Best reader for Technical PDFs

yagiz · 01-27-2008, 12:07 PM

Hi all,

My requirement has always been reading technical books and magazines when I looked at an e-book reader. I've been waiting for the right e-book reader for years and I've been keeping an eye on the market to see the new gadgets coming out but to no avail.

I've been reading various topics on this site for the last 3 hours (or maybe even more). It's great to see so many aficionados gathered together. And I'm really happy to see that I'm not the only one looking for A4 PDF support in a reader (This doesn't change anything but it's somehow human to feel comforted when not alone in a situation).

As far as I can see, my only viable option is to have a little more patience to lay my hands on a Fujitsu FLEPia. Because, in a reader, I've always wanted the battery-life of the e-Ink, and the resolution and the color of an LCD screen, which, I believe, Fujitsu FLEPia comes with.

Panasonic Words Gear looks very slick but after seeing Fujitsu FLEPia, I cannot go and buy a WG (even if it were available outside Japan). *sigh*

Patience is a virtue... but it's killing me...

In the meantime, is there anyone out there using an e-book reader to read her/his technical PDFs (or comics)?

wallcraft · 01-27-2008, 12:26 PM

The best existing e-book reader for this purpose is the iLiad. See Technical Document Examples and Photos from medical journals. Note that if any of the screenshots (copies of the iLiad screen bitmap) or photos look fuzzy, they have probably been downscaled by your web browser - click on them to get the full resolution.

yagiz · 01-27-2008, 12:53 PM

wallcraft,

Thanks for the links. Technical PDFs look very readable on iLiad indeed. It's just its price that makes me hesitate... Is the battery life good enough?

Thanks,

wallcraft · 01-27-2008, 02:00 PM

Battery life is about 15 hours, and boot time is about 45 seconds (which is long enough to discourage turning off the device). This is good enough for all day use.

The iLiad is expensive, but it is the only game in town until large Vizplex screens become available (probably in ~6 months). The only announced product with a 9.7" screen is the V9, see Hanlin V9 Early Review & Photos, but there are likely to be other devices with 8" and 9.7" screens. A large fraction of the cost of an e-book reader is the screen, so these may not be much cheaper than the current iLiad.

yagiz · 01-27-2008, 04:56 PM

Yeah! Hanlin V9 doesn't look as pretty as iLiad but it may be well worth waiting in order to have a bigger screen. It would be so nice to have one by this summer... but it's never certain when these things will be released...

Quick question regarding iLiad: Does it have "search" and "lookup (dictionary)" functionalities?

wallcraft · 01-27-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yagiz

Quick question regarding iLiad: Does it have "search" and "lookup (dictionary)" functionalities?

There are three primary "readers" on the iLiad: ipdf, MobiPocket, and FBReader. Only MobiPocket has a dictionary (lookup, but no search, in current book), and only FBReader has search inside the current book. In principle, ipdf could have search too but so far no one has implemented it.

yagiz · 01-27-2008, 05:39 PM

wallcraft,

Thanks again for taking time to respond... I really appreciate it...

01-27-2008, 12:07 PM	#1
yagiz http://is.gd/4flJX Posts: 134 Karma: 422 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iPhone 3G	Best reader for Technical PDFs Hi all, My requirement has always been reading technical books and magazines when I looked at an e-book reader. I've been waiting for the right e-book reader for years and I've been keeping an eye on the market to see the new gadgets coming out but to no avail. I've been reading various topics on this site for the last 3 hours (or maybe even more). It's great to see so many aficionados gathered together. And I'm really happy to see that I'm not the only one looking for A4 PDF support in a reader (This doesn't change anything but it's somehow human to feel comforted when not alone in a situation). As far as I can see, my only viable option is to have a little more patience to lay my hands on a Fujitsu FLEPia. Because, in a reader, I've always wanted the battery-life of the e-Ink, and the resolution and the color of an LCD screen, which, I believe, Fujitsu FLEPia comes with. Panasonic Words Gear looks very slick but after seeing Fujitsu FLEPia, I cannot go and buy a WG (even if it were available outside Japan). sigh Patience is a virtue... but it's killing me... In the meantime, is there anyone out there using an e-book reader to read her/his technical PDFs (or comics)?

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01-27-2008, 12:26 PM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The best existing e-book reader for this purpose is the iLiad. See Technical Document Examples and Photos from medical journals. Note that if any of the screenshots (copies of the iLiad screen bitmap) or photos look fuzzy, they have probably been downscaled by your web browser - click on them to get the full resolution.

01-27-2008, 12:53 PM	#3
yagiz http://is.gd/4flJX Posts: 134 Karma: 422 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iPhone 3G	wallcraft, Thanks for the links. Technical PDFs look very readable on iLiad indeed. It's just its price that makes me hesitate... Is the battery life good enough? Thanks,

01-27-2008, 02:00 PM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	Battery life is about 15 hours, and boot time is about 45 seconds (which is long enough to discourage turning off the device). This is good enough for all day use. The iLiad is expensive, but it is the only game in town until large Vizplex screens become available (probably in ~6 months). The only announced product with a 9.7" screen is the V9, see Hanlin V9 Early Review & Photos, but there are likely to be other devices with 8" and 9.7" screens. A large fraction of the cost of an e-book reader is the screen, so these may not be much cheaper than the current iLiad.

01-27-2008, 04:56 PM	#5
yagiz http://is.gd/4flJX Posts: 134 Karma: 422 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iPhone 3G	Yeah! Hanlin V9 doesn't look as pretty as iLiad but it may be well worth waiting in order to have a bigger screen. It would be so nice to have one by this summer... but it's never certain when these things will be released... Quick question regarding iLiad: Does it have "search" and "lookup (dictionary)" functionalities?

01-27-2008, 05:39 PM	#7
yagiz http://is.gd/4flJX Posts: 134 Karma: 422 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iPhone 3G	wallcraft, Thanks again for taking time to respond... I really appreciate it...

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