While the price and diversity of e-book readers is still some way off achieving the sort of critical mass that put an MP3 player in nearly pocket, the number of devices appearing on the market is increasing at a healthy rate.
iRiver Story A good read? iRiver’s Story
While not exactly a household name here in the UK, iRiver …
I'd say that the Z row of the keyboard looks to be one place to left too far. I guess it's not a problem if you are only using one finger to type on it, but if you don't it will be confusing.
Before you send this thing back, can you test it reading PDFs that are scanned files?
I want an ebook reader partly to keep all manor of datasheets, papers, processes and procedures. Unfortunately most of these are scans of very old type-set documents, or scans of official signed documents, rather than electronically produced PDFs.
I need something that can handle these types of files without falling over and giving up, like the Adobe bundled PDF reader on most smartphones.
I've been reading ebooks for years, Palm IIIxe,Sony Clié, Android Phoneand now a Sony 505.
It isn't the price of the reader,it is the ridiculous price of the books, moreexpensivethan the print version,sometimes moreexpensive than the hardback.
The reason why these ereaders are going to have problems taking off is due to bootstrapping.
The first thing I did when I bought my first mp3 player was rip some mp3s from CDs that I had bought in the past and loaded them onto my new mp3 player so on day 1 of being an mp3 player owner I had 1000s of mp3s to listen to. But I cannot do this on a ereader, I cannot load up my existing library onto it (without paying for it again that is). So I will not buy an ereader.
"Applying Register Hardware's patented e-book reader storage formula, we find that the Reader will hold 1037 copies of War and Peace or 2554 of Moby Dick..."
I'm confused. What is El Reg's standard unit for e-book reader capacity, should I consider the Story a 1KiloW&P or 0.25 MegaMoby device?
Ever since my Sony PRS-600 touch died, I've been thinking about a new reader. I found the touch functionality of the Sony Reader not worth the extra cost and many annoying quirks about the menu system and desktop software . But this looks much better. Don't need wireless, but want a good 6 inch screen. Could be my Xmas present this year
To be honest I wouldn't recommend any 5 or 6" e-book reader for scanned PDF files. Yes you can view them on the Story, but like the Sony, BeBook and CyBook devices it's pretty far from ideal. The only reader i have ever used that handled large scanned files well is the iRex DR1000S Bill tested back in July.
Sounds interesting, but far too much emphasis on music. I mean, I want an e-book reader for just that, no more, I couldn't care less about music or any other extraneous features.
Give more relevant info, e.g. what's the keyboard for, does it do annotations or let me take notes ? With what formats ? How are these stored ?
You haven't even said how it bookmarks, does it return me right to the page I left off or does it just reopen the book at the start again, can it do this with multiple books etc. Come on like, a review should be aimed at the primary purpose of the device.
I'd like to read books on the thing, not write them. So what's the keyboard for, anyway?
And of course the obligatory note that I'd like DJVU support, but in lieu of that I too would like to hear how it deals with scanned PDF. And yes, there are plenty of non-copyright-infringing uses for that.
They have a full keyboard and they use it for the memo and diary only? They could've undercut the Kindle in this department (and the other ones I forget). Could this be added in with a later firmware update (i.e. a special bookmark?)
Any chance for a review on the bebook mini? I'm acquaintances with the Greek suppliers, and liked the look of the one they showed me.
Overall though, this is one of the prettier ebooks out there.
iRiver? If I see yet another lowercase-i capital-someletter name, I'll vomit. The widespread aping of Apple's naming pattern betrays the limited imagination of these "creative" marketing types.
I think you'll find that iriver was before the iPod, makes me cry when people think iPod was unique in its name... I'll admit that others copy it, but iriver was different.
My iHP-140 still works after 5 years, not bad for a 40gig mp3 player.
You might have been thinking of the Wikipedia reader...
#
which is probably closer still to the HitchHiker's guide.
http://openmoko.com/wikireader.html
However, OpenMoko's device is missing WAN or cell connectivity for realtime updates across the network; It's an offline reader and single purpose, otherwise I would have bought one.
Few points of clarification. You can indeed place multiple bookmarks in multiple books and access them all from the main menu. When you open a book file you have previously accessed the Story opens it at the last open page. The QWERTY keyboard is for entering text into the Memo and Diary applications. Memos can be exported as .txt files if you need to move them off the device.
Memos can be opened or created directly from a book page via the pop-up main menu but they are not 'stuck' to the page as they are with the Sony Reader Touch.
It still doesn't look as well produced and as slick as a Sony 505, and for hammarbtyp I can tell you that ARGOS still has them in-stock in places, and on sale for well less than this or the 600.
I just had my gf pick me up a 505 for my Xmas present after playing with both the 600 and the 300 in person - utter disappointments as the 600's screen lacks sharpness, and the 300 lacks size...can't wait until Dec 25th! (No, I didn't TELL her to, she saw me find it online and laid claim to it as her present - smart girl).
Doesn't work with large books (mine all come O'Reilly Safari). The headings are garbled, then after a couple of page turns the reader hangs and then reboots. Garbage. Mine's going straight back to Amazon. I suggest everyone avoids until they get the software working.
Register
iRiver Story
While the price and diversity of e-book readers is still some way off achieving the sort of critical mass that put an MP3 player in nearly pocket, the number of devices appearing on the market is increasing at a healthy rate. iRiver Story A good read? iRiver’s Story While not exactly a household name here in the UK, iRiver …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
Graeme 7
Awkward Keyboard Layout #
I'd say that the Z row of the keyboard looks to be one place to left too far. I guess it's not a problem if you are only using one finger to type on it, but if you don't it will be confusing.
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
BristolBachelor
How well does it handle SCANNED pdfs? #
Before you send this thing back, can you test it reading PDFs that are scanned files?
I want an ebook reader partly to keep all manor of datasheets, papers, processes and procedures. Unfortunately most of these are scans of very old type-set documents, or scans of official signed documents, rather than electronically produced PDFs.
I need something that can handle these types of files without falling over and giving up, like the Adobe bundled PDF reader on most smartphones.
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Question #
Do all these e-readers flash-to-black when they refresh (i.e. turn a page). I'd buy one if they didn't.
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
Anonymous Coward
It's not the price of the reader #
I've been reading ebooks for years, Palm IIIxe,Sony Clié, Android Phoneand now a Sony 505.
It isn't the price of the reader,it is the ridiculous price of the books, moreexpensivethan the print version,sometimes moreexpensive than the hardback.
Thankf forBaen and Project Gutenberg
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
davejef
Bootstrapping problem #
The reason why these ereaders are going to have problems taking off is due to bootstrapping.
The first thing I did when I bought my first mp3 player was rip some mp3s from CDs that I had bought in the past and loaded them onto my new mp3 player so on day 1 of being an mp3 player owner I had 1000s of mp3s to listen to. But I cannot do this on a ereader, I cannot load up my existing library onto it (without paying for it again that is). So I will not buy an ereader.
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
Jonathon Green
Standard units. #
"Applying Register Hardware's patented e-book reader storage formula, we find that the Reader will hold 1037 copies of War and Peace or 2554 of Moby Dick..."
I'm confused. What is El Reg's standard unit for e-book reader capacity, should I consider the Story a 1KiloW&P or 0.25 MegaMoby device?
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 10:33 GMT
hammarbtyp
Sounds Tempting.. #
Ever since my Sony PRS-600 touch died, I've been thinking about a new reader. I found the touch functionality of the Sony Reader not worth the extra cost and many annoying quirks about the menu system and desktop software . But this looks much better. Don't need wireless, but want a good 6 inch screen. Could be my Xmas present this year
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 11:46 GMT
Al Taylor
@ BristolBachelor #
To be honest I wouldn't recommend any 5 or 6" e-book reader for scanned PDF files. Yes you can view them on the Story, but like the Sony, BeBook and CyBook devices it's pretty far from ideal. The only reader i have ever used that handled large scanned files well is the iRex DR1000S Bill tested back in July.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/07/23/review_electronic_book_irex_digtal_reader_dr1000s/
Posted Wednesday 25th November 2009 12:58 GMT
Sir Runcible Spoon
price of eBooks #
to echo an earlier comment..
This is finally an eBook reader worth having, so I went to ebooks.com and looked up one of my favourite authors. Peter F Hamilton.
A recent book that was published in March this year is currently in electronic format for $28.
I'll check back in a couple of years I think.
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 11:36 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Hmmm #
Sounds interesting, but far too much emphasis on music. I mean, I want an e-book reader for just that, no more, I couldn't care less about music or any other extraneous features.
Give more relevant info, e.g. what's the keyboard for, does it do annotations or let me take notes ? With what formats ? How are these stored ?
You haven't even said how it bookmarks, does it return me right to the page I left off or does it just reopen the book at the start again, can it do this with multiple books etc. Come on like, a review should be aimed at the primary purpose of the device.
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 11:36 GMT
Anonymous Coward
But what's the keyboard for? #
I'd like to read books on the thing, not write them. So what's the keyboard for, anyway?
And of course the obligatory note that I'd like DJVU support, but in lieu of that I too would like to hear how it deals with scanned PDF. And yes, there are plenty of non-copyright-infringing uses for that.
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 11:40 GMT
Jason D
A crying shame #
Why no annotations?!
They have a full keyboard and they use it for the memo and diary only? They could've undercut the Kindle in this department (and the other ones I forget). Could this be added in with a later firmware update (i.e. a special bookmark?)
Any chance for a review on the bebook mini? I'm acquaintances with the Greek suppliers, and liked the look of the one they showed me.
Overall though, this is one of the prettier ebooks out there.
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 11:47 GMT
MacroRodent
iHate iThese iNames #
iRiver? If I see yet another lowercase-i capital-someletter name, I'll vomit. The widespread aping of Apple's naming pattern betrays the limited imagination of these "creative" marketing types.
Posted Friday 27th November 2009 10:33 GMT
Jason D
*ahem* #
I think you'll find that iriver was before the iPod, makes me cry when people think iPod was unique in its name... I'll admit that others copy it, but iriver was different.
My iHP-140 still works after 5 years, not bad for a 40gig mp3 player.
Posted Saturday 28th November 2009 09:35 GMT
Nigel Whitfield.
Ah Julie... #
Makes you cry an iRiver?
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 11:49 GMT
Michael Habel
So how long till we... #
will be able to pull the entry for Vogan Constructor Ships, and get the Recipe(s) for the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster over the Sub-etha-net??
I sometimes wonder what Mr. Adams would have made of all this, surely he could have raked in a load of Cash just on merits of Prior Art.
Man I really miss Douglas Adams. T_T
Posted Tuesday 8th December 2009 01:08 GMT
J. Cook
You might have been thinking of the Wikipedia reader... #
which is probably closer still to the HitchHiker's guide.
http://openmoko.com/wikireader.html
However, OpenMoko's device is missing WAN or cell connectivity for realtime updates across the network; It's an offline reader and single purpose, otherwise I would have bought one.
Posted Thursday 26th November 2009 12:04 GMT
Al Taylor
@ ACs #
Few points of clarification. You can indeed place multiple bookmarks in multiple books and access them all from the main menu. When you open a book file you have previously accessed the Story opens it at the last open page. The QWERTY keyboard is for entering text into the Memo and Diary applications. Memos can be exported as .txt files if you need to move them off the device.
Memos can be opened or created directly from a book page via the pop-up main menu but they are not 'stuck' to the page as they are with the Sony Reader Touch.
Posted Friday 27th November 2009 17:04 GMT
yokel
What's the outlook on the diary? #
Any integration capability with other diaries / calendars per chance ?
Sounds as if, other than the price of books, we could be getting somewhere in the reader stakes.
Posted Saturday 28th November 2009 09:35 GMT
Robert Hill
STILL doesn't impress & @hammarbtyp #
It still doesn't look as well produced and as slick as a Sony 505, and for hammarbtyp I can tell you that ARGOS still has them in-stock in places, and on sale for well less than this or the 600.
I just had my gf pick me up a 505 for my Xmas present after playing with both the 600 and the 300 in person - utter disappointments as the 600's screen lacks sharpness, and the 300 lacks size...can't wait until Dec 25th! (No, I didn't TELL her to, she saw me find it online and laid claim to it as her present - smart girl).
Posted Thursday 3rd December 2009 22:03 GMT
Kay Tie
Riddled with bugs #
Doesn't work with large books (mine all come O'Reilly Safari). The headings are garbled, then after a couple of page turns the reader hangs and then reboots. Garbage. Mine's going straight back to Amazon. I suggest everyone avoids until they get the software working.
This topic is closed for new posts.