Readers that use folder structure and file names

[gloopy]

I know this question has been asked before (more than once) and I've gone through those threads but I'm trying to consolidate the information in one place.

I've owned two Hanlin e-readers (v3 & v5) and used a Kindle keyboard, unfortunately my current e-reader (Hanlin v3) just fell off the bench and the screen is kaput ....... time to get a new e-reader.

What I liked about the Hanlin e-readers:
I could just plug an SD card in to the computer, drag and drop my folders and subfolders that are already arranged the way I want them, plug the SD card into my reader and viola! It's all there in the exact same format - folders, subfolders, file names.
They could reflow pdf and read a lot of formats.
Depending on the format, I had alot of different font sizes to choose from.

There were plenty of things/bugs I didn't like but the folder structure is a big one for me. I have hundreds of thousands of books and at any one time I like to keep several hundred on my reader - it's not practical to have to 'resort' them after I move them to a reader, they've already been sorted the way I want them to be sorted for crying out loud. I don't want the reader to have to rely on metadata that may not be there, or if it is there, is incorrect.

From reading the responses to the threads already asking about this, these seem to be the readers that would support that basic need:

Onyx Boox i62HD
Pocketbook622
Cybook Orizon (apparently this has drawbacks when using a folder structure)
Bookeen Opus (Cybook Opus)
SONY T1 or T2 model AND root them (still not sure how I'd go about rooting an e-reader - I've never had to)
Sony PRS 505 with a third-party hack
nook ST series
Ectaco jetBook Lite
iriver Story HD
Amazon Kindle 2, Kindle WiFi, Kindle 3G WiFi, Amazon Kindle 4, Amazon Kindle DX and Kindle DXG (with Duokan Kindle)

Does anyone know of any others? I'll update this list if anyone knows of any others.


For me, I just want to read books with as few battery recharges as possible and be able to browse through my collection easily and logically without spending ages setting it all up every time I decide to add 50 books or so.
I don't want/need internet connectivity, I don't care about music, I don't need to annotate anything, I don't need a dictionary, I have no need to access online bookstores (I have a computer for all of that).
I like that the Hanlins reflowed pdf rather than the silly zoom Kindle does and that they supported so many formats.
Yes, I have Calibre but I also have hundreds of thousands of books and I'd rather be reading them than putting them all into Calibre and fixing up metadata.

Is it me, or is it unbelievable that such a simple thing is so hard to find?

[Billi]

Great idea, gloopy!

I would only change two minor cosmetical things: that the Cybook Orizon has problems doesn't belong here and Bookeen Opus is a correct name but it would be useful to write it as Cybook Opus to reflex that it is the same company behind these two devices.

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by Billi

Great idea, gloopy!

I would only change two minor cosmetical things: that the Cybook Orizon has problems doesn't belong here and Bookeen Opus is a correct name but it would be useful to write it as Cybook Opus to reflex that it is the same company behind these two devices.

Changes made. The reason I wrote about the problems with the Orizon is because someone specifically said it had delay problems when using the folder structure rather than the standard setup.

[Billi]

Okay, then it makes sense to mention it. I didn't know this (and had never any problems using folders on the Opus).

[HarryT]

Even in folder view, though, the Bookeen devices show the books' metadata, rather than filenames, I believe.

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Even in folder view, though, the Bookeen devices show the books' metadata, rather than filenames, I believe.

Ah, good to know. You'd think it would be so simple to just use folder and file names!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by gloopy

Ah, good to know. You'd think it would be so simple to just use folder and file names!

Well, no, because metadata is what virtually everybody WANTS to use - it's generally a lot more reliable than filenames. How do you come to have so many books without metadata? That's very unusual.

[Jack Tingle]

If you don't mind LCD displays, you might consider a Samsung Galaxy Player 5". I have one and enjoy it as a reader. It does a crap-load of other things, so it's a little more expensive than an eink reader. You also need to be disciplined about screen vs. room brightness to avoid eyestrain. The deal-breaker might be poor battery life in bright outdoor settings. Since it's my second reader, those things are virtues, not vices and worth the extra $60 or so to me.

Good Luck,
Jack Tingle

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Well, no, because metadata is what virtually everybody WANTS to use - it's generally a lot more reliable than filenames. How do you come to have so many books without metadata? That's very unusual.

Okay, yes, most of them do have metadata but it's not always in the form that I want (series number, author name order etc.), which would be why I changed the titles of some books ages ago to reflect the system I want to use. Anyway, that's not the deal breaker, it's the folders and sub folders. I know how I want them organised and it's been done, I don't want to have to redo it - what a waste of time.

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

If you don't mind LCD displays, you might consider a Samsung Galaxy Player 5". I have one and enjoy it as a reader. It does a crap-load of other things, so it's a little more expensive than an eink reader. You also need to be disciplined about screen vs. room brightness to avoid eyestrain. The deal-breaker might be poor battery life in bright outdoor settings. Since it's my second reader, those things are virtues, not vices and worth the extra $60 or so to me.

Good Luck,
Jack Tingle

I have nothing against LCD displays but battery life is a biggie. I travel quite a bit, a 15 hour flight is not uncommon (I'm in Australia), being in transit for 24 hours plus is too common and being somewhere where plug in opportunities are non existent or very limited for days or weeks, that happens too which is why is finally bought an e-ink reader.

Anyway, I've just bought a 2nd hand Kindle for $45 - I'll see if I can mod that to suit (will definately miss having an SD card - transfers are so much faster).

I'll still be updating this list if anyone has anymore information to add.

[Chi Cygni]

Originally Posted by gloopy

Ah, good to know. You'd think it would be so simple to just use folder and file names!

Sorry, incorrect. I use Opus every day and yes you can sort it by file name. I even checked again before posting this.

edited to add:

I don't want/need internet connectivity, I don't care about music, I don't need to annotate anything, I don't need a dictionary, I have no need to access online bookstores (I have a computer for all of that).

This is Opus. SD card, sort by file names, folders, no pdf reflow. On average battery lasts a week with heavy use. 5" inch vizplex, to my eyes less grey than pearl (compared it next to Sony 650 once) Orizon is very grey though.
Sadly Opus is becoming difficult to get. I'll be very sorry one day when it goes to ereaders' heaven.

[calvin-c]

I've got to agree about the problem of relying on metadata. My Palm displays the internal title-and that's all the 'metadata' I can see on it. I'm reading Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan series (19 books but most are collected in 'omnibus' volumes). In title order that's Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Cordelia's Honor, Cryoburn, Miles Errant, Miles in Love, Miles Mutants and Microbes, Miles Mystery and Mayhem, and Young Miles. Nothing in that gives a clue as to the order in which they should be read so I had to print a 'cheat sheet' I carry in my wallet.

If my Palm showed the file names it'd be Vorkosigan1,9,17-Bujold-Miles Mutants Microbes; Vorkosigan2,3-Bujold-Cordelia's Honor; Vorkosigan4,5,6-Bujold-Young Miles; Vorkosigan7,8,9-Bujold-Miles Mystery Mayhem; Vorkosigan10,11,12-Bujold-Miles Errant; Vorkosigan14,15,16-Miles in Love; Vorkosigan18-Bujold-Captain Vorpatrils Alliance; Vorkosigan19-Bujold-Cryoburn. (I embedded the author's name because the Palm's reader doesn't support folders. I could probably leave it out since they're all in the Bujold folder on my PC but this helps me in my Palm's file manager.)

So for me I either need a reader that displays more metadata (most of which I would then need to enter) or one that displays the file names (most of which I've already changed-after all, how handy are file names like 03497183, which some of my ebooks originally had).

I'm phasing out the Palm in favor of an Android tablet so I'll probably use Calibre Companion for the metadata. The only problem with that is that Calibre messes up my very clean (and already done) folder & filename system. If I had Warren Buffet's money I'd have somebody write my own reader-but I don't so I'll compromise, unhappily.

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Sorry, incorrect. I use Opus every day and yes you can sort it by file name. I even checked again before posting this.

edited to add:


This is Opus. SD card, sort by file names, folders, no pdf reflow. On average battery lasts a week with heavy use. 5" inch vizplex, to my eyes less grey than pearl (compared it next to Sony 650 once) Orizon is very grey though.
Sadly Opus is becoming difficult to get. I'll be very sorry one day when it goes to ereaders' heaven.

I've updated the list.

Yes, the Opus sounds like the best fit for me but sadly the couple I could find were very expensive so I thought I'd give a $45 Kindle a go first.

[gloopy]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

I've got to agree about the problem of relying on metadata. My Palm displays the internal title-and that's all the 'metadata' I can see on it. I'm reading Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan series (19 books but most are collected in 'omnibus' volumes). In title order that's Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Cordelia's Honor, Cryoburn, Miles Errant, Miles in Love, Miles Mutants and Microbes, Miles Mystery and Mayhem, and Young Miles. Nothing in that gives a clue as to the order in which they should be read so I had to print a 'cheat sheet' I carry in my wallet.

If my Palm showed the file names it'd be Vorkosigan1,9,17-Bujold-Miles Mutants Microbes; Vorkosigan2,3-Bujold-Cordelia's Honor; Vorkosigan4,5,6-Bujold-Young Miles; Vorkosigan7,8,9-Bujold-Miles Mystery Mayhem; Vorkosigan10,11,12-Bujold-Miles Errant; Vorkosigan14,15,16-Miles in Love; Vorkosigan18-Bujold-Captain Vorpatrils Alliance; Vorkosigan19-Bujold-Cryoburn. (I embedded the author's name because the Palm's reader doesn't support folders. I could probably leave it out since they're all in the Bujold folder on my PC but this helps me in my Palm's file manager.)

So for me I either need a reader that displays more metadata (most of which I would then need to enter) or one that displays the file names (most of which I've already changed-after all, how handy are file names like 03497183, which some of my ebooks originally had).

I'm phasing out the Palm in favor of an Android tablet so I'll probably use Calibre Companion for the metadata. The only problem with that is that Calibre messes up my very clean (and already done) folder & filename system. If I had Warren Buffet's money I'd have somebody write my own reader-but I don't so I'll compromise, unhappily.

Couldn't agree more.

[HarryT]

You can use a Calibre plugboard to prefix the series name and number to the books' title, do that your series sort correctly.