Is this a good reader?

[ToboldH]

I live in South Africa, where readers are still few and far between. The only model that is readily available (as in I can walk into a store and walk out with one) is the iRiver Story.

I have a substantial collection of technical eBooks in PDF format that I want to be able to read on something other than my laptop. I have read that the Story supports PDF "out the box", but also that it does not do very well with "standard" PDF font sizes, as the zoom causes you to lose parts of the page.

Do you find that PDF can be a problem? If so, would converting to another format, such as ePub, make it better?

I appreciate your time and trouble. I am sorely tempted to pick one of these up on the way home today. That would be about an hour from now. Nothing like a spur of the moment decision.

[kafkaesque1978]

I primarily read pdf files and it works excellently for about 90% of them. I find there is often little need to convert pdf files.

As for zooming in, there are a range of options and it really depends on the pdf file. But I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Check out my examples thread.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by kafkaesque1978

I primarily read pdf files and it works excellently for about 90% of them. I find there is often little need to convert pdf files.

As for zooming in, there are a range of options and it really depends on the pdf file. But I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Check out my examples thread.

Good to hear your report, Kafkaesque, thanks. Pdf is not a format I associate with ebook readers, although most of them say they support it. It's not a format I would normally want to load onto a reader, although I can imagine there are many who would need that functionality - people who have to read a lot of technical manuals for example. I'm glad to hear that the Story can do a good job of most of them.

[kafkaesque1978]

Well for manuals, for example a LaTex manual and an R (statistics) manual, I am finding my iRiver Story invaluable.

And with LaTex (which if you don't know is a programming language designed to replicate a printing press) you can produce beautiful text to any specifications (including the Story margins).

Epub is neat too though. Gotta love that zoom...

[greenapple]

I don't recommend this ebook reader, if you're using it for TXT, DOC and comics. These simply don't work on this reader.

While I know you can convert TXT and DOC to other formats, but this isn't what is stated on the tin.

If you're using it to view comics, I'd say forget it. There's no zoom feature that will allow you to read the text.

[ToboldH]

Thank you for the responses.

It turns out that the store did not have any iRiver readers, despite advertising such on their website.

I ended up getting a Bookeen Cybook Gen 3. It is not ideal for PDF, but I like reading fiction too and am well impressed by how well that works. It is my first exposure to E Ink
and I was quite amazed. I imagine this is a common reaction from newbies, such as myself, and I will no doubt get to the stage where I regret my purchase and realise that I should have bought xyz instead.

In the meantime, I will try to enjoy reading, which is why I spent the money in the first place.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by ToboldH

Thank you for the responses.

I imagine this is a common reaction from newbies, such as myself, and I will no doubt get to the stage where I regret my purchase and realise that I should have bought xyz instead.

In the meantime, I will try to enjoy reading, which is why I spent the money in the first place.

Yepp, that's par for the course, Toboldh, any time one makes an investment which can be considered substantial, and ebook readers are still that. I remember waiting just a few more weeks or months till the next version of some computer came out, until I realised that, sometime, you just have to jump on the bandwagon and accept that the guy who buys tomorrow will have a better deal, or that, if one had not bought the one in the shop, but waited till another firm could deliver, etc.

Welcome anyway to the ebook reader owners' club!

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by ToboldH

It is my first exposure to E Ink and I was quite amazed. I imagine this is a common reaction from newbies, such as myself, and I will no doubt get to the stage where I regret my purchase and realise that I should have bought xyz instead.

G'day ToboldH,
Unfortunately, I think this is par for the course for all of us. There's always a function that doesn't work as well as we'd hoped, or that the device we bought doesn't have but a different brand does. If you browse through other threads on this forum, you'll see that seems to be true for pretty much everyone.

I've heard very good things about the Bookeen. It wasn't in contention for me simply because i decided to buy a model that was distributed and supported in my country, but I was aware going in that might mean I'd miss out on the chance of some good kit. And while I keep agitating the manufacturers of the one I bought for improvements, I don't fundamentally regret my purchase.

Welcome to the forums. I hope you enjoy your reading!

[ToboldH]

Thank you for the friendly responses. I wanted the iRiver Story, and would have got it, had it been there. In the end, I took a chance, not knowing anything about either of the two options presented to me (the Cybook and the "Cooler"). The Cybook came with a leather cover, which I liked, but the Cooler, looking more than a little like a big iPod to me, was attractive too.

You're in Australia, MacEachaidh? Having a device that is supported in your country is indeed sensible. I have finally been granted Australian residency (fell in love with the country after going there for a few weeks on business) and hope to move there next year. I am now slightly more disappointed that I missed out on getting the Story.

[MacEachaidh]

So you're thinking of coming to live here in Oz? Good for you, ToboldH, and welcome. I hope it's a great move for you.

Where are you now?

[ToboldH]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

So you're thinking of coming to live here in Oz? Good for you, ToboldH, and welcome. I hope it's a great move for you.

Where are you now?

I am in South Africa (Sandton, Johannesburg).

I am a computer programmer and went over to Melbourne in June of 2006 for three weeks because we were doing a joint software development with an Australian company. I just couldn't shut up about it when I returned. The people especially, but also the atmosphere and feel of the place.

My wife was not convinced and so I didn't press the matter. Then, some 18 months later, she decided, all on her own, that we should go. It was a wonderful surprise! This was in December of 2007. I contacted a migration agent and started getting everything together (academic transcripts, work references, police clearance, birth certificates, etc). We submitted our application in April of 2008. We were granted permanent residency in May last year (2009). It is a long wait, but so rewarding! The following month (June), we activated our visas with a trip to Melbourne, Cairns and Sydney. My wife loved the country too, which was a relief.

We are thinking of around the middle of next year to make the move, after selling our house and getting everything ready. I can't wait! I am already a proud Aussie, and I'm not even there yet. I wore the Socceroos jumper during the recent World Cup here, have the flag on my office desk, a map of Melbourne above it, and several other bits and pieces.

Off topic, totally, but I always get carried away when I talk about it.