SlashGear is reporting that Irex, who had filed for bankruptcy, has secured a new round of financing. In September they will be launching IRX Innovations which will focus on the enterprise market, rather than on the consumer segment. According to a Dutch Financial website (in Google translation): The Eindhoven company iRex, a spinoff from Philips, went bankrupt late June after an adventure on the American market had failed. The company hoped the lines of Amazon and Sony reader for the U.S. to win, but came too late and too expensive digital reading boards. Nine years with corporate e-readers produced a...

As the iPad emerges as a powerful force for e-reading, the fate of dedicated e-book devices is either dim or bright, depending on who you talk to. Last week, Jeff Bezos made a lot of sound and fury about how well the Kindle is selling, but since he keeps all sales figures close to his chest it’s not at all certain what it signifies. Now Wired has a story about how the iPad is killing off some of the shakier e-reader companies, whose prospects were unclear even before its launch: Audiovox, iRex, Plastic Logic, and Cool-er have all...

Thanks to a tweet by edejager, I picked this up on the eReaders website. The original text is in Dutch and here is a Google translation: The Dutch company iRex Technologies has applied for suspension of payments, reports the FD. Disappointing sales of the DR800, the last descendant of the iRex ereaderfamilie have led to financial difficulties which the company has been trapped, said Hans Brons CEO iRex-. Philips spinoff iRex Technologies was the foundation of electronic paper as currently applied in many eReaders. The company launched in 2006, the iLiad eReader, one of the first commercially available eReaders which...

Got the following email from Bruce Wilson: A short lab test in the July 2010 issue. I paraphrase and quote: Opening line: "Amazon's Kindle e-readers are still the best choice for most consumers." "In our comprehensive tests, the Kindle, $260, and its supersized sibling, the Kindle [DX], $490, had crisper, more readable type than any other e-reader in the Ratings and better than the iPad's (see sidebar)." The Ratings: 6- to 7-inch screens: 63 Kindle 60 Sony Reader Daily edition 56 Sony Reader Daily Touch 52 Nook 51 BeBook Neo 8- to 10-inch screen: 65 Kindle [DX] 49 iRex DR 800SG For text readability, both Kindles are rated above average. All others are average....

K. Tempest Bradford at Tor.com has posted a brief rundown of 8 different e-book readers, ranging from his favorite (the Spring Design Alex) down to his least favorite (the iRex DR800SG). There’s not a lot to argue with, as it’s mostly his opinions, but it’s interesting to see what other people think. Meanwhile, Engadget has an in-depth look at the Spring Design Alex. On the whole, they found it enjoyable to use (with just a few minor caveats), but note that commercial e-books and an app store will not be available until the summer, and the $399 price...

Wired's Dylan Tweney has looked at 10 ereaders and tablets and rates each one. Nothing new here, but it's interesting to see how the ratings compare. Top rated are the Kindle 2, Kindle DX and the iPhone 3GS. Bottom rated are the Entourage Edge, Archos 9, and the Sony Reader Daily Edition. Go over and take a look at the rest....

There have been a number of recent reviews of this unit and all of them have been less than favorable. Smart Bitches, by SB Sarah, now chimes in and feels the same way as the rest of the crowd. You. Can only. Use. The Stylus. To Interact. With the Screen. Seriously. I poked at the screen, pushed the buttons on the side, looked at the back. I handed it to Hubby and asked if he could figure out how to turn the page. Both of us were all, “WTF?” Then, I realized: it wouldn’t react to my fingers or my fingernails. Just...

Here's another review. This time from The-eBook-Reader. The reviewer likes the unit but feel that it is priced too high. Here's a video that was included in the review: ...

Here is the video review that comprises part 1. Background info and more pictures at the site here. ...

Best Tablet Review reported this and I checked and it is indeed on the Best Buy site. The price is $400 and it has an 8.1 inch screen with a 1024x768 resolution. The digitizer is a Wacom unit, so you should really accurate stylus tracking. The unit has 3G wireless, but nothing in the specs on the Best Buy site says what it will connect to. Their press release, linked below, says that there will be phased in-store access in the coming months. If you go to the IREX site, however, they say that the 3G, provided by...

According to Bright.nl, Dutch quality daily NRC Handelsblad sold 500 Iliad + subscription combos last week. The Iliad is Irex' E Ink based, A5-sized reading device with touch screen. Last week, NRC Handelsblad was the first Dutch newspaper to start selling Iliads combined with subscriptions. An Iliad with subscription costs 700 euro, but if you already have a subscription NRC will sell you an Iliad for 500 euro (Irex' price: 650 without the newspaper subscription). A year's subscription on the electronic paper costs 190 euro. NRC had expected to sell the first 500 devices in a month, and delivery may...