on Windows ( major changes where done on Vista suspend )
The Adobe epub and the B&N pdb support. The gobi 3G support ( boy has that been screwed up on the European side ). Controlling any sort of modem is a pain in the ass, I know because I have to do it for work in Win32.
Annotation/zooming support for epub/pdb and other apps as these apps have to be modifed.
Merge the 1000/800 platforms together, I can see plenty of unexpected issues coming up there.


Easy stuff:
Go to page
Rotate the other directions ( easy as rotation support is already there ).

<begin rant>
I don't want to sound like I am defending iRex as Shaggy has been tarred with that brush but to me it looks like the iRex developers are on a death march. Been on too many of them in various companies myself curtosy of management having brain farts, a complete inability to listen anything but their own egos and general case of telling their customers what they think they will like to hear instead of telling them what they need to hear.
<end rant>

I assume once the 1000 firmware is out that all the minor issues can be cleaned up.

The 800 looks like it is a very good device with the openness required for 3rd party apps to be developed something Sony does not understand and Amazon has only recently twigged.

Still awaiting mine ( UPS still bouncing it around Europe grrr ).

The major issue I will have about iRex is their managements complete stupidity. The whole handling of the delay of the 800 and the zooming issue has to make you wonder about their viability in the face of the looming Chinese tidal wave of devices.

But at the moment, I consider the 800 to be the best hardware out there ( with some software issues ) which is why I have bought one despite its lack of wifi support.
As a bonus most of the software sources are there. If the delta driver sources where not in the kernel sources I would have bought an Onyx ( very nearly did !).

Very accurate comments. My perspective after only two days is that they seem to have nailed the battery life pretty well. I'll know more in about a week, but so far I think they've finally addressed that issue. Resume is the quickest I've seen on any ereader so far. Three seconds back to where I left off reading. The hardware is really top notch. The emall is good in concept and it works, but not quite as fast or elegant as on the Kindle, but certainly acceptable. Despite the inept management they seem to have really put out a killer product this time around.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

...Despite the inept management they seem to have really put out a killer product this time around.

This is good to hear. If they include dictionary and annotation I'm willing to give it a try! I do like what I've seen.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by SCION

This is good to hear. If they include dictionary and annotation I'm willing to give it a try! I do like what I've seen.

I've been very impressed so far. It looked good to me and the feedback on the European version was positive, but a part of me remained skeptical given iRex's past. I can honestly say this has been the best reader I've used so far. It may lack a few features, but not anything that can't be added in via software. The screen and overall hardware are just great. Everyone's needs are different, but I can't believe this thing won't put a major hurt on the Sony 900 once they are side by side in the store.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

It is a rather odd omission, but not one that really impacts me. I usually just use the table of contents to get close to where I need to be and then use the long press to jump forward or backward 5 pages at a time.

It does seem an odd thing to leave out, but you can also use the Find Word function - just put the page number in the search box and, assuming the pages of the document are numbered, it will take you there.

This doesn't seem to work on all pdfs - it seems that some have the page numbers parsed as text whilst others don't. It's only on the former that this workaround works.

[badbob001]

Nevermind.

Misread emall as email... thinking there was a way to email a document to yourself like on the kindle.

[vakya]

Originally Posted by Starlicy

Edit on 02/20/2010 9:29pm:

Here's the 2nd review I posted on youtube as promised:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrS1ZppOTWA

I've learned a lot from this forum and was very well informed before I made this purchase (esp. much thanks to mgmueller ). I'm in love of the display, and though it's missing the anotation and go-to-page function I still like this better than Sony's PRS-900. Hopefully this review can give you more insight of how this device performs in action, and help those who still can't make their decision.


Eariler post on 02/19/2010:

I'm one of the lucky ones that received the device today . This is my first review ever and here's the link to the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8TYC3RACfo

I played with it for like 15 minutes. It doesn't allow me to access the ebook yet because of low battery level. I like it so far (better than PRS900) because of the awesome quality of the screen. However, from what I can see now there is no dictionary and no anotation capability.

Let me know what you want to perform on this device. I will post another video review later.

Great review and Beautiful hands
Thank you.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

I'm actually finding the software to be much better and way more refined than what the iLiad or the DR1000 had. I used a DR1000 when it first came out so I can't really say how it's evolved, but this software is very fast, stable and fairly intuitive. I would say it is generally on par with the other mainstream readers. I like the 15 most recent files added feature and also the sort by recently read. The jump feature by alphabet in books by author or title is very much like the Sony 505 features. All in all they've done a pretty solid job. The biggest thing I'm missing is the dictionary, but I expect that will come. We'll have to wait and see what the story is on annotation and zoom.

Hmmm, I still prefer iLiad's OS. Maybe because it has been my very first eInk reader? I really love, changing book title or author's name "on the fly", directly on the reader (only iLiad was able to do so). Or adding comments (book 3/34 or something like that). And of course the phantastic zoom - still the best zoom solution of all my readers.
iRex 800 certainly can compete with the other actual readers. But I still miss some features of the brillant iLiad.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Hmmm, I still prefer iLiad's OS. Maybe because it has been my very first eInk reader? I really love, changing book title or author's name "on the fly", directly on the reader (only iLiad was able to do so). Or adding comments (book 3/34 or something like that). And of course the phantastic zoom - still the best zoom solution of all my readers.
iRex 800 certainly can compete with the other actual readers. But I still miss some features of the brillant iLiad.

I would agree with you on the zoom feature. As for renaming files I prefer to have the metadata drive that and will manage that on the desktop, but everyone's needs and desires are different. The speed of the 800 puts it in a completely different category from the iLiad, but you probably do have a little less flexibility to do things on the device. However, the iLiad was pretty much alone in it's on device management functions and the 800 is probably more consistent with the rest of the competition in content management.

[badbob001]

Thanks for the great hands on video.

From the video, I don't think I will like the slip case at all. It seems to take too much effort to get the reader in and out from it. Certainly not the most convenient thing to use for quickly catching a few pages while on mass transit. Worse, I don't like how one would need to grip the top of the device tightly to pull it out... I would not be surprised if display problems occur around that location.

Perhaps if they added some sort of ribbon to make it easier to pull it out without having to touch the device... some nook slip cases has that and it's similar to how some battery compartments have a ribbon to help you get the batteries out.



I want to see some covers similar to the ones for the nook. Kindle or dr800 covers attach directly to the device and again I'm afraid of how that may unevenly stress the device (the kindle had reports of bent plastic near the attachment area and the dr1000 had screen issues due to being held at the corner). The nook cases have an inner pouch structure to hold the device in place and I like how the structure is rigid, so that the cover mostly rests on the structure and not on the device itself, keeping pressure off that glass screen. The rigid structure also allows you to hold the device at the corners without stressing the screen. Such a case would also allow the dr800 to be rotated 180 degrees so that the flipbar is at the edge of the cover so you can hold and turn pages with one hand (assuming they update the software to allow 180 degrees rotation). Right now, the flipbar is next to the cover spine, which forces you to either balance the device like a waiter, and still need two hands to turn pages, or bend back the cover 360 degrees to access to the flipbar. Last thing I want is this large glass screen device to come flying out of ones hand as the train jolts around. It's a mess!