iriver Story

iriver Story HD e-reader hits the FCC, US retailers next?

2011-04-22T04:59:00.001+02:00

Stay tuned! and don't miss the big news we're getting ready for!

We'll be back with better visibilty and other surprises.

We haven't heard much about iriver's Story HD e-reader since it quite literally landed in our laps at CES back in January, but it looks like it might now finally be nearing a US launch. The e-reader has just turned up at the FCC, where's it's been thoroughly tested and dissected (see the link below for some additional evidence). That's not always a sure sign that a US launch is imminent, but it does seem likely in this case -- especially considering that iriver has already lined up a number of US content partnerships for the device. As for the e-reader itself, it's similar in size to the Kindle and packs a 6-inch 1024 x 768 display, along with an 800MHz Coretx A8 processor, 2GB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, and WiFi connectivity. In other words, it remains unchanged from CES, which means our preview is just as relevant as ever.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/21/iriver-story-hd-e-reader-hits-the-fcc-us-retailers-next/

By Donald Melanson

iriver Story HD versus Amazon Kindle

2011-01-09T05:40:00.000+01:00

Here's a preview of 'Story HD', our upcoming e-reader.
Take a closer look at its amazing XGA resolution! It comes with a video comparing to the 3rd-gen Kindle!
Find out the difference yourself!

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/iriver-story-hd-e-reader-hands-on/

iriver Unveils The World’s Highest Resolution 6” eBook Reader At CES 2011

2011-01-09T05:22:00.001+01:00

iriver Teams Up With LG Display To Introduce The iriver Story HD eBook Reader With The Best Legibility Ever, Wi-Fi and Rapid Response

Irvine, CA -- iriver, the award-winning producer of stylish digital devices, unveils the new iriver Story HD eBook at CES 2011, the world’s first 6” XGA (768x1024) eBook reader with 63.8% more pixels and faster page turns than the competition.

The iriver Story HD provides outstanding legibility with crisp fonts, fast response and high performance with an advanced processor from Freescale Semiconductor based on ARM® Cortex technology and automatic, built-in Wi-Fi. The eBook will be able to access content through the major content partner.

The Story HD will also be equipped with the Easy Wi-Fi Network(www.easywifi.com) feature so that users can access any open or subscribed Wi-Fi hot spots automatically without log-in process. Easy WiFi is the the world's largest WiFi network, and with the network supporting thousands of providers, users can also personalize access by extending Easy WiFi to any personal WiFi accounts as well. The service features a map to locate hot spots, classified by capability. Users can find hot spots, get connected, and personalize access, for free.

Chulmin Lee (COO of iriver Ltd. and President of iriver Inc.), said, “iriver is excited to unveil the iriver Story HD at CES as a world’s first. No other eBook features a higher resolution, and users will appreciate fast page-turn performance and the chic design that is the hallmark of iriver. ”

The slim and lightweight e-reader features the signature; sleek, iriver style, QWERTY keypad, a curve with two-tone colors at the front and back for easy grip and slim design. The Story HD has buttons located from the side to the center of the keypad, featuring the up/down layout instead of the right/left design to make the unit more user friendly than other eBooks – other models feature the right/left buttons for flipping pages.

The iriver Story HD has a 3-week battery life, making it ideal for travel, and supports Adobe EPUB and PDF formats with DRM.

In June 2010, iriver and LG Display established a joint venture for the OEM development production and sales of e-Books. Iriver is responsible for product design, accumulated knowledge on e-book technology, including designs and platform development, as well as technical assistance within the joint-venture. LG Display, with its global sales network and world class production skills, provides a stable supply of e-book displays, such as electronic paper displays (EPD).

The iriver Story HD will be competitively priced and available in the second quarter of 2011.

About iriver, Inc.

iriver Inc. is the award-winning producer of iriver digital A/V devices, owned by iriver, Ltd., the global digital A/V product powerhouse. Since its founding in 1999, iriver has become renowned for its product innovation, style-driven technology, and track record of market dominance. The company’s ever expanding digital product lines include: Multimedia Devices (MP3. MP4, PMP, DMB), Network Devices (Home Media Center, Wi-Fi Network, Navigation products) and Content Devices (E-Dictionary, E-Book). For more information on iriver and its product lines, please visit: www.iriver.com.

Cover Story signs up with Waterstones,

2010-11-22T03:43:00.002+01:00

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. Once upon a time there was an ebook reader and a book shop. This is their story: the iriver Cover Story.
The Cover Story ebook reader boasts a 6-inch, 600x800-pixel E Ink touchscreen, which lets you write notes and flick through pages by swiping a finger left or right.

The reader gives you access to the Waterstones ebook store when you want to download a cracking read. (While you're there, there's a rather good sale on old-fashioned dead-tree graphic novels by the likes of Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns. And if you feel like buying Crave a Christmas present, we'd like the Big Box of Biggles, please.)

You can choose a version with or without 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, but there's no 3G model. They both support EPUB, PDF, TXT, FB2 and DJVU formats, as well as JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG images. You can also check your email and view Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents. A dictionary, MP3 player and stereo speakers are built in, with 2GB of memory and an SD card slot.

The Cover Story follows the iriver Story into action against the likes of the Amazon Kindle 3G and Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-650. The touchscreen is pretty cool, and gives you a bigger reading area rather than taking up space with a physical keyboard. E Ink touchscreens can be a more reflective than the usual E Ink displays though, so try before you buy in your local branch of Waterstones.

The Cover Story is available in white for £150, online and from branches of Waterstones. The Wi-Fi model is silver and costs £170.

more information here!
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/iriver-cover-story-signs-up-with-waterstones-for-ebook-excitement-50001652/

Cover Story Firmware Update V1.07

2010-11-16T11:59:00.000+01:00

Here's the brand new Firmware Update for the iriver Cover Story. Version 1.07 now supports a "bold font" function as well as several small things that improve your everyday experience with the Cover Story. Read all the details after the jump and get the new firmware update right here.

Firmware V1.07 Changes:

1. Adding " bold on/off " function of fonts for improving the legibillty.
2. Improving the "virtual keyboard" in practical use.
   - Can erase something continuously only by keeping the pressure on "Back-space key"
   - Removing of afterimage when inputing the data.
   - Changing the color of web browser scroll bar
   - Correction of reception quality in "163.com" (only vailid for Chinese version)

Pictures from Frankfurt Book Fair

2010-10-15T11:42:00.000+02:00

The Frankfurt Book Fair closed its doors last week and I hope many of you found the time to take a closer look at the iriver booth with the new e-book readers. In case you're on the other side of the world, here's some pictures for you (and more after the jump).

A closer look at the Cover Story

2010-10-06T22:00:00.000+02:00

Here's a little video I did for you to find out about all the important features of the iriver Cover Story. This should help all of you to get an impression of what this new e-book readers is capable of doing. If you can, check it out in HD and full screen size, so you have a good look at the display and the menu. Enjoy!

Firmware Update v.1.06 for the Cover Story

2010-10-05T11:05:00.000+02:00

This was released yesterday and should be great news for all users of the wireless version of the Cover Story. With the new firmware update v.1.06 the WiFi Cover Story OS now supports IMAP email accounts. Other changes include support of msn and yahoo emails and a new calibration of the touch screen.

Download: iriver Cover Story Firmware Update v.1.06

iriver Cover Story European Commercial

2010-10-04T13:13:00.000+02:00

This is the european commercial for the iriver Cover Story.

german "test" magazine rates iriver Story

2010-09-28T11:39:00.001+02:00

This is brand new on the newsstands for everybody in Germany. The highly renowned "test" magazine has taken a closer look on all e-book readers that are currently on the german market, including the iriver Story. I'm not really surprised but very happy to see the iriver Story come in at a very close second place (with a tie in quality and tech spec ratings with the #1 spot). This should be very helpful for the launch of iriver's touch screen e-reader "Cover Story" which will be available in Germany in only a few days from now.

"Test" magazine and the publishing company behind it ("Stiftung Warentest") is highly influential on the german market and can boost product sales as well as destroy it, especially when they find out that products are dangerous, of poor quality or not suitable. More pictures after the break.

Goodbye from IFA

2010-09-10T11:01:00.000+02:00

Thanks to everybody that visited us at the iriver booth and checked out all of our new products. The Cover Story impressed many people and the overall feedback for the products, the design and the booth was amazing. We are very grateful and hope to see all of you next year in Berlin!

introducing: the iriver Cover Story

2010-09-07T10:09:00.000+02:00

If you were one of the many visitors of the iriver booth at this year's IFA trade show, you probably already found out about our newest addition to the iriver family. The Cover Story is a brand new e-book reader and the first full touch screen reading device develped by iriver. With a stunning 6" e-ink display and only 280g of wheight, this multifunctional device is the highlight for all visitors of the iriver exhibition at the IFA. The Cover Story will be available in a wifi and a non-wifi version and features great new applications like a built-in dictionary, memos and snapshots, handwritten notes and remarks in all your ebooks as well as the traditional iriver apps like voice recording or a high-quality mp3 player. 16 supported languages makes the Cover Story the most international e-book reader on the market and the design speaks for itself. More pictures after the jump.

Pictures from IFA 2010

2010-09-04T08:25:00.000+02:00

The IFA trade show 2010 in Berlin opened its doors yesterday and many visitors, journalists and industry insiders found their way through the many halls of this big exhibition. Of course iriver is part of this years gathering as well to present all of the new iriver products that are out right now or scheduled to be released within the next weeks and months. Here's some pictures of the very stylish booth iriver has in hall 17.1, I'll give you an update of the new products that are being introduced to the public very soon. More pictures after the break.

iriver at the IFA 2010, Berlin

2010-08-31T23:56:00.000+02:00

For those of you who don't know, the IFA trade show in Berlin is the biggest exhibition of consumer electronics and home appliances. Of course iriver and the iriver Story will present all of their new products and their current bestsellers on this years IFA as well. I promise, we'll have quite a few surprises for you!

In case you wanna visit us, you'll find us in hall 17.1, booth 125. Tickets are not really expensive and can be purchased online and at the box office every day from September 3rd to September 8th. We'd love to see you there!

New Twitter Giveaway: Domino Dish

2010-07-13T17:30:00.001+02:00

Yes! Starting today we have a brand new Twitter giveaway! Become a new follower of the official iriver Story Twitter account untill July 20th and you might be one of 3 lucky winners of a brand new Domino Dish USB stick, the beatufully designed USB flash drive by iriver. Check out the picture above and you'll see that there's no prettier USB stick on the market right now. A great addition to your iriver Story and right in time for your summer holiday! Retweet this!

Using the Story's leather case

2010-07-08T06:29:00.003+02:00

This is a nice little demo video for the brown leather case for the iriver Story.

Again, the specifications are:
1) Color : Brown
2) Material : PU/Plastic/Band
3) Size: 150*220*15(mm)

Using Story's carrying case (/w white EVA bag)

2010-07-08T04:16:00.002+02:00

This is a video for the Story's carrying case that has been available for quite a while now. As you can see, it can be used both ways, with or without the EVA bag, depending on if you prefer the clean design of the case or the practical use of the bag.

Review: Purchasing the Story (By Andrew Mason)

2010-07-07T12:56:00.002+02:00

"My iriver Story eBook reader arrived on Friday. I've had the weekend to explore its features and see how well it performs. These are my initial thoughts about the device. Hopefully it'll help anyone else who might be considering purchasing one.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the main purpose of the eBook reader for me is to do away with my hefty O'Reilly books and allow me to read to and from work. Therefore, easy of use and legibility were my primary concerns.
First thing I was impressed with was the size and weight of the device. Being roughly the same size as a small paperback and around the same weight, the iriver Story is ideal to carry around. It's a shame that it doesn't ship with a case, or even a protective bag, as the screen looks as if it could be damaged by the slightest pressure. However, being the size of a small paperback it shouldn't be difficult to find a suitable case.
I had ready online that eBook readers suffer from poor page turning speeds, apparently the Kindle is painfully slow. So I was pleasantly surprised to see speed isn't an issue with the iriver Story. Loading a 500 page .epub book takes around five seconds and a page turn is half a second. Pages turn by re-drawing the whole screen, so there is a noticeable black flicker between turns, but this is a necessary occurrence due to the E-Ink technology being used.

Font size is handled well, with three levels of zoom available. I'm happy with the default zoom level that has a nice balance between legibility and the number words on the page. There is also the ability to add your own fonts, but unfortunately this only apples to .txt files and not .epub or .pdfs. I'm hoping this will be resolved in the next firmware update.
Transferring files onto the reader was very simple. The devices shows up on the computer as a removable storage device by plugging it in via USB. Dragging and dropping files is all that is required. Unplugging and switching the reader on again will update the internal database and you're ready to read.
It's still early days with the iriver Story, and this week will be the real test as I use it every day on the busy London underground. But so far I'm very pleased with the purchase."

Review by Andrew Mason

http://blog.coderonfire.com/iriver-story-ebook-reader-review

iriver Story retail partners: Hugendubel (Germany)

2010-06-30T09:02:00.014+02:00

In order to give you an impression of the strategic partnerships of the iriver Story and to let you know where to get everything regarding the Story in your direct neighborhood, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the iriver Story retail partners all around the world.
In this first episode we focus on the book store chain Hugendubel in Germany. Hugendubel owns 42 stores in 21 cities all over Germany and an online store with a great selection of books, e-books and audio books. Hugendubel also sells the iriver Story and Story accessory like cases. The ebook section of Hugendubel consists of more than 30.000 books from all genres that are available for immediate download and contain mostly german and some international releases. All current bestsellers are part of this selection too. Most of the e-books offered by Hugendubel come in the file formats .epub or .pdf.
And to round it all up, of course the iriver Story e-reader is being sold at all Hugendubel stores as well. Stop by today and check them out, Hugendubel's always worth a visit. More pictures after the break.

new brown leather case for the Story

2010-06-29T11:38:00.000+02:00

This brand new, chocolate brown leather case for the iriver Story is what many have been asking for as an alternative to the light colored carrying case that has been the only choice available up to now. The dark brown leather of this beautiful case makes the Story look even more classy and classic and compliments the minimal design of the e-reader. It's very stable and holds the Story firmly and safe to protect it in the best possible way.
If you want to update the design of your Story, the dark brown case is available in Korea, Japan, China, the Middle East & Russia.

The pros and cons of electronic paper

2010-06-22T15:43:00.003+02:00

(click to enlarge image)

Up till now, paper has been the uncontested material for use in writing and reading. Let’s take a look at its pros and cons. Paper is inexpensive, light, flexible, easy to write or record on, and we can see what's on the paper itself as long as there is sufficient light: this is the greatest advantage of paper. On the other hand, it’s not easy to change writing on paper and edit its content once the sheet has been marked. Readers and writers have been forced to accept the nature of paper as a “single-use” material. E-paper has been developed to capitalize the advantages of paper and mitigate its drawbacks. It inherently provides all the benefits of paper and also has electronic advantages such as a wide viewing angle, visibility under normal sunlight and low power consumption. E-paper has embedded ink that works electronically, and its micro structure mimics the characteristics of normal paper. Its paper-like appearance is made possible through using an encapsulated EPD (electronic paper display), microcapsules that contain a clear fluid with electrically charged fine particles of 2 kinds of pigments and laid between two electrodes. When electricity is applied, the fine particles are distributed and arranged, replicating the phenomenon of a wet ink being written on paper.

But: Is paper ready to be replaced by e-paper?

E-paper is still far from being a complete substitute for traditional paper.

For e-paper to have all the convenience of regular paper, it must be just as easy to carry around, can be folded and crumpled up, pulled out of a bag or pocket, and its content should be instantly available once it’s unfolded. Furthermore, e-paper should be able to recreate true colors. If e-paper can do all of that, then it will be a real alternative to traditional paper.

We still don’t have foldable, bendable e-paper that can display true colors like normal paper.

Prototypes that provide these benefits have actually been created, but none have been released for commercial use just yet. As technology progresses, a single sheet of e-paper will finally substitute one sheet of traditional paper: it will be foldable and bendable, and can be used to fill newspapers and books.

E-paper’s development brings it closer to being more and more like regular paper.

Iriver & LG Display establish joint venture for e-book business

2010-06-14T09:06:00.004+02:00

 Iriver and LG Display financed a total of 5 million dollars to establish a joint-venture company in Iriver’s China Plant
 Operating an ODM and OEM system to manufacture e-book reader
 Develop and produce leading e-book readers in the global market by generating synergy in the technology and manufacturing aspects

Iriver and LG Display have agreed to establish a joint venture company, ’L&I Electronic Technology (Dongguan) Ltd.’ in China to expand their e-book business.

Each Iriver and LG Display will finance 49% and 51% of the joint venture company, respectively, totaling up to 5 million dollars. The business will be founded on original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original development manufacturing (ODM) systems to develop e-books and provide production services.

Iriver is responsible for product design, accumulated knowledge on e-book technology, including designs and platform development, as well as technical assistance within the joint-venture. And Iriver will be the first customer for the joint venture. LG Display, with its global sales network and world class production skills, will be in charge of providing a stable supply of e-book displays, such as electronic paper displays (EPD) to the joint venture.

Iriver expects to gain a stronger market presence in both the domestic and global e-book markets as it will gain a price competitive e-book reader supplier from the new relationship. The prospect for LG Display also seems bright. It will stand out from its competitors by securing a stable distribution line for its e-book displays, while also making its debut in the final product business.

Jae Woo Lee, CEO of Iriver, said, “The joint-venture is significant in that it lays the foundation for a more stable and competitive manufacturing line. If we succeed in generating a synergy between Iriver and LG Display, our joint-venture company will grow to become the market leader with unrivaled competitive power in e-book development and production business.

LG Display’s Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile/OLED Business Unit Mr. Eddie Yeo said, “LG Display decided to establish a joint venture with iriver to supply customers with more competitive products as part of our upstream-downstream business transformation strategy. LG Display will utilize its advanced EPD technologies to achieve early commercial production of color and flexible EPD and reach the global No.1 position by 2012.”

About Iriver

iriver Ltd. is the global IT device powerhouse. Since its founding in 1999, iriver has become renowned for its product innovation, style-driven technology, and track record of market dominance. The company’s ever expanding digital product lines include: Multimedia Devices (MP3. MP4, PMP, DMB), Network Devices (Home Media Center, Wi-Fi Network, Navigation products) and Content Devices (E-Dictionary, E-Book). For more information on iriver and its product lines, please visit: www.iriver.com www.twitter.com/iriver_story

About LG Display

LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220] is a leading manufacturer and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. The company provides TFT-LCD panels in a wide range of sizes and specifications for use in TVs, monitors, notebook PCs, mobile products and other various applications. LG Display currently operates eight fabrication facilities and five back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China and Poland. The company has a total of 35,000 employees operating worldwide. Please visit http://www.lgdisplay.com for more information.

Weekend Giveaway

2010-06-12T06:02:00.002+02:00

To celebrate the fact that we already have over 200 new followers on our iriver Story Twitter, we would like to extend our big Twitter giveaway even more. This weekend only, we'll give away 2 new cordless Logitech laser mouses (see picture to the left) for all of our new Twitter followers untill tomorrow night (Sunday, June 13th). This is separate from the other giveaway (which is still in full effect, June 21st is the deadline here). Follow us now and win one of 2 new Logitech mouses (this weekend) or one of 3 brand new iriver Storys (untill June 21st). Thanks, Twitter family!!!

Update: The winners have already been contacted as the giveaway has ended. Congratulations to @h0wlingwolfz and @hoshizora

Ready for the soccer World Cup

2010-06-11T11:22:00.001+02:00

This picture should be evidence enough to prove that I'm completely prepared for the soccer World Cup that's starting today. I took one of the many game schedules that you'll find everywhere on the web and used the pdf function for the iriver Story to have all matches and all times with me. I'm especially looking forward to the games of Germany, South Korea and England but I think it's going to be a great tournament all over anyway. When you look for a .pdf-file you want to use, make sure it's editable, so you can update the scores on your computer and always have the exact standings with you.

Also don't forget: Our big Twitter giveaway is still going on. Tell everybody to follow the official iriver Story Twitter to get a chance to win one of three new iriver Storys. We have more news coming up very soon. Enjoy the weekend!!!

Twitter Giveaway

2010-06-01T19:48:00.000+02:00

As you can see, we started our first big event on Twitter earlier today. We're giving away 3 iriver Storys and you should not miss your chance to be a winner. How the whole thing works? It's pretty easy but here's all the info in details again: Follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/iriver_Story) until June 21st and you'll automatically enter the lottery. Three of our new followers will be the lucky winners and receive a brand new iriver Story sent to their house. But please have in mind: The deadline is June 21st! Good luck everybody!

ebooks vs audio books vs podcasts

2010-05-28T14:28:00.003+02:00

One of the unique features of the iriver Story is the built-in mp3 player. While many of us may use the Story for reading purposes only, the mp3 player feature really starts to make sense when you think about using it for audio books and podcasts. Imagine listening to a lecture (which many universities and evening schools already have available as downloads) and being able to read along the books or looking at sheets and graphs the lecture is referring to at the same time, all while you're on the train or in the park. Or imagine doing a language course where you will definitely need both, audio and text for better learning and understanding. What makes it even more comfortable are the easy to use navigation buttons that help to rewind, forward, stop, play and change the volume of your audio file without having to leave the book you're currently reading. In my opinion this is where the iriver Story shows its real strength and with iriver being one of the worldwide powerhouses for mp3 players, you know that the quality of this feature is excellent as well.

Creating folders on the iriver Story

2010-05-28T13:28:00.004+02:00

Did you know that it's easy and comfortable to create subfolders on your iriver Story to sort books and all other files the way you want to have them? Have a look at the (I admit, a little poor) photo of my Story for an example on how to categorize your files. I split the books into languages and genres, you might even wanna go further and create folders for your favorite authors or your classes at university for example.

This is how you do it: When connecting your Story with your computer (works with PC and Mac), just go into the main folder (e.g. books, comics, music) that you would want to create a sub folder in and proceed just the way you would do it on your computer. Afterwards, move the files according to the way you would want to sort them. When you go back into the menu of the Story you will still have all books listed alphabetically when you go into the book section, but when you open up the "My Folder" directory, you will have the folder structure the way you sorted it.

Just a little idea that I thought would be great to share with other iriver Story users. Have a nice weekend!

iriver Story Carrying Case

2010-05-26T11:06:00.006+02:00

Here's something that I mentioned on our official Twitter account yesterday: I really recommend this carrying case for the iriver Story. Not only for the fact that the look of it perfectly fits the design of the Story itself, it also comes with a matching EVA bag that helps you keep the Story clean and safe and allows you to take important documents, flight tickets, your headphones or business cards with you. It also might be a nice and easy option to customize the look of your iriver Story by inserting photos or memorabilias. Check out the pictures after the jump to get a full impression.

Now books become digital!

2010-03-08T08:24:00.005+01:00

Experience the story as if you touch and feel the paper.

- paper-like display
- stylish slim design with 6" e-ink display
- portrait / landscape views
- reads like real paper, reads in sunlight with no glare

iriver Story

2010-03-08T06:35:00.007+01:00

The iriver STORY is a portable e-book reader that utilizes the E-ink film display technology. It is designed to provide the same experience as reading on printed paper. You can read your favorite books and various contents whenever and wherever you like.