pReader for Palm WebOS now available - Homebrew

[daffy4u]

If you have Preware installed on your Pre you'll be able to download this app.

pReader

pReader ist an eBook Reader for WebOS that is currently supporting plain-text, PalmDOC, MobiBook and eReader (even with DRM) files. It is written entirely in Javascript and reads the files directly from the media partition. No conversion is necessary. Reading in landscape mode is fully supported as is basic customization of the text-size and appearance.

Since the application reads the PDB/TXT files directly off the media partition, just put the files on it, open the app, select "Add Book To Library", and select the file. The pReader will then add the file to its the internal library.

This version adds experimental support for the eReader DRM format. It should read all the common DRM formats. Do note though, that the code isn't optimized yet and thus it takes a while to add the files to the library. Once they're loaded though, they are just as fast as files without DRM.

I just installed the app and will play around with it during the day. BTW, I'm pretty sure they only mean it reads eReader DRM not mobi. I don't have any eReader files with DRM to test, so if there are any other Pre owners who do have such files, could give this app a try, it would be great.

Edit: Here is a link to the discussion thread for this app on PreCentral.

[daffy4u]

Just an update, pReader has updated it's format support. You can download the app here.

• Reads plain-text (txt), HTML and compressed & uncompressed Palm DOC (PDB/PRC) files directly off the media partition. Decompression is handled on-the-fly.
• Reads eReader PDB/PRC files. DRM support is fully implemented
• Reads MobiPocket files. DRM support is fully implemented. Please note that only books are supported at the moment, things like dictionaries currently don't work.
• Reads unencrypted ePub files. Support is currently experimental, as of v0.8.0.
• Reads unencrypted Amazon Whispernet AZW files. Support is currently experimental, as of v0.8.2.
• The book library allows keeping and modifying metadata information about the books. Books can be sorted into custom categories.
• Stores your last read position and automatically returns to it upon reloading the book (the last book you read is also stored, so you don't need to reselect it if you've closed the app).
• Allows you to create labeled bookmarks for each file. If the source file contained link anchors / bookmarks, the pReader tries to import them.
• You can search for any phrase or text in the books. Regular expressions are supported.
• Text size and appearance can be customized. Background and text colours can be freely customized. All those settings can be stored as themes and recalled with the tap of a button.
• Scrolling is implemented on a page-by-page base. Scrolling can be done by tapping, flicking or key-presses. The different modes can be activated/deactivated in the options menu.
• Additionally, you can switch to one of two different auto-scroll mode by tapping a single button in the belt bar. Speed and the type of scrolling can be adjusted through the options-menu. The speed can also be adjusted with the left/right arrows in the belt bar, once autoscrolling is active.
• You can skip ahead to an arbitrary position in the book.
• All four principal screen rotations are supported (Landscape mode)
• Supports a variety of encoding, like UTF-8, CP-936/GBK, CP-1250, CP-1251 and others. The fonts on the Palm can render a number of languages like Chinese, Japanese, Greek and others. Unfortunately, some languages are missing entirely, like Hebrew. You need to install a custom font to read those.

I have been sharing an ePub version of a book I'm reading on my Kindle with my Palm Pre. The search function makes it easy to find where I left off on my Kindle. Though I hope a Kindle for WebOS app is in the works, I'm pretty happy with this app for those emergency situations (I actually forgot to take my Kindle to work with me one day ).

[causticmuse]

I believe this is downloadable through the Pre App Catalog directly now. I installed it a few weeks ago that way.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by causticmuse

I believe this is downloadable through the Pre App Catalog directly now. I installed it a few weeks ago that way.

Yes, you're right, it graduated not too long I first posted about it.