MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Recently bought an Iliad and looking to get the most out of it

wallcraft · 07-12-2008, 05:52 PM

PDFs designed for the screen size was the original way to use the iLiad, and still works well. A "re-flowable" format is one that can adjust (reflow) to the screen size. The MobiPocket Reader uses the reflowable MOBI format. I have screenshorts in Mobipocket Font Switcher where changing the font size changes how the text is layed out on the screen. A simple web page is a good example of a reflowable format (HTML).

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the encryption put on ebooks (and DVDs etcetera) to prevent authorized use. Many MOBI ebooks from mobipocket.com or fictionwise.com have DRM, and are keyed to the "PID" of the iLiad. Note that if you see "Secure MobiPocket" that means MOBI with DRM. Not all publishers add DRM, and there are plenty of DRM-free MOBI ebooks (e.g. again from FictionWise, which sells both kinds). Try the DRM-free (and actually free) MOBI e-books from the Mobi/PRC Books Forum.

FBReader is just another option for reading ebooks. There would be less need for it on the iLiad if the MobiPocket Reader included all the features normally associated with MobiPocket Reader software, but the version on the iLiad is very basic. I suggest starting with MobiPocket Reader, and if its font or its lack of hyphenation or whatever drive you crazy then try FBReader. It is much more customizable for exactly how you want text to appear on the screen, but it is also a slow to turn pages on the iLiad. The other advantage of FBReader is that it reads a lot of ebook formats, but many of these can be converted off-line to MOBI. If you have a Windows PC, then try the Windows Desktop MobiPocket Reader. This can be used to read MOBI ebooks on your PC, but it will also manage your iLiad MOBI ebooks (if you want) and can convert DRM-free non-MOBI ebooks to MOBI.

07-12-2008, 05:52 PM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	PDFs designed for the screen size was the original way to use the iLiad, and still works well. A "re-flowable" format is one that can adjust (reflow) to the screen size. The MobiPocket Reader uses the reflowable MOBI format. I have screenshorts in Mobipocket Font Switcher where changing the font size changes how the text is layed out on the screen. A simple web page is a good example of a reflowable format (HTML). Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the encryption put on ebooks (and DVDs etcetera) to prevent authorized use. Many MOBI ebooks from mobipocket.com or fictionwise.com have DRM, and are keyed to the "PID" of the iLiad. Note that if you see "Secure MobiPocket" that means MOBI with DRM. Not all publishers add DRM, and there are plenty of DRM-free MOBI ebooks (e.g. again from FictionWise, which sells both kinds). Try the DRM-free (and actually free) MOBI e-books from the Mobi/PRC Books Forum. FBReader is just another option for reading ebooks. There would be less need for it on the iLiad if the MobiPocket Reader included all the features normally associated with MobiPocket Reader software, but the version on the iLiad is very basic. I suggest starting with MobiPocket Reader, and if its font or its lack of hyphenation or whatever drive you crazy then try FBReader. It is much more customizable for exactly how you want text to appear on the screen, but it is also a slow to turn pages on the iLiad. The other advantage of FBReader is that it reads a lot of ebook formats, but many of these can be converted off-line to MOBI. If you have a Windows PC, then try the Windows Desktop MobiPocket Reader. This can be used to read MOBI ebooks on your PC, but it will also manage your iLiad MOBI ebooks (if you want) and can convert DRM-free non-MOBI ebooks to MOBI.