"ipad is the best option on the market for heavy duty pdf work" - do you agree?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by vxf

Other considerations obviously apply. Second gen is lighter and thinner, but you won't notice if you put it - like most people - in a cover.

I have the Apple "Smart Cover" on mine, which is very lightweight. I like it a lot, although I know that not everybody does.

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have the Apple "Smart Cover" on mine, which is very lightweight. I like it a lot, although I know that not everybody does.

I bought that one (because it's slim and light weight) and I really like it so far.

I might get the key board later which comes with some kind of cover attached where you can stick both units.

[vxf]

Originally Posted by jojoba

Thanks so much, vxf. I have taken the plunge now and bought an ipad2. I'm loving it and I'm absolutely loving iAnnotate. It's a wonderful application and exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. I couldn't find a Targent stylus in the shop so I bought a different one as a temporary solution and will look for a Targent online. I was hoping to just use it as a note pad (for handwriting) as well, but maybe that's pushing my luck, then, I'll have to test it out a bit and see.

I have one question: Have you found a simple way of synching a multi folder pdf library on your pc with your iPad? At the moment, I've been transferring pdfs via iTunes but it requires quite a bit of sorting once they're on the iPad. I downloaded Aji which supposedly is capable of importing a folder structure to iAnnotate, but for some reason my iPad isn't connecting up to it - I haven't figured out yet what I'm donig wrong there

I am a bit in a rush right now, so I can't comment extensively. But the best solution I have found is DropBox. You can access DropBox folders directly from iAnnotate, but the files get imported and have to be subsequently exported.

The other option is to email the files to yourself. If you have setup your email client on the iPad, you can open attachments directly in iAnnotate.
I use Outlook with an Exchange account on my PC. If you have the same exchange account on the ipad, you don't even need to email files to yourself. Just drag the file to any mail folder in Outlook (not the inbox) and it gets saved as if it was an email. On the iPad, don't single tap on the attachment but hold down for 2 seconds - an 'open with' option appears and you select iAnnotate.

Finally, in Safari, if you add an 'a' to any web address, it will try to open the page in iAnnotate - and succeed if the webpage is a PDF file. So you can open, say, an SSRN PDF directly in iAnnotate without using your PC. Weird, but it works.

Glad to hear it's working out for you.

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by vxf

I am a bit in a rush right now, so I can't comment extensively. But the best solution I have found is DropBox. You can access DropBox folders directly from iAnnotate, but the files get imported and have to be subsequently exported.

The other option is to email the files to yourself. If you have setup your email client on the iPad, you can open attachments directly in iAnnotate.
I use Outlook with an Exchange account on my PC. If you have the same exchange account on the ipad, you don't even need to email files to yourself. Just drag the file to any mail folder in Outlook (not the inbox) and it gets saved as if it was an email. On the iPad, don't single tap on the attachment but hold down for 2 seconds - an 'open with' option appears and you select iAnnotate.

Finally, in Safari, if you add an 'a' to any web address, it will try to open the page in iAnnotate - and succeed if the webpage is a PDF file. So you can open, say, an SSRN PDF directly in iAnnotate without using your PC. Weird, but it works.

Glad to hear it's working out for you.

Thanks, vxf - I've just discovered drop box and I'm HAPPY I've now exported my entire pdf library both to iAnnotate and PDF Expert and I'm loving it. I saw the email save function, too, so I'll use that for updates of just a couple of files.

I had no idea about the bit in bold - that's really smart (and yes, weird!). I'm going to check that out.

Thanks for all your help, it's been very useful

[jojoba]

So, I just had to add a little happy post. I LOVE this thing and I LOVE the annotation apps and they make my work life SO MUCH EASIER

[vxf]

Originally Posted by jojoba

So, I just had to add a little happy post. I LOVE this thing and I LOVE the annotation apps and they make my work life SO MUCH EASIER

I just realized my directions were at least incomplete, more likely flawed. The 'a' goes at the beginning of the web address... my apologies. I was rushing...

Check this page:

http://www.ajidev.com/iannotate/supp...bDownload.html


I am glad to hear it's working out for your as well. It made my life MUCH easier as well. Now I can actually find my annotated papers, when I need them.

And HarryT is right, the light cover is an option... I didn't like it, so I forgot about it...

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by vxf

I just realized my directions were at least incomplete, more likely flawed. The 'a' goes at the beginning of the web address... my apologies. I was rushing...

Check this page:

http://www.ajidev.com/iannotate/supp...bDownload.html


I am glad to hear it's working out for your as well. It made my life MUCH easier as well. Now I can actually find my annotated papers, when I need them.

And HarryT is right, the light cover is an option... I didn't like it, so I forgot about it...

Thanks! I'm intrigued by this adding an a business. I have to test it out tomorrow.

Oh I got one of the smart covers and I love it. I think it is, literally, quite smart

By the way I got curious about the app called PDF expert so I'm testing out that as well now, next to iAnnotate. They score pretty equally so far. PDF Expert doesn't have the tab option which is a shame, but it does have a 'recent' section where you can find recently opened documents. I also find the interface a bit more intuitive, and I find that it has a better sync feature. But I really like iAnnotate, too, so it's pretty much a draw so far. Have you used PDF Expert?

[sparke]

Seems the iPad is working great. Just to be sure - I can annotate "freehand" in iAnnotate and similar apps?

Does anyone have some info on Android? Will freehand annotation work, and are there any good apps? If I can't get a suitable E Ink reader, I think I want to get the Asus Transformer Prime quad core tablet when it's out...

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by sparke

Seems the iPad is working great. Just to be sure - I can annotate "freehand" in iAnnotate and similar apps?

Does anyone have some info on Android? Will freehand annotation work, and are there any good apps? If I can't get a suitable E Ink reader, I think I want to get the Asus Transformer Prime quad core tablet when it's out...

You can in iAnnotate and PDF Expert. I think someone left a post at the beginning of my thread about a couple of android apps, but I don't have any experience with doing this stuff on android. If you start your own thread, you'll probably get some more responses. Good luck making a choice

[sparke]

Thanks jojoba! I'm giving the Sony Reader WiFi a shot to begin with, but I'm not expecting much.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sparke

Thanks jojoba! I'm giving the Sony Reader WiFi a shot to begin with, but I'm not expecting much.

Why are you buying a device that we're all telling you is totally unsuited for the task that you want it for?

[jojoba]

I have the same concern as Harry.

sparke, you might want to check out this which is one of my previous threads about reading pdfs on the Sony T1

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156702

[sparke]

I know, I know... It's just that I have very limited needs - very simple marks/notes in text-only PDF's, with no need to flick back and forth quickly, advanced reflow or anything like that. If PDF's on 6" E-ink works for anyone at all, it will be me, and I'd love to use E-ink. In any case I WILL be using it for prose and magazines

[=X=]

Originally Posted by sparke

Does anyone have some info on Android? Will freehand annotation work, and are there any good apps? If I can't get a suitable E Ink reader, I think I want to get the Asus Transformer Prime quad core tablet when it's out...

The Asus is a great choce, it's one of the better tablets out there. My personal favorite is the Toshiba Thrive.

As for Android Apps, there are two that stand out ezPDF($3) and RepliGo($5). Both support full annotations and the ability to share so you can put your annotations on evernote, email, facebook,tweet,etc... ezPDF also has a plugin to sync your PDFs to dropbox.

I've purchased both and have to say both have their strength and weaknesses. The rendering engine and annotations access is better with repligo. So is the UI. But ezPDF is much better with regards to just reading PDF.

There is also Mantano which handles secure(DRM) PDF and ePUB. It has it's own annotation mechanism and does not use the PDF standard. To the plus is you can annotate secure documents but the bad part is that it is specific to Mantano and does not modify the base PDF. you will only ever be able to view the annotations unless you share your annotations.

=X=

[sparke]

Thanks a lot! I actually have an HP Touchpad, and depending on how far along the CyanogenMod Android dev has come, I might be able to check those apps out on my tablet right away!