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Old 10-25-2007, 06:25 PM   #1
sheygetz
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VGA screen on a pda

I wonder how important would you consider a VGA display if you used a pda for your e-reading? Does VGA work on all the reading programs that you use (I've heard that not every software supports VGA.)?

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Old 10-25-2007, 07:20 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sheygetz View Post
I wonder how important would you consider a VGA display if you used a pda for your e-reading? Does VGA work on all the reading programs that you use (I've heard that not every software supports VGA.)?

Hendrik
Hendrik,

The Dell Axim x51 series all have a 640 x 480 pixel screen (VGA) and do quite nicely for a 3.x" screen. I used mine for several years as an ebook reader. Of course, now that I have my Cybook and Sony, I'll never go back!

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Old 10-26-2007, 01:46 AM   #3
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As Derek, I have an X51V that I use mainly for reading. No e-ink device yet!

X51V is fine... a little too bright in total darkness, but you get used. Before I had a Palm Tungsten T3 and the difference in resolution is quite high.

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Old 10-26-2007, 04:56 AM   #4
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Having had a number of full VGA and quarter VGA Pocket PCs, for book reading I don't find that the resolution makes much of a difference. QVGA is perfectly adequate for properly formed fonts, and that's really all that matters.

There are applications for which the higher resolution very definitely does make a difference, but not reading. That, at least, is my experience. I'm currently reading on both a full VGA HP iPaq 4900 and a QVGA HTC Touch SmartPhone.
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Old 10-26-2007, 07:20 AM   #5
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I read on an Acer PDA with 600x480 resolution. Very happy with it. The reading software (Mobipocket, eReader, uBook) all seem to work fine. Given the choice between two otherwise equivalent devices I'd go for the one with VGA, but I'm sure you can read perfectly well without it.
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Old 10-27-2007, 10:53 AM   #6
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Yup, before I bought my sony 505, i read with my acer n300 too. It has a vga screen and it's just nice. With some hack, you can read pdf in vga mode too.
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Old 10-27-2007, 03:15 PM   #7
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Yup, before I bought my sony 505, i read with my acer n300 too. It has a vga screen and it's just nice. With some hack, you can read pdf in vga mode too.
I've found Pocket Xpdf and Custom pdf books from FeedBooks.com a great combination but there's also a good reader from Foxit.
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Old 11-02-2007, 03:06 AM   #8
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Not sure what your choice will be. I have an Acer N311 and think it is perfect for reading ebooks. Definitely get a reader for it such as mobipocket or Ubook. Also get a screen protector to cut down on the glare from the backlight. I for one will NOT buy an Sony Reader or Cybook till it gets down to the PDA size. The mobility is much more than an Eink book. Granted the battery life is shorter, but I can read my PDA for about 8 hours just as leandroide said before in a previous forum before Recharging.
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Old 11-02-2007, 08:04 AM   #9
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Thanks for all the answers, I'm quite overwhelmed what with this being my 1st post, keep them coming. I was asking, because I cannot help but notice that VGA as a prerequisite does severly cut down the number of alternatives.

I mean, PDAs in general seem to go the way of the dodo, if you discount Smartphones, most of which only sport a 2.8" display. From what you guys have been saying so far, I guess it is safe to say that while VGA sure is a bonus, the size of screen real estate is definitely more important. Right?

HP is supposed to produce an all new 4" PDA 214 with GPS (I'd love that) to boot. They've already postponed it to 1st Q 2008, so we'll see. I was hoping to get a device for my upcoming vacation in Hongkong in December. Maybe I'll just go for the cheapest device there is - Asus MyPal A626 for ~ 220EUR - and take it from there.

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Old 11-02-2007, 09:53 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sheygetz View Post
I mean, PDAs in general seem to go the way of the dodo, if you discount Smartphones, most of which only sport a 2.8" display. From what you guys have been saying so far, I guess it is safe to say that while VGA sure is a bonus, the size of screen real estate is definitely more important. Right?
My impression was that the larger and/or higher resolution screens were VGA anyway. I think you pretty quickly get used to reading small chunks of text, but I'm sure I'd find reading on a really small screen would be very irritating. I suspect the point at which the screen gets too small would ultimately comes down to individual preference.

I suspect that single-purpose pdas are disappearing fast, but there will be plenty of hybrid devices areound: eg pda/GPSes, smartphones, MP3 and video players.

Last edited by andym; 11-02-2007 at 09:55 AM.
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Old 11-03-2007, 02:05 AM   #11
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Well several in this site use the Acer N311 like myself. It has a 3.7 inch screen. check out this review:

http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/...9262581,00.htm

I have read two books on mine and I just bought it recently. The PDA may be suffering in Amerika but it his huge where I live in Russia. Good luck on whatever purchase you make.
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