iRex 800 vs. BeBook Neo

[mgmueller]

Briefly, after 1 hour with BeBook Neo:

iRex 800:
Pros:
Flipbar: I usually hold my readers with one hand. Holding iRex 800 with your left and using the flipbar is perfect. (They should incorporate 180° rotation though for the left-handed users).
PDB support: Very well thought out, you can enter more than one name/credit card combination. Finally I can use my old books from the Palm Pilot era.

Cons:
Stylus: You can't insert the stylus in the reader. It can be put in the cover or sleeve but that's not the same. I don't like the stylus' weight (too light), but that's probably WACOM specific.
Cover: I don't like the build quality of the iRex cover I've bought in addition.
No zoom (yet?): I was quite surprised, as iRex iLiad did have this phantastic zoom capability more than 2 years ago already. I really hope (and I'm pretty sure, given the strong reactions in the market) that they'll incorporate it asap.
No WiFi: I don't understand, why some manufacturers integrate 3G, but not WiFi (at least as an optional add-on). Surfing and shopping all would be the same functionality and would cover additional markets.

BeBook Neo:
Pros:
WiFi: To me, way more important than 3G.
SD card: Easy to exchange, standard SD card.
Touchscreen plus jogdial: Obviously I prefer the touchscreen. But even without stylus you have the same functionality as for example with Sony 300.
Mobipocket support: Great, I really missed that.
PDB support: Haven't tried it yet, but it's in the manual.
Zoom: It's got the "intelligent" zoom we know from iRex iLiad (marking any area via stylus and exploding to full screen). For the moment, that's missing on iRex 800.

Cons:
Metadata: So far, it only does show the filenames, not the metadata. I don't like that at all.
WiFi data: It doesn't remember my standard network, so I can't login automatically.

In direct comparison, I slightly prefer iRex 800's design. I'm not into BeBook Neo's round edges. Without taking BeBook Neo's WiFi into consideration, iRex 800 probably would be slightly ahead. But including the price into the comparison, the picture changes:: iRex 800 in Europe simply is way too expensive:
iRex 800 = € 499
Sony 900 = $ 399
BeBook Neo = € 299

EDIT: After "testing" BeBook Neo for some days, iRex 800 doesn't stand a chance. iRex 800 only wins in design. (And in that area, Sony 900 still beats them all.) But BeBook Neo by far wins in features and price. BeBook Neo already has all the features I'd hoped for on iRex 800.

[repods]

interesting..
indeed a device to buy if it had the 9.7 screen..

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by repods

interesting..
indeed a device to buy if it had the 9.7 screen..

At least on Onyx' website they announce 8" and 9.7". But given the great zoom, I can live with 6".

[frozennorth]

I'm very interested in more details on how the dictionary works on the Neo? I heard the wordnet dictionary works best but how do you look up a word? Do you double tap as with the Sony?

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

In direct comparison, I slightly prefer iRex 800's design. I'm not into BeBook Neo's round edges. Without taking BeBook Neo's WiFi into consideration, iRex 800 probably would be slightly ahead. But including the price into the comparison, the picture changes:: iRex 800 in Europe simply is way too expensive:
iRex 800 = € 499
Sony 900 = $ 399
BeBook Neo = € 299

For a U.S. customer, it breaks down like this:
iRex 800 = $399
Sony 900 = $399
BeBook Neo = $299

If the screens were the same size, I would almost certainly prefer the feature set of the Neo. Unfortunately, a 6" screen won't cut it for technical books. Tables = nightmares.

I wonder if Fry's will carry it...they do carry the other BeBooks, which I thought were ugly as hell. This one is definitely not.

Any idea what they really mean by: "The open architecture of the BeBook Neo ereader makes it possible to expand its capabilities." Has BeBook had any community participation in their firmware in the past?

Have you tried downloading an ePub using calibre server on the Neo? Does it work? Thanks!!

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by nikkie

Any idea what they really mean by: "The open architecture of the BeBook Neo ereader makes it possible to expand its capabilities."

This is because you can add apps to the Onyx (Neo), see Onyx Boox is Open to Applications! The same was the case with Jinke, and there are some Hanlin V3 (BeBook 1) apps out there.

The DR800S/G also allows 3rd party apps (with no coordination with iRex) and its SDK has the advantage that it comes with a device emulator.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by nikkie

For a U.S. customer, it breaks down like this:
iRex 800 = $399
Sony 900 = $399
BeBook Neo = $299

If the screens were the same size, I would almost certainly prefer the feature set of the Neo. Unfortunately, a 6" screen won't cut it for technical books. Tables = nightmares.

I wonder if Fry's will carry it...they do carry the other BeBooks, which I thought were ugly as hell. This one is definitely not.

Any idea what they really mean by: "The open architecture of the BeBook Neo ereader makes it possible to expand its capabilities." Has BeBook had any community participation in their firmware in the past?

Have you tried downloading an ePub using calibre server on the Neo? Does it work? Thanks!!

In my thread "8+ readers" I've criticised BeBook One's design. And I've linked to some similar reviews. Featureset would have been great (Microsoft lit, no one else does it on eInk), but it simply looked "cheap" and "plasticky". BeBook Neo isn't "Design by Colani" either (compared for example to nook or Sony 900), but it's no disaster. I'd say, it's close to Kindle 2 (which I don't find as ugly as others seem to do).

Haven't tried the calibre server yet. But it should be working, as you've got a full blown (very slow) browser.
Couldn't even make the dictionary work, when briefly trying.
Have to take some time today.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by frozennorth

I'm very interested in more details on how the dictionary works on the Neo? I heard the wordnet dictionary works best but how do you look up a word? Do you double tap as with the Sony?

Only had time to try it once, will retry today.
But I couldn't make it work.
Doesn't seem well thought out. A window pops up when choosing "dictionary". And it has popped up exactly above the word I wanted to check. I couldn't drag/drop that window. I've tapped on another word, the window moved to the top and then I tapped the word I wanted to check.
Didn't get any definition. I'm not sure, wether there's even a dictionary pre-installed? Have to check the manual later on and retry. But so far, by far preferring Sony 900 or Kindle for dictionary.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by nikkie

For a U.S. customer, it breaks down like this:
iRex 800 = $399
Sony 900 = $399
BeBook Neo = $299

If the screens were the same size, I would almost certainly prefer the feature set of the Neo. Unfortunately, a 6" screen won't cut it for technical books. Tables = nightmares.

I wonder if Fry's will carry it...they do carry the other BeBooks, which I thought were ugly as hell. This one is definitely not.

Any idea what they really mean by: "The open architecture of the BeBook Neo ereader makes it possible to expand its capabilities." Has BeBook had any community participation in their firmware in the past?

Have you tried downloading an ePub using calibre server on the Neo? Does it work? Thanks!!

I know of these prices of course, have ordered my Sony 900 from US.
But even then, in comparison to Sony 900, the only argument for iRex 800 is screen clarity. To some, Sony 900 doesn't seem to be acceptable. I haven't got any problems at all with it.
And with BeBook Neo in the picture, market potential for iRex 800 gets even smaller. If the Chinese (Onyx) would hire Sony's designer, their featureset would have the potential to "kill" their competition. Thought the same about BeBook One (Hanlin).
But right now, BeBook Neo still is one step behind Sony 900. And slightly behind iRex 800. But not as "ugly" as BeBook One anymore. The gap becomes smaller...

[mgmueller]

The manual leaves many features in the dark.
By coincidence I've found out: The "inner ring" (the silver one) manages the font sizes. Obviously, pushing up increases and pushing down decreases the font size.
Very convenient, I very much prefer it over slow popup-menus.
The manual doesn't mention the dictionary (it explains how to use it, but not which one is pre-installed or whether there's one pre-installed at all).
In another forum I've found some links for downloading some dictionaries. This is weak. Dictionary support but having to download free 3rd party dictionaries...
But at least it seems to be functional. So I'll check the various dictionaries and will download a German-English one. Would prefer the ones I've already got from Mobipocket (using on both Kindles for example). But so far I've only seen the Stardict format mentioned

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

The manual doesn't mention the dictionary (it explains how to use it, but not which one is pre-installed or whether there's one pre-installed at all).

There isn't one pre-installed.

In another forum I've found some links for downloading some dictionaries. This is weak. Dictionary support but having to download free 3rd party dictionaries...

No different from those devices which support Mobipocket dictionaries. None of those has a dictionary pre-installed, either.

Would prefer the ones I've already got from Mobipocket (using on both Kindles for example). But so far I've only seen the Stardict format mentioned

Only Stardict dictionaries are supported, not Mobipocket.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There isn't one pre-installed.



No different from those devices which support Mobipocket dictionaries. None of those has a dictionary pre-installed, either.



Only Stardict dictionaries are supported, not Mobipocket.

Totally different topic: What are your thoughts about iRex 800 (as an owner of iRex 1000S)?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Totally different topic: What are your thoughts about iRex 800 (as an owner of iRex 1000S)?

I haven't seen one, but it seems like a very nice machine indeed. 8" seems like a good compromise between size and portability - the 10" DR1000 really is just too big to comfortably carry around.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I haven't seen one, but it seems like a very nice machine indeed. 8" seems like a good compromise between size and portability - the 10" DR1000 really is just too big to comfortably carry around.

I've always been an iRex fan. iLiad has been my very first eInk reader and I simply loved it. 1000S, in my opinion, in some areas already was some steps backwards. And iRex 800S again, in my opinion, is moving some steps backwards. For a relatively unknown company like Onyx, it certainly would be a nice enough unit. But for a "veteran" like iRex, I'm really a bit disappointed. Zoom on iLiad back then has been quite an innovation. But now, it's more or less standard. And the veteran iRex left it out. And on the other side has a premium price. I don't like BeBook Neo's design very much, but for € 299 its featureset is phenomenal. iRex 800S, for € 200 more, is offering less. Quite a surprise. Would I have known about missing zoom and other details like that, I'd have to weigh carefully, whether actually to buy it. Until iRex 800, iRex has been one of the few companies, whose readers I blindly would buy. This has changed a bit, quite unfortunately.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've always been an iRex fan. iLiad has been my very first eInk reader and I simply loved it. 1000S, in my opinion, in some areas already was some steps backwards. And iRex 800S again, in my opinion, is moving some steps backwards. For a relatively unknown company like Onyx, it certainly would be a nice enough unit. But for a "veteran" like iRex, I'm really a bit disappointed. Zoom on iLiad back then has been quite an innovation. But now, it's more or less standard. And the veteran iRex left it out. And on the other side has a premium price. I don't like BeBook Neo's design very much, but for € 299 its featureset is phenomenal. iRex 800S, for € 200 more, is offering less. Quite a surprise. Would I have known about missing zoom and other details like that, I'd have to weigh carefully, whether actually to buy it. Until iRex 800, iRex has been one of the few companies, whose readers I blindly would buy. This has changed a bit, quite unfortunately.

EDIT: iRex 800 and iRex gaining lots of ground again with me. Their developers did join our thread, identified a problem, openly discussed it and will solve it in April's firmware update.
And their support proactively did open a case, based on my thread. My specific problem was about PDB files, triggering a bug, thus the reader remaining active and draining the battery in 4 days: Solved!