Good PDF Reader Device With Internet Browsing?

ranjix writes "I need a handheld device which would allow me to read ebooks and/or browse the internet while actively and intensely laying in the hammock (and Yes, I do have a hammock in my mom's basement). I'll try to sum up the basic requirements: (good) PDF reader (and ebooks of whatever sort), WiFi connectivity and Internet browser, screen minimum 4.5", readable in sunlight, etc, fairly responsive, at least 4-5 hours battery. Obviously I looked at the usual suspects: Kindle/Amazon tries to grab one into the proprietary formats and their own network (while other ebook readers don't really browse the internet), laptops/netbooks are pretty hard to hold, and the UMPC arena seems a hodge-podge of 'to be released' (Viliv S5? Aigo whatever?) with 'seriously expensive' (Sony, OQO) or plain 'we recommend you don't buy' (Samsung Q1Ex). Is there anything else I could use in the given circumstances?"

Comments

Your are not the only one looking...

[WolphFang]

Your are not the only one looking... I have even looked at the older PDA's and such posted on ebay. The biggest drawback so far I found is the e-ink daylight, no backlight desire.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Antidamage]

The cheapest option could be a Nokia N770. They're not quite as daylight readable as e-ink surfaces, but still not bad. The bonus is you're getting a mini-linux environment in your hand. I run RDP on mine and connect to a Windows 7 box when I'm around home.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Anonymous Coward]

You can get a Nokia 810 for about $180 these days. They have the transreflective screen. FBReader makes a great ebook reader on these things. I don't know if you can get a 770 new any more and the 810 will be worth the extra $ anyway.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Holmwood]

The parent is correct in pointing out the fascinating Nokia device. However, the Nokia 770 hasn't been manufactured for at least a year; it was replaced by the Nokia N800. The N810 is an N800 with slideout keyboard, GPS, etc. The N800 is probably the best choice for a very small reading device that also browses the web superbly.

That said, the screen is a slight bit smaller than the OP's requirements; it's ~4.1". But at 800x480, it yields 275 dpi which is very, very nice for an LCD-based device to read text from.

The N800/N810, despite coming from Nokia are not phones. They are essentially powerful desktop computers from the late 1990's reduced to palm size (~8 ounces). 400 MHz ARM processor, 256 MB RAM, up to 64 GB of storage (2 SDHC slots), 4.1" 800x480x16bit screen, runs a loosely Debian-based Linux distribution called Maemo.

It plays Youtube videos, and can play back DVD-quality DivX/Xvid (MPEG 4 pt 2 ASP) video without transcoding. It has a built-in PDF reader, and FBReader is an excellent free reader available for a wide variety of other formats.

Battery life is on the order of 4-5 hours, and unlike Apple devices the batteries are user swappable. I have a spare that gives my N800 close to 10 hours of powered-on life. (In sleep mode, the device sips power; I've had mine sleeping for days without running out of power.)

I find it generally excellent for daytime use, though I agree with the parent that e-ink devices are a little better for text in daylight, but all I've tried (Kindle, Sony) are inferior for PDF's and web browsing.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Antidamage]

When I checked a year ago, the N770 was still around for $170 new, so the 810 would definitely be a tempting prospect. It's a big upgrade.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Richard Steiner]

I love my Nokia 770. I use VNC to access Windows and Linux desktops elsewhere in the house, and I also use it for LOTS of other things including reading PDFs and e-books, viewing msps offline via Maemo Mapper (and sometimes as a basic GPS), running various Palm programs via Garnet VM, etc.

In fact, right now I'm writing this via Firefox via VNC from my 770. :-)

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[NightLamp]

I also have an n800 and use it to read .pdf every night (there is a download to let you set the lcd to 1/128 brightness), during the day I read the same book on my Touch Pro but the n800 has a much better screen. I use Evince to read the pdf files, it is one of my favorite pieces of software.

Evince lacks reflow but I can maximize the font by reducing the margins to 0 in Acrobat.

Evince beats the WinMo Acrobat reader because it remembers your page when you re-open the file, this is a feature not to be underestimated. On the other hand WinMo Acro has reflow and zoom which make a book readable on a very small screen. WinMo Acro. though, doesn't remember your settings per book, or at all, which makes it irritating when the device needs to be rebooted ( every 2 to 3 days )

The next evolution for me is probably going to be e-ink in the form of a Foxit eSlick Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ebook/) I have handled the Sony readers in the Sony store and they are really nice to hold, too expensive but hopefully the eSlick will be as good and cheaper.

atb good luck

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[montibbalt]

I don't even buy textbooks for school anymore if there's a PDF version available, now that I have an n810 and an 8gb card.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[denttford]

Doesnt't it feel like there have been three of the same stories in different form but identical in comments?

Anyway, The N810 is also an N800 with a transflective screen, making it very readable where the N800 is not, and thus fits the requirements better. Yes, I own both (and owned a 770, for good measure).

I would caution against any of the eink devices if you insist on webbrowsing on the same device. The refresh rate and limited web media and browser functions make for a frustrating experience. I carry my Sony 505 with me all the time, but it's for fiction, not random access (i.e. textbook, techincal, or webpage reading) as page flipping is still painful.

Your best bet, if the N810 is too small, is to find a tablet PC with a transflective screen. Motion Computing and Itronix slates can be had fairly cheaply on ebay; Fujitsu P1610/20 and U810/820 convertibles also are options if you can do without a transflective screen. I have a U820 and love it (and its high ppi and long battery life), but if I were you, I suspect the greater utility would be found in a P16x0 series.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Goldberg's Pants]

iPod Touch fulfills all those criterior. Not sure of the exact screen size of the iPod though so it might fall down there.

"Oh noes! That's evil Apple! Can't support them!"

Figured I'd save people firing up the whinertron 5000.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Nakor BlueRider]

3.5" diagonal display (roughly 3"x2"), 480x320px resolution.

Apple lists it starting from $229 for the 8GB version.

Source

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Anonymous Coward]

That said, the screen is a slight bit smaller than the OP's requirements; it's ~4.1". But at 800x480, it yields 275 dpi which is very, very nice for an LCD-based device to read text from.

The DPI is 225, but still, it's about two times more than your average LCD has. Oh, and the N800/N810 screen is not very readable in direct sunlight - you have to set the backlight at maximum, which makes the device use quite a bit more power. I must say, Youtube in the browser is a little bit slow, but Canola (a very good media player for Maemo which is designed for use with fingers) with the Youtube plugin works great. And one must note - N800 has 2 SDHC slots, but no keyboard and N810 has a keyboard, but only one microSDHC slot.

But the point hold still - Nokia tablets are the best thing you can buy, with these requirements

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hanlin in Tianjin China shows exactly what you want in their catalog of what they CAN make and distribute. The only question is whether they do it yet or not. Check them out, their V3 reader is available in the US (and is cheaper in the US than here in China where it is made. Actually it looks exactly like a Swindle, it is quite possible that they make the amazon Kindle but they also don't have the vendor lock-in, they use a linux variety for their OS. maybe you can write and see what they can do for you.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Anonymous Coward]

You have not listed the most important difference between N800 and N810 with regard to ebooks - the N810 uses a transflective screen and is thus readable in even direct sunlight. Not as good as e-ink but definitely useable.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[Hal_Porter]

My X1 came with PDF support

http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/x1?lc=en&cc=us

It's a great device really.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[mdwh2]

But nobody's whining. As always, it's people whining about any possible criticism against Apple - even before it actually happens.

Personally I think it's nice for a Slashdot article to, for once, acknowledge the existence of the vast range of popular and mainstream handheld devices, rather than pretending the Iphone is the only device in existence.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[OeLeWaPpErKe]

This is the same concept as an n800, but much larger screen :

the smartq7.

It's not very readable in direct sunlight though.

Mobileread.com is a site that only deals with problems like this. Very interesting read if you're into reading books.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[JerryP]

The N800 (and presumably the N810) also makes for a nice personalized in-flight entertainment device on long flights. Going from Frankfurt to San Francisco, I could watch a feature movie and half a season of Babylon 5 easily. I've got a USB power adapter, so when the N800 runs out of power, I can leech off my laptop's battery.

Re:Your are not the only one looking...

[good soldier svejk]

I just got one for free with the annual Apple edu rebate. I run Stanza on it and think it is an excellent book reader.

iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

It does everything you want. Nothing with an e-ink screen is going to browse the internet "properly", but nothing without really fits the bill either.

Get an iLiad, and keep updating the browser as new versions become available. It runs Linux, and isn't locked-down DRM-addled crap like the Kindle or those shoddy Sony efforts.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

the price of the iliad is a complete joke. $700? May as well buy a tablet pc at that price.

Re:iRex iLiad

[amiga3D]

Ah...but he doesn't want a tablet PC. According to what the original post asked for this seems to be a perfect fit. Cheaper would be nice...if it existed.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

OK, DRM sucks, but seriously, the Kindle DX doesn't force you to use it. It is "DRM-addled crap" in the same way the iPod is. It displays normal PDFs *and* the DRM-shit that Amazon peddles. You decide what you want with your credit card and USB cable.

Re:iRex iLiad

[peragrin]

Well there is one but it isn't out yet.

Get a crunchpad. The form factor is larger than wanted but everything else fits the bill. The fact is companies keep trying to tie their services to these things to make money but some how fail to do so as the unit is so locked down it never takes off to begin with.

I fully expect the crunch pad to spawn a series of open devices of various sizes. electronic paper, is a joke until it costs the same as paper.

Re:iRex iLiad

[gazita123]

I second this. I've got one and use it all the time. It is really excellent for taking your library with you, and it doubles as a notebook (a book to take notes in, not a notebook computer). The wifi works OK, but can be finicky. This is one of the only e-ink devices with a Wacom digitizer for taking notes and annotating documents. The software has been opened up and there is some community development Open Iliad, but you will find most of the active discussions and news on the forums.

It is hackable to extend the battery life to several days, and it supports CF flash, SD, and USB memory. The USB port can also be used for running a USB light or hooking up an external keyboard. For updating, it is possible to use SSH to connect to it, and then just rsync or whatever you want.

Since I've gotten this, I've started being able to read many books that are available for free as a CC licensed digital download. Cory Doctorow is a good example.

The cost is higher than similar readers due to the digitizer and wifi and *most importantly* the fact that it is a full A5 sized screen (8" diagonal). I've compared this to the smaller Sony reader, and the additional screen space is particularly valuable for reading PDFs since they do not re-flow the text to fit the screen.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

I too have an iLiad and would recommend AGAINST getting one. The hardware for the iLiad is great, the software from iRex is horrible. Just for example, the hardware has (stereo) sound capabilities. That's good. The software doesn't. That's stupid.

Re:iRex iLiad

[rm999]

"It runs Linux, and isn't locked-down DRM-addled crap like the Kindle or those shoddy Sony efforts."

You don't understand the Kindle at all. First, it runs Linux. You are probably repeating complaints that the software isn't open source, but Linux is not a synonym for open source. Second, its DRM does not prevent you from viewing non-DRM material. The Kindle has a very capable PDF converter, and the resulting files have no DRM in them. The Kindle is a superset of a theoretically identical device without any DRM. I have a Kindle and have never used its DRM.

The Kindle is an impressive piece of hardware, but I agree its software licensing leaves something to be desired.

Re:iRex iLiad

[SpinyNorman]

Nothing with an e-ink screen is going to browse the internet "properly", but nothing without really fits the bill either.

Maybe not yet, but check out this dual-mode reflective/transmissive LCD screen from Pixel Qi.

It has the best of both worlds - in reflective mode it's like an e-ink display, readable in full sunlight, and in transmisssive mode it's a fast color display suitable for watching movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm8WoItVRn0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oawX3wenxNc

Re:iRex iLiad

[stephanruby]

Get yourself a computer projector (if you do your research, you can get a very good one for a decent price). Experiment with projecting on the wall (or on the ceiling of your basement). If your basement doesn't have a good spot for projecting on to. Build yourself your own custom projection screen (see the instructables web site to see how it's done right). Hang it from the ceiling, and use some ropes and a couple of mini-pulleys to tilt it to the angle you prefer (assuming you do want it tilted, also if nothing else, this pulley system could be used to fold the screen toward the ceiling if the screen gets in the way when not in use). Also, I suppose you could use some nylon strings and some metal hooks if you don't like the idea of ropes and pulleys.

Now a projector and a projection screen may not be the perfect set up for reading text, especially reading pdfs, but I think it's getting better (although admittedly, I would never read an entire ebook with it). And perhaps, the other slashdoters could suggest ways to optimize such a set up to facilitate reading (I'm hoping).

Now putting that question of readability aside for someone else: once your budget allows, you can start adding accessories to help with the navigation. Wireless mouse. Wireless keyboard. Wireless tablet. The clapper, clap on -- clap off, when you're in bed (currently sold at Walgreens for not too much I think, thought I have no idea how it would affect the projector cutting its power off, and turning it back on, like that). An additional LCD screen. Two or three cheap laser pointers (preferably of different colors), to be used when your friends are coming over (and yes, you may get some friends coming over more frequently because of this), and since only one person is usually in control of the mouse when everybody is looking at the screen (on occasion, it helps to give your friends laser pointers). iPod Touch, a remote control, or an existing smartphone to be used as a wireless remote control (the thing is, a good remote control device doesn't have to be too elaborate to be useful -- since you will be doing most of your reading/browsing on the screen anyway, and using your own cell phone gives you the added benefit to pause the sound/pause the movie whenever you receive an important call, and also possibly get additional caller-id on-the-fly from http://whocalled.us/ ).

And on the topic of the FoxIt PDF reader, that's an awesome piece of software, but it's been getting bloated and buggier in the past few months (or in the past year?). I'd suggest that if you have an old copy of Foxit, that you hold on to it, back it up, and/or burn it to a disk or something. And lacking an old copy, I'd suggest you try PDF xChange Viewer, that's a good alternative in my opinion.

Now I know that some people have their pdf ebooks read to them by their computers (with different computer voices and at different speeds depending on the ebook) but I've never liked that option and I don't think that option would work for most people (even with the better voice reading technology). May be you should try to have your mom (or your girlfriend -- whichever applies in your case) come down to the basement and read to you what's on the projection screen while you're lying in the Hammock with your eyes closed. That last option sounds kind of nice actually. :-)

Re:iRex iLiad

[RMingin]

Locked-down DRM-addled crap?

I put tons of my own books on my Kindle. I do so drag-and-drop, from an OS of my choosing, via USB mass storage. Kindle reads plain text, MOBI/AZW (mine have no DRM, or the Amazon DRM stripped, pretty easy to do), and the newer ones read PDF unconverted.

If Kindle isn't for you, that's fine, but dismissing it out of hand as 'DRM-addled crap' seems a bit knee-jerk.

I have a Kindle, I bought it second hand. I've bought exactly two paid books via Amazon, and have ZERO issues of any type in reading the hundreds I've added.

A Kindle is vendor-locked far less than an iPod. While an iPod will play your existing songs, you need iTunes to add them. Kindle doesn't require anything but a file manager.

Re:iRex iLiad

[shutdown -p now]

In case you want to try out alternative (and open source) software, iLiad is supported by OpenInkpot

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

> The Kindle has a very capable PDF converter

No, there's an "online service" which gives you an email address which you send PDFs to to be converted into Kindle-crap. Is that service guaranteed to a) be around forever and b) be free (as in beer) forever? ...I didn't think so.

You can put PDFs (actual, real PDFs) on the iLiad.

Re:iRex iLiad

[vivian]

This is thinking along the right lines. For years I thought it would be cool to have some sort of tablet PC so I could surf the net on my couch.
After getting a 42" plasma screen a couple of weeks ago, I now realise the solution I always needed was to have an old PC hooked up to a huge screen and just have a remote keyboard & mouse. Works great - you can watch tv, movies etc and also surf the net at a lovely 1920x1280 resolution. Total cost: About $AU 1700 for a 42" plasma, + $100 bucks for a logitech wireless keyboard & mouse with 10M range (about 30 ft) + one old PC I already had lying around. Well worth it, and way better than any hand held solution. It's just not feasible to surf today's web content on a pocket PC.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

You have obviously never used the Sony. I have had one for a year and a half have read well over 100 books on it, and not a single one of them has been DRMed. They have all been files I have DLed from the internet. non-drmed Mobi converts and syncs with Calibre (not Sony's crap library software). I get blogs, news, mobi, rtf converted and synced directly. PDF files drop on, and with the formware that came out about 6 months ago, It can do adobe digital editions (borrowed from the library) with some basic reflow. it supports ePub right out of the box. The build quality of the Sony unit, especially the 505 that I own is incredibly good, a thin metal shell, not the crap plastic shit that Amazon makes the Kindle from. Its thin, stylish, light and functional. I've seen the Kindle and for aesthetics, its not even a close comparison.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, perhaps you should use these devices before complaining. Both Kindle and Sony support PDF files directly, no conversion. Sony also supports the "digital editions" pdf format (time locked) so that you can "borrow" ebooks from the library.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

> That's stupid

That's going to get fixed in one or other upcoming software release. Have you mentioned it on the support forum instead of just bitching about it on Slashdot?

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

The screen's not just physically big, it's also very high-resolution. 768x1024 for the regular iLiad, Book Edition, and iLiad 2; 1024x1280 for the new DR-1000S (but if you want Wi-Fi you need to wait for the Wi-Fi enabled DR-1000SW to come out).

Re:iRex iLiad

[jonaskoelker]

Nothing with an e-ink screen is going to browse the internet "properly"

I figure my eyes/brain just glitched, as I read it as "e-kink".

I'll leave it up to the reader to guess how I read the word "properly"...

Re:iRex iLiad

[rm999]

You can just download this software, which Amazon owns: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/HomePage/default.asp?Language=EN
Their free e-mail service just runs this on their servers, for people who don't want to deal with software.

Also, the Kindle DX allows you to put PDFs directly onto the device.

Re:iRex iLiad

[Anonymous Coward]

I second this! I got a DR1000 and it is really bad. The software is bad. Not honoring the USB protocol. Doesn't shutdown properly (drain the battery without your notice). They promised a good battery life but at the end of day it's just not enough.

They pretty much released an unfinished product without all the features promised (namely power management) and with too many bugs. After a long time and a few firmware releases things are still not in the right place. I'm not happy with their support too. Personally I think it's a lie. Many features sound really nice but when you actually bought it and used it, it's just not functioning.

Re:iRex iLiad

[afabbro]

Does it display PDFs? Last I heard you had to email the PDF docs to some conversion service run by Amazon, and they made no guarantees that any given PDF would render properly.

iPhone.

[icebike]

Ok, someone has to say it. iPhone/iPod Touch.

Choice of several readers. Choice of formats,
and at least 3 different on line stores if you want to buy something to read.

May not be cost effective for the single purpose of PDF reader, but throw in everything else it does and it makes sense.

Re:iPhone.

[Degro]

The iPhone is not very good if you're talking larger book pdfs (jailbroken may be a different story). The best I've found so far is Air Sharing from the app store, which lets you map your phone via WebDAV. Once the files are on your phone it seems to use the built in display for that file type, the same pdf viewer you get from the mail app in this case. The viewing is good enough for me. I've read several smaller books with it already. The problem lies with trying to open large files. Anything over 10-15mb will likely lock up your phone. Anything over 25mb, forget about it. Sometimes I can't even kill the app when this happens and have to reboot the phone...

Re:iPhone.

[Anonymous Coward]

Try PDF+ which is in the App Store. I carry several large IEEE standards in it (largest is 19mb) that work fine. It also adds search and index support which makes it reasonable to use with large documents.

Even with all of that it is a pain compared to reading the same document on a laptop. The screen is small and the controls are limited. But it fits in my pocket which was the goal.

Re:iPhone.

[BagOBones]

- The 3GS has a lot more ram which should solve the large document issue, and there are plenty of different PDF apps on the app store.
- There is the kindle branded app as well that lets you get the same books available on the kindle direct on your iPhone

Other than screen size the iPhone very closely meets his requirments and is great for surfing the web.

Re:iPhone.

[Anonymous Coward]

You'd be better off with an N810 than an IPod due to the screen size and resolution. The iPod is trendy, but it doesn't hold a candle to the N810 for web browsing.

Re:iPhone.

[wizzat]

Sounds to me like you're using the wrong app to read with. I've read many many (many) books on my iphone and really it comes down to the interface on the app you're reading with. I rather highly recommend reading with Bookshelf - and as a double bonus win, it is setup by default to access the Webscription (Baen/Tor) free library.

Re:iPhone.

[strawberryutopia]

I was going to say the exact same thing. I hardly ever use my iPod Touch to listen to music, but I use it all the time for Internet, IM and PDF reading. I use air sharing for my PDF reading. It's quite good.

Re:iPhone.

[fluffernutter]

The problem I've had with bookshelf or any PDF reader on the iPhone is a lack of any kind of search within the document. Even being able to flip to the next chapter would be nice, but a minimum requirement for me is to be able to search on a string, find all instances within the PDF and cycle from instance to instance. Every reader I have tried has failed in this regard.

Re:iPhone.

[purpleraison]

I agree with the other posts about the iPhone. I have Readdle and Files and while both do smaller pdf's adequately (not great, just adequate), there is nothing I have found that does 80MB pdf's without crashing.

If anyone has a suggestion, I'd love to hear it... because I could surely use one.

Re:iPhone.

[wzinc]

iPod touch has more than everything you want, except the 4.5" screen. All other devices will be a disappointment compared to it in terms of ease of use.

Re:iPhone.

[boredinspired]

It may do a lot. Its a very beautifully executed idea for a phone + personal music/media player and somewhat lightweight web browsing. The GPS ability is also excellent.

I have one and love it ... BUT, having said that. I WILL NOT RECOMMEND it as a serious PDF ebook reader.

Re:iPhone.

[shutdown -p now]

No device with a screen resolution of 320x480 is going to make a decent PDF reader, period.

Heck, the first Kindle had 600x800, and it still sucked at it.

Re:iPhone.

[YourExperiment]

Alternatively, consider one of the new breed of large-screen smart phones like the Samsung Omnia HD or the HTC Touch HD. Now that manufacturers are waking up to the design mistakes they've been making for the past five years, these devices are finally becoming the true all-in-one solutions that they should have been all along.

The large screens are ideal for both web-browsing and e-book reading - obviously not as good as a larger dedicated reader, but if portability is a factor then these things are ideal. In addition you get a half-decent camera, a video camera, a music and movie player (with a proper headphone socket, finally!), a games machine and even a phone!

I'm pretty sure that in a few years time we'll all be marvelling that anyone ever bought a standalone MP3 player, compact camera or e-book reader, when we're all carrying a device in our pocket that does all of those things.

Re:iPhone.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll agree with this.

I use my G1 to read all my books (convert to html or txt although it does have pdf capabilities now) and I love it.

Of course, I do most my reading in bed when the girlfriend would HATE me having a light on.

It's very comfortable to read with a touch screen.

I make the screen black & the text is almost white, but a bit of grey thrown in.

I paid $130 for my G1. I couldn't imagine paying significantly more for a book reader than my cell phone & I read a LOT more than I make phone calls.

Re:iPhone.

[good soldier svejk]

I use Stanza, which handles a variety of book formats including PDF. It has string search, bookmarks and automatically bookmarks chapters. It also automatically preserves your place. The OS X version has a sharing feature for transferring books to your iPhone/Touch over WiFi.

HP TC1100

[Anonymous Coward]

You'll have to get it used but you won't find anything better.

Re:Solution:

[Anonymous Coward]

Fascinating. I want to mod the first part of your post informative, the second offtopic, and the third flamebait.

Not yet, but in a few months...Pixel Qi screens

[sznupi]

Netbook with Pixel Qi screen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm8WoItVRn0 (evolution of OLPC XO-1 screen)

If it would be in the form of tablet-convertible there shouldn't be much of a problem holding it.

Re:Not yet, but in a few months...Pixel Qi screens

[Anonymous Coward]

Pixel Qi will have screens ready for manufacturers in a few months. It then takes a few months for the manufacturers to test/implement them. Don't expect to see anything with a Pixel Qi screen until sometime next year (despite what the marketers at Pixel Qi keep saying--remember that they only have a few samples themselves). Chances are a few netbooks/tablets will be announced at CES next January, with ship dates around March or April. Still a little ways off, but if they pull it off it should be what people are looking for.

Another in a list of unreleased products...

[Ice Wewe]

Have you considered the Crunch ?

I know, I know, it's billed as being a web-only tablet at this point in time, but I honestly can't see it being released without support for the PDF format, it's just too common to overlook. I know I'll be getting one when it becomes available.

A 9 inch netbook

[grege1]

An 8.9" netbook is very close in external dimensions to a 7" inch model. All have WiFi. Get a solid state device like the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 running Ubuntu or get an ASUS EeePC 701 for the absolute cheapest. Use any PDF reader and screen rotation, hold netbook sideways. With a big USB Thumb drive (or SD card) and headphones it can also be used as a movie player, or a music player and you can surf the net. This is the sort of use netbooks are good for, better than trying to make them mini notebooks.

I tried to solve this last fall.

[CoffeePlease]

I had to attend a workshop which required we have 100 or more white papers on tap and easy to read. I looked at all sorts of devices and settled on an Acer Aspire 1 netbook. None of the ebook readers at the time were good at PDF's. The Acer wasn't even close to perfect, but it did the job for that workshop. It has a fairly wide screen but I would prefer something larger, vanishingly thin, flexible and foldable. Oh, and it should run the application "Papers" by Mekentosj.com

Re:I tried to solve this last fall.

[obarthelemy]

I googled "tablet netbook". Notable results:

- http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/store/home.php ARM+ Linux, 1024x600 9" LCD, Screen-only tablet $300, $100 keyboard turns it into an almost regular netbook. Just coming out, so no reviews/experience.

- http://www.journaldugeek.com/2009/01/22/video-du-asus-eee-pc-t101h/ Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, NEC and others seem on the verge of introducing touchscreen 9-10" netbooks.

I'm still using a Palm TX for reading fiction. But these toys, or maybe the next generation, may replace it.

I'd love a "tablet netbook" with an e-ink display.

Netbook with polarizer

[Anonymous Coward]

Get a netbook, add a polarizer so its readable in sunlight, buy an expanded battery.

Haven't we already had one CrunchPad story today?

[ActusReus]

I haven't heard that the CrunchPad prototypes support PDF... but if not, I imagine it's sure to be the first new feature added.

Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[magarity]

The new version Kindle in the large size does PDF - they don't force all the content in their proprietary format (although of course they make that the easiest to get). I think that would be your best bet. Note the smaller size Kindle does not do PDF.

Re:Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[amiga3D]

Really I'd love to have something just like a Kindle but with linux on it and totally open. The hardware is great but I don't want to be tied to Amazon. I can see why people that want it just to read books love it though.

Re:Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[Abcd1234]

The hardware is great but I don't want to be tied to Amazon.

Uhh... you aren't. The DX will read PDFs, and every other Kindle can read TXT, PRC, and MOBI, all of which you can produce on your desktop for free.

Re:Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[RaymondKurzweil]

Dumbass...

When the GP talks about being *tied* here, they are clearly talking alluding to the fact that the hardware is closed. I actually don't know if this is completely true for the Kindle (has someone hacked the Kindle yet?). But what the poster was alluding to is obvious.

If I can't install Linux or even Rockbox or my own build of Windows CE on the damn thing (because of some as of yet uncracked/unreversed hardware protection mechanism), then you are "tied to Amazon".

There are varying degrees of openness. All these plug computers and things like BeagleBoard represent the extreme of openness (with a lot of vendor documentation), core PC (PCI/VESA graphics only/BIOS) is completely open, all the core stuff is documented, then you have things like my SanDisk MP3 player that are de facto open and the manufacturer while not offering support doesn't have a problem with the hacking community....
On the extreme end you have things like the Nintendo Wii, and Amazon is probably similarly protective of their Kindle. Those companies have active engagement to protect their platform, with a combination of hardware lockout features, and possible legal/social implementation too.

Thanks for playing.

Re:Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[_KiTA_]

The new version Kindle in the large size does PDF - they don't force all the content in their proprietary format (although of course they make that the easiest to get). I think that would be your best bet. Note the smaller size Kindle does not do PDF.

Not YET. The Kindle 1 had a firmware update after the Kindle 2 came out that backported the 2's features. I would not be surprised to see the DX's full PDF support backported to the 1 and 2 later, after the people who NEED PDF support get the DX.

Re:Kindle is only mostly proprietary

[PixetaledPikachu]

If I can't install Linux or even Rockbox or my own build of Windows CE on the damn thing (because of some as of yet uncracked/unreversed hardware protection mechanism), then you are "tied to Amazon".

I can't install BSD on my G-Shock... or install ubuntu on my lightbulb, CentOS on my E51, WinMe on my K100D. Yes I am tied to Casio, Philips, Nokia, and Pentax. But that's not actually a bad thing no?

Get an old Palm

[ReK_42]

Srsly, I have an old Palm Tungsten E (the first one, uses a standard mini-usb port before they did their universal dock connector shit). It's perfect for reading ebooks (Mobipocket Reader) and PDFs (Adobe has a Palm reader), and isn't bad for pictures as well (the screen is only 256 colours though). I use it an average of 2h per day (long commute, and I read paper books at home) and I only have to charge it maybe twice a week. The only thing it doesn't have on your list is internet. I personally don't care, I don't want internet on mine. If it is a big issue though, the Palm T|X, still sold new, has both wifi and bluetooth: http://www.palm.com/ca/products/handhelds/tx/ You may think of trying an SDIO Wireless card on the E or E2. It won't work at all on the E and I've heard very mixed things about using it on the E2, including impossible-to-find drivers and incredibly short battery life when using it.

N810

[mzechner]

a linux based internet tablet with tons of 3rd party apps, everything open source, superb pdf reader, very big screen 800x480, wifi, bluetooth, keyboard, camera, microfon etc. really it's the perfect device for the purposes you mentioned. i couldn't live without mine. forget about the iphone/ipod touch, they are nothing compared to this little beast.

Re:N810

[Anonymous Coward]

The screen size is only 4.1", but I agree with the Nokia recommendation. PDF sucks for e-book reading unless you have a large screen though. I suggest EPub or Mobipocket formats and FBreader. They allow reflowing of the text to fit the screen, instead of trying to preserve the exact page layout. Fortunately there are a couple of good PDF readers if that is the way you want to read E-books.

Re:N810

[Anonymous Coward]

The third, and cheaper Nokia option is the n800. If you don't need a keyboard or GPS (hey, you're in your HAMMOCK) it's also decent.

Re:N810

[cbhacking]

Agreed, although I used a N800 (same as the n810 but no hardware keyboard - more expandable storage capacity though). The screen is big enough to read books on, the latest version of the OS (Maemo, a modified Debian) has a very nice PDF reader built in, the browser is Gecko-based and even has things like AdBlock Plus available (since it supports Flash, this is a real benefit). Everything is open source, no jailbreaking required (there's a built-in way to get full control over the device, including a root terminal) and you can install whatever you want on it - other PDF, web, or email software, Skype, the freaking GNU build toolchain even. WiFi and Bluetooth are its primary communication methods.

The fit VERY comfortably in one hand, and if you're just reading books the battery will last 7 hours or so. Fantastic little device.

Re:N810

[delorean]

Yes, the 810 is an excellent unit. Does lots of things well, lots of things so-so.

PDF and eBook is so-so. Don't get me wrong it is very usable-- that is what I mainly use one for now, that and email.

But I am coveting the Kindle I bought my wife for her birthday. It much much much easier to read a book on the Kindle than the n810. There is more screen and the screen so much easier on the eyes. I love that eInk stuff. Just keep it out of the direct sunlight or you have little evil kindles running all over the place. But the little evil kindles are much better than the Vashta Nerada that come in with our hard copy books.

Re:N810

[BlueLightning]

everything open source

Are you sure this is true? Last I checked, a fair bit of the software supplied with the Maemo OS was not open source. Not to mention that a number of high profile third-party Maemo applications aren't open source either.

I have an N800, and they're great devices, but finding this out after I bought it was a great disappointment.

Re:N810

[xiaomai]

I also have an n800. FBreader does great for ebooks, but I've found that the PDF reader is way too slow to read books (it takes a second or two to turn the page, which feels a bit agonizing to me).

Re:N810

[Anonymous Coward]

I found the n800 touchscreen to be infuriatingly unresponsive and the software/ui to be rather clunky. The ipod touch makes for a much better web browser, but pdf reading tends to beslow. The n800's pdf support was very good, but I really hated having to tap multiple times or press really HARD to register a drag... a n8xx with a capacitive touch screen would be nice.

Tablet anyone?

[Anonymous Coward]

I use a 12" Toshiba tablet for reading ebooks. Being able to fold the screen helps. It is still a tad too heavy, but not very bad. I wish there was a netbook with a foldable screen. You can find an old m200 on ebay for about $250. Works fine as a regular laptop too.

BTW I find pdf really bad for ebooks. Increasing the font size throws off the page boundaries from the screen. IMO etext in 2 page mode is best for books without pics.

archos5?

[Anonymous Coward]

What about the archos5?

The Viliv S5 is already available.

[bluemonq]

For sale at Dynamism.com, and has been for the past month; I don't know how you got the silly idea that it was "To Be Released". It satisfies all of your criteria, which is pretty awesome considering that it weighs less than a pound. Yes, I own one. A 7" screen version goes on sale this week, weighs a bit more than a pound. Both are priced at $599.

Re:The Viliv S5 is already available.

[ranjix]

appreciate your answer. Don't appreciate Slashdot posting a story two-three months after I propose it. Because, as you noticed, Viliv is already on sale at Dynamism and I ALREADY OWN ONE. Not going to give too many details, but the software keyboard is fairly obnoxious. Otherwise exactly I wanted...

Re:The Viliv S5 is already available.

[ninjabortion]

i've been using zero weight keyboard using instructions from the pocketables forum with great success. it has issues overlaying over opengl stuff like google earth and plants vs zombies, but otherwise it is way better than the factory junk that would require some sort of alien fingers to use at a reasonable speed. on an unrelated note: you should also give stellarium a shot if your hammock is actually outside. http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=2521

Re:Solution:

[Anonymous Coward]

Love-hate-despise relationships never last. Try for another fish.

Re:iPhone.... or Palm TX

[Brigadier]

I I've been using my palm tx now for many years. When I bought it I figured it would be the killer device. All screen touch sensitive, wifi, blue tooth, using Palm OS which has a ton of apps. Add Documents to go and there is your PDF Word, and Excel app. It browses the the net well and allows SD cards which adding a few cards to the case puts you way over the Iphone. I'm not sure if Palm still even sells these but It's an awsome device

EEE pc 1000he

[weird talk]

I use the 701, but i plan to upgrade. Using either envice or a combo of fbreader and pdf2txt tools it works great. Fbreader will even let you hold the thing sideways and rebind keys. Imo it's the best way to go. (plus the eee pc 1000he has 7+ hr battery life).

The Smart Devices Q7 is a good solution

[__aaltii7299]

There are excellent reviews of the device at UMPC Portal here http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/05/smart-devices-q7-7-pad-for-189, and at Mobileread forums here http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48934. You can find one online for under $200. It comes with a version of Ubuntu Linux, FBReader and Evince are in the standard install. The Mer Project over at Maemo.org is currently porting Maemo to the device, they have a thread here http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=27433, discussing ports for the Smart Q5 and Q7.

Re:The Smart Devices Q7 is a good solution

[torpor]

I wouldn't be so quick to jump on the SmartQ7 .. the OS pretty much blows, and there are power-management issues .. the device is rather prone to suddenly shutting down if you don't play with the right buttons for a while (15 minutes), and really .. the OS is pretty bad. It'll be much more ready for prime-time when a full Android or Mer port is completed .. in the meantime, if you get one, be prepared to put up with a very weird, Chinese, Ubuntu hack ..

Re:Solution:

[mrsteveman1]

Eh, the mods are bitch-ass cocksuckers anyway.

TRIPLE PLAY! They are very talented.

Touch Book from Always Innovating

[RicRoc]

I have pre-ordered a Touch Book from Always Innovating for just this kind of thing.

http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/

Runs Linux on:
Texas Instruments OMAP3530 with Micron 256MB (RAM) + 256MB (NAND) Memory
8.9 inches 1024x600 A+ ressure sensitive touch screen
Main storage: 8GB SD card (replaceable!)
USB: internal and external

Should be shipping this month!

Re:Touch Book from Always Innovating

[Anonymous Coward]

Very interesting device - especially with "10+" hour battery, but I'll bet the I/O is slow through that SD card...

Re:Touch Book from Always Innovating

[carlzum]

Great features and a competitive price, $300 for touch-screen and $400 with keyboard. My only question is, what is an A+ screen? I can't find much information about the display, other than the resolution. The images appear to have a glossy display, that would be a disadvantage in sunlight and for black and white text.

Re:Touch Book from Always Innovating

[DavidTC]

Who the hell cares about IO speed for an ebook reader? You man startup time or something?

I am, however, confused about the idea of 'internal and external' USB.

Re:Touch Book from Always Innovating

[RicRoc]

The internal USB is for system upgrade type stuff. I.e the Touch Book's WiFi is provided by a replaceable internal USB dongle. Say next year WiMax comes of age - what do you do? Simply replace the internal WiFi on USB to WiMax on USB. Pure genius!
Say you want to want to watch movies on a long trip: load them onto a USB stick, put it inside, and your movie collection is now an integral part of the Touch Book - can't fall off, can't snag, will always work. Perfect mobility!

As they say:

The Touch Book is built to last!

Built by open people on an open platform supporting (open) standards running an open OS (or any you choose). I'm hyped! :-)

Re:Touch Book from Always Innovating

[RicRoc]

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display LCD displays are graded "A" or "B" according to how few pixel defects to expect. I'm guessing "A+" is a better grade. But who knows?
Of course in C 'A'++ would actually be 'B', so A+ must be somewhere between A and B? Floating point chars, anyone? :-)

Condoms for your palm

[Runaway1956]

http://cgi.ebay.com/12X-PREMIUM-SCREEN-PROTECTOR-FOR-PALM-TUNGSTEN-TX-T5-E2_W0QQitemZ260398398657QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item3ca0f43cc1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A15|66%3A2|39%3A1|293%3A5|294%3A50

All I can say is "WOW"

Re:iPhone.... or Palm TX

[karnal]

I initially loved my Palm TX. Here are my beefs with it:

1. Screen whine. Seriously, this thing (without the "whinehack" application) makes my left ear ring like crazy. I have slight tinnitus in my ear. Palm said this is normal for this device.
2. Power button failed after 3 months of using it. Palm replaced it.
3. Noisy output stage for audio. I can't kick Palm around too much for this - I haven't found a mobile device yet that has as clean an output as my Cowon D2.
4. No SDHC support - although I do recall reading someone coming up with a driver for this?

I don't know Palm's official stance on support on this platform anymore, but I remember that they didn't ever drop prices on this handheld, which is insane given it's age in computergear years.

My thoughts? Purchase a cell phone with a decent screen (iphone, htc winmobile or htc googlephone...) I own an HTC Fuze, and even though it is not the perfect device for me, it does do a good job at being a portable internet platform. This does not meet the submitter's requirement of screen size, however, so in that it's a fail. There is an HTC Touch HD that has a larger touchscreen, but it's not for sale in the US as far as I know....

I've heard...

[hughdc]

I've been *told* a PSP with some extra software can make a great, if basic ebook reader, plus it has many other features. I might be tempted to look at a DS too.

HTC Touch Pro

[ksemlerK]

Not only can you read pdfs and surf the internet, you can easily do the following:

*Connect to networks via VNC
*Stream music with Pandora
*Watch flash content such as YouTube, Hulu, Youku, etc
*Type up office documents
*Print office documents
*Listen to FM radio
*Run a Bittorrent client
*Calculators
*Watch video
*IRC
*VoIP
*Watch TV
*Play MP3s
*Read and compose email
*Monitor weather
*Expand storage capabilities up to 32GB
*Use as a wireless modem, or WAP
*War driving
*GPS locator
*Play games
*Command prompt
*Cellular network analyser
*Stock monitor

Oh, and you can make phone calls too.

Why limit yoursle to one device that does specifically 1 thing? A touch pro is capable of pretty much anything you could want to do with it, all that can't be done with it is read optical media. The best part is, most of the applications are free.

I know just the thing!

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there anything else I could use in the given circumstances?

I've recently discovered something that may prove to be of assistance to you. It's called Google, and you can access it by entering: http://www.google.com/ into your Web browser. You can enter search parameters, and then browse the results. Many companies even have Web sites that detail their products' capabilities, and these may well appear as a result of such searches. It's truly remarkable, and I am certain that it will prove to be enormously helpful.

Of course, you will have to read, and, may even have to think about what you are reading, so as to be able to determine whether or not a particular product suits your needs.

Should this prove to be overly burdensome, please feel free to make another Ask Slashdot submission. I'm sure that it, too, will be accepted: After all, there are many here that, like you, need someone else to tell them what is best for them.

HTH. HAND.

But what about for Simple PDF reading??

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care about internet browsing, that's what my computer is for. Nor do I care about music playback, that's what my MP3 player is for. I just want a simple device that can read PDF files so that I don't have to read them on an eye-straining monitor.

Criteria:
- Screen without backlight, large and high DPI preferably. e-Ink is fine. I want ot read under a lamp.
- Long battery life. Enough for me to read for 30+ hours.
- Touch screen would be nice.
- Low price, but not too picky

Can anyone suggest any devices that are out on the market now or will be in the near future. Cookies for all non-troll responses!!

Re:But what about for Simple PDF reading??

[fluffernutter]

I think the problem is that a device's manufacturing costs mainly come from the type of hardware features that it has. A pure PDF reader needs a processor, a good screen, volatile storage, non-volatile storage, a way to transfer the books to the device, battery, human interaction interface, etc etc. In other words it basically needs to be an iPhone or tablet PC 'hardware-wise' but you want it crippled so that it is only a PDF reader. Well no one is ever going to make such a device, because its hardware will force it to be on the same price point as other more capable devices but if it can only read PDFs who is going to buy it?

Re:But what about for Simple PDF reading??

[DavidTC]

You want exactly what I want, except I don't really care about a touch screen. And SD support would be nice so that we're not limited by internal memory. In fact, feel free to only store things on SD. (I personally could do without USB connectivity at all, only SD, but I can see why USB would be included.)

And contrary to what the other responder wants, neither you nor I care if it can do other things. It can come with Tetris or whatever, and it would be nice if added software could be ran on it.

We just don't want to pay for wifi and 3G connectivity, and DRM support, and audio output, and enough CPU to decode all that junk, in a fucking book.

Hell, I, strictly speaking, don't even need a PDF reader. Make the damn things only display monochrome PNGs, in order by directory, saving the last location per directory and letting me pick the directory, and give me a stupid piece of software to write out text and PDF like that. (Which requires about the same level of complexity as those 'electronic picture frames'.)

OLPC XO-1

[Necronian]

I bought my xo for exactly the type of thing that you are asking about. It's display is really well suited for reading ebooks, it's sunlight readable and 200dpi. I get around 5 - 6 hours of reading time when I turn everything off and put the display into low power(ebook) mode. The processor in it isn't the beefiest a 433mhz amd geode, but you can browse the web with it. I think they usually go for ~$200 on ebay.

Re:OLPC XO-1

[Anonymous Coward]

Not quite out yet, but this seems likely to be your best bet.
It's a laptop, but the keyboard portion is removable (and, infact, optional) turning it unto a tablet. Reportedly 10 or so hours of battery life.

http://www.shop-bucuresti.ro/

Try this

[Anonymous Coward]

ECTACO jetBook e-Book Reader Graphite JB5Bk-En

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858723001

try this its at a reasonable price

Touchbook

[Nekomusume]

Not quite out yet, but this seems likely to be your best bet.
It's a laptop, but the keyboard portion is removable (and, infact, optional) turning it unto a tablet. Reportedly 10 or so hours of battery life.

http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/

Re:Touchbook

[eldridgea]

Ah. Found it. "Initial Shipment expected in July 2009." http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/info.htm

As a hammock owner Id like to say...

[xSauronx]

that the only thing you should have in your hand is a beer or a mixed drink.

Re:As a hammock owner Id like to say...

[dontmakemethink]

Agreed. Throw that sentiment in with the fact that a war's going on, the economy is circling the bowl, we're destroying the planet with our excesses, but a laptop is too cumbersome for your precious hammock, so stop the press.

I sympathize with your plight, but please go to a store where they're paid to be insensitive. Pardon my optimism, but this marvel of intercommunication has more potential than an enhanced shopping channel.

Unlock a GPS unit.

[Beardo the Bearded]

Get a GPS that can run miopocket. It comes with a PDF reader.

If you get a GPS with wifi, you get internet connectivity. If it's got an SD port, get a wifi SD adapter and you're good to go.

No monthly fees, touch interface, and the battery life on mine is 4-5 hours.

hate to tell you...

[Anonymous Coward]

Quote: "while actively and intensely laying in the hammock"

You're doing it wrong.

The upcoming Crunchpad sounds like it....

[Anonymous Coward]

Sub $200, simple with wifi web browsing, runs linux so I am sure (with a minimum amount of hacking) one could stick Adobe reader on it, and it looks eminently portable.

Irex iLiad 2nd Edition

[daath93]

Irex iLiad 2nd Edition, WiFi, Wacom Penabled, 12 hour battery life wile reading and writing, supports wireless synchronization, 8.1-inch (diagonal) Electronic Paper Display, 768 x 1024 pixels resolution, 160 DPI. 16 levels of grey-scale. Built-in stereo speakers. File formats supported : PDF / HTML / TXT / JPG / BMP/ PNG / PRC (Mobipocket).

IrexShop.com

I hope your hammock...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is made by the pleasant and tech-friendly hippies at www.twinoakstore.com

You've looked at an EEEpc?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have an eeepc, they're relatively inexpensive, they're fun to mod, and for a laptop, they're positively tiny. My friends call it an "icecream sandwich".

Re:Solution:

[Anonymous Coward]

If I wasn't ashamed to show who I am, and if I wasn't scared for my moderating carma, and if I had mod points, I would mod that funny or insightful!

itouch

[Anonymous Coward]

get an itouch. Then get one of the apps that's lets you treat it like a disk drive and transfer stuff onto it wirelessly. Then get an app that lets you read PDFs. Done. I use it for this purpose everyday. Great battery life, great screen, great interface, great PDF reader. It's not huge, but it's *just* big enough to actually let you read. I like it. A lot.

Re:Solution:

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone please escalate this post to CmdrTaco and get this jerk's karma set to a permanent -1.

PDF as movie

[buchner.johannes]

You know how newer mp3-players and phones can play movies?
Wouldn't it be possible to convert a PDF into a movie (scrolling the pages) and read it with pause-play?

Re:PDF as movie

[daath93]

it would probably be infinitely easier to just save the PDF in jpg and read each page as a picture if you cant find a device that reads pdf.

I'm holding out for the T91

[Anonymous Coward]

ASUS are about to release a tablet netbook, the Eee PC T91. I have an ordinary tablet PC and have read dozens of books on it but it is far too heavy to satisfy the hammock requirement.

nokia internet tablet

[celjabba]

Nokia 770 or n800

I own a 770, it does an amazing job as handheld web browser/ebook reader.

With fbreader, you can rotate the text and hold the reader vertically in one hand, the thumb right on the pageup/page down switch.

I don't like reading pdf on it, however.
Too slow.

The n800 may have the memory and processor to handle large pdf. I never tried it, however.

Otherwise, an eee is great too.
Way bigger, but i think it could be usable in an hammock,

Celjabba

don't get an Iliad

[jipn4]

I own one and it's horrible: slow screen refreshes, slow and confusing navigation, and it runs out of power at inconvenient times. I don't think the Kindle or Sony are much better, although I have only tried them briefly. Although the Iliad is hobbled by bad software, I think even the best software can't compensate for the limitations of e-ink.

Get some kind of tablet with a touch screen. A tablet-converted Macbook may be a reasonable choice, as may be the new EEE PC T91. In about a year, you can get a laptop with a Pixel Qi screen (the same you can find on an OLPC).

Obligatory Grammar Nazi-ism

[unitron]

...actively and intensely laying in the hammock...

So, did you really mean "lying", or are you a hen, or will your reading matter be the Kama Sutra and/or Masters and Johnson?

Archos Internet Media Tablets

[Anonymous Coward]

I haven't tried one of these so I can't give you my opinion but you should probably take a look at Archos Internet Media tablets:
http://www.archos.com/products/imt/index.html

I would suggest

[Anonymous Coward]

The Compaq tc1000 or tc1100. Both are slate-style tablet PCs, with 10" 1024x768 displays. They run windows XP TabletPC, and somewhat resemble an oversized PocketPC. Battery life might be a little short, at 4-5 hours maximum, but they are powerful enough for reading and surfing, and can be found fairly cheap on eBay. Although the touchscreens do not recognize finger input, there is a page up/page down rocker switch on the side (when held in portrait orientation). I have the tc1000 and love it. The CPU is a 1ghz Crusoe, so it wont do flash-heavy sites or high-definition video too well. The tc1100 has an Intel CPU, which obviously performs better. The advantage of the unusual touchscreen design of these machines is that they are much more durable. The outer surface is a sheet of hardened glass, with the actual display spaced a few mm behind it. Mine gets carried around in a bag with all sorts of crap banging against it, and the screen hasn't picked up any scratches yet, though lots of paint has rubbed off the corners. Overall it seems like an ideal choice for the OP's needs, with the possible exception of the battery life.

Re:Solution:

[uassholes]

You must be his wife.

Re:+5 Funny

[Informative]

Very good.

Is a pdf reader the best way to read pdf document?

[hlub]

I use a Nokia N810 for reading. It is a true "mini-laptop", excellent for web browsing, always-on and readable in direct sunlight (of course, E-ink looks much better in sunlight but I can always find a viewing angle that works)

The question: is a pdf reader the best way to read a document, of even to read a pdf? My pocket devices have always had a small landscape format screen (first psion 5, then N810), and many pdf's use ample line spacing and have large margins which means that I have to zoom carefully to make the text fill the screen, and hope that the text still fits there when I turn the page. Even then only a small number of lines is visible. Moreover, with a 400Mhz processor, flipping pages takes time.

What I have always done: convert the pdf to a set of .png images and use a good image viewer to look at them. The (home-made) conversion script makes the lines fit snugly within the screen width and reduces line spacing somewhat.
(Have a look at the same page, in a pdf viewer and as a converted png) Pages flip instantly, no fiddling with zoom settings. Of course, searching and hypertext features don't work.

This begs the question: should a pdf viewer always show a faithful represenatation of the printed page, especially on screens which look very different from a book page? As far as I know, no pdf viewer does what my little script does (identify the useful bits on the page, rearrange them a bit and make them fit the screen).

Of course, any markup language viewer (e.g. a web browser) will do this automatically. But very few books and articles have been published in HTML,and even then, hard line breaks and hard-coded page widths often spoil the fun

wiki says...

[Anonymous Coward]

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix
just pick yours

Have a look at the Smartdevices SmartQ 7

[keneng]

http://en.smartdevices.com.cn/index.html
http://detail.zol.com.cn/mp3_player/index191957.shtml
It looks very cool. 1100RMB == 200US$
It runs ubuntu linux.

I also tried the Gemei x760 which mentioned that it was an ebook reader but it was a bit misleading. It reads text files, but even that is a bit of a stretch considering I threw a 1MB text file at it and it said it was too big to read. Considering it was the english/chinese mdbg.net dictionary text file I wanted to read, I can actually not recommend the gemei x760 as an ebook reader, but it's an awesome gba game console/mp4 player.

Get an XO laptop

[Anonymous Coward]

If you can get one, I think the OLPC XO laptop fulfils all your requirements.

Re:Solution:

[Hal_Porter]

You know in a way Slashdot is a bit like Iran. There are dissidents here and there are Basij, the moderators. Right now the dissidents are kept in line, all the ones that step up get downmodded as troll by the moderators which is a bit like being beaten up by the Basij.

Now like Iran if the dissidents start to demonstrate in large numbers the first few would lose their karma and be forced to post at -1. This is like being killed by the Basij. If they all did it at once some of the moderators would start to mod them up, rather like when troops in a revolution stop shooting demonstraters. Soon the trolls would win and post at +5 and anyone that complained would be modded down.

This would be regime change. Now I say to the trolls - stand up and bring down the regime. Windows rules and Linux sucks. GNAA forever!

I was looking also...

[lordsid]

I was looking for a similar device myself. I wanted to use it to control things like lights and the TV in my house. Originally I landed on the n810 (nokia). It had a decent sized touchscreen, not huge, a wireless, a flip out keyboard and oddly enough GPS. I was trying to find out what was wrong with this device. Turns out the GPS is a little slow to come on. But for the price it is great for its other functions. At least from what I read. In reality I ended up buying an Android G1. I don't so much use it as a cellphone, but it makes a wonderful PDA with which I can make SIP calls, if I choose. The G1 definitely has a smaller screen, but what it offered in CPU power and programmability through the JAVA platform that Google and friends developed made it worth it. I can write my own apps and widgets for it. As far as being a PDF reader... that's a big no for the momement. I'm not sure about the n810's ability to view PDF's.

Sony PRS 500

[Anonymous Coward]

It runs Linux, and isn't locked-down DRM-addled crap like the Kindle or those shoddy Sony efforts.

The Sony E Readers are the best of the lot. I use a PRS 500 (an older generation.) The design, form factor, features, battery life are excellent. But it is an E Book reader, not for browsing the web.

It seems you do not know what you are talking about. And I see a lot of posts from you, most of it professing expertise on something or the other.

Three words...

[vrmlguy]

Crunchpad, crunchpad, crunchpad!

Re:Solution:

[mdwh2]

Or how about this: read the fucking paper book instead!

Indeed, I hear this BOOK thing is the latest craze in new technology.

Look at archos products

[sebasto]

Their archos 5 and archos 7 do everything you want and much more ...

get an OLPC XO!

[Anonymous Coward]

they are cheap, work as a tablet PC, can be read in *FULL* sunlight and their batteries last hours and hours when the screen is in sunlight (black and white) mode.
And of course they come with a browser, wifi etc...

PDF is a problem

[ParkyDR]

PDF is designed to give a perfect representation of a printed page, unfortunately most devices aren't the size of an A4 sheet. The best you can hope for is to go for something with a wide enough screen so the text is readable on "fit page to width". Ideally go for a different format that can adapt to the screen width.

Have you thought of...

[Phoghat]

This is what I've been using for years

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=axim+x51&cid=15725069824406847834#p

AximX51V, the link will say they start around $170 but you can shop around. I don't remember where I bought my last one, but I don't think I paid more than $125. It's got a pretty big screen, WIFI B, Bluetooth, a separate graphics processor (you can play a free Doom download) will handle PDFs , Mobipocket reader (which will also handle PDFs, and non-DRM kindle files) Check it out my brother

TOUCH PRO FAIL

[drinkypoo]

I have an AT&T Fuze right here. It is a touch pro with an alternate keyboard. The device is a pathetic joke. Here's some reasons why:

1. Comes with Windows Mobile 6.1 while everyone else is shipping Windows Mobile 6.5.
2. There are replacement ROM images with WinMo 6.5; they are ALL problematic to some degree.
3. The cable for the sliding keyboard WILL FAIL. Some people have had their unit replaced three times for the same defect. Reportedly you can stop it happening with a little square of electrical tape, but you have to void your warranty in order to install it. Why HTC hasn't figured out how to apply a piece of tape when they make the refurb (where they plug the cable back in) is a mystery to all.
4. TouchFlo 3D is a pathetically slow piece of shit. TF3D2 is faster, but you only get it on hacked ROMs, See #2. You can get more or less the same thing by buying SPB mobile shell and putting it on any WinMo device.
5. FM radio requires the headset.
6. Using standard headphones requires an adapter, and the one they give you is ridiculously bulky for what it does.
7. In my experience, WiFi reception is total shit, where I would have failures sitting right next to someone on a laptop with 100% signal. 3G reception is even worse; I had to wait for minutes to get 3G in some cases where other phones switched right away.
8. No IR. I want IR remote functionality!
9. The SMB client on the device is extremely picky, I don't know if that's WinMo's fault or not, but it would transiently fail to connect both to Samba and Windows hosts (and no, it's not a network problem.)
10. GPS acquisition is very very slow, even with the "quickgps" data that is supposed to help you acquire fast.
11. Using the device as a phone is an exercise in frustration. The phone is supposed to detect when you have the phone up to your head and disable the light sensor (works) then disable it when you take it away from your head so you can see (doesn't) and BTW the default view in a call is not a keypad, so you call your voicemail, then you have to hit the power button to see the display, then you have to hit a softkey for the keypad. Raphael is a TERRIBLE phone.
12. Sprint and AT&T are both completely incompetent and will sell you a phone with caching settings so low that EVERYTHING on the device will choke CONTINUALLY.

The HTC Raphael/Touch Pro/Fuze is a sad joke. Avoid it at all costs. The hardware and software are both garbage.

Re:TOUCH PRO FAIL

[ZosX]

Sorry you ended up with that piece of crap. This fully reinforces why I want my cellphones to be cheap and single purpose. All I need is a number pad and an address book, preferably in a flip format, so I can at least feel like I am talking into a phone. Something like a plain small tablet like something maybe a bit bigger than a touch would be really appealing. My desktop finally died, so I decided that my next computer would just be a laptop. I can get cheap laptops that are faster than my desktop ever was. With prices where they are, I can easily see why most people are just springing for the notebook these days.

FLEPis is a COLOR eink display with Touch Screen

[Anonymous Coward]

Check out the FLEPia... (japanese link) $1000. COLOR eink, Touchscreen, Wifi, Bluetooth. http://www.frontech.fujitsu.com/services/products/paper/flepia/specifications/

they all rather stink at PDF

[Anonymous Coward]

None of the current (or previous) crop of readers do PDF worth a damn. (yet) Too many poorly created/produced PDFs is the main problem, but none of the resellers have come up with great rendering yet either.

-Eink engineer.

Poket pc. hello

[Anonymous Coward]

How about just a pocket pc?

Wait for the next gen netbooks...

[bagofbeans]

..with the not-yet-out integrated Atom + video system in a chip.

If you can't wait, the Atom + Nvidia ION combo is one to look for.

If you really can't wait, the cheapest current Asus/Acer aren't bad, and much more versatile than an ebook. My now-obsolete Acer 8.9" (with the larger battery) gives me a good 5 hours, and I can use it on a plane when the guy in front has reclined so that I am admiring the bald patch.

Here's the BIT (bagofbeans important test) for an ebook reader: When you've read enough, can you play a game on it? Or type up some notes?

Until you understand pdf you will be disappointed

[Lawrence_Bird]

You are asking for what amounts to the impossible. PDF's are created for a specific page size when created. A4, A5, 8.5x11 , whatever. PDF's do not "reflow" easily or properly onto smaller devices. Yes, all the major ebook readers 'support' pdf and do attempt some degree of reflow. For all but the most simple documents (ie, something that would look just as good as a flat txt file) the results are poor. Sometimes the font is reduced to unreadable. If it is not, edges of pages may be cut off. Page breaks will be in the worng place. And good luck with any journal style pdf that is in 2 columns with tables or images.

If you have serious need for viewing pdf's then you need to get a large screen e-reader, something that has an 8.5x11 (or very close to it) physical display. The choices are currently few and expensive. It would be far better if the world either moved away from PDF and to something more like TeX such that the document does not lock you into a specific display size. A default size is fine, but in this age of iphones to 30+inch monitors, there needs to be a better way.

Sony Vaio UX Series by far!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I have two of them, one stays in the truck and one for household use. For what you want to use it for any UX model will fit the bill, just get one used and you will be happy.

Kindle DX is a very good PDF reader

[admiral201]

I have been very impressed with the PDF quality on this device, and it does have (free) Internet access in the USA (coverage by Sprint).

Moreover, the form factor is just fantastic. It feels good in the hand (or in bed, or on the subway, etc.) and looks good too.

Search for the recent Ask Slashdot thread on the Kindle DX for more, or see my profile for my comments on the Kindle DX.

Pocket PC

[Anonymous Coward]

Get a Pocket PC. Make sure it has a large enough VGA-resolution screen. Foxit Reader is great for PDFs, and for web try Opera Mobile. Personally, I have a very good sight and am very happy with my 2.8" device for both of those tasks. The downside is that in direct sunlight the screen would be barely readable, but as long as you hide yourself in some shadow, the backlight makes it legible enough. Try the screen before you buy! The legibility in sunlight varies greatly between models!

Of course, the bazillion apps available for Window$ Mobile can make your device do much more than that!

one laptop per hammock

[Anonymous Coward]

OLPC's XO does it all. Let's look at your list:
1. (good) PDF reader (and ebooks of whatever sort): pdf, doc, txt, rtf, etc. out of box (I installed xpdf as it's a little more lightweight).
2. WiFi connectivity and Internet browser: Yes and yes, out of box. I installed Firefox because I like tabs.
3. screen minimum 4.5": The XO is about 7.5" diagonal and at the push of a button you can rotate it from landscape to portrait mode.
4. readable in sunlight, etc.: Hell Yes! I've never seen another electronic device ever that compares to the XO's readability in sunlight. Plus, the screen friggin' rotates 180 degrees to become a tablet. How sweet is that? (Answer: pretty friggin' sweet).
5. fairly responsive: "Fairly." This is the XO's main weak point, IMO. How many times I've cursed at it while taking the battery out to do a hard reset, alas. It works well enough, but it's not as smooth as my dual-core x64 2GB RAM desktop. Of course that's a silly comparison, I'm just saying I'm spoiled as far as "fairly responsive" goes.
6. at least 4-5 hours battery: Battery life claims vary wildly, but in my personal estimate the XO lasts about 3-4 hours. To increase battery life you can turn off the antenna (802.11n ready, by the way) and the screen's backlight if you're just digging into, say, a Phillip K Dick novel and don't want to be disturbed.

I would wait a bit

[BlackSwan]

Like you, I'm also looking for a good Internet tablet and electronic reader. The closest things I've seen are the Archos players 5 and 7 (mentioned in previous postings), as well as the iPod Touch. Both are excellent products that come close, but not quite close enough for me. There's been lots of buzz about the Crunchpad, as well as some rumors about an upcoming Android-based Archos tablet (apart from the Windows-powered Archos 9). I'll wait until these products come out before making up my mind.

Touchbook

[eldridgea]

You might try the Touchbook - it is also "to be released," but if they are on schedule, it should be released soon. You can buy just the screen part for $299 I believe (or the whole thing for $399). Either way, you could probably hold the screen portion quite easily. ARM processor gives it "10-15 hours" of battery life. Runs a full Linux distro optimized for that device, or you can put your own on there. http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/home/index.htm

get a netbook with

[alizard]

built in 3G wireless chip set. A Linux netbook may be the only way left to get a SSD flash drive (lower power consumption and better ruggedness), find one that Kubuntu or netbook remix are known to work on. (as in for which driver support exists) If battery life is a problem, get a larger aftermarket battery, and if you're reading local content, turn off the wireless card and run the backlight at the minimum that works in your lighting environment.

My netbook OS (eeepc 900) is stock Kubuntu Jaunty. So I read PDFs basically the same way that anyone else does. I tried PDF software on my PalmPDA and I never found anything that does not suck on that display. I carry my PalmPDA at times when I know I won't be around any open WAPs. (I don't get a 3G wireless setup... yet)

On my netbook, I run fbreader and any of 3 different PDF e-readers and Mobipocket + Ereader in Crossover Office to run DRM-broken ebook files for books I'm really compulsive about having. The only e-book format I know of that I can't read is Kindle's, and that doesn't really worry me, it's possible to find conversion programs even for that format if it's the only way to get an ebook I really want.

So the poster is a chicken???

[Anonymous Coward]

Chickens can "intensely lay", but people can only "lie" down.

Or is this guy just ignorant?

Apple's Cheap Screen Loses

[meehawl]

The screen on the Apple devices is smaller than the OP wants, and is seriously low-res for 2009. 480x320? Seriously cheap move by Apple. The HTC and Nokia devices do 800x480 and the difference, especially for annoying formats such as PDF, is like night and day.