iRex's iLiad E-ink eBook Reader is Now Available

An anonymous reader writes "iRex has just started shipping its e-ink eBook reader, the iLiad, starting today (July 3rd) — making it the first e-ink reader commercially available outside of Japan. It is available for purchase though iRex's website, for 649 euros (ouch!). Hopefully this price will come down before Sony releases their eReader later this summer."

Comments

I'll stick with books...

[Frosty Piss]

I'll stick with books if only for the pure satisfaction of the ritual of turning pages. And of course, books are a less painful loss when left someplace by mistake (or stolen).

Re:I'll stick with books...

[harrkev]

Books are also not crippled by DRM either. They don't ask you for a license before letting you turn the page.
Yup, I'm sticking with books.

Really, about the only advantage that electronic books have over the real thing is the ability to search (but real books have an index), and the fact that they occupy no additional physical space/weight above that of the reader. If Sony wants us to buy one, they need to offer some real advantage. If anything, DRM-crippled products are a definate disadvantage.

Re:I'll stick with books...

[theStorminMormon]

Books are also not crippled by DRM either.

This line made me chuckle. Not crippled by DRM? How about a DRM that made it so that if you wanted to make a copy you'd have to either re-write the entire novel or OCR the whole thing? Imagine not even being able to make a quick archive copy for personal back up! You'd be up in arms! Or a DRM that was constructed in such a way that if you lent your copy to a friend you coudln't read your copy until you got it back. And if your friend lost it - you'd have to buy a new copy if you ever wanted to read it.

Books already have the best conceivable DRM policy - the content is died directly to the physical media. And you thought propietary formats were bad!

I'm not saying I'm a fan of DRM, but anyone that compares a hard-copy book to DRM media and sees the DRM media as a pain in the ass is just bonkers. The only reason the DRM is more annoying is because you can break it. And so we're tempted to try and it's a pain in the butt. You can't break the DRM on a book and so we forget that it even exists.

Now maybe you understand why RIAA execs keep cramming insane DRM schemes down our throats. They must believe that if only DRM could be as iron-clad as physical media we'd all stop whining about it.

-stormin

Re:I'll stick with books...

[alegrepublic]

This line made me chuckle. Not crippled by DRM? How about a DRM that made it so that if you wanted to make a copy you'd have to either
re-write the entire novel or OCR the whole thing? Imagine not even being able to make a quick archive copy for personal back up!

Imagine a book that wouldn't let you open it unless you paid a rental fee to the publisher. Or a book that insisted on being
read only when placed on a certain desk. Or a book that locked up when put on a copy machine. Or a book that would only
let you use publisher-approved markers to write on it... The annoying part of DRM is not copy protection as much as access
protection.

Re:I'll stick with books...

[ChaosDiscord]

I'm not saying I'm a fan of DRM, but anyone that compares a hard-copy book to DRM media and sees the DRM media as a pain in the ass is just bonkers.

The key is that a book is reliable. Properly cared for a book will last a long, long time. The author and publisher can't stop me from reading, lending out, giving away, or selling the book. If a publisher goes bankrupt, there is no risk that my paper books will suddenly become unreadable when their authorization servers go down. (As happened for anyone who purchased "silver" unlimited access to DIVX movies.) There is no practical way for a publisher to somehow lock down a book to make it impossible to, say, scan a page and reproduce it for commentary purposes.

True, books are a nuisance to copy or scan, but it's possible (as the small but vibrant illegal e-books scene shows).

Yeah, but what format?

[XenoPhage]

From their FAQ:

Which formats do you support?

In order to stimulate the momentum in electronic reading, iRex Technologies will support as many formats as possible in as open an environment as possible, respecting the rights of owners of content and IP.

Ok... So what formats are those again? This sounds, to me, like they will only support DRM capable formats... Which makes this a non-buy in my opinion.

Re:Links to iRex's iLiad purchasing site?

[joe 155]

in all fairness to /. - what else could they do on an issue like this? They had to report on it or everyone would say "This site is crap, digg reports on stuff like this...". If they report on it you want them to put a link to a site where you can buy it. I remember when someone submitted a list of "spy gadgets" with no link to where you could buy it and people were up in arms. So it needs to be reported on and needs a link to where you can buy it... all gadgets will be reported on because thats why were here; to know first and be at the cutting edge of nerding

Re:Too late, too big, too expensive, no market

[mypalmike]

There are two key differences between this and your PDA:

1. E-ink looks like ink on paper. Less eye strain than other display technologies.
2. E-ink doesn't require power to be visible. Much lower power consumption - only needed when turning pages.

I wouldn't be surprised if E-ink overtakes dead-tree publishing within a decade.

backlight = bad

[chocolatetrumpet]

(IANAMD), but I think a backlit display is probably one of the biggest causes of eye strain. The whole point of buying an e-reader, for me, would be the e-paper.

My dad prints out hundreds and hundreds of pages daily because he simply hates reading backlit displays.