The device can read PDF, HTML and TXT plain text documents, as well as showing images in the JPG, BMP, PNG formats. Thanks to a recent software update you can now also use it to read books in the PRC format, which are available via the Mobipocket online store. These books can be bought using the free Mobipocket software, which is very much like iTunes for ebooks. The books are priced at about the same level as a standard book. For example Stephen King's Salem's Lot will set you back $17.95 (£8.80).
There are, however, plenty of sources of free books online, including many from big name authors that are out of copyright. For example, on the Project Gutenberg site you'll find the entire works of Shakespeare, as well as seminal novels like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and Emma by Jane Austen.
Performance
Battery life is astonishingly long. It takes about three hours to
charge, but once the iLiad is topped up with juice it will keep running
for around 12 hours -- enough for a week's usage when we tested it.
The screen includes Wacom Penabled technology, so you can use the stylus that's stored in a slot at the top of the ebook reader to amend documents with handwritten notes or to draw freehand diagrams.
Unfortunately, these notes and drawings are stored in a separate file alongside the original documents rather than being added straight into the document. You have to manually merge the two together once they're transferred to your computer using the iLiad Companion software. It's a clunky solution to something that should be transparent to the end users, but then there are plenty of such anomalies with the iLiad.
For example, even though the device has Wi-Fi, it can't update RSS feeds by itself. Instead you have to connect it to a computer via USB and re-sync it with the Mobipocket software to update it with the latest news. And when you want to sync all the documents on your device with your PC, you have to switch back to the iLiad Companion software again. Although the device can be synced with the Companion software over Wi-Fi, it's overly tricky to set up and isn't even covered well in the software's documentation that comes with the device.
The overall performance is also a tad sluggish. It takes about 40 seconds to start up, it's slow to load documents and when moving between pages there's a pause as it wipes the screen and redraws the new page.
These problem all contribute to an experience that isn't as polished as it should be, especially when you take into account that you can buy a laptop for the asking price.
Conclusion
The iLiad has some great features, such as
the amazing screen and extremely long battery life -- it really is a
delight to use for reading books or documents. The Wi-Fi functionality
needs to be improved, though, and iRex needs to develop better PC
software for managing the device. The price tag is also somewhat on the
hefty side when you consider you can pop down to your local Tesco and
pick up a full blown laptop for the same kind of money.
Although there were a lot of things we liked about the iLiad, unfortunately it still has some way to go before it'll have us chucking our books on the bonfire and cancelling our newspaper subscriptions.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
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Daniel Blendea 29 October 2010
Good: the resolution
Bad: battery, usb connectivity
Comment: The company that makes it is actually lying about the battery life. If switching 1 page per minute, it doesn't hold for more than 3 hours. If you're using the stylus, even less.
And some menus are accessible only using the stylus. And it was amazingly expensive, like 600 euro. Luckily for me, I received it as a gift from my employer, in 2008.
Land Shark 7 September 2007
Good: Screen, size, battery life
Bad: Software, lack of compatible book titles, general use, price
Comment: You know when you look at this thing you are going to be impressed. Clarity of the screen is excellent, it 'feels' right, and then it really lets you down - BADLY!
I wanted to love this. I needed to love this but in the end I was badly burned financially and the project suffered as a result.
The need was simple. I am a bookworm and spend approximately 1/3rd of my time travelling from one country to another for business. I read, on average, five books in a week and my average time away is between ten and fourteen days. I don't watch or own a TV and my library at home has gotten out of all proportion. This device was everything I wanted it to be ... until I came to actually use it.
First off, you cannot go to any of the classic eBook sites and simply keep using your existing account. No, this thing will not work with Motricity's eBook library which is probably the biggest in the world so I'm stuck with using a very limited library. Next off was the software that it came with and it uses. Who thought this up? It is a nightmare! The review said "clunky" try "archaic and ill conceived" and then try "impossible to try before you buy"
No, this is a complete waste of money (regrettably) and needs much more work. I was hoping to see Sony's eReader come to the UK's shores, but it appears that this is never going to see the light of day, let alone another country.
Back to lugging around heavy books again ...
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