iRex intros the 1000, 1000S, and 1000SW e-readers to a symphony of yawns

Oh, fabulous day! The new iRex Digital Reader is pretty much what we expected: a 10.2-inch, Lithium Ion battery-powered, black and white e-ink device that still leaves us hungry for that snazzy reader that Plastic Logic has coming down the pipe. Geared towards business users, prices start at a hefty $649 for the Digital Reader 1000, and if you want a stylus thrown in -- you know, something else to lose -- be prepared to spend $749 on the 1000S. Still, the big daddy 1000SW -- with WiFi, Bluetooth and that 3G data connectivity -- adds some new functionality that will be welcome, though it's hard to say who's breaking off $849 for those aforementioned features.

[Thanks, Matthew]

[Joe Pollicino @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:50AM]

EPIC FAIL

[konshuss @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:27AM]

iYawn

[spass @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:53AM]

Monday mornings are boring already... now I see this...

[whowhatme @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:58AM]

plastic stylus = $100?

[Joe Pollicino @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:10AM]

bluetooth and 3g functionality = $150

Paying too much for a gimick

PRICELESS.

[ybd @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:53PM]

Obligatory mentioning of Apple for "paying too much for a gimmick" so no one else has to do it.

[Plothole @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:28PM]

If its like its predecessor, than it's actually using a Wacom pen-screen. (conventional touch membranes are apparently not ideal for an eInk device, since they cut down on the contrast)

[Scythe @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:00AM]

I didn't think you could make an eReader uglier than the Kindle.

Don't forget to protect it by storing it in your trapper keeper...

[Kevin @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:08AM]

engadget got hacked?!?!

[collegekid13 @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:08AM]

for a company named iRex they sure make bland machines

[Joe Pollicino @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:11AM]

UM r4wr?

[iEye @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:12AM]

I would rather own an Apple Newton mesage pad, and use it in public!

[Bad Beaver @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:52PM]

Yeah, go and try that. Whenever I do, it summons crowds of oohhh-aaahhers inquiring where they can get one.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:14AM]

Nice parting gift for the lehman CEO's? Here's an iRex and a billion dollar, regards.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:42PM]

Low ranked, you know what this means right? billionaires read engadget comments!

[Jash Sayani @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:15AM]

I fail to understand why dont people use tablets for this work ?

[fischju @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:18AM]

It was actually a symphony of "Ouch!"

[Alexander @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:22AM]

Sure about 3G connectivity for the 1000SW? I haven't see anything about it on iRex' homepage nor do those at Mobileread mention it (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29533).

[ipubs bastard child @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:26AM]

so what does this do that you cant do on a cheaper laptop? ................

[Plothole @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:27PM]

It's lighter, daylight readable, and has a battery life that would blow away even the most efficient laptop with an extended Li-Ion.

[Galley @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:38AM]

650 U.S. dollars?

[Batou01 @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:45AM]

You can't read longer texts or books on a laptop, because it hearts your eyes.
This is the perfect size for a reading device. Much bigger than the current generation of e-ink readers. The touch screen is also a good thing. It consumes less power.

The only problem is the price.

[Elvis @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:54PM]

Owww... it hearts my eyes!

[Batou01 @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:50AM]

I mean it consumes less power than a laptop.

[uo @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:59AM]

Maybe irex should outsource the case design to Japan. Some of the chinese made ebooks look better than this. What's with the hugh a** buttons x3?

[EEaudio08 @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:17PM]

That thing looks slick, but wow that's a high price.

[Shinigami @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:24PM]

How about making a $100 e-book reader?

[ahdok @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:30PM]

That's not going to happen any time soon, the price of components, distribution, marketing... it's too high for $100 to be a reality.

[ahdok @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:33PM]

It's a reflective screen technology not an emmisive one, which makes it sunlight-readable, and not a strain on the eyes.

It's very similar to looking at a book really.

[Stephen Lang @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:56PM]

Yeah just like a book, only 2 orders of magnitude more expensive...

I do like ereaders, just hoping that costs can come down dramatically over the next 3-4 years.

[Paul @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:46PM]

Wow, the age and experience of the commenters (and the numb-brained poster) here really shines through on this post. A tablet pc this size and weight would cost at least twice as much and have about an hour battery life at best. Yes, it would have more functionality, but that isn't the point. It would have a nice color screen, but would be difficult to read for long periods of time. Okay, shift gears and compare this to a Kindle or Sony (current gen). Screen size is comparatively huge and with the S and SW you get a digitizer (not just a plastic stylus, you morons) which is a MAJOR deal in a reader since you can now mark up documents (oh yeah, and take notes and sketch diagrams and...). You also get a much broader document type support.

To yawn at this is simply silly. Yes, the base 1000 model is a non-starter at that price, but the 1000 S and 1000 SW models have a combination of truly useful features/attributes not found in another eink device. Other readers will follow and competition will drive the price down and features up, but for students and professionals, this is the first reader that can truly replace paper documents. Get a clue!

[ahdok @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:58PM]

I think the yawning is more a result of the reader PlasticLogic are bringing out, which promises much of the same functionality, but a slightly bigger screen, and a much, much nicer form factor. (This was announced about a week ago.) - Don't get me wrong, this is a lovely device, but it's bulkier and heavier than PL's offering, and very, very expensive.

On the plus side, it's on the market right now, and PlasticLogic haven't actually announced a price yet...

Even so, I wouldn't buy this at $650+ When the PL device does get released, the iRex will probably drop in price quite a bit.

[ssrat_ @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:35PM]

Take a look at Gigabyte 912?, TABLET NETBOOK for the same price.

Yes this has the advantage on battery life (especially since they are shipping with a stupid 4cell right now) and size wise the current version is an 8.9

However I would much rather have that compared to this, since you can read ANY format on it. (plus do whatever else you want to, meaning one less device to carry around)

The basic version is at least $300 to much for me to even think about in passing

My dream is the gigabyte in a 10" version with a 9+cell battery, I would even gladly take the storage down to a "measly" 20G
Give me that even at the $700 range and I will scrimp my ass off for one.

[Clio @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:13PM]

I think this is fantastic! Been waiting for a new iLiad for months. It will finally allow me to read PDFs on it instead of wasting paper with printouts.

[Paperless Dreamer @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:23PM]

I have to agree with Paul. I am a graduate student and I have been following the e-ink readers for over several years waiting for a time to jump in. The limitations of all other e-ink readers on the market are the lack of ability to display a pdf of a journal article without having to reduce it's size which impaires its readability. Also no other readers offer this handwriting markup via a stylus, except those made by iRex; however, the screen on those currently available were too small for scientific journal articles and technical reference text. I'll admit the price is high, but if I wait 2-3 years for a sub $400 dollar reader with similar capabilities I will have already finished my Ph.D and won't have benefited from the productivity benefits afforded by such a device.

[Almadi @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:36PM]

I think I speak for all grads here when I say:
"Throw in 10 free text book downloads of my choice and I'll buy it"

[Paul @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:25PM]

"I think I speak for all grads here when I say:"Throw in 10 free text book downloads of my choice and I'll buy it""

Actually you're speaking for undergrads and Master's degree students. Ph.D.'s don't buy books (I certainly bought < 10)--we trudge through hundreds/thousands of boring as hell, PDF-based research papers or pay through the nose for Journals. :) Nonetheless, not a bad idea for a promotion. It would certainly help offset the initial pain.

Paperless Dreamer is 100% right. This would certainly have been ideal in my Ph.D. coursework days. Even as a researcher, though, this would (will?) be wonderful.

[Mac @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:21PM]

I am also doing PHD and I hate to print tens (or sometimes hundreds) of papers and then carry them here and there. Last time I had 5Kg of printed papers and another 5kg of important books when I was traveling 8000km away and you certainly understand my pain.

In addition, IEEE and ACM now push for digital versions of the magazines and journals. If I can have one of these I can get the journals faster, have a lot of them in a 4-8G SD card and forget about storing a lot of magazines in my bookshelf.

However! I guess 650 is tooooooo much for me (I am doing in south east asia and I get only $400/month for all my costs from my supervisor).

[bigsofty @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:26PM]

Nice but too expensive, even at half this price I would be hesitant...

[RD. @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:38PM]

now they just need to drop the price on the 2nd edition to about $400 and I'm set.

[frankXchange @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:46PM]

The styling is quite nice, but the price is outrageous. As is the article. A little less spoiled brat and a little more information please. What does it do for that price?

[Plothole @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:45PM]

It uses an eInk screen for one thing. These have the advantage of using almost no power and being daylight readable, however the tradeoff is that the technology is that the cost per square-inch of display is rather high right now. Also, while most eInk readers can handle 4 or 8 shades of gray, iRex's devices are the only ones capable of 16 shades. This gives them a serious edge when displaying graphics (devices like the Kindle are really only ideal for text).

[frankXchange @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:46PM]

The styling is quite nice, but the price is outrageous. As is the article. A little less spoiled brat and a little more information please. What does it do for that price?

[Deus Innomen @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:37PM]

You get more than just a stylus for the $100 over the 1000 model: the 1000S includes the Wacom technology allowing you to write onto the device itself and save the notes. The next $100 for the 1000SW gets you that AND the WiFi/Bluetooth technology as opposed to only USB syncing.

That's really why these guys are so expensive: they're both a document reader AND a note-taking tablet. It's still a pretty hefty price tag, sure.

[Alex @ Sep 22nd 2008 4:36PM]

Still waiting for a cheap eee-book reader...

[Plothole @ Sep 22nd 2008 5:47PM]

You're probably going to have to wait a few more years. The cost of the technology isn't going to plummet overnight.

[Bad Beaver @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:00PM]

Joseph, it's not quite clear why these would deserve this kind of reporting. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are not the pathetically underpowered, underequipped, undersized, DRM-crippled, and also still overpriced offerings of say Sony or Amazon or some company from China you have never heard of before. No, they are not the sexy prototype from the future you saw last week. So what? We are used to 15-year-olds practicing their mad sn1de-skillz in the comments, that doesn't mean we need articles of the same quality.

[StephanieH @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:53PM]

Sony's ereader is really nice and it can do PDFs, no problem. I was in their store not too long ago playing with it.

[diode3diode @ Sep 22nd 2008 6:55PM]

I wonder how much to replace a crack screen with these new Iliads. The first ones still cost upwards of $400 to replace it. I had mines for about a year and I cracked the screen. That's the last $700 Iliad I'm buying.

[Plothole @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:18PM]

The real question is if this screen even can crack (under normal abuse). I mean are they still using the somewhat fragile glass screens, or a brand new, and [potentially] far more durable, plastic display?