iRex reveals deets on its iLiad eBook reader

Philips spinoff iRex has finally released solid details about its eBook reader that was announced late last year, giving it both a name- the "iLiad" (model number ER 0100), and a release date- next month. This monochrome e-ink touchscreen display will be going up against heavyweight Sony's similar Reader device, although the iLiad sounds like it should be able to hold its own, sporting a 400MHz XScale processor, 64MB RAM, 224MB user-accessible internal flash memory, WiFi, Ethernet, 3.5-millimeter audio jack, and slots for SD and CF cards as well as USB drives. iRex claims over a week of three-hour-a-day reading sessions are possible between charges, and also promises to expand upon the PDF, XHTML, TXT, and MP3 formats that will supported at launch. No word on pricing so far, but it will have to be equivalent to the $300 to $400 Sony is expecting to charge for its model if the iLiad expects to remain competitive. [Warning: PDF link].

Update: Ouch! Reader Axel writes that he corresponded with iRex a few days ago, who informed him that the iLiad will cost a steep 650 euros, or more than twice the anticipated price of the Sony.

[mike @ Mar 19th 2006 5:21PM]

will the corny name catch on? will the geeks get the joke?

tune in next week to find out..

pfft

[yonatron @ Mar 19th 2006 5:36PM]

I can see dropping the processor specs and leaving out the audio, but why complain about too much memory? If a lot of books are available, I can see myself eventually building up a collection of hundreds. And if so, I'd prefer to not having to decide what to delete. Also, PDF files are bigger than text files and have their advantages.

[Martin Andersen @ Mar 19th 2006 5:42PM]

It will most probably cost more than Sony's reader, due
to the fast processor, higher screen resolution and built in
WIfi. From the Irex homepage you get the impression
the device is more directed towards businesses than ordinary people, again an indication of the price.

I would love to have this, think about when you get up in the
morning, today's newspaper is already in the device, thanks
to WIFi. But why can it play mp3's ?

Martin.

[Alexander @ Mar 19th 2006 5:50PM]

There is a guy with hands on experience who answers any questions related to the iLiad: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=6127

[Woolly Mittens @ Mar 19th 2006 5:55PM]

I don't understand why they cram these things full of useless features and subsequently price themselves right out of the market. NO! I do not want to play MP3's on it.

[Ian Robinson @ Mar 19th 2006 6:01PM]

The reason for having lots of space is so you can carry lots of texts with you on the device, at the same time. I've got about 700Mb of PDF files that I'll want to have on it. This includes the Apple developer documentation, the last few years of Scientific American magazine (I subscribe to the digital version, the last few years BioITWorld magazine, Prospect Magazine, PDF versions of the course materials for a degree I'm doing part time etc. I'm usually reading a couple of books and several magazines/journals at any time. I can't wait until I can have my whole library with me in the same way as an iPod allows me to have my whole music collection with me. Recently I've started buying electronic versions of technical books in anticipation of these new epaper devices shipping.

[TZK @ Mar 19th 2006 6:08PM]

This looks as it should - a 3D graphical newspaper.


Awesome.

[Boone @ Mar 19th 2006 6:13PM]

Any chance that it can also be used as a notepad? That would be nifty. With a touchscreen and the specs it's running, it should be capable of it.

If they went closer to PDA functionality, I would buy one of these for class - it would totally beat a pen/paper combos, and it would be easier to lug around than even the lightest laptops.

Mike - not sure too many nerds are into mythology.

[mathew @ Mar 19th 2006 6:33PM]

Let's pause and think about this for a minute. We're talking about a 1024x768 x4 bit screen, or 393KB of video RAM. That immediately means you want at least a 16 bit CPU.

400MHz Xscale processors (PXA255) are $50 each retail, so to Philips they're probably about $30 each in bulk. You can get a complete low power single board system with a 400MHz Xscale in, for $99 retail.

But, let's try and go cheaper. We want a 16 bit CPU that's cheap and low power and has modern development tools available (e.g. GCC), so let's try Freescale's MC68SEC000, the low power 68000. You probably want to go with the 20MHz one, so that's $7.50.

Frankly, for the sake of the extra $22, you might as well get something you can actually run a modern operating system on, and build your software on Linux.

256MB of flash memory is $20 retail. Again, it's not worth trying to penny-pinch there, given the application.

[? @ Mar 19th 2006 6:38PM]

too expensive==~

[dotku @ Mar 19th 2006 6:38PM]

too expensive==~

[mathmonkey @ Mar 19th 2006 6:43PM]

I've got close to $300 saved up for a pda, and if this thing were to hit the low $300 pricepoint then I wouldn't hesitate one second. Video and games are a bonus on a pda, but e-ink would be fabulous.

[Jyn @ Mar 19th 2006 6:46PM]

Hopefully it'll be followed by a model about half the size, that'll fit in a pocket.

[Iain @ Mar 19th 2006 7:16PM]

I believe the processor would be good for things like that in the picutre. Click the aritcle and it enlarges.. and who knows maybe a cool interface to boot.

[Snappy! @ Mar 19th 2006 7:23PM]

Jyn #10, I think that's called a PalmPilot pda. :p ... ok, just kidding. But if a smaller screen is needed, an after-market Palm V or III or something gives very good batt life in the league of 2 AA batt running weeks or months before replacement. :)

Granted, I know what you mean, that eink screen is so much better. :)

Ya, actually, a 4" eink screen with sd slot could be a pretty good book reader! :)

[windows @ Mar 19th 2006 7:30PM]

Excellent product - this would be extremely helpful for educational purposes in the near future.

The only problem is to lower the product price to a student-affordable one.

[Blake @ Mar 19th 2006 7:30PM]

As far as the specs go. Remember "Parkinson's Law" go to wikipedia for a definition.

[Jake @ Mar 19th 2006 8:51PM]

If apple releases the new iPod AV I think this device will have absolutely no use. It's only a matter of time before you can read a book on your iPod...the big screen of an iPod AV might do the trick...no?

[Stu @ Mar 19th 2006 8:55PM]

When are we going to see an Ebook reader with a flexible display? Until that there digital ink is in paperback format I'm not interested.

Who wants to carry around a rigid piece of Letter/A4 for goodness sake?

[proee @ Mar 19th 2006 9:23PM]

If I can get this for around 600 bones then its a go. I've always wanted a "digital sketch book" that I can carry around with me for brainstorming inventions and such. From the posted photos it look like you might actually be able to draw something that looks better than a tablet pc. Also, if it can keep track of some basic todos and notes, then I can just prop it up next to my desk and leave it on all day. I like the size and after seeing the readability of the sony, I think the eink will be a sale. Plus I could bring this puppy to church and read the scriptures (while doodling notes on the side). All my brothers in the house say Amen...

[Jeff @ Mar 19th 2006 9:34PM]

Isn't the big difference between the Irex and Sony's that the Irex has a way of putting in data? By use of a stylus and touchscreen? From Irex website: "The touch screen facility and stylus makes text input (writing comments on text and scribbling) and easy navigation possible as part of a very natural user interface." So you can actually write on the thing?

At least they haven't forgot about the necessity of drawing devil horns on pictures of people in the newspaper.

[tom @ Mar 19th 2006 10:45PM]

Ok, so let's add this up:

iPod - 5.5 ounces(156g)
Celly (Blackberry 7130e) - 4.7 ounces(133g)
HP Ipaq - 6.6 ounces (187.1g)

So that's already about a pound's worth(454 g) of standard techno-geek equipment. If you�re reading this then I�d assume you probably fit the techno-geek profile.

Now let�s add the stuff that�s in the consumer electronic pipeline:
Ultra Portable Windows Origami thing - Let�s give it the benifit of the doubt and say 8 ounces(227g)
iLiad - Let�s also be nice and say 8 ounces(227g)

So now that�s:
2 whole pounds(907g) of stuff
5+ easily breakable LCD screens
5 batteries - some of which last only a few hour�s use (iLiad, iPaq)
4+ Flash memory cards - in a variety of incompatible formats
5+ proprietary input methods: Digital Ink, Origami tablet input, Windows Mobile input(s), T9 word (or whatever RIM calls it on Blackberry), etc.

Best of all, each device has extra tacked on features that overlap the main features of some of the other devices, albeit in a poor, rudamentary way.

The result of all this is that I�m either going to need to sew cargo pockets to all my suit pants and get some suspenders to make sure they don�t fall down. Either that or hire a guy to follow me around with a wheelbarrow of on-the-go techno crap.

[ranum @ Mar 19th 2006 11:38PM]

It's interesting to read people popping off about this when it's clear they have absolutely no idea about its capabilities or intended market.

It's targeted at the business community. The trial run of this reader is being run with a financial news publication called the De Tijd in Belgium with 200 subscribers.

This is capable of reading your own documents or books, plus it will be capable of receiving wireless download of subscriptions through the iRex servers. All of this happens transparently when you push the wireless connection button. The request - with device ID - is sent to the iRex servers which return your subscriptions to your device. No login, no password.

It's capable of being written on using a digital pen and touchscreen technology that has 256 levels of sensitivity: the harder you push, the thicker your lines. You can write in the margins of books and the notes are recorded.

It can play mp3s - a extra feature that makes it useable as an "early reader" style book for your kids, if you so choose.

It can show pictures.

Compared to the anemic Sony, the iLiad has a faster page refresh, can natively handle text, doc, html and PDF formats.

It has a touch screen.

You can connect wirelessly or via USB to a PC. You can expand the memory storage with CF or SD cards or USB memory sticks.

Should I to go on? Some of the previous comments show that most people really don't know much about the iLiad.

I'm looking forward to getting one as soon as possible.

[Branko Collin @ Mar 20th 2006 6:01AM]

This is not really news; these things were known since December last year. The Teleread Blog (of which I am a contributor) has a translation of a recent video about the Iliad at http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=4471#comment-52265; we also report a lot about the Sony Reader and the Hanlin V2 and V8. My money for an affordable, programmable device with eink and stylus input would still be one of the Hanlins.

[Maurice Avery @ Mar 20th 2006 6:19AM]

$650 euros = $791.892 That's insane!! I can buy a brand new Toshiba notebook for les then $600! iRex's Illiad cost's more then a huge segment of US wage earners make per month. If eBooks are ever to catch on big one of these companys has to start selling one for less then $200. $791.892 is insane!

[AllanG @ Mar 20th 2006 9:40AM]

I got the e-mail from iRex that mentioned 540 euro for these. That's a high price point, but considering the features that this device has that aren't in Sony's eBook reader, I think it's reasonable -- assuming that the costs will come down as the technology matures. Personally, I would love a light-weight, low-power linux device -- and you know it's only a matter of time before someone has linux running on one of these.

[Alienhead @ Mar 20th 2006 11:07AM]

If they drop the price to $99, they might catch on.

[Zach @ Mar 20th 2006 11:31AM]

I've also heard that they might offer a subscription package, like what they used to do with aol, or compuserve and getting a new computer. If you sign up for a newspaper subscription, $10 a month for a few years or something, then you can get the illiad for a lot less that the almost $800 that's currently being reported

[David @ Mar 20th 2006 1:16PM]

@27: maybe that says more about the US than about the reader...

€650 is a very decent price for what this baby is capable of. It's also one of the first of it's kind: new technology! You can't expect it to start cheaply.

[Michael @ Mar 20th 2006 2:55PM]

It's got CompactFlash II and SD slots so I don't know why they're bothering with 224MB internal storage. They should just include a 128MB or 256MB memory card.

[Tomas @ Mar 20th 2006 3:06PM]

The price is high, yes, but it's really a perfect machine for my uses. The test for me is what's most useful on my regular 4-hour plane flights.

I want an eInk-based reader that can hold a ton of reference material and pleasure reading, as well as play music. When I'm on a plane, I'm usually reading and listening to music at the same time. Right now, my routine consists of a flash MP3 player and a book, and to be able to have more than a couple of books with me solves many of my problems.

[Roland Rohde @ Mar 20th 2006 4:54PM]

well..what is the deal with the pricing information???

Some people get told it'll be 650 Euro, some apparently get the info that it is more in the 500 Euro span...around 400 was also in the discussion sometime...
I know that I asked them about 2 weeks ago and they never even answered...still a very fascinationg device...even if the approx. 21hours of reading is rather puny compared to the 7000-8000 Page-Turns the Sony and Hanlin Readers apparently offer...

[Roland Rohde @ Mar 20th 2006 5:42PM]

I disagree...
The larger size is actually good. Of course it's not nice to lug a large device around, but it is a lot smaller than A4 paper and it provides a "reading area" that is rather comfortable. I actually took a sheet of paper and cut out a piece with the measurements the Iliad is promising...the actual reading area is very comparable to a standard paperback. Mak eit too small and you either have to use ultra-small fonts or you have a page-turn every 3 sentences...which results in more battery-usage among other things...

[Jeff Myers @ Mar 20th 2006 5:51PM]

This device might be able to replace a lot of the stuff I carry around now. I use a Fujitsu tablet for many tasks, but this reader could replace it as a note-taking device at meetings. If it has a calendar function, there goes my Pocket PC. A 4GB memory device could hold a lot of mp3s: good-bye Creative Zen for everyday use. And, I could keep all of my reading material on it! Great!

Only 2 problems:

Battery life?

How much of my reading material is available as e-book? That's a lot of scanning, otherwise.

[RedSmurph @ Mar 21st 2006 1:30PM]

Someone needs to do "an iPod" with ebook readers. In other words focus on:
* what users need to optimally read books and other info
* discard all other features that would break the piggybank or confuse the user
* make different models for different uses and price points. E.g. one model optimised for reading literature, one for reading formatted business documents etc.

In my opinion a successful ebook reader must be max $200, and should use USB, not LAN or WLAN (just adds cost), and memory should be optimised for the price, not the other way around. Some have complained about MP3. Supporting MP3 doesn't cost anything, but might dillute what the product is for. Flash memory and displays on the other hand cost a lot. For pure text books the display is unnecessarily large. For business documents it makes sense though, but most business people also have a laptop computer, so would they buy this? I doubt it.

I still use my now 7 years old Rocket eBook daily, but I sure would like a replacement that is lighter and can show grayscale or color pictures, and antialiased text.

[Mike Hoy @ Mar 22nd 2006 12:12AM]

I don't know what the *intended* market is. I only see huge vertical markets that will benefit from lots of storage. For example, all of the Nevada Revised Statutes (40 mb) are online for free. Put that library (which is about 35 volumes on my library shelf) plus a whole lot of other reference materials into a small device, and you have a winner. We pay about $500 per set of NRS just for annual updates in paper form.

Then there is the courtroom. If I have 1000 exhibits in five binders, I can ask the witness to take out binder 5 and turn to tab 583. (This takes time.) Or, I can flip to the correct exhibit and hand the device to the witness.

Law is not the only vertical market for textual and graphical reference materials.

Think about university textbooks, too. Normally, the cost of paper and glue is 95% of the cost, and 5% is royalty for the author. You don't think this reader would pay for itself pretty quickly?

Then, of course, is the sports arena. If you have a wiFi connection, you can serve up real time stats and... advertising. Sorry.

This is not just about reading pulp fiction, newspapers, and blogs. This is about responding to a need that is ill-served by PCs and PDAs.

[Bryan @ Mar 22nd 2006 12:55PM]

Those who are down-ticking this device haven't really seen the light, imho.

The first thing I see: this thing can eliminate the cost of 95% of the paper and ink I would ever use in my printer again. Uhm ... yay! Now I can 'print' to this device and read, markup, etc from a simple device I can take anywhere. Porch, park, couch ... bathroom (admit it, you read in there!).

The next thing I see ... slowly all those books on shelves throughout my house and office become irrelevant. I realize that's a bigger hurdle, but omg, I want it bad!

Then there's all that disposable paper we get in our lives. Magazines, newspapers, flyers ... imagine all that being delivered to the temp storage area in your iliad. Didn't find time to read it? No problem, it's first-in-last-out storage, so it trims itself as needed.

A sketchpad/notepad which always has another blank spot to write/draw on? Oh yeah, sign me up.

This isn't a PDA. Its an endlessly reusable single sheet of paper. Even at $800, if its durable enough to last a few years, it's a good investment, a *money saving* investment.

[Re: #37 eBook Content @ Mar 23rd 2006 3:02PM]

This thing displays PDF and XHTML content, so really, that is an ENORMOUS amount of potential content. I'd prefer that kind of openness in a reader than having to buy content in a proprietary format.

[alex @ Apr 2nd 2006 2:49PM]

If you want a PDA as in calendar, addressbook, todo-list, then you can use a PDF file with calendar pages, tick-off-lists, and an A-Z list into which you scribble the meetings, addresses, to-do-items. Just like people did it for many years before computers. You can get tremplates for example from here: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/diy-planner-30.html

[Laura @ Apr 2nd 2006 2:58PM]

I'm grateful for the mp3 capability since this will enable me to enjoy both etext books AND audio books. Does anyone know when the company estimates a color version to be released? magazines and comic books just aren't the same in B&W. thanks!

[David @ Apr 10th 2006 3:58AM]

I think the mp3 support isn't just a gimmick. The business focus of iRex is the b2b solution. I think there will be an API for software developers, so firms, which are specialized in programing educational software can program interactive music and language courses. Wouldn't it be great if you could learn French, Spanish and Italian (English in my case) in the metro on the way to work or school? It could instantly respond to your inputs and hold statistics.

I wish they support foldable usb keyboards (pda keyboards) for fast inputs. Solar cells (and capacitor) like on pocket calculators would be great. They could save up energy for each page turn. (Or a bigger solar panel on the back of the device, for the case, you forgot to recharge the device).

[Billy Bob @ Apr 24th 2006 1:59PM]

Agree, its too expensive. You can get a cheap, brand new Dell laptop for $399 to read documents. It also lets me play MP3, video, alot better than these e-ink readers. Make it less than $100 and it would sell like hotcakes.

[drez @ Apr 24th 2006 6:09PM]

I happen to listen to music when I read. I'd love to be able to listen to music with ONE device instead of reading with my ebook and then plugging up my mp3 player as well. Also I agree with what someone said above about kids books. It would be a great method for "follow along" reading.

[Igor @ Apr 25th 2006 2:19PM]

Based on comments above, it looks like there is a need for 2 types of the same device:
- scaled down version without WiFi, Ethernet and MP3, but with USB port. It's not a big deal to connect the device to your PC and synchronize the data as PDAs do right now. Obviously this device would not be able to compete with iPods and the rest MP3 players and I don't want to be tied to the device by any wires. Minimal amount of the built-in memory, but with CF or/and SD slots. May be with a not so fast CPU.
This should substantially reduce the cost and increase battery life. Price = $100-$200
- current offer with all bells and whistles

Both types will be used by different categories of users and in my opinion first should have a wider user base and be more demanded.

[Richard Sum @ Apr 25th 2006 5:30PM]

The ideal ereader imo would be a sealed waterproof unit which would be charged by induction (ie you would place it on a pad) and would have maybe 100mb+ internal memory,enough for maybe 6 pdf magazines and a load of txt books, which could be updated by bluetooth.

I would also like it to have enough power to read magazine pdf.

I would be prepared to pay 300GBP as I have hundreds of magazines, manuals and txt books but nothing to read them on except a computer.

[macastronomer @ Sep 18th 2007 12:55PM]

Hopefully this one won't break like the Sony eReader. I received an eReader recently, and within 4 days the screen was internally cracked.

I'm a systems programmer and IT technician. I've worked on many small devices with screens (Laptops, iPods, Palm Pilots) and I've never seen this happen.

Nothing beyond normal use, and the screen cracked (internally mind you—no outside damage what-so-ever), causing the very left side of the screen to not work.

I sent it off to Sony and they said that ANY damage to the screen is not covered.

There are only two possibilities here: 1) this product is extremely fragile or 2) My device had a physical defect.

In either case, I would avoid the Sony eReader as normal use can lead to a $250 repair. The iLiad may cost more, but hopefully it will continue to work after you purchase it.