Comments on: Silver iLiad: ‘Book Edition’ with no WiFi but reduced price of €499 and 50 preloaded free classics http://www.teleread.org/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:24:13 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.org/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/comment-page-1/#comment-790597 David Rothman Wed, 07 May 2008 21:47:47 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/#comment-790597 Garson, that matches my conclusions, but let's see what our European readers say. Correctly or not, I do recall people complaining about the subsidy of dollar-using buyers. If iRex can set up straight, so much the better. David Garson, that matches my conclusions, but let’s see what our European readers say. Correctly or not, I do recall people complaining about the subsidy of dollar-using buyers. If iRex can set up straight, so much the better. David

]]> By: Garson O'Toole http://www.teleread.org/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/comment-page-1/#comment-790583 Garson O'Toole Wed, 07 May 2008 21:33:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/#comment-790583 If you type "499 euros in dollars" into Google then you get the message "499 Euros = 766.4141 U.S. dollars". If the old price in dollars for the iLiad was $699 then consumers using dollars are already apparently obtaining a substantial price break. If you type “499 euros in dollars” into Google then you get the message “499 Euros = 766.4141 U.S. dollars”. If the old price in dollars for the iLiad was $699 then consumers using dollars are already apparently obtaining a substantial price break.

]]> By: Todd Jonz http://www.teleread.org/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/comment-page-1/#comment-790443 Todd Jonz Wed, 07 May 2008 18:48:41 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/#comment-790443 David writes: <blockquote><i> The current iLiad goes for US$699. Will the Book Edition’s price be in the lower 500s?</i></blockquote> I just checked the web site for eReader Outfitters, iRex's U.S. distributor and the company from which my wife and I bought our iLiads. No mention yet of the new model. Al writes: <blockquote><i>I also don’t see much in the way of Macintosh support</i></blockquote> There is none, which is a real shame. When connected to a Mac via USB the iLiad appears as an external disk, and files may be installed using drag-and-drop between Finder windows. I keep a mirrored image of the Iliad's file system on my Mac, add new books to the mirror, and use the UNIX <i>rsync</i> utility to sychronize the two file systems. The sole advantage of the iLiad's Wifi capabilities for Mac users is that its firmware can be updated without wiring it up to the Mac with the slightly kludgy connectivity kit. The lack of WiFi in the new model will be no great loss to Mac users. David writes:

The current iLiad goes for US$699. Will the Book Edition’s price be in the lower 500s?

I just checked the web site for eReader Outfitters, iRex’s U.S. distributor and the company from which my wife and I bought our iLiads. No mention yet of the new model.

Al writes:

I also don’t see much in the way of Macintosh support

There is none, which is a real shame. When connected to a Mac via USB the iLiad appears as an external disk, and files may be installed using drag-and-drop between Finder windows. I keep a mirrored image of the Iliad’s file system on my Mac, add new books to the mirror, and use the UNIX rsync utility to sychronize the two file systems.

The sole advantage of the iLiad’s Wifi capabilities for Mac users is that its firmware can be updated without wiring it up to the Mac with the slightly kludgy connectivity kit. The lack of WiFi in the new model will be no great loss to Mac users.

]]> By: Al http://www.teleread.org/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/comment-page-1/#comment-790213 Al Wed, 07 May 2008 14:59:56 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/05/07/silver-iliad-book-edition-with-no-wifi-but-reduced-price-of-499/#comment-790213 With an 8 inch screen rather than the 6 inch of the Kindle and 16 shades of gray rather than 4 plus the higher resolution, things are going to look better on this Iliad. I have no argument with the lack of independence from a computer, but it will cost them some sales. I also don't see much in the way of Macintosh support, other than the fact that one can transfer files. MobiReader doesn't work on anything but Windows. Some people are going to love the touch screen, some are not. I have touch screen on my Palm T|X and I would not go out of my way to get that feature, although I might feel differently after using one. This new Iliad is sure to handle PDF better than the Kindle, especially with a larger screen and zoom ability. With an 8 inch screen rather than the 6 inch of the Kindle and 16 shades of gray rather than 4 plus the higher resolution, things are going to look better on this Iliad. I have no argument with the lack of independence from a computer, but it will cost them some sales. I also don’t see much in the way of Macintosh support, other than the fact that one can transfer files. MobiReader doesn’t work on anything but Windows. Some people are going to love the touch screen, some are not. I have touch screen on my Palm T|X and I would not go out of my way to get that feature, although I might feel differently after using one. This new Iliad is sure to handle PDF better than the Kindle, especially with a larger screen and zoom ability.

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