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

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]

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

[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

[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]

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.

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.

[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.

HP TC1100

[Anonymous Coward]

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

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.

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

[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.

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: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.

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: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.

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: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...

[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...

[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.

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.