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Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?

Posted by Cliff on from the digital-paper dept.

Quimbly asks: "I'm an avid reader, and I find that downloading books is much more convenient that trying to get them from the bookstore or library. However, I'm tired of sitting in front of a monitor to do my reading. I'm looking for a hand-held device to do my reading on, and I'm hoping the community has some suggestions. It seems to me that most PDAs have too small of a screen for convenient reading, and a notebook / tablet computer is too big and bulky for this simple task. So, I've been looking at a few devices designed specifically for eBook reading (e.g. the RCA REB1100, the eBookwise-1150, etc.). These look more promising, but I was disappointed to discover that the RCA device ONLY reads an encrypted, propriety eBook format, making it essentially useless. (Has anyone ever hacked one of these?) Similarly, I believe both of these devices have been discontinued by their manufacturers. I want a device that can read a variety of file formats, especially scanned, non-text PDFs. A large screen, long battery life, and good interface are other attributes I'm looking for."

79 comments

  1. PSP? by AtariAmarok · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seeing all the PSP hype, with the screen that even looks great when someone holds it up to a camera on TV, I wonder if that will make a fantastic ebook reader.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:PSP? by macshit · · Score: 5, Informative
      The PSP looks good on TV because it has a fairly colorful and bright display, but it doesn't seem particularly well suited to being an e-book reader:
      • The screen is the wrong orientation (you can turn it, but then the controls are awkward), and the long-and-skinny format a bit odd
      • The screen is somewhat low-resolution for displaying a reasonable amount of text (though fine for games). I'm not sure how much better you can do with a cheap unit, but a higher-resolution grey-scale display would be much more suitable.
      • The PSP is really heavy, it's like a brick, and most of this weight is probably due to components which are completely unnecessary for reading (massive batteries, lots of chips for high-speed graphics).
      • It's very expensive -- ideally an e-book reader should be something cheap enough, or robust enough, to just throw in your pocket and always have handy.
      • Is there any software for this?!?
      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    2. Re:PSP? by Noco · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wrong orientation? Have you noticed how new HDTVs are widescreen and movie theatres are as well? Additionally, for all but East Asia, written communication is mostly horizontal. Because of the nature of our eyes, our horizontal view is wider than our vertical. Thus, it is easier to read when the width is longer than the height. Thus, the PSP seems ideal. I use a Palm T3 for reading, horizontally of course, with the virtual graffiti area removed. Previously, I used an NR70V from Sony in a similar fashion. Try reading something both ways.....6 words across by 10 lines down or 11 words across by 5 lines down, and see which u prefer.

    3. Re:PSP? by macshit · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sure, wide-screen is great for movies and tv, but the whole point was that what's good for movies/games/tv isn't what's good for books.

      If you're willing to scroll around on the page, then it doesn't matter so much -- but frankly, for reading, scrolling a window around on the page really sucks. That's why you want a high-res but low color (to make the cost palatable) display, with a form factor that approximates a normal book page. I think the real problem with the PSP's screen (besides the resolution being too low), is actually that it's so long-and-skinny, which means you either have very long lines (hard to read) with lots of vertical scrolling (yuck), or very short lines (easier to read, but past a certain point become ridiculous).

      I've no doubt that some people will use the PSP for e-books, but it's definitely a case of "I've got a PSP, why not use it for ...", rather than the PSP being especially well-suited to the task.

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    4. Re:PSP? by justforaday · · Score: 1

      You seem to be missing the point of the post above yours. If you're reading text (ie, not a pre-formated paginated PDF), then why are longer lines so much harder to read? It seems that with longer lines/shorter pages, you'd probably be able to fit more words per page than on a screen with short lines, but more of them. As for your vertical scrolling argument, doesn't that ultimately boil down to how many words can be fit on a screenful of text? I'm willing to bet the PSP can hold more in the horizontal orientation than if it were vertical.

      --
      I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
    5. Re:PSP? by Satan+Dumpling · · Score: 1

      If you have a Gameboy Advance and a piece of compact flash, you might try this for a cheapie solution.
      http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=246&prod ucts_id=3983&
      http://movieadvance.com/
      The GBA movie player reads ebooks.
      I don't know how nice it is for those, if you point me to a little ebook sample, I can try it out and give my 2 cents.

    6. Re:PSP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It seems that with longer lines/shorter pages, you'd probably be able to fit more words per page than on a screen with short lines, but more of them.

      Then why do newspapers divide into narrow columns? Maybe because narrow columns are easier to read?

    7. Re:PSP? by shobadobs · · Score: 1

      But on something the size of the PSP, the columns are narrow either way.

    8. Re:PSP? by hcdejong · · Score: 1

      No. There is an optimal size for text columns, but it's quite a bit wider than a newspaper column.
      Novels don't use columns, for instance. On A4-size paper, the optimal column width is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the page width.
      Newspaper columns are narrow because they're optimized for flexibility in placing multiple articles and ads on one page.

    9. Re:PSP? by bbc · · Score: 1

      "If you're reading text then why are longer lines so much harder to read?"

      From what I understand, line width and line spacing go hand in hand: once you arrive at the end of a line, the eye has to travel back to the left and correctly guess the next line. The wider the lines, the more spacing you need to correctly guess the next line.

  2. You need rbmake by damiangerous · · Score: 5, Informative

    Free, Open Source .rb format creator: http://rbmake.sourceforge.net/

    1. Re:You need rbmake by name773 · · Score: 1

      even though i don't read e-books, that 0wns :)
      let's hear it for open source devs

    2. Re:You need rbmake by swillden · · Score: 2, Informative

      And if you like Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Baen sells all of its books in various e-book formats, including .rb. I have an RCA e-Book and it works very well.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    3. Re:You need rbmake by swillden · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, forgot to mention... all of the Baen e-books are unencrypted, and they encourage you to share them with friends and family.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  3. print it out by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a PDA that I used to read books on, and then an iPod that I used to read books on. Then I discovered book folds.

    Print that sucker out. Our campus labs use Word which does two things I've never figured out how to replace on Linux:
    1) Text editing on linux (as far as I can tell) only does things line by line. In Word I can treat the whole document as one big string which makes converting a Project Gutenburg text to a sensibly formatted document involve 3 find&replace commands. (newline to |, || to newline, | to space)
    2) Book fold printing. I put the text at a <8pt font (i can read at 4pt), give it 0.2" margins, and set the page as a book fold of 12 pages. It prints out double sided and I simple fold every three pages together to create a physical book. The latest Harry Potter book cost me 35 pages which folded down into a neat little booklet I can fit in my interior coat pocket.

    --
    Direct away from face when opening.
    1. Re:print it out by DougWebb · · Score: 5, Informative

      There's lots of text editing programs for Linux, with a wide variety of features, and I'm sure some can do the find and replace commands you mention. You can do it from the command-line too; here's what I'd do:

      $ perl -i.bak -0e '$book=<>; $book=~s/\cM//g; $book=~s/\n/\x01/g; $book=~s/\x01\x01/\n/g; $book=~s/\x01/ /g; print $book'perl -e 'undef $\; $book=<>; $book=~tr/\n/|/;' book.txt

      That'll format the book with one line per paragraph. If you do this a lot, you can put all of that into a script instead, so you just have to remember the name of the script instead of the whole command

      In file named process_book:

      #!/usr/bin/perl -i.bak -0

      my $book = <>;

      $book=~s/\cM//g; # Unix line endings
      $book=~s/\n/\x01/g; # Collapse lines
      $book=~s/\x01\x01/\n/g; # Separate paragraphs
      $book=~s/\x01/ /g; # Insert whitespace

      print $book;

      To process a book:

      $ process_book book.txt

      By the way, notice that I used \x01 instead of |, since | characters might appear in the book.

    2. Re:print it out by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 1

      Ahhh. That's exactly what I was looking for.

      Thanks a million!

      --
      Direct away from face when opening.
    3. Re:print it out by Jerf · · Score: 1

      DougWebb covered half your problem. a2ps is the other half. That'll let you take a text file and convert it into a PostScript (printable) file, and if anything, it has too many options. Printing something nicely foldable with as small a font as your printer and eyes can handle is just fine.

      I've used it for long walkthroughs for RPGs; most recently, FFX-2 100% completion. That squeezed a 120+ page document, printed naively, down to four sheets of paper (with a bit of manual editing to remove silly whitespaces in the walkthrough; the author accidentally left some form feeds in, I don't even know how they'd do that, but there it was...).

      It's easy to use, it just takes a while to wade through the options.

    4. Re:print it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you'd be so kind as to tell us the options that worked for you, and what kind of paper you were using (A4 vs Letter, for example), that would be great. Thanks.

    5. Re:print it out by ralphclark · · Score: 1

      To insert a form feed (which you'd do if you wanted to force a page break e.g. at the end of a chapter) in vim, you just press control-L while in edit mode. The form feed character will be visible as a "^L". Make sure though that the text which starts the following page starts on the same line as the form feed, i.e. without dropping down to a new line. Or your new page will start with a blank line.

    6. Re:print it out by ralphclark · · Score: 1

      "info a2ps". I believe this will give you more detail than the man page does.

      media (A4, letter etc) is selected with the -M option.

      As for page layout, there are some numeric "macro" style options (-1 .. -9) which have sensible defaults for 2-up, 4-up printing etc. "-2" gives you two portrait pages side-by side on a landscape print image.

      Some other useful options:

      --sides=duplex or -s2 (assuming your printer can print both sides)

      -=book (reorganizes the pages for folding and stapling like a book)

      The output can be customized exactly to your own taste, using individual options like --font-size and --lines-per-page.

      You'll need to experiment a bit but it wont take you long to find the perfect combination.

    7. Re:print it out by DougWebb · · Score: 1

      Oops. The one-liner should have been:

      $ perl -i.bak -0e '$book=<>; $book=~s/\cM//g; $book=~s/\n/\x01/g; $book=~s/\x01\x01/\n/g; $book=~s/\x01/ /g; print $book' book.txt
    8. Re:print it out by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

      Wow! This makes me want to go out and dump Microsoft Word like a girlfriend with gonorrhea. Thanks for the tip!

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  4. Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by andrews · · Score: 3, Informative

    I read a lot of books (several a week) on my Sharp Zaurus SL-5600. I convert to Plucker from HTML, and it works great. Still not as good a reading experience as a dead tree version, but the screen is good and I can carry several hundred books around on a CF card and still have plenty of room for MP3s. I can read at night without an external light too. Don't rule out the PDA until you try it.

    1. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by orthogonal · · Score: 1

      "I read a lot of books (several a week) on my Sharp Zaurus SL-5600"

      Seconded. Not so good for PDF (although a PDF reader is available for the Zaurus), but great for Plucker. For plucker or raw HTML or Palm .doc (not MS-Word), get Opie Reader and the Georgia font. One great thing about Opie Reader is that it allows you to easily change the font size on the fly: go smaller for fewer page "turning" or larger when your eyes are tired. And page turning is as simple as pushing a button, so you can read with one hand and eat a sandwich with another.

      (If you really want to read MS-Word .docs, Zaurus comes with a Word clone too.)

      If you're really careful, you can put the Zaurus in a ziploc baggie, thread the earphones out, and read book and listen to MP3s in the hottub. Or with a Wifi card, you can IRC chat or read Slashdot out of the tub, reclining on your sofa.

      For me, the perfect machine would be a little bigger than a Zaurus, with a harddrive.

      --
      Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
    2. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by Kahm-Hime · · Score: 2, Informative

      Have you looked at the Sharp SL-C3000? Higher Res screen than the 5600, USB host, bigger keyboard, 4gb HD. Same size as an SL-C860. I'm replacing my 860 with a 3000 in about 21hrs =)

      My 860 replaced my MP3 player, my Palm Pilot, my laptop, and all the books I used to carry around. It even functions as a great video player.

      The VGA Zaurii (SL-Cxx0) make great e-book readers. They work equally well in either landscape or portrait mode (the screen swivels like one of the convertible "tablet Pcs") You've got a huge range of font sizes, 6 different backlight levels and the screen is utterly amazing. Sharp's CG Silicon displays are fantastic. (For reference, the PSP screen is a Sharp unit, but the one in the Zaurus is both higher res and brighter, with a better FOV)

      The C3000 has to be as close to perfect as a PDA can get. Now only if it weren't a Japanese only product so they'd build in wi-fi or bluetooth.

    3. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by DaoudaW · · Score: 1

      Don't rule out the PDA until you try it.

      Exactly!

      At the beginning of the school year, the school where I teach passed out a Tungsten E to each teacher and advanced math student. Since then I've read dozens of books on it and I love it. I adjust the scroll to my reading rate, hold it 12-15 inches in front of me and _just read_. No pages to turn, no light to annoy my wife; I get into the book better than if it were hard copy.

      I do most of my downloading from manybooks.net. They take Project Gutenberg books and format them for PDAs. They also have a good RSS feed, so I use Live Bookmarks in Firefox and take a quick glance at new releases everyday.

    4. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what is the resolution(in ppi) like for these things nowadays? I use an old handspring visor that has terrible resolution, and only use it when I need to.

      On a side note, my desktop displays are running around 120 ppi these days, which seems rather nice, though not quite optimal yet.

    5. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by Drooling+Iguana · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what the resolution would be in ppi, but the actual screen resolution for the C-series is 640x480. Really high-res for a PDA. I don't think I've ver seen an LCD with pixels that small.

      --
      ... I'm addicted to placebos
    6. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by Tiroth · · Score: 1


      I have a lowly MI-E1, but I've been very impressed with the quality of the screen. It's definitely great for reading books.

      Could you recommend a dictionary reader for the Linux-based Zaurii? I've thought about upgrading some day, but I love ZPDView's ability to read EDICT dictionaries.

    7. Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 by Kahm-Hime · · Score: 1

      There's tons of support for EDICT dictionaries. Zedict, for example. A linux based Zaurus is a great upgrade for the older Z's

      Check out the forums at www.oesf.org.

  5. e-ink! by n0d3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think you are looking for something that uses e-ink. The only one that currently is out on the market is sony's E-book

    I know Philips (One of the main minds behind it) isn't ready to mass produce because they want to increase the switching speed (from black to white and inbetween) aswell as adding color.
    However I've seen them work, at let me tell you, it's sweet technology. It reads very comfterably.

  6. Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They come in all shapes and sizes. Heck...there are some notebooks out there that are too small.

    --
    tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    1. Re:Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs. by Deagol · · Score: 2, Informative

      I see used Toshiba Librettos in the local classifieds web site occasionally, and they're on ebay. Those would make decent ebook readers.

      --
      Method of processing duck feet
    2. Re:Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs. by webhat · · Score: 1

      Absolutely, I have the Sony baby vaio (PCG-C1XD) and use that to read e-books. An advantage is that with a wifi card I can also browse webpages.

      I don't think they sell this model anymore, but I've seen a number of other good ones.

      --
      'I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds'
    3. Re:Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good advice: my 6 year old Libretto still beats the pants off anything that's available on the market today. Small, light, decent resolution and battery life, and a full keyboard to boot. The only disadvantage is that the screen isn't bright enough to read in daylight, let alone sunshine.

  7. iPAQ by madstork2000 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have enjoyed reading on my iPAQ.

    At first I did not like the small screen relatively low res. screen; however, after using it for a while I got used to it and prefer it for a couple of reasons.

    1. The small screen, means there are fewer words per page. The smaller word count helps me read faster, because I am not getting lost or distracted.

    2. Backlight for low-light conditions. Its nice to read at night with out having a light on in the room. I think it is easier on my eyes when I get tired.

    3. one hand operation. It is a lot easier to turn pages one-handed on an PDA. I can generally be more comfortable, and have good posture longer when reading off a PDA than with a book.

    -MS2k

    1. Re:iPAQ by Threatis · · Score: 2, Funny

      one hand operation must....not....make....comment.....about.....PDA.. ...based.....porn......mags.

      --
      "The beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars" - Johnny Cash
    2. Re:iPAQ by Calmiche · · Score: 2, Informative

      I use my iPaq as well. It's much better than anything else I've ever used. I started with an old Palm III, moved to an m505, then a Tungsten C. My latest is an HP hx4705. I thought it was crazy, when I first started out, to buy a unit mainly for ebook reading, but I've found that I use it for that purpose about 90% of the time.

      Even my wife loves it since I can turn off the bedroom light and still read without disturbing her.

      It reads plain text, HTML, many ebook formats, word, pdf, and I can even use my old palm formated ebooks using Mobipocket.

      It's a full VGA screen, but I usually leave it on a pretty large font to read. It cuts out the headaches compleatly. Not only that, but a backlit page hurts your eyes much less than reading in low light conditions.

      The adjustable backlight can give you a sharp, brilliant image for using in direct sunlight, or I can turn it all the way down for reading in the dark.

      Even better, I can flip the image sideways and get about 33% more length on a sentance, as well as programming any button on the unit as a page down and page up button.

      With the backlight turned down and only the ebook reading program running, you will be amazed by the amount of time you can go without a recharge. I know the box says 5 hours, but I've run close to 14 with the wifi and bluetooth off. Running full motion video (Which it also does) will cut that to about 4 hours.

    3. Re:iPAQ by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "3. one hand operation. It is a lot easier to turn pages one-handed on an PDA. I can generally be more comfortable, and have good posture longer when reading off a PDA than with a book."

      Boy, I whole-heartedly agree with this one. Not only is this a lot easier to hold, but with AvantGo or wireless connectivity, you can also get news on it. I can't speak for anybody else, but I enjoy laying down and reading both news as well as fiction.

      I also wanted to mention bookmarking. MS's reader program does a nice job of remembering where you were and bringing you back there. Also, you can highlight text and 'bookmark' it. Me personally, I sometimes dog-ear pages if a particular line in the book interested me or if it was something I wanted to go back and look up later.

      I do have one question, though: I had a PocketPC shortly after they first came out. Back then, e-books were rather scarce. Has that changed a lot, or am I going to continue finding myself preferring to browse Barnes and Noble?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:iPAQ by mceister · · Score: 1

      I totaly agree. The iPaq is the only device I ever found comfortable to read eBooks with.

    5. Re:iPAQ by David+Horn · · Score: 1

      If you can get hold of one, a new Pocket PC with a VGA screen is fantastic for reading eBooks on. No jagged edges on the text, a bright backlight and reasonable battery life work well to give a good reading experience.

      --
      PocketGamer.org - For the gamer on the go!
    6. Re:iPAQ by tommyboyprime · · Score: 1

      I am a voracious reader and don't want to store books in my apartment. I have been reading on a PDA since my first Handspring DX. Then I got a CLIE , then another and then moved to PPC. I now have an IPaq 4705 and I think it's great. BTW I have over 1500 books in my library. Where would you put 1500 books?

      --
      This parrot has ceased to be!
  8. HiEbook by Marticus · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you can still get your hands on one, the HiEbook (by some Korean manufacturer) is fairly decent device. I've been using mine for 10 months now, and my friend and his wife have theirs for at least twice as long. It's mainly designed just for reading ebooks, and is about A6 in size.

    It can use html, doc (if you have MS Word to autoconvert) and its own format. Upload via small USB cable with (windows only) software; or via a card reader if you get a SmartMedia card for it (only up to 128MB though).

    It also has some minimal PDA functions, although the CPU is underpowered, and the touch screen a little insensitive. It can, however, play mp3s through the headphone port; and has an inbuilt microphone for voice recording (can't vouch for the quality, never used it).

    It comes with a few apps such as text/draw memo (no graphiti input), calendar, address, schedule; and 4 games: othello, omok, sokoban and puzzle. There is a version of minesweeper available, and my friend is wrighting Taipei for it.

    It also has a decent backlight (which unfortunately has a soft whine, so there are contraindications for using it in a quiet room), and a nice pleather holder with wrist strap; and if you do get one, use the strap, as the screen can crack if you drop it from a metre or so.

    Pros:

    • Decent sized (touch-)screen
    • Doesn't require proprietary formats
    • 3 font sizes
    • Pretty pleather holder
    • Pretty green backlight
    • SDK available
    • Charge lasts quite a while if just reading without backlight

    Cons:

    • Backlight whines slightly
    • Contrast changes when environment is hot (have to jump to system to change it)
    • Hard to find (there were only 2 left in my small city when I got mine)

    Overall, although the design is a few years old now, it's the best ebook reader I've managed to find that doesn't have bad DRM. (I really wanted the sony LibrIe when I read about it, mmm e-ink, but the DRM was horrible so I didn't bother spending all that money.)

    1. Re:HiEbook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      d'oh

      s/wrighting/writing

      -- M

  9. Me too by trawg · · Score: 2, Informative

    I bought an Ipaq 4150 to read ebooks on, and I've been using it a lot recently. The screen is ok, but I don't really Windows CE + MS Reader - the software leaves a lot of wasted screen space, so the amount of words on screen per page is a lot lower than I would like - I'm constantly pressing the next page button (as a comparison, a Neuromancer-sized ebook works out at pages).

    I got the chance to check out the Sony Librie last year in Japan and was hugely impressed with its screen, using that new e-ink jazz. I checked it out again a couple days ago and read some reviews; unfortunately its still not available outside Japan, which is a pain (worked out around US$250 I think to import one).

    I've only ever seen one displaying Japanese books, so have no idea if it can even display romanji, or what it would look like. They take Sony Memory Sticks, which is a bit annoying (but to be expected), and apparently the ebooks are all in some annoying DRM format as well (but clever people have already figured out how to make software to convert to the format, so if you're lucky enough to have a non-DRM'ed library you can just convert your .txt files, or whatever.

    The only other alternatives that I've found (haven't looked too hard as my iPaq is bearable at the moment) are dedicated ebook readers which have their own pitfalls (quite expensive considering that's all they do, use their own proprietary DRM formats, not able to read other common formats, etc) and more advanced iPaq-type devices (some of the newer iPaqs have high-resolution screens, plus the ability to use MS Reader in landscape mode, which I would definitely prefer), but I', not prepared to part with the $$$ at this point.

    1. Re:Me too by trawg · · Score: 1
      a Neuromancer-sized ebook works out at pages).
      Sorry, was supposed to read "a Neuromancer-sized ebook works out at about 1200 pages".
  10. Priorities by Chess_the_cat · · Score: 2
    "I'm an avid reader, and I find that downloading books is much more convenient that trying to get them from the bookstore or library. However, I'm tired of sitting in front of a monitor to do my reading.

    Sounds to me that reading in front of a monitor is 10 times the hassle of heading to the library and picking up a book or two. You've got to worry about power, portability, selection, price. In other words, you're lying when you say that downloading books is more convenient or else you wouldn't be asking how to make it more convenient.

    --
    Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
    1. Re:Priorities by quiddity · · Score: 3, Insightful

      also libraries are useful creatures, and utilizing them helps convince those who fund them to continue to do so.

      --
      .
      . hmmm
  11. Punt on dedicated e-book readers--use a Pocket PC by kriston · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The e-book readers that you can actually buy are always too large and heavy. Just punt and get the very cheapest Pocket PC you can find running Windows Mobile 2003 and has a QVGA screen. The web browser and MS Reader will use the full VGA 480x640 resolution with font smoothing turned on and you can rotate it into landscape mode. Curiously enough you will need to download a hack to keep the font smoothing turned on in landscape mode.

    If you want to use Tome Reader or Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download the SVGA hack that forces the entire system into VGA mode (normally it's in QVGA which is pixel-quadrupled mode). I suspect at least Adobe will have a VGA-compatible reader soon. I know that AvantGo will not.

    Total cost will be way cheaper than any dedicated e-book reader and you have the choice of Tome Reader, MS Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, HTML browser, eDoc, MS Word, and any other format you can think of.

    You might also consider a PalmOS PDA, but in order to get on that is fast enough and has high enough resolution you will be way beyond the cost of a perfectly suited Pocket PC.

    --

    Kriston

  12. Re:Punt on dedicated e-book readers--use a Pocket by cathyy · · Score: 1

    I second the Pocket PC. I really recommend that you use the reader named ?-book. With it you have the option of rotating the display, font size and style, and you can read anything but a .lit file...use clit to convert the .lit files. You can find it at
    Gowerpoint.

  13. Re:Punt on dedicated e-book readers--use a Pocket by cathyy · · Score: 1

    Damn. A comma instead of a period. Gowerpoint

  14. What I want is a wireless VNC touchpad by NZheretic · · Score: 1
    What I want is a bluetooth VNC protocol based display/touchpad/terminal. The VNC RFB protocol is lightweight enough to be deployed on the cheaper embedded processors and bluetooth chips are cheap enough. An open source PC side driver would act as a networking proxy between the PC side Xvnc virtual display and the PC bluetooth network device.
    Instead of an inbuilt just have two PS2 ports for a standard PC keyboard and mouse. For display sizes, 600x800 would be good, 768x1024 would be great.

    In fact these devices would be cheap enough to set up a whole classroom with VNC based terminals.

    Mount a solarpanel on the back to recharge the display batteries and you would help save the planet! Down with rooms full to 300-400Watt power sucking PCs!

    1. Re:What I want is a wireless VNC touchpad by afroborg · · Score: 2, Informative

      Viewsonic do a similar thing:
      The airsync, although it uses remote desktop not VNC.

      Also, at around $1300 USD, it ain't cheap!

      --
      my sig could kick your sig's arse...
  15. REB 1100 by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

    I just got one a few weeks ago, there are several sources of books in the format including fictionwise and the Bean free library, blackmask online also sells a DVD (r) containing thousands of books.


    the software that comes with the eBook reader points you to some software that is listed as not working with the REB1100 for making .rb files, but it does work, just don't select encrypted format and you have to reopen the project file between putting it together and exporting it unless you want a tiny useless file I have made it work before to convert HTML ebooks into .rb

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    1. Re:REB 1100 by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      oops nevermind on the reload files issue, i was just screwing up. I will be posting a link in my Journal (bookmark it if interested, should be done by thursday) once i finish my eBook Publisher toutorial

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  16. An ideal device, IMO by breon.halling · · Score: 1

    I'd like a reader that could also double as a comicbook viewer. There's a substantial amount of CBR/CBZ files floating around, so it would be interesting to find a device, maybe magazine-sized, that had a colour display & support for various ebook formats. A Tablet PC, while close, is still a little too bulky for lying on the couch and reading.

    What I'm looking for, ideally, is device with a portrait-oriented (taller than it is wide) screen, supporting at least 600x800 24-bit resolution.

    I'm not an engineer, so I don't know if this could work, but what I'm thinking is this: dedicate all the space in the guts of the machine to displaying the picture and reading data from USB memorysticks. So someone make an OS that works with this specific hardware (device drivers and a minimal file-browser) and sticks it on the aforementioned memorystick. Plug it in and boot the machine.

    Any external files you'd like to load have to be on a SECOND memorystick plugged into a second USB port.

    A touchscreen and a few buttons would make loading and navigating through documents a breeze.

    I doubt anyone will ever make such a device, though... Maybe I'll build one myself eventually.

    --
    "Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
  17. Personally by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    I'd spring for one of the pocketPC line, though maybe you could find a linux palm that does the trick. Skype is worth an extra $100.

    But For my ebooks I use the Palm Tungsten E with iSiloWeb (don't get X it's bloated crapware).

    Handles html and pdf just fine. For downloading books try irc.nullus.net #bookwarez

  18. Dedicated to e-Books by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Interesting topic! You might want to browse through Mobileread which is discussing the pro and con of e-books and e-book devices in every possible way.

  19. Nothing beats paper by ngdbsdmn · · Score: 1

    I've looked for the same device for two years now and my conclusion is that nothing beats a laser printer and a big pile of A4 sheets.

    Laptop - A desktop replacement is out of question, a portable one (Centrino) is way too big and an ultraportable one is amazingly expensive and still too big. Plus, you can't use a notbook in places where you wan't to just chill and read something because you will look like a moron and you will be forced to stay in the classic desktop position.

    Tablet PC - Nice ideea, nice design (Compaq), a bit bulky but otherwise a good device for reading. Much better then a notebook. Unfortunately in Romania this things are extremely expensive. They start at 1500 euro (2000$). I don't know how long the battery can hang on but otherwise this device seems to be the best choice.

    PDA - Way too small, you can't make electronic notes on the document you read, very limited processing resources, stupid user interface, pretty expensive for what it offers in the reading area.

    Laser printer, A4 paper sheets - It's a pretty inexpensive solution and there are only two things that you need in order for it to work. The first one is to have some kind of ideea on what you want to read. We're talking books here so if you want to just browse things out you can do that on your desktop's LCD. The second one is to keep your printed books ordered in cabinet files. You can print out just a few chapters from one or more books and read those. When you're done you move to the next chapter and you file the previous in cabinets. At the end of any book you'll have you're own copy with annotations, stains and shit. It shure helps my photografic memory.

    If you really want to stay with an electronic device my guess is that a Tablet PC is as good as it gets but it's too expensive so that it justifies it's only purpose. However the best way to read books is printing them out even though it can be a challenge to format CHM files :). The only downside to this method is the fact that you must be a little organised because it is already more expensive to print your own book then it is to get a printed copy and the only justification for doing so is the fact that you will actually read it. This chapter by chapter printing techinque can also help keep you focused on what you're reading and even though at a page level the cost is higher than a tipographic printed copy, the fact that you pay only for what you read can be more cost efective on the long run.

  20. check out the Sony Librie by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    You can download converted pdf files to the device. It's very expensive, but very cool (170 dpi E Ink display).

    It's available from some of the more popular grey-market importers from Japan.

    1. Re:check out the Sony Librie by gabebear · · Score: 1

      If I was in the market for an eBook reader I'd just wait for a Librie competitor. The Librie is currently Japanese only and pricey, but far and away the best technology.

      http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1749479,00.as p

  21. treo by jqh1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    For me, it's primarily about availability of the device - I hate carrying around stuff. I have a treo 600 that's taken over a great deal of my PC tasks. I never started reading e-books until I got it. I have two different reader programs installed -- palmreader (for "secure" files) and tibr (which I prefer, but it doesn't handle the "secure" files). The treo 650 has better resolution and so would be be easier on the eyes, but I haven't got one yet.

    Anyway, I've done so much reading with the treo (wherever I find myself waiting I can read) and gotten used to - the convenience of not turning pages - having my place saved automatically in multiple books - having a backlight so that ambient lighting is irrelevant - having all the books I've read on the device present for reference and electronic searches - etc. - that I have a hard time picking up a paper book now.

    --
    who's moderating the meta-moderators?
  22. Second-hand Palm or Handspring by Curmudgeonlyoldbloke · · Score: 2, Informative

    If a notebook or tablet PC is too big, then a Palm or Handspring might be about right. It'll run for ages on rechargeable batteries and it'll should be cheap enough not to worry about losing.

    For e-book reading software, try:
    http://www.plkr.org/

  23. Homebrew ebook readers? by Catbeller · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I've been poking about on Google for some time, with little success, searching for any project to build an ebook from off-the-shelf parts.

    I'm not in any way knowledgeable in electronics, so I'm not asking about a how-to for myself. I am wondering if anyone has tried it. An LCD screen, a circuit board, a Linux-based OS, a simple means of moving ebooks in and out of the device. It doesn't have to be very complex or expensive. Color isn't necessary. If a builder wanted to be cute, build an ebook into a bound book; the paper and leather would make a nice shock absorber if the unit were dropped.

    The big advantage is the flexibility of the device. No DRM. Evolving open source ebook software. Textbooks. Did I mention textbooks?

    Federal law slaps a mandatory 5 year sentence for scanning a copyrighted textbook into ebook format, so good luck bringing it to class. Unless you could rig a futuristic set of display spex so that you alone could read the book without someone calling the Feds down on you. A pretty pass it has come to, when we are hiding our books from cops.

    Brings me to advocating open source textbooks. A major expense for money-starved American schools is the stranglehold of the textbook industry. Phonics, arithmetic and history aren't changing so much every year that new $100 textbooks for each are required periodically. Make them free and openly available for download, and be done with it. Such projects are already online; we just need a ebook to go along with them. Laptops are overkill for this purpose.

    And the censorship of the Texas school system on American textbooks has reached critical mass of late, affecting science and history taught in every part of the country.

    I'd like to see every student carry ONE ebook, cheaply made and powered by open sourced software and filled with open sourced textbooks and materials. Not made by Microsoft, not controlled by the publishing industry, and not subject to cultural cleansing by the most rightist school boards in the nation. I'd have killed for such a thing when I was toting 15 books at a time in high school.

    Mostly -- I want to not drown in paper books! We can't cut down every tree in the world even if it does bring on the Rapture. Literacy is going up everywhere, and no doubt book publishers are gleeful, but we can't cut down every tree in Canada. The paper-based book is an environmental disaster. Trees ain't corn; cutting them down causes Problems.

    Ignore all but the first paragraph if you wish; I want to know about any projects people have heard about or even done in regards to making their own ebooks.

    1. Re:Homebrew ebook readers? by ccp · · Score: 1

      I've been poking about on Google for some time, with little success, searching for any project to build an ebook from off-the-shelf parts.

      I'm not in any way knowledgeable in electronics, so I'm not asking about a how-to for myself. I am wondering if anyone has tried it. An LCD screen, a circuit board, a Linux-based OS, a simple means of moving ebooks in and out of the device. It doesn't have to be very complex or expensive. Color isn't necessary. If a builder wanted to be cute, build an ebook into a bound book; the paper and leather would make a nice shock absorber if the unit were dropped.

      I've been down the same path, and I also found nothing.
      Is amazing that such an obvious and useful idea hasn't not been implemented or at least tried.
      The reader could certainly have an under $100 price, and the maker should sell a LOT of them.

      The only reason I can think of is pressure from the book publishers. Is my tin hat on?

      If you think of a way to begin a grass roots petition drop me a line. Stranger things have happened.

      Cheers,

  24. Re:Punt on dedicated e-book readers--use a Pocket by kriston · · Score: 1

    Wow, does it convert DRM-protected *.lit files? That is an awesome idea.

    Kris

    --

    Kriston

  25. Cheap Solution by carrowood · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I spent the last year trying to find the right ebook reader for me;

    My requirements:
    - cheap
    - mulitple formats: txt, pdf, doc, isilo, mobi, etc;
    - color screen bigger than most palms, smaller than laptop

    My Solution:
    - used NEC MobilePro 780 off ebay running WinCE: about $99 from a reputable seller;

    So far I am happy; Using serial instead of USB kinda sucks, but for the price, I am pleased. I am about to get a wireless card for it and connect it to my home network.

    Worked out great for me but do you own homework first ;-)

  26. Palm Tungsten / Windows CE / Franklin EBookman by rsclient · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've read e-books on handhelds for years; they are especially good with small babies -- you can walk up and down in the living room for hours, holding the baby in one arm and the handheld in the other. All of them have backlights so that you can read in the dark. Get aquainted with Project Gutenberg -- I can recommend "Mr. Midshipman Easy" as a very fun book.

    The Palm Tungsten E is very, very nice: a sharp, good resolution screen, very fast, and decent controls for reading. You can also get the very excellant "Tradewinds" game for it. I haven't dropped it yet, so it still works. Bad points: I managed to get it on special but didn't type in the special code, so I didn't really get the special deal, and too many of the HTML readers won't read "local" html files. There's lots of free software for the Palm, but too much is lame.

    The Franklin E-Bookman is good because it was cheap ($50 at Costco; they were selling them out) and has a big screen, good controls, and has very simple to use reader software. Bad points is that I dropped it and it broke, and the software wasn't quite done (and never will be; Franklin dropped the line). The desktop software was a little odd, and isn't fully compatible and regular files can't just be dropped in: you have to "convert" them. There's very little software.

    The Phillips "Nino" CE machine was junk, more so after I dropped it and it broke. The ActiveSync software runs from mediocre to awful -- Windows CE machines are designed to be popped into a cradle for recharging, but every time you drop it in, it freezes and resyncs for five minutes. The software was all bad: lots of features, but all the features were done with no usability in mind. You can't just add files: in general files have to be processed before using. There's lots of software, but only if you know which processor you have and the OS version.

    Lastly, my old Sharp Wizard OZ9000 was decent but had terrible connectivity software. The keyboard was good, and the IR worked (I transported all my data to another identical unit after I dropped it, and it broke). Not recommended since you can get a better, faster, smaller unit of almost anything else.

    --
    Want a sig like mine? Join ACM's SigSig today!
  27. The Everlasting Newton by IpseDixit12 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Newton's large screen makes it wonderful for reading text, even though it is in green.

  28. HiEbook link by bmsleight · · Score: 1

    link to HiEbook
    Lazy - I mean how differcult was it to post a link ?

    1. Re:HiEbook link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because that site just has some software updates to the hiebook, and very little other information.

  29. REB1100 and ebookwise-1150 by zonem · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have been using the REB1100 to read ebooks for years, and have recently purchased 2 ebookwise-1150 models for myself and my girlfriend. They are priceless! For the reb1100, I used the rbmake tools in Linux and the old rocketlibrarian in windows. Other shave posted links to rbmake.

    Now, the ebookwise-1150 has a number of advantages over the REB1100. The battery life isn't quite as good, but it makes up for it in features. The interface is a little nicer, and the book won't lose your place if you keep reading past the "warning, battery low" message. There are other small things I like about it. Overall, I would highly recommend the ebookwise-1150. It contains all the good of the REB1100 and adds a polished interface and upgradeable firmware (this is VERY important).

    Now, you can hook it up to your computer with a USB coord and, without even having to register your ebookwise, load books onto it with the "GEB eBook Librarian" (http://www.breeno.org/eBook/). Otherwise known as "ebookwise librarian", this little piece of software can convert many different formats into the ebookwise ".imp" format: txt,html,rtf,doc,etc (including those documents that contain images and hyperlinks). It also becomes the "online bookshelf" you log into from your ebookwise device, from which you will download the books themselves. There is a $15 registration fee but it is well worth it. There's also a shareware/demo version so you can try it out free. Note that unless you have a smartmedia card for your ebookwise, you won't be able to use it in Linux. This is a very small price to pay, imo.

    Any more questions, send me an email.

    - Eugene

  30. Pocket PC PDAs by Blitzenn · · Score: 2, Informative

    I personally just did the same thing and went on a quest to find a reader I could carry with me. I was spending too much time locked in front of my PC reading books.

    My criteria for a PDA was cost more than anything, so I will share the problems with going for the low price as opposed to usability. I shopped Ebay for my PDA and bid on many units before I got the one that I wanted at the price that I wanted. $100 was my limit and I met that with enough to spare to upgrade my unit.

    I ended up purchasing the Compaq iPaq 3765 for $75. The battery was a bit weak, as it was the original, so I immediately replaced it with a much larger one for $25. It is a gourgeous unit, I have to admit. The screen is extremely legible even when sitting in that shaded corner of the airport lobby.

    I am very happy with the units handling of most ebooks. It really only likes to use Microsoft's E-reader, I have however loaded Moby Reader and Acrobat Reader on their too. I have found however, that most DRM'ed ebooks will only work with the MS reader, forcing me to buy books only in that format. It's not true for all books, but most Adobe DRM'ed books will not work on a Pocket PC device. I found an article on MS Technical Support that states that Adobe's DRM scheme won't work on the MS Mobile OS/Pocket PC. The software loads, but DRM'ed books don't work.

    In short, a Pocket PC is apparently going to lock you into the MS reader format for DRM'ed books. I cannot speak for a Palm OS PDA or any other readers. I haven't ever uesed them.

  31. Tungsten T|3 does all you want... by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...except that Adobe have written the world's worst PDF reader for the Palm. Pity, as the hardware is perfect. If I had the time I'd write an application to convert PDF to bitmaps that can be viewed on the Palm - but that's easy enough that surely someone out there has done this already.

    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
  32. Psion PDA by superpenguin · · Score: 1

    I have a Diamond Mako (rebranded Psion Revo Plus) and have read a lot of ebooks on it. The screen is relatively hi-res and very crisp, so it makes reading a pleasant experience. Also, with MobiPocket Reader (free download), you can utilize 100% of the screen for reading without any toolbars or other visual junk. Also, because the screen is fairly wide for a PDA (5"), I find that speeds up reading a bit because you're not jumping lines every 5 words (although my reading speed is still slower than with a book). There are always a number of Psion devices (Mako/Revo, Series 5, Series 5MX) on Ebay. Note that the Mako/Revo does not have a backlight, although the Series 5 does.

  33. Franklin's eBookman by Silverknife · · Score: 1

    The Franklin eBookman is a pda-style device designed for reading books. Internal storage is between 8-16 megs but additional storage can be handled through mmc cards. Even the os can be backed up on a mmc card. http://pdaref.homeip.net/ for advice and programs.

  34. Re:print it out --Openoffice-- by ToterSan · · Score: 1

    If this is something you would like to see in openoffice, just forward this whole discussion to them.

  35. Smartphones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The best eBook Reader devices are the Sony Ericsson models.
    You can use them as cell phones, PDA, Internet web browser, full PC (word, excel, ..) AND ebook/news readers using Mobipocket. What else do you want ?
    leave the Librie and other proprietary devices !