In July 2006 the Dutch Company iRex launched iLiad a consumer e-book reader, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. 

 

In May 2008, iRex Technologies added a third installment to the iLiad line of products, this time branded under the name iLiad Book Edition. Essentially, the Book Edition is the iLiad Version 2 with a new silver look and is noted to lack the WiFi component present in the original iLiad. The technical cutbacks place it at the $599 (euro 499) price point, which is $100 cheaper than the original. It also comes with 50 free Classics, including works from well-known writers Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Lewis Caroll, and Leo Tolstoy.

 

 

The iRex electronic paper display is the largest available in the market today with its 8-inch diameter and features 16 levels of grey where the industry standard is 4 levels of grey (768x1024 pixels (160 dpi). In addition, the display is the only writable electronic paper display that is commercially available, enabling a whole range of new features like annotating, writing and an advanced user interface. 

It measures 155 mm × 216 mm × 16 mm (width × height × depth), the size of an A5 document, or roughly a 6"×9" steno notebook. The display used is an active matrix electrophoretic display, which uses E Ink display film manufactured by E Ink Corporation. Underneath the E-Ink screen is a digitizing tablet by Wacom which requires a stylus for input.

The iLiad is capable of displaying document files in a number of formats, including PDF, Mobipocket, XHTML and plain text. It can also display JPG, BMP and PNG images, but not in color. It has the largest screen size of existing e-ink products. 

Through its wireless service, iDS, the iLiad can also directly download content. Les Echos, a french financial newspaper, is distributed this way, and additional content is expected. Users can connect to their computer over a wireless network to sync new data onto the iLiad's internal memory or an inserted MMC, SD, or CF card. More wireless and network functions are to be delivered in upcoming firmware updates. 

 

 Note: LCD monitor harms your eyes with the backlight. iLiad don't. Instead of a LCD, E Ink Corporation provides a electrophoretic display (EPD) for iLiad. EPDs does not emit light, it simply rearrange pigments and reflects light, so it does no more harm to the eyes than a piece of paper. In fact, a white paper might be more harmful than the EPD for iLiad because white paper usually reflect more light. 

 

Check out the specs:

    * 8.1-inch XGA display, 16 grayscale

    * 400MHZ XScale CPU, 64MB RAM

    * Wacom-based touch input

    * 256MB flash memory, USB, MMC, and CF slots

    * Reads PDF, HTML, TXT, Mobipocket, JPG, BMP, and PNG

    * 3.5mm audio out

    * Travel-hub add-on with... Ethernet! Oookay.

    * 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.63-inches, 15.3 ounces

It launched last May 9th in Europe, and sells for a very hefty sum of €499 ($770 US).  

 

Useful Links:

 

the iLiad product page http://www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad