iRex Iliad, Astak Mentor, or Other???

[Brazos_Jack]

I’m new to this forum and don’t yet own an e-book reader. I’ve wanted an e-book reader that doesn’t exist for several years. Until recently didn’t find one that appeared even close.

I’m from Texas and, predictably, have worked in the oil industry for the last 32 years. I currently work in Saudi Arabia, which brings with it its own set of challenges.

Most of the e-reading I would do would involve classic literature, most of which is available free in PDF format – some reflowable and some image based and therefore not; technical manuals and literature related to the oil industry – mostly image based PDF’s and not reflowable; and books, periodicals, catalogs and manuals in PDF format related to my hobbies – the shooting sports and motor cycles. I also would use an e-reader to read a number of work or personal documents which are now in Microsoft Word DOC format, but which could be converted to RTF or TXT. I really hate TXT though.

So I need a large format reader to handle non-reflowable, mostly 8-1/2x11, PDF’s and would place a high value on the ability to reflow reflowable PDFs.

Being able to play MP-3’s would be a minor “nice to have” but not that important.

My camera’s all take SD cards and it would be nice if the e-reader used the same instead of CF cards and I hate Sony memory cards. I can get SD cards in every country I’ve ever been in. The others can be a real problem, particularly the Sony.

I like the idea of a true USB port capability and not just a slave USB port like a camera has, so that I could load documents from USB memory sticks. Not a deal breaker, but definitely nice to have.

I need an automatic switching 100V-250V charger with adapters to every conceivable wall plug. Wall plug configuration is no guarantee of what voltage its running and the locals often have no clue what their own voltage is. The Philippines uses U.S. style wall outlets but 220 volts. Riyadh uses the big British 220 style outlets but runs them 110 – and both the outlet style and voltage vary from town to town in Saudi.

I’m not a techie and therefore don’t upgrade to the latest thing. I use a device until it falls apart. My PDA is an old Palm I think I bought in ’98. I still use the Texas Instruments SR-50 I bought in 1974. My cell phone is a phone – no bells and whistles. When the battery won’t take a charge any more I don’t want to start over learning the idiosyncrasies of a new device. So a user replaceable battery is a big plus for me. Lack of that feature is one reason I don’t own an IPOD.

I’m not sure I want WiFi because I don’t know what that means in relation to a e-reader. Does it mean and can check email and cruise the internet or only just tie to a site like Amazon to buy books? Can I turn the WiFi feature off so I can use the e-reader to read on a plane?

The iRex Iliad looks like it might do. Not everything I want but most of it. And apparently available now. The screen is a bit small and no PDF reflow. Is this as good as it gets for the foreseeable future or should I wait for the 9.7” Astak Mentor?

I’ve looked at the thread here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22658

The Iliad apparently has a real USB port. Robertb doesn’t seem to know this about the Mentor. He’s obviously a marketing type and even less a techie than me – if that’s even possible. He was asked if the Mentor would reflow PDF’s (the Iliad won’t) about ½ way through the thread, but he never answered that question.

So – should I get an Iliad, wait for the 9.7” Mentor, or is there something that would fill my needs better - either already available or soon to be available?

[bbusybookworm]

Well, First of all I'll like to welcome you here, and hopefully soon to the world of Electronic Readers.

The Question you have asked is a bit of a dozy, as no current reader (that I am aware of) and upcoming one supports all the features you are looking for.

As you are looking for the Non reflowable PDF's, it does leave out the smaller readers such as the Sony, the Kindle, The Cybook, Etc. Thatis a pity as you mentioned that you are fond of classic literature. The Memberes of the forum have uploaded tones of classics here, all specificity formatted for the individual devices, so you can just download and start reading.

Going on to the Two Currently viable options, the Irex Illiad and the upcoming Astek 9.7'' Reader, they are bot smaller then A4, indeed I understand they are closer to A5, so that most non reflowable PDF's are going to be quiet small on the scree. You shold however be able to shift the image sideways and split it over two pages, making it quiet legible.

The Problem with the Illiad, as I understand it is multifold. While it does do a lot of the stuff you are looking for including the USB host, it does require you to do a bit of configuration to get it to work well. It is quiet expensive, compared to the smaller readers. PDF Support is basic, and the built in Mobipocket client is not as good as on the Cybook Gen 3, and nowhere near as full featured as the Desktop client. While i understand a new version is under development, there is no firm date as to when it will come out.

The Astek, is not currently available and the ship date has already slipped once. Untill actual production models are out in the hands of beta testers,it is not going to possible to really comment on how well it performs.

Have you considered the feasibility of getting a Tablet PC. It would be bale to do mot , if not all you are looking for, ad lib, with a lower battery life. The cost would probably not be that much higher then the Illiad, but much more capable.

If however, you are set on getting a E-ink device, and if Non reflowable PDF's are a must, the Illiad is currently the only game in town, and while the Astek is forthcoming, it is still a few months away at best.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Brazos_Jack

I’m new to this forum and don’t yet own an e-book reader. I’ve wanted an e-book reader that doesn’t exist for several years. Until recently didn’t find one that appeared even close.

I’m from Texas and, predictably, have worked in the oil industry for the last 32 years. I currently work in Saudi Arabia, which brings with it its own set of challenges.

Most of the e-reading I would do would involve classic literature, most of which is available free in PDF format – some reflowable and some image based and therefore not; technical manuals and literature related to the oil industry – mostly image based PDF’s and not reflowable; and books, periodicals, catalogs and manuals in PDF format related to my hobbies – the shooting sports and motor cycles. I also would use an e-reader to read a number of work or personal documents which are now in Microsoft Word DOC format, but which could be converted to RTF or TXT. I really hate TXT though.

So I need a large format reader to handle non-reflowable, mostly 8-1/2x11, PDF’s and would place a high value on the ability to reflow reflowable PDFs.

Being able to play MP-3’s would be a minor “nice to have” but not that important.

My camera’s all take SD cards and it would be nice if the e-reader used the same instead of CF cards and I hate Sony memory cards. I can get SD cards in every country I’ve ever been in. The others can be a real problem, particularly the Sony.

I like the idea of a true USB port capability and not just a slave USB port like a camera has, so that I could load documents from USB memory sticks. Not a deal breaker, but definitely nice to have.

I need an automatic switching 100V-250V charger with adapters to every conceivable wall plug. Wall plug configuration is no guarantee of what voltage its running and the locals often have no clue what their own voltage is. The Philippines uses U.S. style wall outlets but 220 volts. Riyadh uses the big British 220 style outlets but runs them 110 – and both the outlet style and voltage vary from town to town in Saudi.

I’m not a techie and therefore don’t upgrade to the latest thing. I use a device until it falls apart. My PDA is an old Palm I think I bought in ’98. I still use the Texas Instruments SR-50 I bought in 1974. My cell phone is a phone – no bells and whistles. When the battery won’t take a charge any more I don’t want to start over learning the idiosyncrasies of a new device. So a user replaceable battery is a big plus for me. Lack of that feature is one reason I don’t own an IPOD.

I’m not sure I want WiFi because I don’t know what that means in relation to a e-reader. Does it mean and can check email and cruise the internet or only just tie to a site like Amazon to buy books? Can I turn the WiFi feature off so I can use the e-reader to read on a plane?

The iRex Iliad looks like it might do. Not everything I want but most of it. And apparently available now. The screen is a bit small and no PDF reflow. Is this as good as it gets for the foreseeable future or should I wait for the 9.7” Astak Mentor?

I’ve looked at the thread here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22658

The Iliad apparently has a real USB port. Robertb doesn’t seem to know this about the Mentor. He’s obviously a marketing type and even less a techie than me – if that’s even possible. He was asked if the Mentor would reflow PDF’s (the Iliad won’t) about ½ way through the thread, but he never answered that question.

So – should I get an Iliad, wait for the 9.7” Mentor, or is there something that would fill my needs better - either already available or soon to be available?

The iLiad's the closest you're going to get *right now*. However, the 9.7" (Astak Mentor/Netronix EB-900 - they're the same device) model will probably be a "better" fit. Still, don't expect it to be available before November/December of this year and that could slip to early 2009. Price should be decent, though.

Derek

[wallcraft]

The iLiad certainly works automatically with 220 and 110 volts, and comes with a few plugs in its travel adapter kit. Its primary downsides are 10-15 hours per charge and "only" an 8.1" screen. There probably will be an "iLiad killer" from someone (perhaps iRex) using a 9.7" screen, but I would not be surprised if the majority of devices with this screen are delayed until next year. There is also the issue of robustness. I'm not sure E-Ink is much less fragile than LCD screens, but the E-Ink readers are very lightweight and don't provide a lot of support for the large screens. The iLiad is well made, but if you twist the screen or press a hard object into it the screen is dead (and costly and time consuming to replace). The 9.7" screens may be more fragile and will require well engineered casings for the readers. So, in the end we may find that 8" is a sweetspot of size vs robustness anyway.

You don't need WiFi, the only routine use for it is to get newspapers or other daily feeds but even this isn't as well developed as it could be. WiFi is off by default (because it takes a lot of power). Overall, you can buy the iLiad Book Edition (without WiFi) without loosing much.

[Brazos_Jack]

I work in Saudi, but in 9 days will be taking one of my twin 2 month old daughters to Philadelphia for medical treatment. I will be stuck there alone with little to do as I sit with her for about two weeks of treatment and recovery.

If I decide to bite the bullet and get an iLiad Book Edition, is there anywhere in Philadelphia that I can buy one. If I can find some CF or MMC cards here (too bad it can’t take SD cards – I’ve got those for my camera) what GB sizes work with the iLiad and can I just save my PDF books to them (I’ve got over 450 books) with my computer before I leave and then just insert one of the cards in the iLiad? Can I have folders on the card or must I just dump everything in the root directory of the card?

Is the iLiad Book Edition battery user replaceable?

[pilotbob]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. Glad to see you here.

Originally Posted by Brazos_Jack

Most of the e-reading I would do would involve classic literature, most of which is available free in PDF format – some reflowable and some image based and therefore not;

Well, most if not all classics are also available for free in flowable formats such as Mobipocket, Text, etc. From places like manybooks.net, feedbooks.com and mobileread.com. So, you don't really need PDF support for those titles.

Originally Posted by Brazos_Jack

technical manuals and literature related to the oil industry – mostly image based PDF’s and not reflowable; and books, periodicals, catalogs and manuals in PDF format related to my hobbies – the shooting sports and motor cycles. I also would use an e-reader to read a number of work or personal documents which are now in Microsoft Word DOC format, but which could be converted to RTF or TXT. I really hate TXT though.

Ok, this is where it gets difficult. Are you really married to using a eInk based device? You don't really say, you basically say "eReader".

Many people on the forum do use "other devices", non-dedicated to ebook reading since they did have the above requierments. Some of these options are things like MIDs/UMPC type formats. Like the Nokia 800/810, the Pepper Pad, HP Jourandas, etc. These generally support much more formats and can run Adobe reader which has very good support for PDFs.

Others go a little bigger and have gotten the 7inch Eee PC. There are also a bunch of these small/low cost laptops out there... the MSI Wind, the Elonex One T, Acer Aspire One, and Dell Mini Inspiron to name a few. The advantage here is that these run full blown OS's, some Linux, some Win XP so they will support any book format, DRM or no, and also the bigger size screens will make reading PDF's a much better experience, however they are light enough so you can actually put them in your lap like a book. Most of them are in the 2-3lb range.

Of course the disadvantage to the above mentioned "readers" are that they are "not" eInk screens, so have backlited LCD screens which are hard to read outside in the sun (I you are into that). Also, the battery life is no where near what a Sony reader or Kindle would be.

Anyway, I know everyone has told you about the eInk stuff and I just wanted to present the alternatives which MAY fit your needs better. Rather than getting a $600 iRex you could get both a $250 Sony reader AND a $300 Eee or other mini laptop.

HTH,
BOb

[wallcraft]

The battery isn't user replaceable.

Buy from eReader Outfitters, assuming they will ship it to Philadelphia. See Iliad Memorycards list for formating info, but practically any CF card of any size will work.

The iLiad can use a directory tree for navigation. PDFs are normally in the directory Books, and you can create subdirectories under that for classes of books if you want. Note that the iLiads standard file view only shows 6 files at a time, so using a directory tree helps navigation when you have many files. For example, see the screenshot in before buying an Iliad (in this case the files are in CF directory /Books_CL).

You can also use a standard USB memory stick for your documents, providing you don't mind it sticking out the top of the reader.

The manuals are online, see iRex Downloads.

[Brazos_Jack]

I'm from Texas, not Philadelphia. I have no way of knowing where in Philadelphia I'll be staying until I get there. So by the time I get there and order (and try to get delivery to a hotel) it will probably be too late. That's why I need to buy "local" even if at a higher price.

With the ever tightening luggage restrictions on international flights (usually less than half U.S. norms) carrying multiple devices doesn't work.

[pilotbob]

There are tons of UPS Stores... they will accept a delivery for you... I'm pretty sure you don't have to have a permanent mail box with them. You could look into that possibly.

BOb

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The 9.7" screens may be more fragile and will require well engineered casings for the readers. So, in the end we may find that 8" is a sweetspot of size vs robustness anyway.

You don't need WiFi, the only routine use for it is to get newspapers or other daily feeds but even this isn't as well developed as it could be. WiFi is off by default (because it takes a lot of power). Overall, you can buy the iLiad Book Edition (without WiFi) without loosing much.

The 9.7" screen will be using flex technology to avoid the problem of broken screens. This decision was made a few weeks ago and reported by Astak.

[DaleDe]

The iLiad will take SD cards but only up to 1 Gig (The MMC limit). Performance and size is better using the CF cards.

Dale

[JSWolf]

The 505 might be able to reflow PDF come the next firmware update. But that remains to be seen. But for your need to read letter sized PDF, you would be better off with one of the newer 9.7" screen sized eink devices.

[Brazos_Jack]

I called the iRex U.S./Canadian distributor in California. They told me that they were internet only – no sales through retail stores.

I’ll probably have to wait until my annual leave in December to get something. I’ll be home in Texas for the month and so won’t have any problem then ordering something and getting it delivered.

If the 9.7” Mentor is available I’ll probably go that way. If not, I’ll probably get an iLiad.

I don’t see the world abandoning 8-1/2” x 11” non-reflowable PDF’s for technical manuals, published technical papers (Society of Petroleum Engineers, etc.), and industrial catalogs for many years. So long term I will go with a large format ebook reader to handle them.

I also have a large number of PDF E-Books – about 450 or so and don’t plan on scrapping them. But on a go forward basis I can change the format I’m downloading free E-Books in, at least on some sites. What is the best, most readable, widely available, and otherwise advantageous e-book format that will work on either a Mentor or an iLiad? RTF, TXT (I hope not), eReader (PDB), Mobipocket-prc, other?

[HarryT]

MobiPocket format is probably your best bet for multi-platform reading. It's available for lots of different platforms, and there are lots of different eBook stores selling Mobi-format books, and very good (free) tools for creating them yourself.

[Brazos_Jack]

What’s the best stand alone reader for non-PDF e-books that I might actual find in a brick and mortar store in Philadelphia? One that could handle all my non-PDF e-book reader needs that I could get right now. I could download some books in Mobipocket-PRC, eReader-PDB, and/or RTF and load them on a couple of spare 2 Gig SD cards I’ve got and bring them with me. That would be worth it to have plenty to read while I’m waiting in the hospital on my daughter’s treatment and recovery next week. If it could play MP-3’s I could load an SD card with some of those too.