The iRex Digital reader is not for the casual evening and weekend reader. Far from it as you’ll see by it’s butch and bulky casing and no nonsense design. It’s out to do a job and will turn its nose up at someone that simply wants to be flicking through a Robert Ludlum novel.

It’s hard to compare the set of features to anything else in market because it’s simply a very different beast. In the 1000 series you have 3 models – the 1000, the 1000s being reviewed and the daddy – the 1000SW with its additional Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G capabilities. Of course the number on the price tag increases quite a bit with each one so you’ll have to ask yourself a few questions around your realistic usage before choosing.

The handwriting functions aided with the included stylus means that this is more than just an ebook reader. It’s an endless notepad too, accept all those trees will be spared. The touch screen is also the main centre of navigation too, rather than a 4pointer nav wheel and buttons but don’t go losing that stylus because you’ll find that your finger just won’t cut it.

Against the iRex 1000s is the battery life. Just a measly 10-15 hours that will prove to be costly for those using it for essential business matters. Also, it’s been talked about that there are some bugs and glitches present -from overly long boot up time to unplanned shut downs and frustrating navigation unresponsiveness.  I’ve yet to witness much worth talking about though. What I see when comparing this to the iRex Iliad is faster page turning. It’s about twice as fast as anything else I’ve messed around with which is a great leap forward in my mind.

IRex are up there as one of the leaders in the field at the moment but they still don’t seem to be capturing the attention of the everyman on the street. With this iRex 1000 series they’ll have a market but you won’t be seeing it on the bus on the way to work. It’s a serious bit of kit for those serious work-a-holics who demand the latest techie stuff to make them even more efficient. A good buy if you’ve got the reasons to need it and the cash in your pocket.

iRex 1000s Specifications

Input and output
Capacitive buttons with optical feedback
Mini-USB connector
Wacom® penabled® touch sensor input with Stylus

Media formats supported
Unsecured Text: Adobe® PDF, TXT, HTML
Image: JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF and BMP
DRM Text: Mobipocket PRC

Storage Capacity
1GB Removable SD card (replaceable with larger SD cards)
Holds over 1000 documents or pictures

Display
10.2 Inch (diagonal) electronic paper display
1024 x 1280 pixel resolution at 160 pixels per inch
16-level grey scale

System requirements
Windows® XP or Vista®
USB Port (optimal with USB 2.0)
800MHz processor
128MB RAM minimum
25MB minimum available hard drive space

Power
Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
Recharging time 5 hours with USB charging from powered computer

Languages
German, Dutch, English, French (with more to come in the future)

Box contents
iRex Digital Reader 1000S
Stylus
USB cable
Quick start guide

iRex, a subsidiary partner of the reputable Philips, had some commendable initial success with the first edition iLiad and have made some clever moves with this 2nd edition in their iLiad ebook reader range.

Positioning it as more than just a book reader, iRex have highlighted the functionality that enables you to read and write just like you’d be able to do on your paper note pad or printed out documents. The impressive upgrade has a new battery life which proves to have a convenient 20% increase in longevity than the first iLiad, even with the WiFi on.

Another great feature is the easy transfer between PC and the iLiad. Whatever you have that’s printable on the computer can be taken with you, read and marke- up on the go with this ebook reader using the USB, Compact flash or MMC card in the hardware’s available slot.

In terms of looks and design you’ll be pleased, whether comparing it to the first version, or as a new iRex iLiad customer. Whilst not as flash and curvy as some of the others on the market it is robust and confident in it’s looks. The iLiad v2 is sturdy on table tops and in the hand. It’s easy to hold, whether just reading or interacting with it using the sylus.

In summary, the upsides of this ebook reader are the resolution. At 160dpi and 16 level of greyscale, the reading experience is very good. There are heaps of free ebooks, into the thousands, through the Mobipocket platform . The touch screen and stylus do give it that extra usage and usability too.

Against the iLiad v2 is the price tag though. It’s significantly more expensive than many others at over £500 in many stores. But you can pick up some cheaper ones online. I’ve found some in the range of £450 in some places so do have a search around. Some buzz around the blogs would suggest that there are doubts around iRex’s claims of a long battery life. Let us know if you have one and have experienced this.  Some are recommending using the MMC or CF instead of the SD car, which has proven to be problematic. There’s no suspend mode which some will find annoying and last but not least, if it breaks down don’t expect a quick turnaround. The warranty is return to base in Germany.

Overall, this is a solid ebook reader. The iRex iLiad v2 is a good move on fromthe first edition but you’ll need a depp pcoket to justify buying it over some of the far cheaper ones that have entered the market more recently.

iRex iLiad 2nd edition Specifications:

• Model number: ER0140-002-000
• Intel XScale-PXA255 rev 6 (v5l). CPU running at 400Mhz/100MHz with firmware 2.11
• 64MB DRAM (roughly 48MB available to applications)
• 8.1″ 1024×768 – 16 grayscale e-paper (E Ink) screen
• 256MB FLASH (128MB available via USB for storage)
• Wacom Penabled touch screen
• Linux Operating System
• MMC slot (MMC and SD up to 1 GB, SD cards must be SD spec. 1.0 compliant)
• CF slot (support for up to 32GB cards and microdrives) Memory cards list
• Built in monaural speaker
• 802.11 b/g WiFi (specs)
• 10/100 Ethernet (requires travel hub)
• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack
• Docking port, currently only used by travel hub
• Wacom stylus and slot to hold it when not in use
• USB 1.1 with Type A port on unit and Type B port on travel hub
• Battery (v1): ATL 513475, 1100mAh @ 3.7V, proprietary, not customer replaceable. Charging time 3-4 hours.