8+ Readers in comparison

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

ok i was leaning to an irex DR until now
only the high weight hold me from buying one

i wanted to purchase the DR today, but now im also again into the iliad because it seems to me he is much more practicable than the DR

My personal thoughts:

iRex 1000S
Pros:
- Huge display. Even A4 PDFs aren't any problem at all, usually even without zooming.
- Touchscreen, but without Sony 700's glare.
- "Free" zooming, exploding whatever area you'd like to full screen.
- Mobipocket support = dictionary. ePUB support announced.
- It's an ongoing unit and still iRex' flagship, firmware will be supported for quite a while.

Cons:
- Huge display means huge unit. In its cover, it's bigger than A4. To me, that's not mobile anymore.
- Plastic housing, whereas the iLiad is metal. On the other hand, it's surprisingly light considering its size.
- Streamlined UI. Renaming files and other details from iRex iLiad have been canceled.
- No thumbnail view. On such a huge display, symbols for file formats look strange. Thumbnails would be fantastic. (iLiad doesn't have thumbnails either, only Cybook Gen 3, Cybook Opus and Sony 700 of my units have it).


iRex iLiad
Pros:
- UI allows biggest depth of "manipulation" (renaming files, adding thumbnails and comments to folders, ...).
- "Free" zooming, exploding whatever area you'd like to full screen.
- "Perfect" compromise of display size and still being mobile enough.
- Touchscreen, but without Sony 700's glare.
- Mobipocket support = dictionary. ePUB support announced for iRex 1000S, no idea whether this will apply for iLiad as well (probably not).
- Metal housing. Robust and still light enough.
- Turning pages is extremely convenient with its huge "flip".
- Lots of 3rd party tools (web browser, games, audio player, ...) and firmware "hacks" (full screen ipdf hack, permanent clock on screen, ...).

Cons:
- Firmware no longer supported from iRex. .epub and other formats might never be available (officially).
- Some call its design "old school".

[Floeee]

you forgot that DRM support will come on the DR and not on iliad

also did you forget the faster page turning and that the DR is only about 150g heavier than the iliad
and turning pages with this huge button was also recognized as bad by other user in this forum, because the button sometimes recognizes the pressing for page turns as something other input (dont know whats going on if you hold the button longer, but the iliad does something unwanted ^^)

and the size of the DR is a bit under the size of A4 not bigger

edit: i just saw that the DR should be able to show thumbnails
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/IRex_Digital_Reader

and a last big point i saw in a movie on youtube, was to change the view on the DR to a overview of the next 20 pages in a document
so that you see little icons with the pages like the miniature viewing in windows
is this able on the iliad?

are you also able to connect ntfs formatted hard disks via usb to the iliad?

[aceflor]

to mgmueller: where did you order your PRS-300 ? And is it a pink one ? I am asking because the colour is not very distinct on the pic.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Floeee

you forgot that DRM support will come on the DR and not on iliad

The iLiad has DRMed MOBI support, which includes MOBI commercial dictionaries. What the iLiad will never have is DRMed Adobe ePub and PDF support, but even on the DR1000S adding this will require removing DRMed MOBI support (and loosing MOBI dictionary support).

The DR1000S supports MOBI dictionary lookup in PDFs, the iLiad only supports them in MOBI ebooks.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by aceflor

to mgmueller: where did you order your PRS-300 ? And is it a pink one ? I am asking because the colour is not very distinct on the pic.

It's the pink one, my Sony 600 will be red. It's a dark pink, not a "girly one".
I've ordered from "B&H Photo" in the US, delivery within 5 days.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

you forgot that DRM support will come on the DR and not on iliad

also did you forget the faster page turning and that the DR is only about 150g heavier than the iliad
and turning pages with this huge button was also recognized as bad by other user in this forum, because the button sometimes recognizes the pressing for page turns as something other input (dont know whats going on if you hold the button longer, but the iliad does something unwanted ^^)

and the size of the DR is a bit under the size of A4 not bigger

edit: i just saw that the DR should be able to show thumbnails
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/IRex_Digital_Reader

and a last big point i saw in a movie on youtube, was to change the view on the DR to a overview of the next 20 pages in a document
so that you see little icons with the pages like the miniature viewing in windows
is this able on the iliad?

are you also able to connect ntfs formatted hard disks via usb to the iliad?

"In its cover, it's bigger than A4". Without cover, it's a bit smaller than A4.

Concerning turning pages with the huge "flip" on iLiad: If you press it for about 1 second, it jumps a few pages (5 pages if I remember correctly) at once. Never happened by accident to me, works like a charm.

On iRex 1000S you can see thumbnails. But only thumbnails of symbols, for example the Adobe sign for PDF files. But you don't see thumbnails of the books covers, like it's done on Sony 700 or Cybook Gen3. Huge symbols neither is looking good, nor does it help. Thumbnails of book covers on the other hand...

The miniature view you describe is only available on iRex 1000S, not on iLiad. Never use it though.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

It's the pink one, my Sony 600 will be red.
I've ordered from "B&H Photo" in the US, delivery within 5 days.

Do you like it in pink? Does it look as nice as the 505? You said in one of your prior posts that there was a part of the 300 that was made of plastic. Do you mean the buttons, or is it a part of the frame ? I cannot see it properly on the official sony pics.

[Floeee]

is the iliad also slower at navigating through the menu or only when turning pages?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

you forgot that DRM support will come on the DR and not on iliad

also did you forget the faster page turning and that the DR is only about 150g heavier than the iliad
and turning pages with this huge button was also recognized as bad by other user in this forum, because the button sometimes recognizes the pressing for page turns as something other input (dont know whats going on if you hold the button longer, but the iliad does something unwanted ^^)

and the size of the DR is a bit under the size of A4 not bigger

edit: i just saw that the DR should be able to show thumbnails
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/IRex_Digital_Reader

and a last big point i saw in a movie on youtube, was to change the view on the DR to a overview of the next 20 pages in a document
so that you see little icons with the pages like the miniature viewing in windows
is this able on the iliad?

are you also able to connect ntfs formatted hard disks via usb to the iliad?

Just checked the HD I've been using. It's FAT32.
I'm not 100% sure. As far as I remember, NTFS is not supported. Not an issue for me, I've switched to a 32GB SSD solely used for my iLiad. I had tons of huge PDFs on it.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

is the iliad also slower at navigating through the menu or only when turning pages?

What menu are you referring to? The menu when in library view or the menu within a book?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Do you like it in pink? Does it look as nice as the 505? You said in one of your prior posts that there was a part of the 300 that was made of plastic. Do you mean the buttons, or is it a part of the frame ? I cannot see it properly on the official sony pics.

The plastic is part of the frame. I didn't see it on the official pics as well.
When in side view, the entire side (about 3.5mm) is plastic, which surrounds top, bottom and right side of the reader.
Because of that plastic, it's a little bit less appealing than Sony 505.
And the build quality seems a bit below Sony 505 as well.
The 4 buttons on the bottom (Home, bookmark, ....) are of slightly different height. The left one more or less is even to the surface of the unit, the other 3 are about 0.3mm "sticking" out of the surface. 0.3mm doesn't sound much, but of course you easily can feel it in your fingertips, when resting on the buttons.
But it's still one of the more appealing units.
I'd clearly rank it before BeBook, about even with Cybook Gen3. But...a (very small) step backwards.
It's a nice pink, more in the shades of purble/violet. Darker than I'd expected. Nice. And not distracting at all.
I'll try to make some pictures of the plastic frame.
UPDATE: Pic of the "plastic frame" attached.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

It's a dark pink, not a "girly one".

You just added that, didn't you ? I just reread your description post on the 300, I think I understand now what you mean about the plastic frame.

I have the Opus and I love it, but so does my husband, so I might not call it mine for long. I love my red 505 too, but am not sure I'd carry it in my handbag all the time. Your detailed comparisons are very helpful, herzlichen Dank !

[Floeee]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

What menu are you referring to? The menu when in library view or the menu within a book?

the menu when viewing library

edit:
-does the iliad support reflow at pdf files? because of reading only pdf with text
-is there any function to manage my feeds directly on the device? so that i can connect via wlan and refresh them directly with just pressing a button for example on my way
or to save a page directly like a forum and if come to a wlan spot, refresh that also directly
-is the input lag while scribbling more on the iliad?

im just more into the iliad again, i know, im weird but its much money and im student
main thing is the size, but i fear that i have to zoom very much in my pdfs that i have and that the iliad is much slower than DR im also very sensitive to input lag

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

the menu when viewing library

edit:
-does the iliad support reflow at pdf files? because of reading only pdf with text
-is there any function to manage my feeds directly on the device? so that i can connect via wlan and refresh them directly with just pressing a button for example on my way
or to save a page directly like a forum and if come to a wlan spot, refresh that also directly
-is the input lag while scribbling more on the iliad?

im just more into the iliad again, i know, im weird but its much money and im student
main thing is the size, but i fear that i have to zoom very much in my pdfs that i have and that the iliad is much slower than DR im also very sensitive to input lag

- iLiad is zooming files, not reflowing. Personally, that's what I like. I want the layout to remain "intact". And: You "freely" can zoom. Mark the area of interest via touchscreen and "explode" it to full screen. Fast and convenient.
- Feeds directly on the device? Not that I'm aware of. But it shouldn't be complicated, to modify the existing solutions accordingly. For example, I've used a tool, which was able to download daily comic strips. Should be possible, to modify the script accordingly, referring to newsfeeds instead of comic strips.
Or you could use "calibre". Collecting the newsfeeds of interest in "calibre" and upload via WiFi onto your unit.
- Scribbling: It's hard to compare, I would have to scribble the very same doodle in parallel on both units. My gut feeling says, iLiad is a bit slower. In my opinion, both are "horrible". I can't imagine, jotting down notes in real-time on any of those units. I even don't find it acceptable on my UMPC, which is significantly faster. Too little space on the note/screen, too much lag, unnatural writing position, ...
But it can be done, recognition rate is surprisingly good.
And via it's Windows companion, you can merge scribbles and PDFs.
But it surely can't be any replacement for a tablet PC.
- Speed: If you permanently have to zoom in and out, it gets kind of annoying. But in "normal" use, speed is absolutely fine. It really depends on your source material. Do a simulation on your PC. Change your resolution to 800x600 and choose a window size, comparable to iRex iLiad. Then read your material and imagine, every action will take 0.5 to 1 second.
Examples:
I very often read "Spiegel" ePaper on iRex. The original ePaper, without any reformatting.
On the other readers, it's tough because of the smaller screen size. On iLiad it's fine, on 1000S it's brilliant.
I have to zoom in, else it's not readable. But the headlines are readable, so I precisely zoom into the areas of interest. I zoom in and then pan to read further.
I've tried the very same with "Süddeutsche Zeitung", my local newspaper. The original ePaper again. No way to use it. The area I zoom in simply is too small, no fun. Workable, but stressful.
- Input lag again. You mention it twice, seems to be important. Might be a potential showstopper. Lag of touchscreen is significant. And I find it less precise than tablet PCs, whatever calibration I may try. Lag of menu entries on the other hand is acceptable to me. I'm mainly in the "flow of reading" and not permanently changing menu entries. BUT: If I would have to do researches, for example look up certain paragraphs, and then follow-up on links and cross-references, I certainly would give up after 2 minutes. Too slow, onscreen keyboard not convenient enough, ....
In that case, I'd consider a tablet PC or UMPC.
Personally, I'm using the 7" Samsung Q1. Great unit for surfing the web or checking emails or purchasing eBooks while in the bathtub or on the couch. But even on that UMPC, writing more than 20 words is really time consuming. So I'm writing this entry on my iMac, although I've read it first on my UMPC.
In general: Tablet PCs still are very exotic for a reason. There are few applications, where this kind of input makes sense.

[Floeee]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

- iLiad is zooming files, not reflowing. Personally, that's what I like. I want the layout to remain "intact". And: You "freely" can zoom. Mark the area of interest via touchscreen and "explode" it to full screen. Fast and convenient.
- Feeds directly on the device? Not that I'm aware of. But it shouldn't be complicated, to modify the existing solutions accordingly. For example, I've used a tool, which was able to download daily comic strips. Should be possible, to modify the script accordingly, referring to newsfeeds instead of comic strips.
Or you could use "calibre". Collecting the newsfeeds of interest in "calibre" and upload via WiFi onto your unit.

ok scribbling isnt that important and i really want an eInk device and not a tablet pc, because im reading most time

but at 50% of my reading time, i will read magazines like i showed before and they are taller than an A4 page, so im feared that i have to zoom all the time on the iliad an thats why im that into the speed or just even thinking about getting the DR, where some people said that i havent to zoom to read such a document

and if i have to use calibre, the hole wifi app would be senseless, because i have to use a computer again, i really want to do that without
do you use the wifi in anyway?

edit: i want to thank you again for your great work in this forum!!!!