| I got off on a rocky start. It took me a couple of minutes just to figure out how to plug in the charger to the reader. In order to charge the reader it has to be connected to the dock/hub assembly. This makes it somewhat cumbersome. It would be better if the charging cable could be plugged into the reader directly. While I was figuring all this out, I got a chance to really look at the screen. It’s a generous 8.1 inches and while it is heavier than the Sony reader it feels better in my hands and easier to grip. It also has fewer buttons than the Sony making it much simpler. I also think that the iLiad looks much more professional than the Sony. It made me feel like I should be using it for either the betterment of mankind or at a job working on some super mega project. The canvas case is okay, just okay. It has a hard backing and a shoulder strap, but for $700 I think I should have gotten a free M-edge leather case. I bought one of these cases when I ordered the iLiad and it is very well made, soft and decadent looking. Here are my Pros and Cons: |
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Pros:
- Screen Size: Great size. I really like the way Mobipocket looks.
- Available Software: Being able to read DRM Mobi is a good thing. Good only because I have a lot of Mobi e-books I bought a few years ago. I no longer buy e-books in this format. Another software program is Daily Comics. I like certain comics like Dilbert, but I don’t always have time to read it on my laptop. This application downloads a variety of current comics and then opens the file in FBreader. My only complaint is that some of the print is small and difficult for me to read. I also have Sudoku puzzles so that make things kind of fun.
- PIM Program: I like PIMs and although the iLiad is not a PDA, that should mean that I can’t use it as one. In fact this application is what put me in favor of buying the iLiad in the first place.
- Page forward/Back toggle switch
- Uses CF and MMC cards
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Cons:
- Ease of use: Navigation is not intuitive enough. I am still having problems getting to where I want to be. Sometimes when I press a button it is non-responsive. This is probably my fault.
- Slow: It takes a long time for it to start up and open applications. Even within applications it can take a while to move. I keep making the mistake of thinking that I didn’t press correctly with the stylus and pressing again only makes it act screwy.
- Ghosting: I get a lot of that, but mainly when using add in applications.
- Battery: Battery life is poor. I have to charge it after each use. The first day I played around with it for about 3 hours and almost half the battery was used.
- No physical user manual: All I got was a small square piece of paper that had short descriptions and some universal type graphics on it. The user manual is on the device, but if I don’t know how to use the device, then how am I ever going to get to the manual? If I had a better quick start guide, I think I could have avoided some of my initial problems.
- Contrast: I find it inadequate for my needs. For example, when using FBreader I could hardly see the icons and had to guess. The icons just appeared much too light and small. I looked for some sort of contrast setting and didn’t find it. Again, probably my fault, but I don’t thnk that it should be hard to find.
- Expensive, easy to lose Stylus
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| Is it worth the money? No. Do I regret buying it? Kind of. I just love e-book devices, so it is a welcomed addition. Although I was able to install what I wanted after much help from Harry on the Mobileread Forum, I don’t use the reader. I think my initial problems have turned me off. I have never bought a device that caused me so much angst. I think the moral of the story is that the iLiad is just not the device for me, at least not yet. It took too long in my opinion to it get it up and running. I am going to just forget about it for a month and come back to it and see what happens. Hopefully my iLiad won’t end up sitting between my Kolin reader and Sony Librie. |
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