ILiad FAQ - Technical

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Network

Can you store stuff directly on the Iliad by ftp or the like?

The device can be connected to a PC and is recognized as a USB disk. On linux, you can use samba. And you can also install betafptd or wuftpd on your iliad. Furthermore, you can use samba, rsync and syncing scripts on your iliad.

Can you download files from your PC over wireless?

Not until the end of the year, because they saw the users were requesting it they have already decided to work on it, but only later this year.

What about the LAN connections (wired and wireless)?

So far wired ethernet is DHCP only, you cannot specify anything.

Power Management

What can you say about Power management in the actual device?

With firmware v2.11, basic power management is in place. The CPU is slowed down while reading, iRex says this will increase battery life for ~20%.

The page count given by iRex was made using the xhtml reader constantly fliping pages. The page number is actually higher if you would consider only reading. But they had to also consider casual wireless use, CF SD use, and ocasional annotation. The page count will have to be updated for the "final" OS version, and i was told it will probably be higher because of all the optimizations. When they mention time instead of pages, they are considering you are writing on screen, using heavily the processor and CF SD cards. As you can see it's two very different things.

So if I understand correctly, with the final software version, you could turn everything completely off when you only want to read a book, and thus maintaining a battery life similar to that of the Sony Reader?

Or even better

Its hard to give certainties, because it all depends on how the OS and viewer is optimized. Even if the OS is 100% the viewer can only be 50%, some viewers might need more power, etc.

How long is a recharge?

I would say around 4 hours.

What can you say about the capacity of the battery?

The capacity of the battery is 1100 mAh and the battery is not changable by the user. The actual version 2 of the iLiad features two 1100 mAh batteries.

Please give more details. Technically capable users can desolder the battery and replace it. From photos, it is a multi-cell battery wrapped in shrinkwrap. What cells are used in the battery? If people can buy 1600 mAh cells in the same size and know how to solder battery packs (acid flux and work quickly and carefully) then they can build replacements. How tight does the battery fit into the space? Could someone install a larger one?

Does the Iliad power down completely, when you do not switch it of? Can you read the last shown page, while it is powering up again?

This isn't finished yet because it relies on Power management. When finished it should do everything of the above, but not by default i think, the user will have to choose in the settings.

I live in the US - if I order my Iliad from Belgium, will I be able to charge it from a US power outlet? Will there be power plugs that fit? What about current?

From Belgium you have to use the web shop. Yes, it will charge off 120V 60Hz.. Belgian device will have Belgian plug, but with a simple plug adapter it will run in US.

Memory Cards / Connectors

What type of Memory cards can the iLiad read?

The device can read SD, CF and MMC cards. Iliad Memorycards list.

Can it handle Memory cards with more than 1GB?

Many CF cards above 1 GB are supported - but no SD or MMC cards >1GB (this would use an 1.1 version of the standard, which is unsupported by Iliad). CF microdrives should also work although they use more power.

Do the Memory Cards fit completely in the device or do they stick out?

Most CF cards enter totally. It makes a button pop-up, which sticks out, but you can rotate it to the right. You can see in the picture the CF slot the button on the left and the place to where it rotates.

Any chance of using the Iliad as a card reader for CF and SD with the Iliad connected through USB?

Not at his moment. It should be possible to add that function later. Please not that Iliad's CF access is only 15x speed, while you can have much more with real card readers.

It can read off a USB stick also?

Yes, it can. However, if you remove the stick, the file is gone -- you cannot let the iliad copy it to internal memory. At least not without using third party tools. Note that you can also use external USB drives, but for most 2,5" harddrives the power provided by the Iliad over USB is not enough, so you have to have an additional power supply for you harddrive.

Can I attach a USB keyboard?

There is not USB keyboard module in the current kernel, but it is possible to install user-built HID kernel modules and an event redirector to enable the use of the USB keyboard with applications like rxvt.

That being said, there is an on-screen keyboard and character recognition software.

File Handling

Are the books indexed with something like the ID3-tag for mp3s, so that any book I load on the iLiad can have this information updated? Or will this only be available on books received from the IDS server or otherwise prepared by the publisher?

So far all my files only show their name, so I suppose it probably will have to be a specific format to show this extra information. Apart from that you may rename your files directly on the iLiad. You may input some extra infos which will then show up in the content lister. There is also an improved content lister, a script to show metadata of Mobipocket files, and an iLiad Manifest Creator.

Can you have folders/subdirectories in the file directory, to be able to organize your books, or is everything in one?

You can have subdirectories. My OS version doesn't present any "quick" way to go back more than one subdirectory, but i think the new had a generic directory structure similar to the one from Windows Vista. There are third party file managers and command shell.

How does it manage html files with accompanying folders (where all the images, css files, etc. are)?

Right now it shows all the files by alphabetical order, even files in formats the device doesn't work yet. File filters are to be added later.

I like to read a lot of web news. If I used a program, like Webzip and saved a site like CNN or Fox plus all links within the sites to a CF card, would I be able to click onto those links on the Iliad while offline?

I download Webzip and saved the Wired magazine. I copied the directory it created to the CF and opened it in the device. Then i tried opening links but couldn't get it to work.

There are several nice ways to Download reading material with the iLiad.

How is the bookmark management?

The device on-screen toolbar has a button to bookmark, and another to show the list of bookmarks of the book you are reading. Bookmarking with ipdf can be improved.

Wacom

Can other Wacom pens used as a substitution of the iLiad stylus?

Yes, users have tried their available pens and have reported about it. The extra buttons do not seem to have any effect.

Here is a list of so far sucessfully used Wacom pens:	and these are not working:	To be tested:
Wacom ArtPad II Wacom Cross pen (tbc) Wacom Tablet PC Slim Pen Cross Pen Clip Pen Eraser Pen Wacom "Erasing UltraPen" (UP-701E) Wacom inside NCR 3215 pen-tablet Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet Digitizer Pen Fujitsu-Siemens Tablet Pen	Wacom Graphire 2 Wacom Graphire Bluetooth Wacom Intuos 3 / Cintiq21UX Wacom Cintiq Pens	Wacom Pen Partner Wacom Pen Partner2 Wacom Volito Wacom Volito 2 Wacom Colorelli Wacom Graphire Wacom Graphire 3 Wacom Graphire 4 Wacom Intuos1 Wacom Intuos2