ePub for Palm OS?

[Oh, Why Not?]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but is there an ePub reader software for Palm OS. I still read on my various Palm PDAs and my Centro.

[igorsk]

Nope. There is 1 (one) reader for PocketPC if that helps any. Also, Mobipocket reader and creator can convert EPUBs to mobi.

[Oh, Why Not?]

Thank you igorsk. I was afraid that would be the answer. I just don't know if it would be a simple or difficult thing to program compared to other OSs. It would be a useful thing to keep the momentum going.

[adullday]

I think the palm OS (at least the classic version) can only handle special palm database files (the .prc and .pdb files) in its memory so the epub would either have to be modified, or read from external storage. But if you have Internet access you could read your epubs through the bookworm site, although I don't know if you'd want to upload commercially purchased ebooks there.

I've just been taking my DRM-free epubs and converting them to mobipocket, and if I have the time, converting them by hand to the eReader format. (I like the eReader software better!)

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by adullday

I think the palm OS (at least the classic version) can only handle special palm database files (the .prc and .pdb files) in its memory so the epub would either have to be modified, or read from external storage. But if you have Internet access you could read your epubs through the bookworm site, although I don't know if you'd want to upload commercially purchased ebooks there.

This is, of course, not right. There are all kinds of ereaders for a lot of different formats for Palm (including a nicely working PDF reader) Online reading of ePubs is not possible on Palms. Not in any way. The Palm OS has nothing at all to do with the ebook formats and it's not possible to read any books without any additional software.

[adullday]

Actually Bookworm (the online epub reader) works fine on a Palm if it has Internet access. I've been skimming through an epub copy of At the Earth's Core with my Palm Centro via Bookworm. It's still awkward compared to using eReader or Mobipocket, and I doubt I'll be using it much, but it does work.

I was making the point that the epubs (like pdf's) would have to be read from external storage since they aren't in the palm database format. The point is moot since most Palm pilots have external capability anyway, and most users have flash cards.

With epub the issue might not be with the format, but with the performance. Many Palm OS devices are pretty low on horsepower, and epub is known to be very resource hungry. Of course since no one (at least to my knowledge) has written an epub reader for the Palm OS there's no way to test it.

webOS is, of course, a whole new ball game.

[trevgriff]

try the program titled popelli reader

[LessPaul]

Popelli Reader is for the Palm Pre (WebOS) and the original poster is looking for a solution on a PalmOS device.

[radius]

What I would do is unzip the epub and then use Plucker on the embedded HTML files...

[Sullivan]

Radius is right, you cannot do it without some sort of conversion. no support at all (except for the Pre)

[Seabound]

So I guess in principle it's possible to create a PalmOS app to read ePub (unencrypted) on PalmOS devices. What would be the starting point to create this software, assuming that a proficient programmer who is not familiar with the PalmOS would take on this project for fun? Is there an equivalent of a PalmOS "SDK", or maybe even something simpler?

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Seabound

So I guess in principle it's possible to create a PalmOS app to read ePub (unencrypted) on PalmOS devices. What would be the starting point to create this software, assuming that a proficient programmer who is not familiar with the PalmOS would take on this project for fun? Is there an equivalent of a PalmOS "SDK", or maybe even something simpler?

http://mobile.eric-poncet.com/palm/tutorial.html
http://www.accessdevnet.com/index.ph...-category.html

Good luck

I'm sure there are loads of other old PalmOS resources lying around on the web if you do a search.

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by Seabound

So I guess in principle it's possible to create a PalmOS app to read ePub (unencrypted) on PalmOS devices. What would be the starting point to create this software, assuming that a proficient programmer who is not familiar with the PalmOS would take on this project for fun? Is there an equivalent of a PalmOS "SDK", or maybe even something simpler?

I'm sure it's possible, but it'd be a labor of love at this point in PalmOS's long decline.

[macr0t0r]

For what it's worth, Calibre will happily convert your non-DRM ePubs to an eReader *.pdb file:
http://calibre-ebook.com/

- Jim

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by charleski

http://mobile.eric-poncet.com/palm/tutorial.html
http://www.accessdevnet.com/index.ph...-category.html

Good luck

I'm sure there are loads of other old PalmOS resources lying around on the web if you do a search.

Thanks for the links. I've browsed around and it seems the underlying language is C.

Originally Posted by wayrad

I'm sure it's possible, but it'd be a labor of love at this point in PalmOS's long decline.

Yes, of course, a fun project if there is time, and the results would be good. And we also know, of course, that there is calibre. But it would be nice not to keep converting to be able to read on a particular device. It's also insurance for when the mobi format completely disappears from the face of the earth. I actually prefer reading on my Sony Clie than on my iPod Touch.

In any case creating an app to read ePub on PalmOS shouldn't be that hard for someone experienced with PalmOS. After all, ePub is basically html and, surely, there is already an app which renders html on PalmOS. It would just require some tweaking to get it to read ePub.