The iLiad device measured 155 millimeters by 216 millimeters and weighed 400 grams. Its screen area spanned 124 mm by 165 mm with a resolution of 768 pixels across and 1024 pixels down. This active matrix electrophoretic display used E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film manufactured by E Ink Corporation. The screen offered 16 levels of grayscale to mimic the look of printed paper under sunlight. A WACOM digitizing tablet sat beneath the E Ink layer requiring a stylus for input. Internal components included a 400 MHz Intel XScale processor paired with 64 MB of RAM. Users could expand storage via a CompactFlash Type II slot or a MultiMediaCard slot. The device featured both WiFi 802.11g wireless LAN and a 10/100 Mbit/s wired LAN port. A standard 3.5 mm stereo audio jack allowed users to connect headphones.
Software Architecture And Capabilities
Linux-based operating system version 2.4 kernel powered the internal functions of the unit. Developers received an SDK that made functionality extension easy for third parties. The device supported document files in formats like PDF, Mobipocket, XHTML, and plain text. It displayed JPEG, BMP, and PNG images without color capabilities. As of the 3rd of May 2007 Mobipocket digital rights management content became available on this platform. Wireless service named iDS enabled direct downloads from sources like Les Echos French financial newspaper. Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad also distributed its content through this same channel. Users connected to computers over networks to sync new data onto internal memory or inserted cards. Integrated Wacom tablet features let writers add notes directly onto existing documents. Those handwritten annotations remained visible whenever the document opened again on the screen. Desktop software merged these user notes back into the original file structure.Market Launch And Global Availability
Initial advertising occurred in December 2005 with a planned launch date set for April 2006. Delays pushed the actual beta sales start until July when general public release followed near month end. List prices reached €649 in Europe and US $699 in American markets. North America availability ceased due to FCC regulation non-compliance issues. The Federal Communications Commission delayed approval which hurt sales figures significantly. CEO Hans Brons cited this regulatory response as a direct cause for declining numbers. Sales ended completely in 2010 when parent company iRex Technologies filed for bankruptcy. The device originally held the largest screen size among existing e-paper products at introduction time. Later models like the Digital Reader 1000 surpassed it by early 2011 standards.