Google is everywhere right now. The company has made a strong push by Google Books project, but so far has not had a link to a stand-alone e-reader. That changes with the iRiver Story HD.
HD makes to get the Story Google e-books to an e ink-based reader reasonably easily. In my experiments with the device, but I found myself frustrated by Story HD cheap construction, poky performance and poorly designed Google Books interface.
Story HD is doing a good job of distinguishing themselves in display quality. As its HD moniker suggests, bears 6-inch screen one of 768 x 1024 pixels resolution, the result of an improved electronics backplane. The higher-res backplane helps in turn e ink technology, which already use dozens of microcapsules per pixel to form letters and pictures on the screen, look better. iRiver is the first manufacturer to deliver this technology outside of China.
Result: Text looks sharp and clear, smooth rendering and without pixelation or artifacts. Screen, supports 16-level grayscale and text appear finer in Story HD than on the third generation Amazon KINDLE, even if its black toner lacks contrast and punch on the Kindle (and Barnes & Noble nook, for that matter).
The lower the contrast can partly be an optical illusion caused by Story HD beige frame. Kindle and agricultural practices use a dark gray, borderline black border. Personally, I prefer the dark frame that cream colored texture Story HD.
I found routinely easy text be a problem when reading. Although unchangeable sans serif fonts are rendered smooth and devoid of pixelation, meant weak contrast that my eyes must work harder to read. Contrast improved dramatically when I bumped up the font size from non-default option to larger sixth option (you get eight total).
Change the font size is simple, at least. You press the button dedicated font (two buttons over from space) and then use the navigation bar and specify whether you want to preview and select a font size. Maximum font size should be large enough to hold all of whose vision requires great style, but Barnes & Noble agricultural practice also offers larger text.
The font size, however, is fixed on the screen. The text is sufficient for book titles, but the associated information to the right is surprisingly small, and can be a challenge for some users to read. The advantage is that you have a lot of information available in one screen: the source of the workbook, the file type and the author's name and information is presented in a consistent, pleasant layout.
From the unboxing, iRiver Story HD shows that some thought were in operation. Not only to develop make carton itself logically to reveal ivory and tan Story HD inside, but iRiver is also a getting started guide that is already displayed in the window for e ink. It is wise and slick, since most users can skip the included six-page brochure that presents the basics.
As the on-screen guide promises, Story HD starts as soon as you connect it to your computer. Story HD continues to guide you through the process of setting up e-reader, providing eight screens of mild hand keep the technology-averse will find consolation. Unfortunately for HD, this is also the story at the point where the e-reader's physical design can be a daunting task in use.
Initially, the Story HD any side to close buttons in parallel with the Viewer. The tasks are instead left in the four-way navigation bar under the screen. Although the arrangement is not so bad for navigation, it is a difficult situation for the page turns, unless you understand the e-reader of the lower third (only when it is clear that the 2-inch long circuits are located so that it is within range of either the left or right thumb).
Button allows only four directions and does not allow you to run as you expect. To make a selection, you must move to dedicated the RETURN button on the far right. Travel between the nav bar and enter and option buttons feel organic for navigation, but repeatedly expected bar to operate on selecting something and I disliked how stiff buttons each.
The hub bar and its related row home back, enter, and option buttons, the rest of the 38-key QWERTY keyboard buttons hard, plastic fiber tape which is rigid and difficult to press.
The keyboard is not leading to write at all: the buttons pushed uncomfortably into the cushions of my fingers and made crunching noises that I pressed them, my fingers hurt really just from typing is involved in the installation process. Actually, when I realized that I had to set up my Google Checkout for the account that I used with Story HD, elected me as so on my computer rather than fall victim to write all my information in the Story HD keyboard.
Physically, size Story HD in the same way to third generation Amazon Kindle. Measuring 7.5 by 7.5 by 0.4 inches, vs. Kindle 7.5 by 4.8 with 0.3 inches. By comparison, shave the Barnes & Noble nook, Kobo eReader Touch Edition every inch out of the total height. Both angles and Kobo uses an infrared touch screen for navigation instead of a keyboard and buttons.
Story HD is lightweight, compete with the latest Barnes & Noble and Kobo release. Iriver's e-reader weighs 207 grams lighter than Kindle and falling in between the angles and Kobo. Weight made it nice to keep, until I had to move my hand if you want to change on the page.
Story HD uses a Freescale ARM CortexTM. MX508 processor and 2 GB of built-in storage (where only 1.4 GB is user accessible). To the right is a Sturdy lock door that covers the full size SD card slot that supports SDHC cards up to 32 GB.
Some other points physical design: I found unusual but logical placement of the power button. Slider is the lower part of the drive, along the back. That proved a surprisingly comfortable location, because my hand ended up there, of course, when I first picked up the e-reader.
Not me hard, tan, plastic backplate to Story HD, who felt chintzy (not unlike the buttons hard plastic keyboards), and scratched easily. The bottom is a Mini-USB port to connect the reader to a PC for sideloading books and other files. The reader supports PDF and ePub files (including protected Adobe Digital Editions) and text files, FB2, DJVU format. It can also read the Microsoft Office Excel, Word and PowerPoint documents.
