The iRex iLiad 2 is out—nothing too dramatic, though: just improvements in the operating system, the WiFi connection manager, the stylus, the battery life and the like. Press release here. Brief Flash presentation here. MobileRead item here. Google-found articles here, including a detailed review of what probably is the older iLiad (I’m not sure). No mention of improved VizPlex screen technology, groan. Also see info on a European newspapers’ experiment with the iRex. Video from Les Echos here. Other links of the day:
—Booksquare takes a nice swing at the proprietary e-format approach and other negatives of the Kindle. See our earlier eBabel-related thoughts on Amazon’s forthcoming E Ink machine. Oh, and remember, Amazon probably won’t offer WiFi and instead will apparently do 3G wireless through EVDO. Will you be paying connection charges, too, not just for e-book files and eBook Museum-style access? Back to formats. Remember, the issue isn’t just the hoped-for ability of Amazon’s Mobipocket to read the IDPF‘s .epub standard. It’s also whether Amazon, which already enjoys enough clout over publishers, will use .epub on its store sites rather than bullying customers into Mobipocket.
–An interesting new ad-supported model for e-books has come out of Shanghai from a company called Bookgg. As reported in the Booksellers Association blog, “The consumer selects the book and then selects the sponsors with their placement on your book until the price of the book drops to zero. The book is then printed and posted. For every free book, you need to have a book ticket, which you get once you have registered. You then earn further book tickets by referring new users or orders or buying into an account, which will issue new tickets every month.” Hello, Wowio? Any possibilities here for you to follow up with your own twists? And hello, all publishers? Imagine the possibility of using readers’ sharing tendencies to make more money, not less! Big publishers are crazy not to be experimenting more with the ad-supported model. (Thanks to Publishers Lunch for spotting this gem.)
“Amazon probably won’t offer WiFi and instead will apparently do 3G wireless through EVDO.”
Personally, the less the better. I don’t want WiFi or a keyboard or any form of connectivity. All that just increases the size and price and decreases the battery life. All I want is a simple machine that will store and read books. In this sense the Sony Reader has done it right.
I think it’s a mistake to try to turn these things into some form of ebook reader/PDA/computer combination. Not only does it price it out of reach for most people, it makes it too complicated as well. People still have enough trouble with technology. If you are trying to introduce something new, then try to introduce something simple.
And it’s still $699.00
Regarding ad-supported e-books:
I am appalled that e-book advocates are so desparate for wider acceptance of their hobby that they will not only accept ads in books but applaud the concept. Not many people are interested in e-books! They suck in a lot of ways. Putting in ads and suggesting that people jump through “bring-a-friend” hoops are not going to increase acceptance. Get a grip!
I read on a Nokia 770, but I don’t make a religion out of it. If a book I want to read isn’t available in an electronic format, I don’t get all whiney about–I buy the damned paper version (or go to the library) and read it. “E-” comes second to reading.
John re ads in books: Publishers will need to be restrained, and I myself agree with you about the risks of making readers jump through a lot of hoops, but, yes, ads in books have a place—as long as readers have traditional alternatives and ideally can pay to have ads removed. Thanks to the Net, people are accustomed to getting material for free, and as for libraries, they can’t buy everything. I favor a variety of models. Ads certainly look interesting as one of them. If people can read The New York with ads, why not books—except that I don’t think they should be as ad-cluttered as the magazine. If nothing else, ads might help keep prices down. As for e-books in their present form, yes, they have problems, and I myself normally buy used paper books rather than suffer the hassles of DRM. I want to own my purchases for real. Thanks. David
i agree with mr. biba, up at the top. all i want is something that reads ebooks (ideally on a mac, but that’s a whole other kettle o’ fish). i don’t even want it to be color — black and white’s good enough for me.
[…] the ‘2nd edition’ of iRex Technologies’ iRex reader has been launched. The press release notes (and TeleRead shows) that the old curves are gone (Good!) in favour of a more stable book-shaped housing, the battery […]