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Originally Posted by mjh215

Actually, I tend to think the opposite. That in general the people who write surveys DO think them out. In such a way that they support the conclusion they want.

I'll have to agree with you. My comment was targeted against pure science where the survey is striving for unbiased data.

But there is always the marketing side that tries to manipulate data to their favor.

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

I use a netbook for eBook reading and I prefer PDFs, so maybe you are right and a lot of other people think that way.

Then again, I am also partial to txt. It's so... minimalist.

Yep me to before I bought an eBook the few ebook I read where always in PDF format. I still read PDf formatted books but prefer other formats over PDF.

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I'm really interested in how you think it might go with PDF. At the moment it annoys me to no end when I get hold of an A4 sized PDF and try to read it on my Sony.

Do you think there might be a time when PDF's, no matter the size of the original document, will have a true reflow capability across the board? (without the original layout being messed up). Is there a possibility that PDF will become the 'only' format for various types of electronic documents? What do you think the future holds for PDF as say compared to ePub and other formats?

I only ask because I don't know enough about PDF and the possibilities of that format.

I think there has a been a misunderstanding.

My comment is more targeted to you comment that PDF will die. I don't think PDF will die. I think ePUB will bite greatly into the PDF market share but PDF will still be a prominent format.

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Do you think there might be a time when PDF's, no matter the size of the original document, will have a true reflow capability across the board? (without the original layout being messed up).

Yes I do, that is what I meant by Adobe making their Digital Editions API more robust. Right now Adobe does reflow very good with the Pocket PC platform. Tables images, graphics and text reflow wonderfully. It's still not as good as the original layout but looks as good as MOBI/LIT/ePUB. Now that they are leasing their API there will be a consistent amount of quality across the eBook readers. In the past devices that chose to reflow PDF had to user their own technology. Not anymore.

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Is there a possibility that PDF will become the 'only' format for various types of electronic documents? What do you think the future holds for PDF as say compared to ePub and other formats?

No I don't think PDF will become the only format. I think other formats like ePUB and MOBI closing the gap. My real point is PDF is still a viable format that will be around for a while.

PDF strength is it's weakness and this is where reflowable formats like MOBI and ePUB come in. Personally I see PDF losing more market share to these formats.

What I see is PDF will mostly dominate the complex layout eBooks like text books and ePUB/MOBI will dominate chapter books.

But just think right now screens are expensive so they are small. This makes reflowable PDF extremely important. But say somewhere in the near future you can pickup an eBook reader that is 10" for about $10-$20. Will reflowable be important?


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