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DHer · 08-18-2006, 05:21 PM

Believe it or not, your specs don't sound very different from what we've got now (or will get in near future) with the iliad.

Ok, except the screen size. But this will change only with next generation devices.

So now let me sum up the answers to you requests, some of which already appeared here on the board:

1. power density. you could make the iliad run on batteries, but it is going to increase the weight significantly if you want the same uptime with one set of batteries.
Better idea: Get one of those nifty little battery-based chargers for - well, about every device out there. It's basically a battery holder plus a piece of silicon transforming the voltage. No big hack. Or ask iRex to offer something like this.

2. bigger screens cause an increased risk of glass break. So let's wait for iRex to figure it out in their next generation device or just crop your pdfs. You don't need the white margins.

3. It's second generation eInk now, if you're not willing to pay the price now, wait. It will be dropping.
A too high price for new gadgets is hardly worth a mention, isn't it?

4.a) true already; b) OpenOffice will be supported quite soon if there's an SDK, i assume. M$ Office will take longer.

5. You're military. Make iRex an offer they can't refuse. Offer to buy, let's say, 1000 iliads and ask them for USB keyboard support and a string search in pdfs. I'm quite sure that could speed things up.

6. you're right, color for reading books isn't really useful. The Iliads grey levels with anti-aliasing are quite suitable for reading.

7. network connection on the iliad is a great thing for software updates and in the future content aquisition. Imagine getting the newspaper without booting your pc in the morning. Implementation of basic file management is actually planned for the iliad, if i got it right.

8. true. 1 sec is he physical limitation of this generation eInk. You can live with it, it's slightly more then you need to turn a page physically.

I hope this helped slightly.

Don't forget: the future is now. it's just not widely distributed yet.

08-18-2006, 05:21 PM	#4
DHer Addict Posts: 261 Karma: 156 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: iliad	Believe it or not, your specs don't sound very different from what we've got now (or will get in near future) with the iliad. Ok, except the screen size. But this will change only with next generation devices. So now let me sum up the answers to you requests, some of which already appeared here on the board: 1. power density. you could make the iliad run on batteries, but it is going to increase the weight significantly if you want the same uptime with one set of batteries. Better idea: Get one of those nifty little battery-based chargers for - well, about every device out there. It's basically a battery holder plus a piece of silicon transforming the voltage. No big hack. Or ask iRex to offer something like this. 2. bigger screens cause an increased risk of glass break. So let's wait for iRex to figure it out in their next generation device or just crop your pdfs. You don't need the white margins. 3. It's second generation eInk now, if you're not willing to pay the price now, wait. It will be dropping. A too high price for new gadgets is hardly worth a mention, isn't it? 4.a) true already; b) OpenOffice will be supported quite soon if there's an SDK, i assume. M$ Office will take longer. 5. You're military. Make iRex an offer they can't refuse. Offer to buy, let's say, 1000 iliads and ask them for USB keyboard support and a string search in pdfs. I'm quite sure that could speed things up. 6. you're right, color for reading books isn't really useful. The Iliads grey levels with anti-aliasing are quite suitable for reading. 7. network connection on the iliad is a great thing for software updates and in the future content aquisition. Imagine getting the newspaper without booting your pc in the morning. Implementation of basic file management is actually planned for the iliad, if i got it right. 8. true. 1 sec is he physical limitation of this generation eInk. You can live with it, it's slightly more then you need to turn a page physically. I hope this helped slightly. Don't forget: the future is now. it's just not widely distributed yet.