The two displays have the same aspect ratio and are very similar in size. Hence any PDF file designed for the Iliad works well on the OLPC. The Iliad has 768x1024 pixels at 160 pixels/inch and is about 4.8 x 6.4 inches in size while the OLPC has 900x1200 pixels at 200 pixels/inch and is 4.5x6 inches.
I downloaded “Heart of Darkness” from feedbooks (Iliad version)
http://www.feedbooks.com/discover
and took another comparison picture – again in bright sunshine but this time with the readers shaded from the direct sun to avoid reflections. Also one would never read in direct sunshine as both the readers and reader would soon be overheated. See Picture3.
A few more words about the way the OLPC book reader works might make the situation clearer. When folded as a book reader the OLPC keys and mouse are not available. The only controls are buttons at the side of the display. One side of the display has a rocker button and a single push button. The push button rotates the display to four possible positions that is 2 landscape and 2 portrait. The rocker button scrolls the display up or down. The photograph shows the display in portrait mode, rotation to landscape would show a partial page expanded to fill the width.
Four push buttons are contained in a small depression on the other side of the display. One turns to the first page in the book and the opposite button turns to the last page. The two other buttons page by an appropriate amount, up or down, either a full page or a partial page depending on whether the display is in landscape or portrait mode.
When rotated back to a laptop the additional menus at the top of the display become available by means of the mouse (touchpad). The newly available menus are Activity, Edit, and View. (see Picture3).
Clicking on View displays 4 icons, zoom out, zoom in ,and an icon with a subsidary menu of 3 items, Zoom to width, Zoom to fit and Actual Size. The fourth icon adjusts the size of the display by percentages from 1% on up to ? (the response slows at very high percentages). This icon allows up and down percentage changes. One can make changes in the View mode then click on Read and refold into a book reader. The changes will persist in the book reader.
The Activity menu allows one to share the book with others in the “Neighborhood” and the Edit menu opens a small window to type in, for what purpose I don’t yet know.
Please don’t take these observations as “truth”. I’m easily confused and I’m not sure that everything is as consistent or logical as I’ve described. For example high lighting menu items can turn the buttons off and I’m not sure what the actual defaults are if the View menu is never used. There may be ways unknown to me to add additional functions to the buttons in Book reader mode. The OLPC comes with no documentation, just a reference to the web site.
p. moews