360 Navigation Question

[ElizabethW]

Hello!

I have a question about navigation on the 360. I've looked through the reviews here and haven't found the answer, though it's possible I've just overlooked it somewhere.

I'm considering selling my Kindle 2 and getting one, because I like the idea of the smaller size and more open platform, and really like the design of the 360. However, I have a very large number of older, non-DRM ebooks. One thing I like about the Kindle's navigation is being able to type in a page number to go straight to it, or type a letter to go to the beginning of the books starting with that letter. Can you do the same thing with the virtual keyboard on the 360? Or, at the very least, is the search for books function fast enough to be useable? Any time I try to search for something on my Kindle, it takes several minutes to actually load the results, though I suppose that's because it's searching the actual text of the books, rather than just the titles.

Thanks for your help!

[jackie_w]

You can definitely go to a specific page by typing the page number into a mini-menu item when you've got the book open.

There is also a 'Find book' menu option. It was discussed a little in this thread.

[ElizabethW]

Thanks for the reply. Re-reading my post, though, I realize I wasn't very clear at all - sorry. While it is nice to be able to jump to a specific page in the book, what I actually meant to ask was whether you could jump to a certain page in the list of books on the device. Like, if I had fifty books on there, and the reader split the list of them across five pages, could I bring up the keyboard, type 3, and go to page number 3? Or, alternately, type S and go to the book that have titles starting with s?

[Dulin's Books]

you can search for books that begin with S. You can't jump to a later page in the book list.

[jackie_w]

You could also store your books in hierarchical folders to reduce the number of pages you have to skip through to home in on your target, e.g. Author/Series or Genre/Author.

Calibre is brilliant at facilitating this.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by ElizabethW

Like, if I had fifty books on there, and the reader split the list of them across five pages, could I bring up the keyboard, type 3, and go to page number 3? Or, alternately, type S and go to the book that have titles starting with s?

With Kindle you have list of books and that is it. The same with Sony. You can have categories (not nested, that is not categories within categories) but the creation is only manual, from the device or in case of Sony from Sony Library software.

On PocketBook you can use folders (directories) to sort your books. Just copy your book folder from PC with all its directories, or export Calibre library to a desired directory structure)
You can also have Favorites here (Virtual directories that work similar to categories on Kindle, but CAN be nested), so there is no need to have 20 pages long list of unsorted books. Favorites structure is in one flat file accesible from PC so you can create any elaborate lists you wish.
Plus, with some themes(*) you can have quite a long list of books on one page. I use Cleanlook theme that can display some 50 books per page.

(*) Theme is a file that redefines user interface. Menus, icons, behaviour, look of the library.
You HAVE to test some. Look up themes Cleanlook, Sheeps, Sherlock and others. I have some 30 different themes installed on my device, so my PocketBook can have 30 different looks.

[ElizabethW]

All right, sounds good. Thanks everyone!

[IndecisiveMe]

I considered getting a Kindle 3 Wifi as a backup device for my PB360 when they came out. Then I realised that the Kindle is in control of how the bookshelf is displayed and that the file organisation wouldn't be like the PB360.

I immediately changed my mind.

Apart from how lovely it is to read on the PB360, the file structure is one of my favourite things about the device. If I ever by a new reader, it will have to have a user-controlled bookshelf. I can't even imagine handing that over to the reader.

[ElizabethW]

Yeah, I can definitely see the appeal... I tried setting up Collections on my Kindle, but since you can only do that on the reader itself, it would have taken forever. It will definitely be nice to be able to edit that sort of thing on my computer instead. I wasn't actually planning on making the switch so soon, but I managed to find a buyer for my Kindle already... So now I just need to decide between the black and white 360s.

[ElizabethW]

In case anyone was curious, I went with the black ^-^ ECost.com had them on sale on Thursday, so I decided to go ahead and order one, and was pleasantly surprised to receive it the very next day. After doing some tinkering, and experimenting with themes (I'm using Muaddib1 for now), I have to say, I love it!

I used Calibre to set up my library, which makes it much easier to navigate than the Kindle was. I really like being able to switch between displaying book titles and file names, too, because while I prefer titles most of the time, since it looks better that way, it's nice to be able to use file names to put series in their proper order. Favorites are very nice, too, and easier to use than Collections were... Really, everything is easier to do on the 360, not least of all because it seems to be much speedier than my Kindle.

I'm also very happy with the form factor, which was one of the main reasons I got it. The Kindle just felt too oversized and awkward to hold, but, for me, the 360 is the perfect size. The buttons all feel very sturdy, and the screen looks fantastic! I imagine it's because it's the same resolution on a smaller screen, but it looks much better to my eyes. And with all the customization choices, I can fit just as much, if not more, text per screen, and still have it easily readable. And I love that it has "page" numbers that actually correspond to the number of button presses it takes to get through the book. A little thing, really, but it makes the experience feel more like reading an actual book to me.

Really, the only thing I miss from my Kindle is the visual representation on the book list of how long each book is. It certainly isn't a big deal, I just always thought that was a cool touch. Still, I'm very happy with the switch. Thanks to everyone for the last little push it took to convince me to do it!

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by ElizabethW

...while I prefer titles most of the time, since it looks better that way, it's nice to be able to use file names to put series in their proper order

Glad you like your new gadget. I just thought I'd point you at Calibre's fairly recent Preferences - Metadata plugboards feature, when you have the time and inclination. It is now possible to include the Series info (and/or any other metadata you fancy) in the Title as you do the 'Send to Device'. i.e. it's no longer necessary to switch to View Filenames to get what you want.

[fjtorres]

Glad to see you're enjoying life in PB360-land.
Just checking:
Have you installed FBReader180 and the Hacked Adobeviewer?
On themes, I favor "Five".
On Fonts, Georgia with the "embolden" option.

Have fun!

[ElizabethW]

I have FBReader180, but not the hacked Adobeviewer. Hadn't seen anything about it here, but I'll go looking for it.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ElizabethW

I have FBReader180, but not the hacked Adobeviewer. Hadn't seen anything about it here, but I'll go looking for it.

It's not as flexible as FBReader but it does let you control the base font, the margins, and other render attributes by tweaking a css stylesheet. And it works with DRM'ed ePubs.