Sony Reader with better(?) PDF support in Jan '08?

[TadW]

Gizmodo met with various high-profile Sony folks today and managed to squeeze some information out of them, also regarding the Sony Reader information:

The new Sony Reader will get PDF support in January.

The Reader is finding an audience among the military, among companies who want to load up manuals for employees, and among housewives. Educational publishers are still slow to see its value: "They are probably a little old fashioned - probably not the right thing to say - but they are a little slow to adapt," says Glasgow, adding that he thinks they will get on track. Sony welcomes the Amazon reader and any other competition as "publicity for the category."

Link to the full article: here

Now the question is: what do they mean by "will get PDF support"? Obviously, the Sony Reader does already support PDF -- in fact, it did so from the very beginning. But is it possible that those exec's meant to say better PDF support? Something along the lines of Digital Editions, which is rumored to be in the works for the Sony Reader? I am wondering... what do you think?

[JSWolf]

I hope this will be DE and that they do improve the viewing of PDF.

[Lonnieruns]

Hello, I am new to this forum. This is my first post. This tread is very timely. I was in the process of packing up my newly purchased reader for return. I purchased it so I could download my work PDF manuals to read as I travel. My PDF files do not work (writing too small even in landscape mode). Are you saying there will be a work around for the 505? or should I return the reader and wait until January to purchase a better PDF reader? I have to return it this weekend to get a full refund. Please advise.

[JSWolf]

There is a work around now. Do a search for pdflrf. It's a very good program for making PDF more readable on the 500/505 as they are now.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by Lonnieruns

Hello, I am new to this forum. This is my first post. This tread is very timely. I was in the process of packing up my newly purchased reader for return. I purchased it so I could download my work PDF manuals to read as I travel. My PDF files do not work (writing too small even in landscape mode). Are you saying there will be a work around for the 505? or should I return the reader and wait until January to purchase a better PDF reader? I have to return it this weekend to get a full refund. Please advise.

Loonieruns, as Jon already said, give pdflrf a try -- it's a great tool for converting PDFs into usable LRF files for the Reader. There's been some rumors (also stated by Sony) that they are working together with the Adobe team on improving PDF support. In fact, it's been mentioned that a variant of Adobe Digital Editions might become available in a future Reader firmware upgrade.

Of course, no matter how much they improve the software, one must always keep in mind the physical limitations of the Reader screen. For instance, trying to read a multi-column PDF text wouldn't make much sense.

[Lonnieruns]

I am happy I found this forum. I will try your solution!:

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by TadW

... what do you think?

I think they were talking heads. Sounds like they have no idea why educational publishers aren't into the reader. And a statement like "The new Sony Reader will get PDF support in January" is pretty empty... it's a sound byte for noobs. Overall, pretty vacuous.

[Goshzilla]

Here's a shocking newsflash, sometimes CEOs don't actually know anything about the products their companies make.

The sony reader, as it exists now will not be adequate for educational purposes. The screen is small and no stylus input. People like writing on their textbooks, highlighting, making notes, and they also would prefer to have it printed on the size of A4 or larger paper.

I don't see it being a possibility, it would take a new product from Sony in order to convince the education crowd that its device is good for anything beyond novels.

[yvanleterrible]

I would like DE to work with the Sony devices because I like it for its quickness ease of use and convivial design.

On a practical note I don't think it can yet be implemented in the same way it is on a computer. Simply, there is no animation possible on a reader and DE's displaying prowess is built around the visual dynamics of Flash. In DE when one chooses to change font size, for example, the text is seen to blow up, litterally. On a reader such movements are not possible. If it is implemented it will not be dynamic, which is in my view one of the better aspects of this software.

DE as it is would be better used on a refresh rate capable LCD display such as a PDA.

[TadW]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

On a practical note I don't think it can yet be implemented in the same way it is on a computer. Simply, there is no animation possible on a reader and DE's displaying prowess is built around the visual dynamics of Flash. In DE when one chooses to change font size, for example, the text is seen to blow up, litterally. On a reader such movements are not possible. If it is implemented it will not be dynamic, which is in my view one of the better aspects of this software.

Good point, Yvan. I think the focus is less on porting the GUI of DE rather than porting its engine to the Reader. Remember that DE can do more than just PDF. .epub for instance.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by TadW

Good point, Yvan. I think the focus is less on porting the GUI of DE rather than porting its engine to the Reader. Remember that DE can do more than just PDF. .epub for instance.

Right, and a more efficient DRM, not our favorite, well not what would attract me.

[willpooted]

"The new Sony Reader will get PDF support in January."

Does the above refer to a software update for the PRS-505? Or a completely new model reader with better PDF support?

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Goshzilla

The sony reader, as it exists now will not be adequate for educational purposes. The screen is small and no stylus input. People like writing on their textbooks, highlighting, making notes, and they also would prefer to have it printed on the size of A4 or larger paper.

That's a good point, but it may not matter in certain circumstances. Specifically, public schools don't want students writing in the textbooks, and they may not care about the size thing.

Of course, those same schools probably would be extremely reluctant to put something as pricey and relatively delicate (compared to a paper textbook) as a Sony Reader.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I would like DE to work with the Sony devices because I like it for its quickness ease of use and convivial design.

I guess I had assumed when Sony said a couple of months ago that the Readers would eventually support Digital Editions it meant only that the Connect software would recognize and manage the DE DRM and perform the necessary conversion for the Reader to read in LRF format. Do I have that wrong and, if so what, else might this mean? If my assumption is correct, then the Sony CEO's comments imply to me that in January they hope to have either this (DE) or better viewing of A4 PDFs or, hopefully, both. No?

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I guess I had assumed when Sony said a couple of months ago that the Readers would eventually support Digital Editions it meant only that the Connect software would recognize and manage the DE DRM and perform the necessary conversion for the Reader to read in LRF format. Do I have that wrong and, if so what, else might this mean? If my assumption is correct, then the Sony CEO's comments imply to me that in January they hope to have either this (DE) or better viewing of A4 PDFs or, hopefully, both. No?

As I remember it DE was created to run natively in a ROM chip for reading devices. I could be mistaken. Your thoughts seem reasonable too. I guess we have to wait.