Desperately need suggestions. The reason I cancelled my bookeen order is I've been reading horror stories about bookeen not being able to handle .pdf files. Is that true? Some say bookeen crashes when .pdf files are loaded. Others say they just have blank pages or gibberish content. Could someone who has hands-on experience tell me if bookeen can handle .pdf files at all? All I intend to read on an ereader is .pdf files and web contents. Those are just some trading materials with some graphs I find on the web. I know Iliad handles pdf files the best but I worry about the battery life and don't like the idea to have it sent back to have the battery replaced. Who can give me any idea as to which ereader would suit my needs the best? Thanks a lot in advance.

If all you are planning to use an electronic reader for is PDF files, then you'll be very disappointed with the Cybook's PDF reader. It is just too limited. I don't mind using the Cybook as a quick reference to short PDF documents, but I would not enjoy using it for any serious reading of PDF files. It's a great device for the files that it was designed to work with (Mobipocket), but it is not a PDF reader.

If PDF reading is your primary use for an electronic book reader, go with the Iliad or get yourself an UMPC.

If all you are planning to use an electronic reader for is PDF files, then you'll be very disappointed with the Cybook's PDF reader. It is just too limited. I don't mind using the Cybook as a quick reference to short PDF documents, but I would not enjoy using it for any serious reading of PDF files. It's a great device for the files that it was designed to work with (Mobipocket), but it is not a PDF reader.

If PDF reading is your primary use for an electronic book reader, go with the Iliad or get yourself an UMPC.

I almost uncancelled my cancel order for bookeen.

No 6" device will give you good results for reading PDFs. The problem lies with the PDF format, not the device: PDF was never intended to be an eBook format and is pretty much the worst possible choice, UNLESS you have a device which matches (or close to matches) the screen size that the document was created for.

I have an ASUS R2H ultra mobile computer that has a 6" screen on it and reading PDF files on this machine is so much better than reading them on my Cybook, even if I rotate the screen on the Cybook so that I am reading PDF files in landscape mode, which gives me almost the same screen size as my ASUS. The reason for this is that on the ASUS I am using the full version of Adobe Reader and not the scaled down PDF reader that is on the Cybook. Since I am using the full version of Adobe Reader, I have so many more options available to me that improve my reading experience considerably.

Tonight or tomorrow, I will take some comparative screenshots and pictures of the two devices and post them here.

Here's a link to a couple of screenshots from my UMPC of an article that is in PDF format and a photograph of the same article displayed on the Cybook. I am displaying the article in landscape mode on the Cybook.

The UMPC has a 6" screen, which is a little larger than the Cybook's screen.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dfjldskjflksajdflkasdaslkf/ReadingPDFFiles

If anyone is interested in seeing more, let me know and I'll take more pictures. I apologize for the quality of the Cybook picture. It is difficult to take a good picture of the Cybook screen.

Thanks a lot, HarryT and ProfJulie for all the info.

But then, ASUS R2H weighs: 37.4oz / 2.34lbs / 960 g

So it's 5.5 times as much as the Cybook.
I once had Simpad - http://simpad.pdaclub.pl/visual.htm
It weighed about the same as ASUS.
It also had Windows on board, though it was CE, it was years ago... and I could only comfortably read from it while it was lying down due to weight.

Here's a link to a couple of screenshots from my UMPC of an article that is in PDF format and a photograph of the same article displayed on the Cybook. I am displaying the article in landscape mode on the Cybook.

The UMPC has a 6" screen, which is a little larger than the Cybook's screen.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dfjldskjflksajdflkasdaslkf/ReadingPDFFiles

If anyone is interested in seeing more, let me know and I'll take more pictures. I apologize for the quality of the Cybook picture. It is difficult to take a good picture of the Cybook screen.

I am very interested in using a UMPC to read PDF files. I have come close to buying a Samsung Q1.

I am very interested in using a UMPC to read PDF files. I have come close to buying a Samsung Q1.

The Asus mentioned about is about $1000. Others on the forum have spoken highly of the Nokia N800 which can be had for $219 on Tiger direct. It would probably display a PDF much better than a 6inch reader. I think it has a 7 inch sreen... and if the PDF view is Adobe's would support document reflow.

BOb

Others on the forum have spoken highly of the Nokia N800 It has a 4.2" (color LCD) screen, almost exactly half the size of a 6" E-Ink screen.

The Asus mentioned about is about $1000. Others on the forum have spoken highly of the Nokia N800 which can be had for $219 on Tiger direct. It would probably display a PDF much better than a 6inch reader. I think it has a 7 inch sreen... and if the PDF view is Adobe's would support document reflow.

BOb

I bought my Asus for $600. If you look around you can find some bargains.

The Asus is a computer and can do so much more than any book reader or an internet tablet.....Ink, GPS, VGA out, Bluetooth, WIFI, you name it! It does not replace my desktop computer, but it is the one I carry back and forth to work and the one I use in my job....it sure beats hauling around a laptop.

Of course it weighs more than my Cybook, the battery life is about 4 hours, so nothing like a Cybook, it gets hot....but I did not buy the Asus just to read books on it. Even so, I much prefer to read PDF books on the Asus than on my laptop or my Cybook.

I am very interested in using a UMPC to read PDF files. I have come close to buying a Samsung Q1.

Another really great UMPC!

Here's a link to a couple of screenshots from my UMPC of an article that is in PDF format and a photograph of the same article displayed on the Cybook. I am displaying the article in landscape mode on the Cybook.

The UMPC has a 6" screen, which is a little larger than the Cybook's screen.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dfjldskjflksajdflkasdaslkf/ReadingPDFFiles

If anyone is interested in seeing more, let me know and I'll take more pictures. I apologize for the quality of the Cybook picture. It is difficult to take a good picture of the Cybook screen.


It would be great if you could take pictures with the Cybook displaying the same PDF file in portrait view, the whole page fit to the screen's width... :thumbsup:

The Asus is a computer and can do so much more than any book reader or an internet tablet.....Ink, GPS, VGA out, Bluetooth, WIFI, you name it!

It is hard to classify a thing like the Nokia N810. I consider it to be a small laptop so for me it is a computer. I can login with ssh to it and I can use ssh to login remotely and start an X window. In principle what i use my other computers for.

It would be great if you could take pictures with the Cybook displaying the same PDF file in portrait view, the whole page fit to the screen's width... :thumbsup:

As requested, I added a picture to the album of the Cybook displaying the same article in Portrait mode, Fit Width.

You can view it at the same link as posted above.

It is hard to classify a thing like the Nokia N810. I consider it to be a small laptop so for me it is a computer. I can login with ssh to it and I can use ssh to login remotely and start an X window. In principle what i use my other computers for.


You are so correct! I need to stop thinking of computers in a pre-internet way - i.e., a computer is a computer if it runs all the applications I use on it. Nowadays, with so many applications freely available online, one could really use an internet tablet for just about everything as long as there is a (fast) reliable internet connection. I, personally, am just not ready to make that jump....

You are so correct! I need to stop thinking of computers in a pre-internet way - i.e., a computer is a computer if it runs all the applications I use on it. Nowadays, with so many applications freely available online, one could really use an internet tablet for just about everything as long as there is a (fast) reliable internet connection. I, personally, am just not ready to make that jump....

Me neither. A computer has to be able to load programs on it for me to call it a computer. Otherwise everything is a computer these days. My DVD player is still not a computer to me. I microwave is still not a computer to me. Even though they all contain microprocessors in them. If you can't get to the OS and load programs on it then it is a dedicated machine, not a computer.

Dale

Me neither. A computer has to be able to load programs on it for me to call it a computer. Otherwise everything is a computer these days. My DVD player is still not a computer to me. I microwave is still not a computer to me. Even though they all contain microprocessors in them. If you can't get to the OS and load programs on it then it is a dedicated machine, not a computer.


Yes, of course. And with the Nokia machines you can do that. And you can write programs in it ans so on. But a machine nowadays that you cannot connect to the internet is not really a general computer anymore.

As requested, I added a picture to the album of the Cybook displaying the same article in Portrait mode, Fit Width.

You can view it at the same link as posted above.


:thanks: