Iriver PDF display?

Greg_E · 10-26-2011, 10:27 AM

OK, I was thinking about a Kindle DX so that the full screen display of letter sized PDF will work reasonably well, but I did some research on the little iRiver and noticed that the advertised resolution is much higher than other 6 inch e-readers approaching the resolution of the DX and the same as the tablet computer I am currently using for this task. Normally when I need to print a PDF I print them Booklet style (four pages per sheet) and that size seems fine to me as long as the text is clear. Which brings me to my question...

How do letter sized (8.5x11 or A4) documents look on the 6 inch display in full screen mode? Approximately how large (mm or inches) are the typical characters? I know this will vary with the font used and things like that but a general measurement should help determine if this would work for me. A typical Capital X or M is about 1/16 inch or 2mm wide when I print them four to a sheet.

I understand I missed a good sale here in the USA, but I can still find the wifi HD for $129 with free shipping so it is not too bad compared to even a used Kindle DX. There are a couple of other choices for used devices on ebay but I would need to go through the (normally) less than optimized PDF to epub/mobi conversion process.

frostschutz · 10-26-2011, 10:57 AM

If you provide a sample PDF file I can make some shots for you.

Greg_E · 10-26-2011, 01:42 PM

I'll upload something and send you a PM with the location.

[edit]

I found one that looks like it is available to the general public that I can link too:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/net_...sh/cna_gsg.pdf

The second page with the copyright notices is the smallest text and is very hard to read on my tablet PC. Page "V" is typical text and more what I would be concerned about. Page 28/32 has some other text that because of the font might be difficult to read. Page number shows as A-2 in the lower corner.

The other manuals I want to read as very similar in text and layout, while I could suffer through some 40 odd pages, the larger books of 600+ would be a strain on my tablet PC. I ended up running through MobiPocket to convert to epub but I lose most/all the pictures and some pictures are important.

If that document doesn't download I'll upload some of the non-public work for a test.

frostschutz · 10-26-2011, 05:12 PM

Here you go. It's readable but very small, even in landscape mode.

Sorry about the afterimage on page 5, the reader doesn't properly reset the page when changing landscape/portrait orientation and I forgot to flip the page before making the shot. There are usually no visible afterimages when reading normally.

Greg_E · 10-26-2011, 07:37 PM

Thanks. What is your general opinion on ability to read in full screen portrait mode?
I stopped at a Target on the way home and looked at what they had, couldn't get anyone to help me so I couldn't give it a try. They had a Kindle with a PDF and it was way too small to read without strain. The display on the HD is much better so the letters are clearly more visible, but I have a feeling the letters are still too small.

I had to switch back to the PDF reader because the lack of pictures was killing me. Wish there was a better way to convert PDF to any other format without a lot of cleanup after the processing.

frostschutz · 10-26-2011, 09:35 PM

As I said, it's very small, for PDFs that have formatting that can't make use of reflow or conversion to epub of that matter. That's pretty much every PDF with tables in it.

You could slice it up more, get rid of the unnecessary page borders for example to get a bit of more size out of it - the reader has a zoom function but it's not particularly useful as it takes too much time to adjust and sometimes plain doesn't work as expected.

Still if you have to rely on PDF a lot you may be better off with a tablet after all. Even if it doesn't have a larger screen or higher resolution, pinch zoom and realtime responsive display will do wonders for usability.

I highly recommend this ereader - for reading plain text ebooks, and maybe comics. It's actually very good with pictures as long as they come in the readers resolution.

PDF just sucks for any kind of reader. It might get the job done if need be but it's not something you do for comfort.

Greg_E · 10-26-2011, 10:09 PM

Half considering buying the epub version of these books. I hope they make a larger version like a 9.7 inch display. I'll probably wait to see what kind of sales happen around the holidays and pick up something if I can get a good price.

10-26-2011, 10:27 AM	#1
Greg_E Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Acer Iconia a500, XP tablet PC	Iriver PDF display? OK, I was thinking about a Kindle DX so that the full screen display of letter sized PDF will work reasonably well, but I did some research on the little iRiver and noticed that the advertised resolution is much higher than other 6 inch e-readers approaching the resolution of the DX and the same as the tablet computer I am currently using for this task. Normally when I need to print a PDF I print them Booklet style (four pages per sheet) and that size seems fine to me as long as the text is clear. Which brings me to my question... How do letter sized (8.5x11 or A4) documents look on the 6 inch display in full screen mode? Approximately how large (mm or inches) are the typical characters? I know this will vary with the font used and things like that but a general measurement should help determine if this would work for me. A typical Capital X or M is about 1/16 inch or 2mm wide when I print them four to a sheet. I understand I missed a good sale here in the USA, but I can still find the wifi HD for $129 with free shipping so it is not too bad compared to even a used Kindle DX. There are a couple of other choices for used devices on ebay but I would need to go through the (normally) less than optimized PDF to epub/mobi conversion process.

10-26-2011, 01:42 PM	#3
Greg_E Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Acer Iconia a500, XP tablet PC	I'll upload something and send you a PM with the location. [edit] I found one that looks like it is available to the general public that I can link too: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/net_...sh/cna_gsg.pdf The second page with the copyright notices is the smallest text and is very hard to read on my tablet PC. Page "V" is typical text and more what I would be concerned about. Page 28/32 has some other text that because of the font might be difficult to read. Page number shows as A-2 in the lower corner. The other manuals I want to read as very similar in text and layout, while I could suffer through some 40 odd pages, the larger books of 600+ would be a strain on my tablet PC. I ended up running through MobiPocket to convert to epub but I lose most/all the pictures and some pictures are important. If that document doesn't download I'll upload some of the non-public work for a test. Last edited by Greg_E; 10-26-2011 at 01:55 PM.

10-26-2011, 05:12 PM	#4
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	Here you go. It's readable but very small, even in landscape mode. Sorry about the afterimage on page 5, the reader doesn't properly reset the page when changing landscape/portrait orientation and I forgot to flip the page before making the shot. There are usually no visible afterimages when reading normally. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by frostschutz; 10-26-2011 at 05:15 PM.

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10-26-2011, 10:57 AM	#2
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	If you provide a sample PDF file I can make some shots for you.

10-26-2011, 07:37 PM	#5
Greg_E Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Acer Iconia a500, XP tablet PC	Thanks. What is your general opinion on ability to read in full screen portrait mode? I stopped at a Target on the way home and looked at what they had, couldn't get anyone to help me so I couldn't give it a try. They had a Kindle with a PDF and it was way too small to read without strain. The display on the HD is much better so the letters are clearly more visible, but I have a feeling the letters are still too small. I had to switch back to the PDF reader because the lack of pictures was killing me. Wish there was a better way to convert PDF to any other format without a lot of cleanup after the processing.

10-26-2011, 09:35 PM	#6
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	As I said, it's very small, for PDFs that have formatting that can't make use of reflow or conversion to epub of that matter. That's pretty much every PDF with tables in it. You could slice it up more, get rid of the unnecessary page borders for example to get a bit of more size out of it - the reader has a zoom function but it's not particularly useful as it takes too much time to adjust and sometimes plain doesn't work as expected. Still if you have to rely on PDF a lot you may be better off with a tablet after all. Even if it doesn't have a larger screen or higher resolution, pinch zoom and realtime responsive display will do wonders for usability. I highly recommend this ereader - for reading plain text ebooks, and maybe comics. It's actually very good with pictures as long as they come in the readers resolution. PDF just sucks for any kind of reader. It might get the job done if need be but it's not something you do for comfort.

10-26-2011, 10:09 PM	#7
Greg_E Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Acer Iconia a500, XP tablet PC	Half considering buying the epub version of these books. I hope they make a larger version like a 9.7 inch display. I'll probably wait to see what kind of sales happen around the holidays and pick up something if I can get a good price.

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