Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?

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."

Comments

You need rbmake

[damiangerous]

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

Re:You need rbmake

[swillden]

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.

Re:You need rbmake

[swillden]

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

Sharp Zaurus SL-5600

[andrews]

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.

Re:Sharp Zaurus SL-5600

[Kahm-Hime]

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.

iPAQ

[madstork2000]

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

Re:iPAQ

[Calmiche]

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.

Re:print it out

[DougWebb]

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.

Re:Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs.

[Deagol]

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

Re:PSP?

[macshit]

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?!?

HiEbook

[Marticus]

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.)

Me too

[trawg]

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.

Re:What I want is a wireless VNC touchpad

[afroborg]

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

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

treo

[jqh1]

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.

Second-hand Palm or Handspring

[Curmudgeonlyoldbloke]

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/

Palm Tungsten / Windows CE / Franklin EBookman

[rsclient]

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.

REB1100 and ebookwise-1150

[zonem]

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

Pocket PC PDAs

[Blitzenn]

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.

Tungsten T|3 does all you want...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...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.