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iRiver Story HD review
When it was unveiled back in January, the Story HD, iRiver's first entry into the US e-reader market, boasted all manner of exciting technologies, including an "HD" display and a souped-up (in e-reader terms) processor. Things have changed in the past six months, thanks in part to new Nook and Kobo devices. The other week, however, iRiver pulled out a pre-release surprise that turned plenty of heads: a partnership with Google Books. Are these features enough to make the company competitive in an already crowded market dominated by the Kindle? Find out the answer to all that and more in the review below. %Gallery-128506%
There's a web browser hiding inside the iriver Story HD, but it's pretty shy
Looking for a way to surf the web on your new iriver Story HD? The Digital Reader's got you covered, with a nifty, albeit not totally satisfying hack. As it turns out, the Story HD's much-ballyhooed Google eBookstore operates as a mobile version, rather than an app, meaning you can use it to access other pages -- if you know the trick. All you have to do is navigate to the first Help page within the eBookstore, where you'll see a list of links running across the top. The Books link leads to books.google.com, from which you can jump to google.com, effectively putting the internet at your fingertips. The major downside, however, is that iriver's hidden browser won't give you an address bar, though it does offer basic refresh and page-flipping capabilities, located within the options menu. It's certainly not as fluid as the WebKit-based browser you'll find on Amazon's third-generation Kindle, nor is it as straightforward as that experimental feature buried within the Nook WiFi -- but at least it's there. If you're interested in digging it up, hit the source link for more details. [Thanks, Nate]
iRiver Story HD becomes first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader, won't be the last
We aren't exactly lacking for digital bookstores, but Google's eBooks offering is indeed one of the slickest around. And evidently, it's not in nearly as many places as the marketers in Mountain View would like. The Goog just announced that iRiver's Story HD would soon become the first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader, with the new model going on sale July 17th at Target. It'll still sell for $139.99, and none of the actual hardware specifications will change from the existing model. Of course, the eBooks platform has been open to all publishers, retailers and manufacturers from the start; it's just that iRiver has become the first manufacturer to heed the call. Naturally, Google's teasing us by openly stating that more of these are on the way, and if you just so happen to be an e-reader maker... well, it'd certainly love to have a chat.
iriver Story HD e-reader hits the FCC, US retailers next?
We haven't heard much about iriver's Story HD e-reader since it quite literally landed in our laps at CES back in January, but it looks like it might now finally be nearing a US launch. The e-reader has just turned up at the FCC, where's it's been thoroughly tested and dissected (see the link below for some additional evidence). That's not always a sure sign that a US launch is imminent, but it does seem likely in this case -- especially considering that iriver has already lined up a number of US content partnerships for the device. As for the e-reader itself, it's similar in size to the Kindle and packs a 6-inch 1024 x 768 display, along with an 800MHz Coretx A8 processor, 2GB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, and WiFi connectivity. In other words, it remains unchanged from CES, which means our preview is just as relevant as ever.
iriver Story HD e-reader preview (video)
Our trailer was just visited by an iriver rep bearing his company's Kindle killer in waiting, the Story HD. This 6-inch e-reader touts a bodacious 1024 x 768 resolution, which contributes to an even better contrast ratio than on Amazon's E Ink slate, while software optimizations between now and release are expected to make the Story HD the fastest-refreshing device of its kind. The display itself is built by LG Display and is accompanied by a Freescale Cortex A8 CPU, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SDHC card-reading slot. Sun rays are, as expected, absolutely no problem and we have to admit that on first sight we thought the device had a sticker affixed to its front -- its that good at reproducing printed materials. Physically, it seems to have been constructed with the third-gen Kindle as its dimensional blueprint, albeit with quite a different control scheme. The hand-built proto unit we played with wasn't really ready to have its ergonomics judged properly, but iriver has plenty of time until the expected May launch to iron out any kinks. Content distribution partnerships have already been sewn up for the US, so now it's just a matter of patience until we get our e-reading on in gorgeous XGA resolution. Video hands-on after the break. %Gallery-113350% %Gallery-113351%
iriver teams with LG Display on Story HD e-reader, bumps resolution to 1024 x 768
What a difference a year makes, right? At CES 2010, we were staring at iriver's Story e-reader, wondering if the future would ever be the same. Today, we're doing something similar, albeit with way more pixel density. Sure to please our own, in-house Pixel Density Enthusiast Paul Miller, iriver has just let loose the world's highest resolution 6-inch e-reader. The Story HD -- which was designed in cooperation with LG Display -- still relies on e-paper, but it packs an XGA (1024 x 768) screen resolution. According to iriver, that represents a 63.8 percent pixel increase over the competition, offering increased legibility, faster response performance and finer fonts. You'll also find a Freescale processor, built-in WiFi and a content access portal that's being kept under wraps for now. It's also equipped with Easy Wi-Fi Network support, a battery good for up to three weeks of use and compatibility with DRM-laced ePUB and PDF files. If you're curious to know just how badly this thing will undercut those LCD-based alternatives, you'll have to wait; we're simply told that it'll be "competitively priced" and available for purchase in Q2 2011.
