Soldier in need of eSolution

[sromain]

I am new to the market, and would like to purchase a device that meets my needs. With the wealth of experience here, figured I'd pose my requirements and see if ya'll have any additional input.

I am looking for an ebook with a small form factor (5") that can be carried in a cargo pocket in my ACU's (military trousers).

I need, and absolutely demand, the best possible PDF ability I can get. Reason: I want to download and carry all applicable FM's, TM's, AR's that I can get my grubby hands on. For those that are prior service, real world testing would be appreciated!

Relatively Inexpensive. While I have no problem paying for quality, $400 is beyond my need/price point...so something under $250 would be nice.

Doing my own research, I found the SONY 300 and the BeBook mini both closely met my needs, then I found differing opinions on whether the Sony offers PDF support.

So, narrowed it to the BeBook mini. Any real world experience to help me with my decision, specifically that may want to try, or have tried this device with Army publications? I appreciate your time and consideration.

[Nate the great]

I have a third suggestion: the Aluratek Libre. It's very sturdy (I've dropped mine repeatedly), and with the new firmware it has just as good PDF support as the other two.

[pilotbob]

BTW: The Astak Pocket Pro is the same device as the BeBook mini yet it is sold and supported by a US company. So, you may want to go that way.

Personally, I would go with the Sony over the BeBook/Astak. The Sony certainly support ePub.

There is also the Opus which is another 5inch device and the Pocketbook 360.

BOb

[sromain]

thanks for both of your suggestions....the Aluratek Libre looks intriguing.

That being said, would like to hold out and see if anyone has actually found the Army pub's to be readable on the small 5" format.

I'm in Iraq, so between shipping times and the thought of having to return it...I'd hate to jump to a decision quickly.

Thanks for the help!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by sromain

That being said, would like to hold out and see if anyone has actually found the Army pub's to be readable on the small 5" format.

Are the document publicly avilable? If so, you could post them here and I bet someone would be willing to do a screen shot of it for you.

What do these PDFs contain? Are they mostly text or are they very layout specific with stuff like tables/charts/graphics?

BOb

[davidspitzer]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I have a third suggestion: the Aluratek Libre. It's very sturdy (I've dropped mine repeatedly), and with the new firmware it has just as good PDF support as the other two.

Aluratek Libre even looks like a piece of military gear - kind of reminds me of a stealth fighter all black and angular

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I have a third suggestion: the Aluratek Libre. It's very sturdy (I've dropped mine repeatedly), and with the new firmware it has just as good PDF support as the other two.

Isn't this the same as the Jetbook, at least hardware wise?

BOb

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Isn't this the same as the Jetbook, at least hardware wise?

BOb

hardware, yes
software, no

[sromain]

http://www.army.mil/usapa/doctrine/Active_FM.html

Have fun! Curious as to what you find. As far as the question of: text vs. illustrations. I would say that many of the pubs are primarily text, though that is not always the case.

[sromain]

Want to add...SD card is mandatory. Im an NCO...and want a ton of info at my fingertips readily available!

[davidspitzer]

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...olicy/army/fm/

many are in HTML which would probably read better on the small screen if you could yank them down off the site somehow

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by sromain

http://www.army.mil/usapa/doctrine/Active_FM.html

Have fun! Curious as to what you find. As far as the question of: text vs. illustrations. I would say that many of the pubs are primarily text, though that is not always the case.

Ok... now you need a kind soul to help you. Or you might want to post a request in the forum for each device and ask.

I would do it for you but I don't have either of these devices.

BOb

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by sromain

http://www.army.mil/usapa/doctrine/Active_FM.html

Have fun! Curious as to what you find. As far as the question of: text vs. illustrations. I would say that many of the pubs are primarily text, though that is not always the case.

Looks like you need a military ID to download them? It pops up asking for an AKO username and password.

That seems odd, because US Military publications should all be in the public domain. If you think it's legal, can you share one or two of the documents?

(Also, Firefox insists it doesn't have a valid security certificate, which makes me giggle like crazy.)

[sromain]

oops...that site may ask for it. And you right, none of those pubs require a security clearance.

hmmm...probably should just google, say, FM 20-21 PDF and see what happens

EDIT: http://www.hooah4health.com/4you/FM2021-20.pdf

[Elfwreck]

Okay, quick details on the PDF (which probably mean nothing to sromain, but will help other people give advice):

• Letter sized pages
• 300dpi scans mixed with text-and-graphics pages
• Tables & graphs are all images. Sometimes multiple images.
• Shaded textboxes are also images.
• Image pages were OCR'd by something decent
• No metadata
• Pages of different types of formatting--mostly 3 columns, 2 main and a sidebar. Some pages are 1/2 image, 1/2 text. Wouldn't be easy to crop.
• Tagged.