Thanks to a tweet by edejager, I picked this up on the eReaders website. The original text is in Dutch and here is a Google translation:
The Dutch company iRex Technologies has applied for suspension of payments, reports the FD. Disappointing sales of the DR800, the last descendant of the iRex ereaderfamilie have led to financial difficulties which the company has been trapped, said Hans Brons CEO iRex-. Philips spinoff iRex Technologies was the foundation of electronic paper as currently applied in many eReaders. The company launched in 2006, the iLiad eReader, one of the first commercially available eReaders which one could read ebooks and notes could make.
Followed later updates of the iRex iLiad and had the first of October 1 “ereader, based on a eInk screen. iRex, however, was frequently plagued by technical problems and consumers often complained about the poor service that the company would provide Eindhoven. Then last year, the DR800 – August 1 “ereader initially intended for the U.S. market – was delayed due to leakage of the FCC approval procedures, missed iRex major release just before Christmas, making a commercial success was forthcoming. This is a direct cause of the financial malaise, says Bronze.
It is not yet known if iRex will make a new start. “It’s not a hopeless situation, but there is no cash and the banks are cautious at this time,” said sources at the FD.
I am an unhappy owner of two iRex Iliads. The screen went bad on both. iRex’s support has been less than stellar, to put it mildly. They also abandoned work on updating the Iliad when they brought out a newer device, despite talk of future updates.
People could say they were outmaneuvered by the competition, but all you have to do is look at any of several forums (including their own) to see that they probably dug this hole themselves.