Handheld ebook reader.

Gatherer · 03-31-2005, 05:13 AM

Hi all.

I’m thinking of buying a handheld device primarily for reading ebooks, but I’m unsure as to what product would be best for my needs. This is the first time I have delved into the handheld market.

At present I have a large collection of ebooks and find it uncomfortable reading on a CRT screen. Also I find I have less and less time available at home to read so my commute period would be the ideal time to catch up on my reading. Obviously a handheld would be better suited to this then a laptop.

I would like something capable of displaying all the standard ebook formats (.lit, .cbr, .pdf, etc), a colour display and large storage capacity, if that’s possible. A secondary consideration would be the ability to play audio books; this would be nice but not essential. I have a budget of £300 ($560) but could stretch to more for the right device.

Do you good folks at Mobileread have any suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

rlauzon · 03-31-2005, 05:57 AM

Well, battery life is very important. So that rules out all WinCE units. Palm works very well. I suggest that you head to your local store and check out the Palm units to see which one has a screen good enough for you.

When it comes to "standard" eBook formats, there really is none. The only ones that I support are PalmDOC, HTML, and standard word processing formats. I then convert to whatever I need from there.

Formats like .lit are proprietary and should be avoided. But if you need to read such files, your choices of an eBook reader are very limited. .lit is a Microsoft only format, so you need to have a WinCE unit to read it.

Also, some formats (like .pdf) are horribly bloated and don't work well on handhelds in general (it depends on how the .pdf is formatted).

Gatherer · 04-03-2005, 01:57 AM

Thanks for the advice rlauzon.

After trawling the web for a few days I think I have a better understanding of what will be suitable for my needs.

Now it's time to pester the sales people at my local PC Emporium.

WarStrider · 07-14-2005, 01:34 PM

The Ebookwise reader runs about $130 USD and while it only reads its own .IMP format they offer a conversion utility that can handle .TXT .RTF .DOC .HTML and if you don't mind coverting twice you can convert .LIT and .PDF as well using freeware utilities found on the web.

03-31-2005, 05:13 AM	#1
Gatherer Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2005	Handheld ebook reader. Hi all. I’m thinking of buying a handheld device primarily for reading ebooks, but I’m unsure as to what product would be best for my needs. This is the first time I have delved into the handheld market. At present I have a large collection of ebooks and find it uncomfortable reading on a CRT screen. Also I find I have less and less time available at home to read so my commute period would be the ideal time to catch up on my reading. Obviously a handheld would be better suited to this then a laptop. I would like something capable of displaying all the standard ebook formats (.lit, .cbr, .pdf, etc), a colour display and large storage capacity, if that’s possible. A secondary consideration would be the ability to play audio books; this would be nice but not essential. I have a budget of £300 ($560) but could stretch to more for the right device. Do you good folks at Mobileread have any suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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03-31-2005, 05:57 AM	#2
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	Well, battery life is very important. So that rules out all WinCE units. Palm works very well. I suggest that you head to your local store and check out the Palm units to see which one has a screen good enough for you. When it comes to "standard" eBook formats, there really is none. The only ones that I support are PalmDOC, HTML, and standard word processing formats. I then convert to whatever I need from there. Formats like .lit are proprietary and should be avoided. But if you need to read such files, your choices of an eBook reader are very limited. .lit is a Microsoft only format, so you need to have a WinCE unit to read it. Also, some formats (like .pdf) are horribly bloated and don't work well on handhelds in general (it depends on how the .pdf is formatted).

04-03-2005, 01:57 AM	#3
Gatherer Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2005	Thanks for the advice rlauzon. After trawling the web for a few days I think I have a better understanding of what will be suitable for my needs. Now it's time to pester the sales people at my local PC Emporium.

07-14-2005, 01:34 PM	#4
WarStrider Member Posts: 15 Karma: 34 Join Date: Nov 2004 Device: Rocket Reader Pro	The Ebookwise reader runs about $130 USD and while it only reads its own .IMP format they offer a conversion utility that can handle .TXT .RTF .DOC .HTML and if you don't mind coverting twice you can convert .LIT and .PDF as well using freeware utilities found on the web.

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