Glo Need a Kobo to read my own PDF files.

MangoI · 04-25-2016, 04:34 PM

Hello everyone!

I badly need your advice about the best ereader that I could use to read my own PDF files.

I'm told that Kobo might be the best. I need to hear from someone who uses her or his ereader for the sole purpose of reading PDF files.

I would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you.

eschwartz · 04-25-2016, 05:14 PM

Commonly accepted wisdom is to get a tablet.

Is there a reason that isn't an option for you? I know some people say LCD displays hurt their eyes and they will only use E-Ink devices... in that case you might want to look at the Onyx Boox or som other brand of Android tablet with E-Ink display.

MangoI · 04-25-2016, 07:39 PM

A tablet will use too much electricity. As I said before, I want a device to read PDF files. An iPad will be the best for this. But it will consume too much power for many things I will not need.

There has to be someone who uses ereaders for the sole purpose of reading PDF files ?

eschwartz · 04-25-2016, 07:46 PM

So maybe look at the Onyx devices.

Alternatively, you could use the thirdparty KOReader software. It is a lot better than the builtin Kobo or Kindle PDF readers, and is available for both devices.

davidfor · 04-26-2016, 01:49 AM

Sorry, but Kobo devices are not a good choice if you are only reading PDF files. I don't think you will find anyone here that will be using one only for PDF files. Or even largely for PDF files.

The firmware displays the files well, but the problem is size. As a rule, PDF files are formatted for larger screens/page sizes. Fitting these on a 6" screen doesn't work well. You need to zoom in on the page and that is where the Kobo devices fail. The zooming is OK, but once zoomed, the navigation is clumsy. And that makes it impractical for anything except the occasional use.

Performance is also a problem. The CPU is slow and the RAM is relatively small. There is no problem with smaller or simple books. But, anything complex tends to be to slow.

The recommendation to get a tablet for PDF is a serious one. I don't think that any of the current e-ink dedicated ereaders will give a satisfactory reading experience. The 8" or larger Android based e-ink devices might be OK, but I have never had a chance to try one. These are the Onyx devices that eschwartz suggests.

Note: Someone will come along and say to try Koreader on the Kobo devices. Reports are that it is better for PDF than the Kobo application. I don't know as I don't use it. I expect the improvements are in navigation, but it still suffers from the underlying issues of CPU and screen size.

tshering · 04-26-2016, 03:51 AM

(Someone will come along ..., as davidfor said.)
For reading epubs on the Kobo, I use exclusively the original software, which gives me a very nice reading experience. But if it comes to pdf files, I use Koreader. If the book has a simple layout, Koreader's reflow mode does a very good job. If the layout is less simple, e.g. if there are notes or something of that kind printed on the left or right margin, then that would require some more adjusting (or dispense with reflow), which I am usually not willing to do. So whether you will be satisfied by Kobo might depend on the kinds of pdf files you are reading.
If you upload a typical pdf file that you are planning to read, I could show you on some screen shots how it looks on the Kobo. Of course, the book must not be protected by copyright!

MangoI · 04-26-2016, 01:19 PM

Thank you so much for those detailed views on reading PDF files.

@ tshering

I will be using an ereader to read screenplays. Here is a PDF of the script for A Fish Called Wanda. (Many screenwriting websites use this script. So, we should be OK with regards to copyright. We are having this discussion for educational purposes.)

tshering · 04-26-2016, 03:06 PM

Reflow does not work very well with this kind of layout; see images 1 to 4.

I then cut the large borders (That was rather easy to do in Koreader. I tried it for the first time, and it was done in about 10 seconds. I did however cut to much on the left and at the top! I should have spend some seconds more.); see images 5 to 7.

In order to get a more comfortable font size (at least for my eyes) I chose landscape view; see images 8 to 10.

ottdmk · 04-27-2016, 02:31 PM

Another issue is that Kobo's PDF rendering software suffered a substantial regression after firmware version 3.2. Here's a link to a post in the thread I started which has a free pdf that can be used to verify the behaviour. It's never been fixed.

04-25-2016, 04:34 PM	#1
MangoI Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2016 Device: Kobo	Need a Kobo to read my own PDF files. Hello everyone! I badly need your advice about the best ereader that I could use to read my own PDF files. I'm told that Kobo might be the best. I need to hear from someone who uses her or his ereader for the sole purpose of reading PDF files. I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you.

04-26-2016, 03:51 AM	#6
tshering Wizard Posts: 3,489 Karma: 2914715 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: kobo touch	(Someone will come along ..., as davidfor said.) For reading epubs on the Kobo, I use exclusively the original software, which gives me a very nice reading experience. But if it comes to pdf files, I use Koreader. If the book has a simple layout, Koreader's reflow mode does a very good job. If the layout is less simple, e.g. if there are notes or something of that kind printed on the left or right margin, then that would require some more adjusting (or dispense with reflow), which I am usually not willing to do. So whether you will be satisfied by Kobo might depend on the kinds of pdf files you are reading. If you upload a typical pdf file that you are planning to read, I could show you on some screen shots how it looks on the Kobo. Of course, the book must not be protected by copyright! Last edited by tshering; 04-26-2016 at 04:13 AM.

04-26-2016, 01:19 PM	#7
MangoI Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2016 Device: Kobo	Thank you so much for those detailed views on reading PDF files. @ tshering I will be using an ereader to read screenplays. Here is a PDF of the script for A Fish Called Wanda. (Many screenwriting websites use this script. So, we should be OK with regards to copyright. We are having this discussion for educational purposes.) Last edited by Dr. Drib; 05-01-2016 at 07:35 AM.

04-26-2016, 03:06 PM	#8
tshering Wizard Posts: 3,489 Karma: 2914715 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: kobo touch	Reflow does not work very well with this kind of layout; see images 1 to 4. I then cut the large borders (That was rather easy to do in Koreader. I tried it for the first time, and it was done in about 10 seconds. I did however cut to much on the left and at the top! I should have spend some seconds more.); see images 5 to 7. In order to get a more comfortable font size (at least for my eyes) I chose landscape view; see images 8 to 10. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by tshering; 04-26-2016 at 03:30 PM.

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04-25-2016, 05:14 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Commonly accepted wisdom is to get a tablet. Is there a reason that isn't an option for you? I know some people say LCD displays hurt their eyes and they will only use E-Ink devices... in that case you might want to look at the Onyx Boox or som other brand of Android tablet with E-Ink display.

04-25-2016, 07:39 PM	#3
MangoI Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2016 Device: Kobo	A tablet will use too much electricity. As I said before, I want a device to read PDF files. An iPad will be the best for this. But it will consume too much power for many things I will not need. There has to be someone who uses ereaders for the sole purpose of reading PDF files ?

04-25-2016, 07:46 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	So maybe look at the Onyx devices. Alternatively, you could use the thirdparty KOReader software. It is a lot better than the builtin Kobo or Kindle PDF readers, and is available for both devices.

04-26-2016, 01:49 AM	#5
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Sorry, but Kobo devices are not a good choice if you are only reading PDF files. I don't think you will find anyone here that will be using one only for PDF files. Or even largely for PDF files. The firmware displays the files well, but the problem is size. As a rule, PDF files are formatted for larger screens/page sizes. Fitting these on a 6" screen doesn't work well. You need to zoom in on the page and that is where the Kobo devices fail. The zooming is OK, but once zoomed, the navigation is clumsy. And that makes it impractical for anything except the occasional use. Performance is also a problem. The CPU is slow and the RAM is relatively small. There is no problem with smaller or simple books. But, anything complex tends to be to slow. The recommendation to get a tablet for PDF is a serious one. I don't think that any of the current e-ink dedicated ereaders will give a satisfactory reading experience. The 8" or larger Android based e-ink devices might be OK, but I have never had a chance to try one. These are the Onyx devices that eschwartz suggests. Note: Someone will come along and say to try Koreader on the Kobo devices. Reports are that it is better for PDF than the Kobo application. I don't know as I don't use it. I expect the improvements are in navigation, but it still suffers from the underlying issues of CPU and screen size.

04-27-2016, 02:31 PM	#9
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,220 Karma: 3804496 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M9	Another issue is that Kobo's PDF rendering software suffered a substantial regression after firmware version 3.2. Here's a link to a post in the thread I started which has a free pdf that can be used to verify the behaviour. It's never been fixed.

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