Purchase of an Iliad.

BobbyD · 04-04-2007, 03:58 PM

Since I am from Greece the iliad seems fitting what with the reference its name makes to homer's other great work...

That said, the irex people should get their act together (and I meant to post this on the their forum across the street but I didn't want to seem too inflamatory over there) and deliver SOON that promised new "cosmetically updated version" with a decent battery life. As far as I can tell they 've done everything possible to ruin a good thing and their technological advantage so far, plus a few things to remedy this situation thankfully.

I am a bit worried though that the screen size might be too small. I feel the screen size in the rest of the e paper readers is just too small and unacceptable for my liking but the iliad's screen isn't that much larger.

How do you guys go about reading A4 papers in the iliad, do you reformat the pdf say and split it in two? I have a fair share of scientific literature that's both in A4 and in two small lettered columns and was wondering if that would make it almost impossible for the pdf to read on an iliad.

That said, I 've read the threads and the specs and I 've bought the hype about e-paper and I just can't wait to get one of these devices on my hands, and merge my reading and computer activity, and not constantly have to print out everything.

But of course I am not planning to buy something just to return it for a new battery in a few weeks...

Almagne · 04-04-2007, 05:08 PM

I read mostly philosophical papers in the North American letter size format (basically the same as the European A4) and scanned journals in a two page format.

I find the Letter/A4 no problem in PDF. The ability to zoom helps make the document readable. If It is a really small font, I put the document in landscape and set it to continuous mode. It is no problem at all. Actually I would say it is a great way to read.

For the scanned journals, landscape mode with zoom and panning offers no problems, either. I've probably read over 200 pages this way and it is a good way to read these documents. I prefer it much more than keeping stacks of copies on my desk and in my briefcase. The only issue is that the since I mark-up the documents, I have to keep changing the stylus function from mark-up to panning and back.

I find the iLiad has excellent potential for the academic environment. Irex should capitalize its possibilities, but as it has been pointed out they are lagging a bit in the development area. It could be a killer product for the university, though.

As for the battery, I think the desk cradle will ease this problem when it is released. If the the iLiad is put into the cradle when not in use it will automatically start to recharge, so one does not have to shut it off all the time. It will not be perfect, but it will be an improvement. For those who just use the iLiad for reading books and novels, though, the cradle will not be a viable solution in my opinion.

Hope this helps.

pdam · 04-04-2007, 05:13 PM

For me - with A4 PDF's The first thing I look at is the white space around the words ... if there is a lot, I'll trim off the white space so that the resulting document is reduced in size, but not by so much as to make it too hard to read.

The next thing that is OK, but not ideal for reading large documents, is to rotate the PDF - this means the size is fine, the fact you then get to read half a page at a time is a pain.

I also read a lot of scientific papers - most of which I have access to online. Rather than download the PDF - I often copy the text to a word processor then print to PDF formatted to the correct size - this works really well, but is time consuming.

I do all three of the above - for longer documents more effort is worth the while. It's not ideal, but for me it beats carrying around a huge pile of papers ... and i also get a couple of novels on the device at the same time ....

The battery issue: for me this isn't so much of an issue. I'm used to having chargers for trips of more than a couple of days - for 2 days I don't often read more than 5-6 hours a day, so it works OK for me.

I don't think I'd carry an A4 version easily in my own day to day activities ... also I have broken my screen once already - a larger size would likely be more fragile - I have to be more careful than I feel I should have to be currently with this size device ...

If you get a chance to try before you buy - this'd be worthwhile to see if such a device fits into your personal workflow ... unfortunately they aren't popular enough yet for the person in the next office to have one to lend you :-(

If you read a lot - eInk is quite good ...

nekokami · 04-04-2007, 08:02 PM

I read educational research papers on mine -- it's the main reason I bought one, rather than sticking with my trusty (and almost new) eBookwise 1150. Most of the readings in my current graduate courses involve a lot of individual articles, rather than a textbook. I can usually read "letter" size without having to rotate to landscape, especially with the 2.9 upgrade, which yields sharper text. I like "continuous" mode. For scanned articles downloaded from JStor and other online databases, I run them through Readiris OCR software first to make a text pdf rather than scanned images, but that's just my preference.

I also use the iLiad as a general purpose notebook, even in classes. I like being able to have all my notes and papers with me at once. There are features I think would make the iLiad even better as an academic tool (I've discussed those elsewhere), but for me, it's quite good as it is.

BobbyD · 04-04-2007, 09:49 PM

guys thanks for the really excellent and thorough replies, very informative and much more than I 'd expected.

alemagne, yes your post was very helpful indeed, and judging by your name your phi reading should at one point or another have included heidegger, an old fav. of mine. I din't know about the cradle so thanks for the heads up, that should be very helpful.

pdam, good point about the size being an limiting factor in terms of ease of use since these screens are not yet the newer generation flexi ones, and unfortunately no there doesn't seem to be any place here I can give them a go and try them. When you say trim the white space, you mean the borders right? I suppose something like adobe acrobat could do that. The turnaround with copy pasting to the right format is also another option, true.

neo,
thanks for your reply too buddy, still more options available I see.

It seems that I 'll be using it in similar ways than all you guys. To tell you the truth I still have a fetish with the book propre, the binding, the item, the paper so I don't see me downloading any books directly to the e reader any time soon, if ever, but for similar uses as yours online books already available, technical and schientific manuals, and research papers - in general the academia side I suppose it will come in handy. Your replies have been very reassuring above all, and to tell you the truth as much as I 've heard a lot of nagging about the iliad I 've not heard anyone say that they didn't ultimately treasured it and found it usefull.

So, what do you reckon should I just click in and visa my way to these spanish guys that are part of irex europian retail, an have it send over to me in a few days, or should I still wait around a few weeks for a possible upgrade in the hardware?

04-04-2007, 03:58 PM	#1
BobbyD Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007	Purchase of an Iliad. Since I am from Greece the iliad seems fitting what with the reference its name makes to homer's other great work... That said, the irex people should get their act together (and I meant to post this on the their forum across the street but I didn't want to seem too inflamatory over there) and deliver SOON that promised new "cosmetically updated version" with a decent battery life. As far as I can tell they 've done everything possible to ruin a good thing and their technological advantage so far, plus a few things to remedy this situation thankfully. I am a bit worried though that the screen size might be too small. I feel the screen size in the rest of the e paper readers is just too small and unacceptable for my liking but the iliad's screen isn't that much larger. How do you guys go about reading A4 papers in the iliad, do you reformat the pdf say and split it in two? I have a fair share of scientific literature that's both in A4 and in two small lettered columns and was wondering if that would make it almost impossible for the pdf to read on an iliad. That said, I 've read the threads and the specs and I 've bought the hype about e-paper and I just can't wait to get one of these devices on my hands, and merge my reading and computer activity, and not constantly have to print out everything. But of course I am not planning to buy something just to return it for a new battery in a few weeks...

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04-04-2007, 05:08 PM	#2
Almagne Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 11 Join Date: Jan 2007	I read mostly philosophical papers in the North American letter size format (basically the same as the European A4) and scanned journals in a two page format. I find the Letter/A4 no problem in PDF. The ability to zoom helps make the document readable. If It is a really small font, I put the document in landscape and set it to continuous mode. It is no problem at all. Actually I would say it is a great way to read. For the scanned journals, landscape mode with zoom and panning offers no problems, either. I've probably read over 200 pages this way and it is a good way to read these documents. I prefer it much more than keeping stacks of copies on my desk and in my briefcase. The only issue is that the since I mark-up the documents, I have to keep changing the stylus function from mark-up to panning and back. I find the iLiad has excellent potential for the academic environment. Irex should capitalize its possibilities, but as it has been pointed out they are lagging a bit in the development area. It could be a killer product for the university, though. As for the battery, I think the desk cradle will ease this problem when it is released. If the the iLiad is put into the cradle when not in use it will automatically start to recharge, so one does not have to shut it off all the time. It will not be perfect, but it will be an improvement. For those who just use the iLiad for reading books and novels, though, the cradle will not be a viable solution in my opinion. Hope this helps.

04-04-2007, 05:13 PM	#3
pdam Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 100 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: iLiad, iPaq, Psion5&7, Blackberry	For me - with A4 PDF's The first thing I look at is the white space around the words ... if there is a lot, I'll trim off the white space so that the resulting document is reduced in size, but not by so much as to make it too hard to read. The next thing that is OK, but not ideal for reading large documents, is to rotate the PDF - this means the size is fine, the fact you then get to read half a page at a time is a pain. I also read a lot of scientific papers - most of which I have access to online. Rather than download the PDF - I often copy the text to a word processor then print to PDF formatted to the correct size - this works really well, but is time consuming. I do all three of the above - for longer documents more effort is worth the while. It's not ideal, but for me it beats carrying around a huge pile of papers ... and i also get a couple of novels on the device at the same time .... The battery issue: for me this isn't so much of an issue. I'm used to having chargers for trips of more than a couple of days - for 2 days I don't often read more than 5-6 hours a day, so it works OK for me. I don't think I'd carry an A4 version easily in my own day to day activities ... also I have broken my screen once already - a larger size would likely be more fragile - I have to be more careful than I feel I should have to be currently with this size device ... If you get a chance to try before you buy - this'd be worthwhile to see if such a device fits into your personal workflow ... unfortunately they aren't popular enough yet for the person in the next office to have one to lend you :-( If you read a lot - eInk is quite good ...

04-04-2007, 08:02 PM	#4
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I read educational research papers on mine -- it's the main reason I bought one, rather than sticking with my trusty (and almost new) eBookwise 1150. Most of the readings in my current graduate courses involve a lot of individual articles, rather than a textbook. I can usually read "letter" size without having to rotate to landscape, especially with the 2.9 upgrade, which yields sharper text. I like "continuous" mode. For scanned articles downloaded from JStor and other online databases, I run them through Readiris OCR software first to make a text pdf rather than scanned images, but that's just my preference. I also use the iLiad as a general purpose notebook, even in classes. I like being able to have all my notes and papers with me at once. There are features I think would make the iLiad even better as an academic tool (I've discussed those elsewhere), but for me, it's quite good as it is.

04-04-2007, 09:49 PM	#5
BobbyD Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007	guys thanks for the really excellent and thorough replies, very informative and much more than I 'd expected. alemagne, yes your post was very helpful indeed, and judging by your name your phi reading should at one point or another have included heidegger, an old fav. of mine. I din't know about the cradle so thanks for the heads up, that should be very helpful. pdam, good point about the size being an limiting factor in terms of ease of use since these screens are not yet the newer generation flexi ones, and unfortunately no there doesn't seem to be any place here I can give them a go and try them. When you say trim the white space, you mean the borders right? I suppose something like adobe acrobat could do that. The turnaround with copy pasting to the right format is also another option, true. neo, thanks for your reply too buddy, still more options available I see. It seems that I 'll be using it in similar ways than all you guys. To tell you the truth I still have a fetish with the book propre, the binding, the item, the paper so I don't see me downloading any books directly to the e reader any time soon, if ever, but for similar uses as yours online books already available, technical and schientific manuals, and research papers - in general the academia side I suppose it will come in handy. Your replies have been very reassuring above all, and to tell you the truth as much as I 've heard a lot of nagging about the iliad I 've not heard anyone say that they didn't ultimately treasured it and found it usefull. So, what do you reckon should I just click in and visa my way to these spanish guys that are part of irex europian retail, an have it send over to me in a few days, or should I still wait around a few weeks for a possible upgrade in the hardware?

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