04-26-2010, 04:36 AM | #1 |
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iPad & Comics
I would like to know if iPad users have already tried to read comics on their iPads. I have a few questions for them:
- How was your experience, overall? - The screen size is adequate? - Can the iPad read comics in PDF format? - Can the iPad read comics in PNG/JPG format? - Can the iPad read comics in PNG/JPG format contained in a ZIP/RAR file? CBZ/CBR? Thank you. |
04-26-2010, 06:53 AM | #2 |
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-excellent
-yes -yes -yes -yes All comics are good readable to me. I say all, becuse I read EU-comics (which are usually A4-sized), american comics (paperback?), and manga (pocketsize). Some might find EU-comics to be too large for the ipad, as the fonts for certain series would be small. And how it reads and what formats it supports, it depends on the app you're using. |
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04-26-2010, 02:57 PM | #3 |
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You can read comics either through dedicated apps (such as the Marvel one) in which case the comics are formatted for the device and look gorgeous.
There are a variety of readers for generic PDFs (Goodreader being the best) and some that will read CBZ/CBA etc. For the compressed files I've only tried the free Cloudreaders app and it reads them just fine. However, comics that are not specifically formatted for the iPad read through any PDF reader, can't compete with the ones that are in terms of looks and formatting. The same thing applies to magazines read through, for example, the Zinio reader. Some of the mags are essentially reformated, interactive iPad versions and they look great but regular mags look as you would expect them to if you read them at Zinio through a browser--no better nor worse. |
04-26-2010, 03:42 PM | #4 |
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Thanks for the replies.
About the screen size, I'm still not entirely clear about it. I have a Kindle DX and it has a 9,7" screen like the iPad, however, they look different in pictures. Is the iPad's shorter but wider? If someone had the chance to experience both Kindle DX and the iPad, what it's like when viewing an A4 sized document? The iPad's extra width make it more readable? Or because it's also shorter, the a4 documents won't fill the screen, leaving two black bars, one each side? Finally, how fast it the iPad turning pages, zooming in and out and panning pictures and PDF files? Thank you |
04-26-2010, 08:06 PM | #5 |
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I sprung for the comic reader mobi, it was the most expensive one, but I was going on Gizmodo's recommendation and that most of the people with the one that's half the cost probably haven't used mobi also. I'm satisfied on it, it does a good job of showing the comics and I can start a ftp server on it and use an FTP app to shovel cbrs onto it. It's really gotten me back into reading comics again.
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04-26-2010, 08:38 PM | #6 |
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Unfortunately Comic Reader Mobi isn't available in the app store right now. Hopefully the dev gets that worked out soon.
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04-26-2010, 10:53 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
Zooming, panning, rotating and turning pages is extremely quick on the iPad also - at least in GoodReader, which seems to be the PDF viewer of choice for most people. It doesn't so much as hiccup on 200MB+ files that I've thrown at it. I haven't tried any of the CBZ/CBR readers, but I've been extremely happy with GoodReader for PDFs and the Comics app for digital comics. If comics companies would just get with the times and offer more of their catalogs, particularly recent issues, I could see myself cutting way down on visits to the local comic shop. |
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04-27-2010, 12:13 AM | #8 |
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04-27-2010, 06:48 AM | #9 | |
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Quote:
This really depends on the app too... comiczeal has antialias or something, as the resized img are smooth. I find comicreader mobi jaggier. Cloudreaders even worse.. (yes, I have like 4 comicreaders. ) |
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05-01-2010, 06:32 PM | #10 |
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So now that Comic Reader mobi is no longer available, what is the best app for comic reading in CBR?
Comic reader mobi got banned for USB support? What is the process of getting comics on to the ipad? How can I access my collection of over 10GB in the best way? Do I have to wait for each book to be reformatted before I can view it? Can I load some books on the device for on the go reading away from my computer? I'm interested in the overall logistics of how this works... Thanks for your input! Valky |
05-01-2010, 07:08 PM | #11 |
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I received an iPad yesterday as a gift and the first thing I did was test some manga on it. I used my Canti program to process the manga into pdfs and then loaded them into goodreader. They look really good on the iPad... better than I expected. It really gives my Kindle DX some competition. Page turning and zooming is extremely fast, and goodreader offers great organization features. I still need to go back and compare the screen size of the iPad to the DX, but since the DX wastes some screen realestate in pdf mode I think the iPad is going to be bigger. So far I am pleased with the iPad as a manga device, but I will have to spend more time with it before I come to a final verdict (especially in comparison to the DX).
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05-01-2010, 07:55 PM | #12 | |
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Comic reader mobi got banned because they left usbtransfer on the iPhone and tried to deceive apple, which was actually hackish. The iPad's oS is newer than the iPhone and supports USB transfer through iTunes, which is much faster. Basically, you open iTunes, select the app you want to fill up, and then drag all your files into that appwindow. Btw, if you ignore all the drama, you can see some pretty good comparison between the comic apps here http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...09#post9808609 |
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05-01-2010, 10:14 PM | #13 |
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Thanks for the link!
One more question- do you know if any of the current apps support reading my comics over my home network? Say I have a large collection on my PC.. can I view those wirelessly on the ipad? I know 32g will never be enough... |
05-02-2010, 11:39 AM | #14 |
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After trying both pdf manga in Goodreader and cbz manga in ComicZeal, here are my impressions:
ComicZeal pros: + Much faster zooming and panning + When you send over similarly named manga (like School_Rumble_-_Ch.001.cbz, School_Rumble_-_Ch.002.cbz, ...) it automatically groups those manga into a collection. It named this collection "School_Rumble_-_Ch" but I was able to rename it to just "School Rumble". + Can lock screen rotation, which is nice for me since Canti autorotates images that need it. ComicZeal cons: - You can use ComicZeal sync to sync wirelessly and it is also supposed to process the manga and shrink the file size, but for me it greatly increased the file size. For example, a single chapter of manga (which I had already processed with Canti) went from .8mb to 5.6mb after Comic Zeal "shrunk" it. - Almost no configuration options available to the user. For example, I would like to be able to dim the screen brightness within the app. Goodreader pros: + Although it doesn't automatically organize manga into collections like ComicZeal does, but you can easily make your own folders. + Can password protect folders or individual comics (good if you have adult comics). + Jump to page number feature. ComicZeal just has a scrubber. + Can set screen brightness for night mode, and then change to that brightness at any time while reading. ComicZeal doesn't have any brightness options. + Much cheaper than ComicZeal ($.99 vs $7.99). Goodreader cons: - It has a nice wifi syncing feature where you are supposed to be able to send files through your web browser, but I have been unable to successfully connect. I'm not sure what the problem is since I could wifi sync with ComicZeal. - No support for cbz. This isn't a big deal for me since Canti can process manga into pdfs in a matter of seconds, but this may be a deal breaker for others. Overall I think ComicZeal provides a better comic experience and is worth the extra money. By the way, before I edited this post I reported a problem with ComicZeal where it would stay zoomed in on pages if you had zoomed in on a previous page which was smaller, even if you later zoomed back to full screen on the smaller page. I found out that by tapping the screen once you reset the zoom level for all pages. Last edited by lilman; 05-02-2010 at 01:48 PM. |
05-03-2010, 12:16 AM | #15 |
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I bought an iPad to specifically read my hundreds of scanned comics.
I don't bother with any of the comic reader apps. Not worth the money or trouble since you can read your comics very easily with the Photos app supplied when you get your iPad. Just put your comic jpg images in a different album for each comic book. The iPhoto software on your computer syncs perfectly with iTunes so it will snyc easily with the iPad. The iPad screen is so sharp, you can read the indicia of a comic without zooming in. But if you want to zoom in or turn the page with a flip of your finger, it is lightening fast. The detail is almost as good as the original scan of the comic page. If you have cbr or cbz files, you need to just convert them to their original individual jpg format files with any of the many free converters. If you have Unrar or zip decompression software, you already have a converter. Just change the .cbr to .rar and let it rip.... Upload each comic into the Photos app like a picture and you can read each album as a comic book. Watch the iPad Photos app video on the Apple site and imagine the pictures as comics. Incredibly easy to zoom, turn the page or jump around in the comic/album. I don't know how many albums you can have in Photos, but since it is real easy to transfer them when you sync up or recharge your iPad, it is no problem to replace ones you've read with new ones. I have about 10 comics on mine at the moment. If you have pdfs, I like the Goodreader app. Cheap and very easy to use. Syncs right from your desktop via iTunes. No need for WiFi connection. As "valkyriesound" wondered, if you want to read comics on your main computer, you need to get a "remote access" app. There are several, even a free one or two. |
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