Of e-books and digital paper (18)

The iLiad has arrived

Two days ago, I received an e-mail telling me that the iLiad was to be shipped. I could track the parcel through the UPS service. And on Thursday morning the iLiad arrived, a small, decent parcel as you can see from the photograph.

Having unpacked the iLiad I noticed that I had two units of every accessory (e.g. travel hub, USB cable, stylus). As it was unclear from the web shop information what was exactly in the offer, I just ordered the extras. But, as it turns out the iLiad package contains all you need. So I am left with an extra travel hub, the USB cable and the stylus. I guess that I will get in contact with iRex Technologies and ask them to take the extras back.

What surprised me most, so far, is the almost absence of any information. On a small memo I am welcomed to the world of electronic reading by the iRex team. In the memo I am asked to register with the iRex Delivery Service (iDS) in order to receive extra software releases. For the rest there is no manual or a technical set-up sheet.

So I opened the parcel with excitement. In the box is another box, but it looks like the cover of a book with clear letters in green (see photograph). After unpacking that box I stood eye-to-eye with the tablet. It is a decent A5 size of tablet with a special top right corner, which looks like a page in perspective. The material in which the screen is encased has a special sensitive touch.
It looks like the designers did a special effort to leave out any confusing buttons. I am charmed by the looks and the slimness of it

But after this first inspection I was left in doubt: what should I do. I suppose that I had to load the batteries. While loading the batteries I had a chance to register for software updates; but of course for updates you need already software in the machine. So far, there is no sign of life in the iLiad yet (see photograph).

I will continue next week on getting life in this machine. It is clear that the iRex team did not look at the example of Rocket e-Books. When that machine came out of the wrapping and the electricity was connected, an e-book showed up automatically. When the iLiad is connected to electricity, nothing happens. This is disappointing especially as you want to show what you have bought. Instead of the iLiad welcoming you to the world of electronic reading, you sit down with after 750 euro with a blank screen.

Tags: Books, digital paper, iRex, iLiad

Blog Posting Number: 448