"Can't give any comment on release date but..."

[Snappy!]

Well, the only consolation is that 1) they (iRex) will not be doing a CLIO-NXT fiasco and 2) I got myself a Zaurus C1000 in the meantime ...

hmmm ... I need to check the forums if Maple replied about the V8 online order availability. hmmm

[CommanderROR]

Damn...I'm really startig to jump at shadows here...
Every time I see Henrycat's name on the "active" list it starts me thinking that we could get a release date info or something...obsession is terrible..but at least I'm not alone...^^
Maybe it's fortunate that I have to work this evening and won't be online between 5 and midnight...:-)

[VillageReader]

Considering that the New York Times is in one of the 'beta' trials, and the US market is likely to be larger than the European market, do you think that checking bright and early on European Savings Time (or whatever it is called) should be supplemented by checking at around 6:30 AM New York time to hit the morning news cycles in the US?

(Ahem, just trying to drive everyone more nuts than we already are, having just checked for anouncements at lunch, and not neglecting MobiPocket in case they jump the gun)

[drachasor]

Personally given the delays and some people saying dire things about the Irex, I am going to wait and see what the initial buyers and users have to say about the device before I get it. Irex hasn't been very upfront about what is going on with the device (need for updates, lack of full software development) and why it has been delayed. As such I don't necessarily trust them to come out with a device that is worth the large amount of money they want for it. I think waiting is the most prudent course.

[tribble]

Anyone getting up early, just in case?

[tonyO]

I have come up with a way to deal with my impatience! I made a decision that I will buy the device two months after its release. That gives me an entirely different prospective on the several days delay.

Cheers!
Tony.

[NatCh]

I just got off the phone with Jeff in iRex's U.S. office (San Jose, California). I asked him straight out if they were going to make the end-of-May release date, and for a wonder got a clear, simple (if unsurprising at this point) answer:

No.

However, he was able to give me some further info.:

Jeff said that the hold up is not hardware related, but rather with some of the software & software providers (close paraphrase), as we've heard rumblings of. He added something to the effect that they had (badly, sounds like) underestimated the complexity of the software situation.

However, they are planning to do what he called an "early release" (sounds more like a "pre-release") in June to Developers, and such, that is, folks who [they expect] will be able to help them with the software issues (again, close paraphrase). I'm thinking that won't include the likes of us, well me anyway.

Here's the hard news: he said they didn't anticipate a general release until Fall -- September/October time frame (sounded like a definite guesstimate).

At least that gives me some more time to save my change toward the, what was it last? 549 Euros?

[drogo]

I'm really starting to get bummed out. I hope that I'm wrong. I did vote the first option, but, well, after being burned on so many similar devices before. I just don't know.

I started out reading ebooks on my Palm IIIx, then I bought a HieBook reader. I hoped it would catch on and gain popularity, but no such luck. Now I'm using a pda that has a 640x480 screen and font smoothing. It soooo easy on the eyes!! The Iliad looks like it will be better, though.

When the Librie first came out, I was tempted to have my sister grab one for me from the Akihabara (sp?) while she was in Tokyo. But the price, lack of an english interface and necessity of hacking it put me off. I also heard the contrast wasn't that good. The lure of a "real" eInk machine was strong, but I held out.

Then along comes the Iliad. 1024x768, 16 color greyscale...and the photos of it in action here just strengthened my resolve. I had to have one. I could wait a little. But, ugh!! The waiting is killing me!!



Like another poster here, I want one for my vacation. But it's over the July 4th week, so I have a little more time. Still....I feel like it will be close.

WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GIVE YOU MONEY IREX!!!?????



Edit: Just saw the above post. So the waiting continues...

[Azania]

That is terrible news. If true, and it certainly has a very loud ring of the awful truth, I'm going to wait a while and entertain myself with a Nokia 770 in the meantime. They are complimentary devices anyway. I also like the idea of carrying internet radio around the house with me... Chin up folks!

[CommanderROR]

@NatCh

Your information is very different from everything we have heard so far...very strange that...I didn't even think they had any offices or representatives in other countries...

For the time being I'll stick with the information Henrycat gave us and of course the Information firsthand from iRex (Loeki van der Lee) by phone that didn't esactly state that they'd make it in may, but definately said "in the next couple of days" which isn't too bad or with the information given on Channel4 interview that spoke of the next couple of week about 2 weeks ago.
Maybe things are different for the US...could be that there will be a seperate launch outside the EU for those who don't want to order directly from the Netherlands.

[ghostwheel]

After following these developments for some time, I can not keep quiet any more...
My completely uninformed oppinion is the following:
Every mobile book company would like to make the iPod of books. The iPod had 2 things going for it: a great user interface, and iTunes, which let people easily, legally, and cheaply, buy music for their iPod.
I bet that book publishers are at least as scared of mobile readers and digital books as music companies where/are of easy access to mp3. From all these stem the insistance of the readers on DRM, and why the advances in the technology is proceeding at snail-pace.
I bet that behind the scenes, there are fierce negotiations with publishers going on, which the book reader companies see as essencial for their success.
My feeling is that buggy software, and buggy websites (sadly) have not yet prevented a launch of a product. And, it is easy to say something like "we are working to make sure that the software will be perfect when our product is released", but not so easy to say "we are currently being delayed, because we are negotiating DRM issues with publishers."
Therefore, my bet is that most of the delay is caused by the insistance of reader companies to get the blessing of the publishers, and the fear of the publishers from easily accessible books.

[Riocaz]

But wasn't one of the reasons given for the higher spec and higher price becauce the Iliad wasn't actually targetted at "book" readers but for news and professional (medical and the like) applications?

It's us that view it mainly as a book reader.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

@NatCh

Your information is very different from everything we have heard so far...very strange that...I didn't even think they had any offices or representatives in other countries...

I found the listing on iRex's website, listed under "Regional Support" back in January, when I didn't want to call the Netherlands to ask a question.

For the time being I'll stick with the information Henrycat gave us and of course the Information firsthand from iRex (Loeki van der Lee) by phone that didn't esactly state that they'd make it in may, but definately said "in the next couple of days" which isn't too bad or with the information given on Channel4 interview that spoke of the next couple of week about 2 weeks ago.

I can't blame you for that at all. I'd certainly prefer for them to be correct, or at least more correct, and this fellow I talked to to be completely off. However, I did call them and I've told y'all what he told me, it's probably wise to take it with a grain of salt, if you prefer.

Let me point out, though, that since those pieces did air, as you said, about two weeks ago, they could have been simply going on iRex's then stated release of end of May. Certainly iRex wasn't saying anything different at the time.

These are the same folks who told me the 650 Euros price, I think before anyone else had gotten a price out of them, back on January 30th (post #22 in this thread). Let me state clearly that I'm not certain that I got/posted the price first, I know I was among the first, but I haven't done a full check to be sure either way. I know the price may have changed some since then, but they were right there for a while, anyway.

In any case, I was just the guy who found the number and made the call, so that's not a big deal, I only mention it as a comment on the previous reliability of the information from that source.

Maybe things are different for the US...could be that there will be a seperate launch outside the EU for those who don't want to order directly from the Netherlands.

That would be nice too, certainly I haven't heard anything that would preclude them doing something like what you're suggesting. I'm not convinced that I'd do the overseas ordering thing, myself, even if the price turned out to be much lower than reported, but I certainly don't want to rain on y'all's parade if that's what iRex is planning to do. Far better they release the thing somewhere!

Anyway, the next couple of weeks will tell us which is correct, I suppose.

And if what I got turns out to be correct, I would love to know what Henrycat was sounding so smug about -- had they told him something that fell through, or was he just engaging in a bit of good, clean chain-yanking? Maybe he'll be able to tell us in a few days, unless it was the latter and he's either not brave enough to admit it, or not done yankin'

I think I could even find it in my heart to forgive him his fun (if that's what it was/is), in light of all the great hands-on info he's given us about the device.

[Riocaz]

Well I hope your contact was mistaken NatCh. But at this point it looks like you are probably correct.

Of course that may only apply to a direct US release. But if it's a software issue then I kinda doubt it.

It does beg the question why they are taking fo darned long to give an official update of any form.

IMO - I sincerely doubt Henrycat was trying to yank anyones chain. I would guess that he was given a date but was asked not to mention it publically due to it "Not being 100% sure yet".

He's been very quiet since his hint.

[NatCh]

Oh, I wouldn't be too upset if it were chain-yanking, Riocaz, and I agree that the latter is probably the more likely scenario.