Thursday, July 10, 2008

The 'iLiad' Reader

The world of reading is undergoing a revolution. Though some people say that books can never be replaced, electronic media is quickly overtaking the print media.

I made the transition from paper to electronic screens years ago, and have never looked back. I now just download books off the Internet for free, and can carry hundreds at a time. However, I have faced problems like reading in full sunlight, and low battery life.

I've recently come across the product called the 'iLiad'. It's one of the first devices on the market to use 'Electronic Paper'! This product is simply amazing. The screen is just like normal paper in it's consistency, and reflective properties. This means, that all things being equal, you cannot tell whether you're reading real paper, or from Electronic Paper.

Another cool feature, is that it doesn't draw power while it is displaying text! Since it uses reflective technology instead of a traditional backlight, I can read for hours on end without fearing for my battery life.

Manufactured by iRex Technologies, the iLiad consists of a display area of 124x152mm with a resolution of 768x1024 pixels (160 dpi). It runs on a Linux OS and has the dimensions of an A5 document.

Different people like to use different readers for their ebooks. The iLiad offers wide variety of formats in which books can be read like text, pdf, HTML, and recently, Mobipocket. Mobipocket is a popular reading program for Palm and Pocket PC based devices that I happen to use myself.

I'm also a big comic fan, and the iLiad makes it easy for me to view my JPG images as they are really appear on paper. I'm hooked! The existing Palmtops and Pocket PC's were always too small to read full blown comics on, and reading them on the computer means that I can't curl up on the bed with one. With the iLiad in my hands, it's just like the good ol days, with the blanket, and late night reading!

Since it's Linux based, others can write programs for it, extending it's usefullness to one and all. A truly magic breakthrough for avid book lovers like me!

You can find the best prices for the iLiad at PriceAlerter.Com.

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