MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Liviu_5 · 04-05-2006, 01:19 AM

Hi,

I have been using Ebookwise1150 for about 4 months now. Before it, while I purchased ebooks mostly from Baen.com, I would always print them since I could not and cannot read fiction on a pc/laptop/tablet even with very good reader software like uBook, the "magic of reading" is just not there for me. I own all of the above (pc/laptop/tablet) and I tried to read on them since especially the tablet looks like a hc book when in portrait mode, but I just cannot do it for long. I do not own a handheld, and while I considered buying one for reading, the small screen put me off.
On Ebk1150 I read pretty comfortably, mostly in bed and in the car, but ocasionally outside or inside in strong light without any problems. My backlight settings give me 18 hrs+ between charges, I can handle it easily with one hand and I can carry it like a paperback. I use only text based files of ebooks (rtf, html, doc, txt) that I convert to the Ebk1150 .imp format with ease using the free eti tool (www.ebooktechnolgies.com) and the 15$ ebookwise librarian, the last one mostly for shorter files, to edit info about the book and to transfer the book to memory card. You can drag and drop but the librarian splits the file for yourself (see below) so when you open the reader you get your new transfered books fast. I converted files up to 35Mb reasonably fast, the eti tool does batch convert and I have done up to 100 files at a time. There are 2 font settings and I use only the large one which tends to give roughly 3x pages for a corresponding x page hardcover and 2x for a corresponding paperback. There are enough free converters out there to convert any .lit, .prc, .pdb, text non drm'ed .pdf to one of the above formats so you can easily get content. I have not bought any book in native .imp format that is not available in other formats since I do not want to be locked into it and I do not know how to convert from .imp. I have read ~10 full novels, parts of ~50 other novels, and various magazines (Aeon1-6, BaenUniverse1, all the issues of NationalReview since I got the reader) on Ebk1150 and I am planning to migrate to electronic subscription on my Asimov's and SF&F magazines when my current print subscription expires.
Now for the bad: storage and image files
Ebk1150 uses crappy (dead so expensive, 128 Mb limited, fragile) SmartMedia cards and moreover it splits the .imp file on the card so it takes sometimes considerable more space than the file size. In particular while I would like to have short stories in separate files, I mostly cannot afford to and collate them with appropriate software. The only limited workaround I found is to use a xd to SmartMedia reader ($8 total cost Ebay) and 128 Mb xD cards - larger do not work with the card reader - (15-20$ Ebay) which work with my Ebk1150, though the compatibility with the Ebk1150 may depend on the card (I use only new Olympus xD cards) from what I have heard.
Where Ebk1150 fails completely is at image books like pdf/djvu math books in my case that cannot be ocr'ed to text due to formulas/diagrams and the like. Since Ebk1150 has low 318x448 resolution, you need to get readable jpg files of that size from your book and collate them in a doc file for conversion. It works, but you need to cut your original djvu page in 2/3 or even 4/6 if double page scanned, so it is tedious, takes a lot of space... I specifically installed colinux on my xp main pc to manipulate image files easily, and I can write simple scripts so automate the task to some extent, but still this is not a solution so I am eagerly waiting for the new eink devices that have 600x800 resolution. Why do math books on Ebk1150 and not read them on a tablet? Ultimately for the same reason as fiction books, I simply cannot read a long time continuosly on a pc.
I include 2 pictures, both taken with flash, though one is in a lighted room so it approximates how Ebk1150 looks in reality, the other one to compare with a paperback is taken in a dark room and approximates Ebk1150 in sunlight.
I hope that this helps anyone interested in the Ebk1150 to decide if the reader fits their needs.

Liviu

04-05-2006, 01:19 AM	#2
Liviu_5 Books and more books Posts: 917 Karma: 69499 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: White Plains, NY, USA Device: Nook Color, Itouch, Nokia770, Sony 650, Sony 700(dead), Ebk(given)	Hi, I have been using Ebookwise1150 for about 4 months now. Before it, while I purchased ebooks mostly from Baen.com, I would always print them since I could not and cannot read fiction on a pc/laptop/tablet even with very good reader software like uBook, the "magic of reading" is just not there for me. I own all of the above (pc/laptop/tablet) and I tried to read on them since especially the tablet looks like a hc book when in portrait mode, but I just cannot do it for long. I do not own a handheld, and while I considered buying one for reading, the small screen put me off. On Ebk1150 I read pretty comfortably, mostly in bed and in the car, but ocasionally outside or inside in strong light without any problems. My backlight settings give me 18 hrs+ between charges, I can handle it easily with one hand and I can carry it like a paperback. I use only text based files of ebooks (rtf, html, doc, txt) that I convert to the Ebk1150 .imp format with ease using the free eti tool (www.ebooktechnolgies.com) and the 15$ ebookwise librarian, the last one mostly for shorter files, to edit info about the book and to transfer the book to memory card. You can drag and drop but the librarian splits the file for yourself (see below) so when you open the reader you get your new transfered books fast. I converted files up to 35Mb reasonably fast, the eti tool does batch convert and I have done up to 100 files at a time. There are 2 font settings and I use only the large one which tends to give roughly 3x pages for a corresponding x page hardcover and 2x for a corresponding paperback. There are enough free converters out there to convert any .lit, .prc, .pdb, text non drm'ed .pdf to one of the above formats so you can easily get content. I have not bought any book in native .imp format that is not available in other formats since I do not want to be locked into it and I do not know how to convert from .imp. I have read ~10 full novels, parts of ~50 other novels, and various magazines (Aeon1-6, BaenUniverse1, all the issues of NationalReview since I got the reader) on Ebk1150 and I am planning to migrate to electronic subscription on my Asimov's and SF&F magazines when my current print subscription expires. Now for the bad: storage and image files Ebk1150 uses crappy (dead so expensive, 128 Mb limited, fragile) SmartMedia cards and moreover it splits the .imp file on the card so it takes sometimes considerable more space than the file size. In particular while I would like to have short stories in separate files, I mostly cannot afford to and collate them with appropriate software. The only limited workaround I found is to use a xd to SmartMedia reader ($8 total cost Ebay) and 128 Mb xD cards - larger do not work with the card reader - (15-20$ Ebay) which work with my Ebk1150, though the compatibility with the Ebk1150 may depend on the card (I use only new Olympus xD cards) from what I have heard. Where Ebk1150 fails completely is at image books like pdf/djvu math books in my case that cannot be ocr'ed to text due to formulas/diagrams and the like. Since Ebk1150 has low 318x448 resolution, you need to get readable jpg files of that size from your book and collate them in a doc file for conversion. It works, but you need to cut your original djvu page in 2/3 or even 4/6 if double page scanned, so it is tedious, takes a lot of space... I specifically installed colinux on my xp main pc to manipulate image files easily, and I can write simple scripts so automate the task to some extent, but still this is not a solution so I am eagerly waiting for the new eink devices that have 600x800 resolution. Why do math books on Ebk1150 and not read them on a tablet? Ultimately for the same reason as fiction books, I simply cannot read a long time continuosly on a pc. I include 2 pictures, both taken with flash, though one is in a lighted room so it approximates how Ebk1150 looks in reality, the other one to compare with a paperback is taken in a dark room and approximates Ebk1150 in sunlight. I hope that this helps anyone interested in the Ebk1150 to decide if the reader fits their needs. Liviu Attached Thumbnails