iRiver Story HD Google Ebook Reader Review - EEVblog #188

[coolmoed76]

Schöne Seite für Ebookreader Vergleiche und Kaufberatungen ebookreader-schnell.de

[SplashOfArtStudios]

Just picked mine up from Target :) 52.49 after tax ^_^ I dont care IT ROCKS!!! Especially for half the price of the kindle :P

[artstamos1]

You Can Save the zoom factor on pdf once you set it.

[Walkr]

$49 at target right now (still says $99 on the shelf though)

[ewanstanley]

thanks for the info

[crazylollylover]

how do i change the screensaver on the this iriver?

[whtkdrlwkd1]

i was wondering if Amazon Kindle can support Asian language(Korean) and do they all can just support book (for example if i have txt files or words files and put on those device, can i just read it? if not do i have to buy ALL the books i want to read?)

[Lscstudent]

May be the ghost images on the iRiver are designed on purpose, it would be like reading a dictionary with thin see through pages.

[fourbarposer]

The text definitely looks better on the iRiver due to the higher resolution, but the contrast is also definitely worse. I color picked from the video: the iRiver text is -10 RGB and background is +10 RGB compared to the Kindle, so clearly worse contrast.

[EEVblog]

@fourbarposer Yep, I concur.

[erfan1234567]

That was a great comparison.. Thanks EEVblog :)

[CaminanteSilenc]

Numbers in the margin have sense. They indicate the page you are reading. Remember that changing the font also changes the number of virtual pages. But in this way the line with the number always indicates the real page according to a medium font. In that way you can continue reading from page 65 without worrying about font repaging issues.

[aortizc82]

I like my kindle more after watching this review :)

[Kottus89]

Really , he should read basic manual of that and after that judge some things :P realy and that talk about box ... my god ... who cares ... , but he got point about little number of options mostly visual . i forgot say about speed . he should check that on same books and on the same pages , that should be more judgmental .

[Ephabia]

And I don't see the point in a HD display either, the first thing I did was to increase the font size on the Kindle. This would make sense for reading PDFs with a lot of technical diagrams but you generally don't want to do that on a 6'' display, especially if the downside is increased ghosting.

[EEVblog]

@Ephabia You can't just increase the font size on PDF's because it's a page based format, not an ebook friendly format that allows font resizing and dynamic page sizing.

[Ephabia]

Everything about this device looked like one step forward and two steps back. For example, adding an expansion slot was a good idea but why do you need it if the device doesn't have any audio capabilities? You certainly don't need and expansion slot for books. This completely baffles me considering iRiver is primarily a portable media player manufacturer!

[slimjim1520]

Wow this isnt biased at ALL

[EEVblog]

@slimjim1520 You disagree with anything I've said?

[slimjim1520]

@EEVblog well i think that there should of been a little bit more research into this device before making a review. like what exactly is the small number on the side....it marks the actual page number at that line since not all books are the same size....second this video is more of a comparison rather than a review. It seems that any difference from the iRiver to the kindle is pointed out and almost ridiculed...ofcoarse the devices are not going to be same...

[EEVblog]

@slimjim1520 It's an "off-the-cuff" blog. Comparisons with the market leading Kindle are fully justified, and what I think people want to know. It gives a good benchmark. I would have expected a much newer device to the Kindle to have either better performance and/or better features, it has neither apart from the screen and SD card.

So you don't actually disagree with anything I've technically said, you just don't like it, that's fine.

Bottom line - it's my review, I do it my way.

[slimjim1520]

@EEVblog this is your blog and you can do it your way. My point in all of this is that (according to the title) this is suppose to be a review and not a biased comparison. Its like an apple fanboy doing a review on the Zune. Your not suppose to bash on the differences and most reviews do some research before hand which appears that you did not. Once again your right it is your blog and if you want to do a biased comparison the go for it. there is nothing stopping you. Just reword your title.

[EEVblog]

@slimjim1520 I clearly state in the description that it includes a comparison to the Kindle 3.

It's not a biased comparison, I think it's a fair comparison.

If you don't like the comparison bits, ignore them, and just take it as a review.

Even iRiver themselves were comparing it with the Kindle at the last CES show, check out the videos of the show.

And if you think I'm doing a bad job at a review, how about YOU do a review? Post it as a video response.

[wolfchimneyrock]

is the iRiver Story HD an android device, and can install android apps from the google app store? The limitation of the amazon for downloading apps is pretty severe

[ccmtor]

use the free program Calibre to manage your ebooks. you can take any text or pdf and convert it to an ebook for your reader. i download books i want to read as pdf and convert them for my kindle.

[videofuturo]

Amazing review, can I convert my pdf to iriver story Hd ? I will preciate your answer!

[woodijz]

Is that really rfid tag or just theft prevention sticker with simple LC tank circuit inside?

[EEVblog]

@woodijz Give that it was right inside the box, I think a factory RFID tag. Unless K-mart opened every single box and resealed without a mark. Or had iRiver package it at the factory?

[woodijz]

@EEVblog I have seen three different tags inside factory packaging in US, so it could be packaged to order.

[InsurgentX]

"intelligent design is a philosophy of ignorance"

The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster in the Sky shall smite thee with His Pasta Penis for such Blasphemy! Repent Nao!

[nikodem55]

The comparison to the Kindle may not be exactly fair as you had not updated the software upon usage. Granted, a message popped up askin you to only dissappear from the screen, although I'm sure there was a way to do it manually.

Lots of consumer manufacturers rush the release of new products and make significant improvements after tha product launch.

[EEVblog]

@nikodem55 Rushed? This product was previewed at CES 6 months back I believe. I think it's fair to review something out of the box.

[spelunkerd]

With that SD card slot, can you use it to backup photos from a digital camera? How much storage capacity does it have? Of course with black and white display it can't do much with photos, but backup would be useful while traveling....

[EEVblog]

@spelunkerd Yes, it's just an regular SD card. I don't think it displays them though.

[bulby130]

I use metric measurements

[daweiatwork]

where did you get that t-shirt ? lol

[EEVblog]

@daweiatwork I made it myself.

[Zwank36]

Worst thing about having to open packages with a knife is, that its illegal to carry them around with you in Aus >_>

[EEVblog]

@Zwank36 Yes, but there are half a dozen reason you ARE allowed to carry one. In NSW, that includes work, sport, and peeling fruit among others.

[xpd259]

glad I saw this review I was tempted but ditch the kindle 3 but looks like i'm staying wth the kindle 3 for a while yet. shame google don't set up the website for kindle to access it via teh built  in web browser

[yeoldeengineer]

Re: reflow not working on the PDF... the file has to explicitly support that ("tagged PDF").

In Adobe Reader, reflowing (Ctrl+4 on 8.x/Win) can actually be turned on even for untagged files, but the result is pretty messy. It tends to be OK on tagged ones, depending on how they were generated.

[eraser1112]

You are testing page turn speed with different font sizes. The iRiver must show more text so the test is not credible.

[eraser1112]

The page number "jumps" because it indicates a page number of printed version, so you could quote. It's called pagination.

[rroge5]

its still alot faster at changing page than a real book.

[williefleete]

i'd rather keep my kindle :) yep i got myself a kindle and i mostly love the thing, has some instabilities that requires a hard reboot aside from that its miles better than the i river i think. also -1 Celsius is about 30 Fahrenheit

[tekipaku]

looking forward to the teardown

[kekejojo1212]

especially with the recent price decrease on the kindle, i see no reason to buy the new iriver. it seems to be an inferior product with less features and its more expensive! it seems like they need to get all the problems worked out. much prefer amazon's kindle. and i bet amazon will probably respond again with a brand new model..i think the next obvious thing will be the color touchscreen. reminds me of apple..making a new model for every tiny improvement.

[dumyyyyyy]

Very helpful as always! Thankyou!

[adamlumpkins2000]

Dave how dose that image on the screen when you open the box use no power?

[EEVblog]

@adamlumpkins2000 Look up E-ink display technology. I believe it's actually (dark) particles that either float or sink in liquid or something, and only requires power to raise or lower them. Hence uses no power when not being switched.

[adamlumpkins2000]

@EEVblog Thanx Dave for the reply!!! Kool stuff!

[fknrdcls]

Datasheets and other PDF reference material is exactly the thing I want an ereader for. Thanks for covering that, very helpful. Looks like we might finally have a winner for a cheap ereader for PDFs.

[EEVblog]

@fknrdcls I'd still much prefer a 9" screen for that. Are there any cheap 9" E-ink readers around?

[Vlakpage]

@EEVblog Yeah, I'd like to see A4 size reader with large, good resolution display. I guess it's just few years away until it becames common

[EEVblog]

@Vlakpage Yeah, I'd buy that in an instant. Just an A4 screen and an SD card. No need for wireless even. Keep the cost ultra low.

[fknrdcls]

@EEVblog Not that I know of but check out the 13" noteslate tablet on engadget it is potentially the ideal solution to that. It looks fkn cool! Will pm link.

[Films4You]

39:11 but fly's prefer the iRiver Story HD, (LOL)

[EEVblog]

@Films4You Yeah, LOL!

[Lachlant1984]

I know this channel is meant for advanced electronics engineers, but I think it's wonderful that you're reviewing some consumer devices that mere laymen like me can use without knowing anything about electronics. I'm really surprised the Story HD downs' have any audio capabilities, I mean iRiver are known for their MP3 players aren't they? And because the Kindle has speech output it can be used by people who are blind and vision impaired, that's great, but not the iRiver, that's a shame.

[Films4You]

3:22 helps Spy on where users are using it and what they are doing with it, (Tongue-in-Cheek., joke almost)

Great displays, try them out in the sunshine. Looks at how the light dazzles off the camera lights so can't be read

[kekejojo1212]

really thorough review and great camera work. i really got a sense of what its like. thanks dave! looking forward to a teardown! :)

[SandyStarchild]

fedex sucks.

[netcore2k]

I noticed when you tried to sign in to your Google ebooks account the wifi symbol at the top showed you were offline.

[gray23n1]

Man, how can you not like this guy.?

[7jason21]

wow I didn't even notice that this was almost 45 min! Excellent review, can't wait to see more...

[heroineworshipper]

What kind of voltage regulator does it use?

[donpalmera]

Shame about the brown.

[davidsfc9]

i've got the sony one. i like the touch screen , it's really handy

[ivaneduardo747]

I hate these kind of joysticks. They are like switch-mod power supplies: is so easy to mess them up badly. The only difference is that you feel the cheapness of the joystick.

[yoshaki]

Great review. I love your videos.

I have to agree my first impression compared to the K3, is ehh. I don't really see anything I like. I didn't get to use the new navigation button like you did, but looking at it via the video I don't think I would like that. I also love the K3's huge advantage with the dictionary by being able to just scroll through the page and see a word. I didn't think I would use that feature very much, but i'm surprised by how often I do.

[compaq1275]

The RFID is so libraries can check them out to people.

[SkaOfCA]

Don't turn it on.... Take it apart?

[MandolinMan0001]

What happened to taking it apart dave?!

[EEVblog]

@MandolinMan0001 I usually do teardowns separately these days, as the reviews are long enough, and some people just like the teardowns. I think it's better for most that way??

[Vlakpage]

@EEVblog Yeah it's better and I watch the teardown first anyway :) It's short enough to watch when I don't have enough time for both

[adamlumpkins2000]

@EEVblog Yea Dave you are right some people are more interested in the "take it apart" section of the review/teardown. I have got alot of good ideas from you taking shit apart!!

[c436237]

@EEVblog As you have done both reviews & teardowns it portrays a lack of bias with some brain activity. If you do teardowns only it might be perceived as being negative. If you do only reviews it might be portrayed as you're receiving a tip. So balance might be the key. Anyhow great reviews as usual dude!

[JohnBailey39]

Quick note about the page numbers..

It's an ePub thing. Some readers display it on the side margin, some(not as annoying) on the status bar. But the page numbers are hard coded into the ePub file, and are actual page numbers, independent of font size. Which is why they jump around page to page.

Otherwise, nice review. Pity about the ghosting. I get it on my old Cybook Gen3 if I turn off the full screen refresh on page turn. Perhaps a firmware update could refresh more thoroughly and fix it.

[EEVblog]

@JohnBailey39 Ah, there you go. Figured it was something like that.

[ciprianwiner]

great review dave

[Edison1252]

Great review! But I'm not giving up my Kindle3 either. No audio? I love playing classical music on my Kindle while I read.

[mitpatterson]

"Sitting in the bath tub holding it" really dave? you take your kindle in the tub with you?

[EEVblog]

@mitpatterson Yes, really.

[Films4You]

@mitpatterson Some may have been hoping to see Dave in the Bath and get a review of......

[Films4You]

21:38 see the Ghost ink again, very bad here

[Films4You]

@Films4You Or is it meant to have these faint lines?

[38911bytefree]

This display is like BCD (Varitronix) technology ?

[EEVblog]

@38911bytefree No, it is E-Ink display technology.