Find eBook Readers Blog » Irex

Video running on Sipix epaper

Richard — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:26:52 +0000

You might be wondering whatever happened to IRX Innovations, the company that iRex morphed into after emerging from bankruptcy. Apparently one thing the company has been working on is getting video to play on epaper. Below is a new video showing a movie running on a Sipix screen. Sipix has improved the switching speed of its display, making this possible. At only 6 fps it is rather choppy, but apparently the speed can be improved somewhat by use of a memory buffer.

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iRex Redux

Richard — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:18:33 +0000

Dutch newspaper website fd.nl is reporting that iRex has secured financing and will be reborn as IRX Innovations.

The new company will focus on the business market rather than on consumers and will license out its proprietary technology.

Irex filed for bankruptcy in June. The 24 employees in Eindhoven iRex will reportedly be keeping their jobs with the new company. Hopefully this means that we will see work continue on the firmware for the iRex ereaders already sold.

(via The Digital Reader)

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Irex Files For Bankruptcy

Irex Releases Software Update

Richard — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:37:59 +0000

Being in bankruptcy apparently has not stopped iRex from continuing to work on the software for its ereaders. Release Candidate 3 is now available for the DR800S(G) and DR1000S ereaders. The listed improvements:

Improved zooming (PDF, images):
- zoom above 400% possible
- auto zoom to best available factor, fix blank screens
- reduced memory required while scaling images, fix overruns
Fix page flipping speed in reflowed documents (EPUB, PDF)
Fix size and position of page and scribbles when switching back to original size (PDF)
Fix unexpected failure while generating thumbnails
Fix searching for single characters in text files

For installation instructions see the iRex blog.

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Irex DR800SG Software Update Released

Irex Files For Bankruptcy

Richard — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:35:38 +0000

Irex has filed for bankruptcy in Netherlands. Irex CEO Hans Brons blames the company’s financial straits on disappointing sales in the US due to not being able to release the DR800SG ereader in the US in time for the 2009 holiday season. Brons says that this happened because of delays in getting FCC approval of the device.

It is possible that Irex may be able to come back, but Brons says that the company is out of cash and credit is still very tight in the current global economic climate.

As an owner of a DR800SG this is sad news. I really like the display of this ereader and the 8-inch screen format. Obviously if it breaks there will probably be no repairing it. I imagine that the Verizon powered connection to Barnes & Noble will disappear as well. At least Irex got the firmware update out before this happened.

(Sources: fd.nl via eReaders.nl via MobleRead Forums)

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Irex DR800SG Software Update Released

Richard — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:01:48 +0000

The new software for the Irex DR800 ereaders is out of beta and has been released. The new features:

Cycle through pen states in document viewer by clicking status bar icon
Add “Shortcuts” button next to “Search” button for quick access
Add Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish languages [DR800SG]
Enhanced text contrast in document viewer
Pen calibration improved and reduced accidental input with tilted stylus
Improved Notepad application:
- Show Thumbnail for Notes
- Improved performance when navigating in Notepad
- Improved writing speed, especially for thick lines
Improved page turning speed in complex document
Fixed 3G connection when resuming from Suspend [DR800SG]
Fixed a bug that would occasionally drain the battery quickly while in Suspend (white screen)
Fixed a bug in Scribble on PDF that allowed you to write outside of the physical PDF page
Many other smaller improvements and bug fixes

Improvements from v1.0

3G Connection Setup time improved by using Qualcomm Network Driver
Show 3G signal strength on status bar while connected
Add Notepad application
Add Advanced Settings, allowing:
- Scribble on PDF documents
- Zoom in PDF documents
- Enable folder-browsing of your SD card
Adobe 9.1 RMSDK based rendering of PDF and EPUB, including B&N EPUB support and image dithering
Integrated B&N Credit card input dialog into the document open flow (ask only if needed)
Support EPUBs without embedded fonts for e.g. Greek, Polish, Russian
Add “Go To Page” function to document viewer
Move Continue Reading to the first position of the Home screen
Automatic indexing of Thumbnails and Title/Author metadata (can be disabled in Advanced Settings)
Added Time Zone selection to the Date/Time Settings
View Book Information menu function that shows more details for PDF and EPUB
Fixed issues with EPUB rendering when GUI language is non-English
Fixed a bug where the Power Management would fail and the battery would drain quickly (related to pagination of PDB and TXT documents)

Known issues for the new software:

There is no way to merge or export Notes and Scribbles for usage on a PC.
Annotations made using v2.0-beta software may show up at a different scale or location.
Not all (new) GUI texts have been translated into all supported languages yet.

For installation instructions see the iRex Blog. Make sure to get the correct file - DR800SG for the US and DR800S for elsewhere. The 03-Jun-2010 version is the new release.

There appears to be a bug in the new software that cuts off a few pixels of the right edge of PDF documents.

One fix that I have been able to verify so far is the page-turning speed. I installed the beta software while reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I noticed that in the final 100 pages or so ( this book is a little over 400 pages) the page turns were getting slower and slower – up to six seconds! After installing the update page turns in the latter parts of this ebook are back to normal (big sigh of relief).

The DR800 ereaders seem to be sold out pretty much everywhere at the moment. Best Buy and Car Toys no longer list it and the iRex store seems to be out as well – they just link to a no longer existing page at Best Buy. Someone is selling DR800SG ereaders on eBay for $1500 – don’t laugh, it looks like five have been sold already at a lower price of $500!

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Irex DR800SG Review Update – New Firmware

Richard — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:07:41 +0000

Irex recently announced that a public beta of the 2.0 firmware update for the DR800 ereaders was available. I have installed it and have been using it for a few days. The fixes as reported on the Irex blog:

3G Connection Setup time improved by using Qualcomm Network Driver
Show 3G signal strength on status bar while connected
Add Notepad application
Add Advanced Settings, allowing:
- Scribble on PDF documents
- Zoom in PDF documents
- Enable folder-browsing of your SD card
Adobe 9.1 RMSDK based rendering of PDF and EPUB, including B&N EPUB support and image dithering
Integrated B&N Creditcard input dialog into the document open flow (ask only if needed)
Support EPUBs without embedded fonts for e.g. Greek, Polish, Russian
Add “Go To Page” function to document viewer
Move Continue Reading to the first position of the Home screen
Automatic indexing of Thumbnails and Title/Author metadata (can be disabled in Advanced Settings)
Added Time Zone selection to the Date/Time Settings
View Book Information menu function that shows more details for PDF and EPUB
Fixed issues with EPUB rendering when GUI language is non-English
Fixed a bug where the Power Management would fail and the battery would drain quickly (related to pagination of PDB and TXT documents)
Many other bugfixes

So far I have not encountered any problems using the new firmware. It was very easy to install – just unzip the download and you will have an Update folder which you place in your System folder on the DR800’s SD card. The ereader will find it when you disconnect it from your computer and the rest is pretty much automatic. The blog post linked to above has instructions and a link to the patch. Make sure you get the correct version for your ereader (DR800S for the European version or DR800SG for the US 3G version).

I have not seen a lot of difference with the 3G connection in my case. The 3G on the DR800SG ereader is only on when you open the eBook Mall, so each time it needs to find a network and connect which takes some time. Irex has not yet added any new ebook sellers to the “Mall”, so it is still rather empty, the only stores being Barnes & Noble, Newspapers Direct and Irex’s own periodical shop.

I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, so I went to Barnes & Noble and purchased book two of the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. No problems encountered here, but I had to input my info (making sure that I used the same credit card that B&N already associates with my account as that is the key they use for their DRM). Hopefully with the new firmware I won’t have to enter those details again.

Purchasing an ebook on the DR800 from Barnes & Noble is more complicated and has more clicks involved than buying and downloading a book on the Kindle ereader from Amazon. Maybe one reason for this is that Amazon has patented the 1-click checkout system, and in fact sued B&N for infringing this patent in 1999. At any rate the 3G does work, albeit not instantly, but I hope Irex will add more stores to the “Mall” as it is still rather empty, and it would be nice to be able to access more ebook stores from the ereader.

The note taking feature lets you make handwritten notes or draw pictures, and could be quite useful. There are five different pen sizes and an eraser. The eraser is a bit confusing at first because the erasure won’t take effect until the next screen refresh.

The problem with the note taking feature at the moment (keep in mind this is still a beta) is that if you are reading a book and want to make some notes, you will first need to open the menu, exit the book and go to the Home screen and then to the Notes screen. When you are finished and want to go back to your book you need to go again to the Home page, then to books and find the book you were reading. After using the note pad the Continue Reading tab shows your just opened notes rather than the book you were reading. Not very hassle-free.

To enable zoom and the scribble in PDF documents functions you will need to go to the advanced settings and check off the appropriate check boxes. To use the zoom you circle the area you wish to enlarge with the stylus. This works pretty well. When in this mode the flipbar advances you to the other parts of the enlarged page rather than turning the page. There is also a Fit To Page zooming option, but that feature seems to not be working yet.

In order to pan you need to again open the menu and select the pan option. The whole pan and zoom thing is a bit clumsy at the moment. I think it would really help if Irex were to put icons for the various operations on the status bar at the bottom of the page.

The Go To Page feature is much appreciated and works as expected.

The new firmware will definitely be a step in the right direction, especially if iRex uses the public beta to further refine the new features. But Irex needs to do more. While I have noted before how much I like reading on the DR800’s screen, Irex’s new ereader is still feature poor for the price, especially after the release of the iPad.

Some other features I would like to see: how about being able to scribble on ePubs? and a dictionary would be nice as well. Right now when I need to look up a word from something I am reading on the DR800 I use the Dictionary.com app (free) on my iPad, which I keep close at hand for that reason, as well as to listen to Pandora Radio while I am reading. After all, life is not just about finding new books to read – discovering new music is important too!

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M-Edge Executive Jacket for Irex DR800SG eReader

Richard — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:38:23 +0000

I usually choose device covers in black, but for my Irex DR800SG ereader I went with the brown (M-Edge terms it Smooth Mocha if you want to get technical) as it is the first color available. It turned out to be a good choice as the brown leather with gray plush interior compliments the pale gray bezel and bronze posterior of the DR800.

This is quite a good case, especially considering it only costs $20 plus $5 shipping. The Executive Jacket has stiffening panels in both the front and back flaps to add protection. The edges of the cover overlap the ereader’s edges by a quarter inch so that there is good cushioning should you drop (please don’t try this at home – we’re professional tech breakers here!) your ereader and it lands on a corner.

The DR800 has a couple of pin holes on the top and bottom left corners that the official Irex cover uses for its hinge system. M-Edge has instead opted to use elastic corner bands on the top and leather bands on the bottom corners. This feels quite secure, but for my own peace of mind I also stuck a wee bit of Velcro on my ereader’s backside.

The Executive Case also provides a handy holder for the stylus. M-Edge has also provided a few (unnecessary to me) pockets in the front flap for business cards and papers or whatever.

One minor complaint is that the leather strap on the bottom left covers the power switch, and you will need to pull it out of the way for access, but I can live with this. The USB port is unblocked.

The Executive Jacket is also compatible with the M-Edge e-Luminator2 Booklight. All in all a good case, especially for the price. Available at Amazon. The purple flavor is also available now in a pebbled finish, and the M-Edge Latitude Jacket for the DR800 is ready in black or red.

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M-Edge Executive Jacket for Irex DR800SG eReader

Richard — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:17:26 +0000

If like me you have been holding off buying a cover for your Irex DR800SG ereader until something besides the white one that Irex offers is available there is good news. M-Edge has its Executive Jacket for IREX DR800 ereaders on Amazon now, and priced at only $19.99 it looks quite good. So far Amazon only has the mocha color, but hopefully the black and purple flavors will soon join the show.

If you are looking for a shoulder bag, M-Edge also says that its Journey Kindle Bag($29.99) fits the DR800 ereaders as well as nooks and Sony ereaders.

M-Edge’s Hip Bagalso fits several different ereaders, including the DR800, nook and Sony ereaders and is priced at $34.99.

Still in the works at M-Edge is the Latitude Jacket for the DR800 which is “coming soon.”

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Irex Releases Public Beta of DR1000S 2.0 Software

Richard — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:12:43 +0000

Irex has just announced the release of a Beta version of the promised software update for the DR1000S ereader.

Some of the changes:

Completely new DR800-style GUI, including new Menu

Many performance improvements making the GUI much more responsive

Minor improvements to Power Management have been made

DR800-style views (Books, News, Images, Personal Documents) in Content Browser in addition to “SD Card” folder browsing

‘Recently Added’ view in Content Browser

Search in Library (to locate a file) based on metadata

Documents are shown with their Title and Author in the Content Browser (instead of filename), except in the “SD Card” folder view

A dedicated Notepad Application which adds the possibility to insert pages and rename the Note. This replaces the old Templates.

Adobe RMSDK 9.1 EPUB and PDF rendering engine, including B&N EPUB support and PDF reflow

Selection zoom in PDF

Scribble (note taking) on top of PDF documents

Switch between 4 open documents using tabs on the side of the screen

Support for opening password-protected PDF documents

GUI localized in English, German, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Greek

Automatic indexing of title, author and thumbnail when a file is added to the device

You can read more on the Irex blog. Hopefully this will mean that we will soon also see the promised update for the DR800SG ereader.

Firmware Update for the DR800SG to Follow?

Irex has said that it will have a firmware update for the DR800SG ereader ready this month as well. Some of the improvements are said to be:

Note taking application¹

PDF document zoom and scribble functions¹

“Go to page” menu function

Faster 3G connection setup time²

Barnes & Noble EPUB file support

Automatic indexing of title, author and thumbnail when a file is added to the device

Ability to import Settings and Accounts information (MYIREX, Adobe) from MYIREX sign-up webpage on PC

“View Book Information” menu function that shows file details for PDF and EPUB

I would also like to see Irex add a dictionary, highlighting and folder support.

I’ve been using the DR800SG ereader for over a month now, but until Irex updates the firmware I really can’t add too much to what I’ve said about this ereader already. At $400 the DR800SG is very light on features – hopefully Irex will remedy this at least to some extent soon.

The DR800SG does have the best looking e-ink screen I’ve yet seen, and this is why I’ve decided to keep this ereader rather than returning it as I expected I would be doing when I first received it. I love reading books on the DR800, though at the price it is a bit of a luxury.

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Borrowing Library eBooks on the DR800SG eReader

Richard — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:53:00 +0000

Since I have ADE up and working again I wanted to try borrowing something on my Irex DR800SG from the public library to see how well it works.

The Los Angeles County Library system currently has something over 700 fiction and nonfiction ebooks available. This is not a lot, but they are slowly building the collection. With California having fallen off into an ocean of red ink I’m sure that the library’s budget has been curtailed.

I borrowed Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Yes, this is a public domain title and I could get it elsewhere, but I wanted to make sure library downloads work okay on the DR800SG ereader and there was no waiting list for this title. I read many of Hesse’s works when I was a teenager – it was the thing to do back then. I’ve wanted to revisit them to see how they hold up, but many of Hesse’s titles do not seem to have made the jump to ebooks yet. I seem to recall that Narcissus and Goldmund and Steppenwolf were my favorites.

After a few clicks I was able to download the ebook to my PC and then to my ereader. Pretty painless and everything works as advertised.

I also found a few other new titles that I want and put myself on the waiting lists. Neal Stephenson’s Anthem was available with no waiting list, but at a thousand plus pages this is a nut I did not want to try cracking in view of my present reading backlog and the 14 day loan period. I will probably just buy this one later.

When borrowing library ebooks for your ereader you are probably going to find yourself in the position of having to drop whatever you are presently reading to jump on your requested book when it becomes available and finish it in the allotted time.

Having access to public library ebooks is a great feature, but I’m not sure if I would make it a priority when choosing which ereader to buy – at least not at the present time. You can find out how much material is available at your local library by visiting Overdrive’s site and entering your zip code in the search widget.