Best ereader for PDF books

Paulo · 10-12-2010, 10:32 AM

Hi all,

I have tons of PDF books and I'd like to know which ereader is the best for PDF reading. Some of the PDFs are just images, with no text on it.......

I'd like to know if it is easy for zooming the page when I need it....

Lady Fitzgerald · 10-12-2010, 11:59 AM

Sadly, there are no readers yet that are "best" for reading PDFs, especially. You will have to settle for some kind of compromise. Ideally, your reader should have a screen the same size as the original pages the PDF so the text will not require a magnifier to read. HYowever, depending on the size of the original book, that could require a large screen that isn't readily or inexpensively available. There are a few larger screened readers, such as the Kindle DX and LCD tablets, like the I-pad, but they are still a bit on the small side to get a full screen display unless the original page size was a paperback. They aren't all that portable, either.

An alternative would be to get a reader that has the same screen length as the width of the text, then read the page with the reader set to landscape. You would have to scroll down each page to finish reading it before moving to the next one. Not all readers do this or do it well. The older Astak Mentors add a margin in addition to the original book margin and will not zoom when viewing an image PDF making it pretty much useless for the purpose.

I've had good luck with the JetBook Lite. The zoom increases in large steps which means one could go from too small to too large in a single step. However, it also has a setting that sets the zoom to have the text to fill the width of the screen which usually works for me. I also like that it runs on easily replaced AA batteries. It's tempermental (I have to frequently reset it) but it's been the best I've found so far.

I would suggest putting a few PDFs of various sizes on an SD card and trying them out on store displays of various readers. You could also set up some "meet ups" via the first sticky thread in this forum to try out other kinds of readers not available locally.

beachwanderer · 10-12-2010, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulo

Hi all,

I have tons of PDF books and I'd like to know which ereader is the best for PDF reading. Some of the PDFs are just images, with no text on it.......

I'd like to know if it is easy for zooming the page when I need it....

Welcome to MR!

Well, as Lady Fitzgerald did ask already, what kind of PDF are we talking about?

Scans of Letter/Legal-format or A4-format or smaller?

Personally I'd go for an ereading device with a bigger screen if you need it for work and not for leisure and use one of the mentioned formats.

So what springs to mind are: Kindle DX (don't know from experience how that deals with pdf, but seem to remember that zooming holds its problems there), the upcoming Pocketbooks 902 or 903 or the enTourage eDGe or, last but not least, a used iRex Illiad (dutch company, doesn't sell to consumers any longer and offers no support, so there is quite some risc involved). All of them have their price though. If you are not fixed toward eInk then there is of course the possibility of looking at one of the android tablets coming out everywhere now.

patrik · 10-12-2010, 12:47 PM

What do you think about Pocketbook 902/903 vs Pixilar MReader 9"?

Nexutix · 10-12-2010, 01:05 PM

You can buy any ereader and use briss if you want

Secondly sony's PRS 650 features quick zoom on double click on touch screen. That might be good. But for bigger Pdfs, u need Kindle dx 3 which is burning expensive

Lady Fitzgerald · 10-12-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patilsaurabhr

You can buy any ereader and use briss if you want

Secondly sony's PRS 650 features quick zoom on double click on touch screen. That might be good. But for bigger Pdfs, u need Kindle dx 3 which is burning expensive

Briss is used primarily to remove margins in PDF's. It is not particularly user friendly and the cropped files it creates will not work on all e-book readers. When displayed on some readers, such as the Astak Mentor, the cropped margins reappear.

beachwanderer · 10-12-2010, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrik

What do you think about Pocketbook 902/903 vs Pixelar MReader 9"?

Hm. I'd prefer the Pocketbook 902 over the Pixelar MReader 9'' as I prefer the eInk-Screen over the SiPix-Screen. By the way, there is a new video out today about the Pocketbook 902, made by PocketGoods. You find it on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AohmL46kgw and via the Pocketbook section on the forum here and in the german subforum.

SkyDream · 10-12-2010, 05:05 PM

Regarding PDFs if not especially formatted for 6" the "bigger is better" rule still rules. Therefore i would go for a big reader like PocketBook 902/903. Personally i don't like the KDX; eReader with keyboard ?

Paulo · 10-13-2010, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachwanderer

Welcome to MR!

Well, as Lady Fitzgerald did ask already, what kind of PDF are we talking about?

Scans of Letter/Legal-format or A4-format or smaller?

Personally I'd go for an ereading device with a bigger screen if you need it for work and not for leisure and use one of the mentioned formats.

So what springs to mind are: Kindle DX (don't know from experience how that deals with pdf, but seem to remember that zooming holds its problems there), the upcoming Pocketbooks 902 or 903 or the enTourage eDGe or, last but not least, a used iRex Illiad (dutch company, doesn't sell to consumers any longer and offers no support, so there is quite some risc involved). All of them have their price though. If you are not fixed toward eInk then there is of course the possibility of looking at one of the android tablets coming out everywhere now.

thanks for all the replies!

I really don´t need big screen devices, I prefer something small so I carry it easily.... 6" is serves very well for my purpose!

the other think that I would need is a WIFI connection...

about the PDFs: some of them are scan from old books with A4 format, so sometimes I would like to have an easy way to zoom the pages, just like the Iphone.

lalebarde · 10-13-2010, 10:56 AM

Can someone having a PocketBook 302 testimony how good or bad is the pdf reflow ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachwanderer

new video out today about the Pocketbook 902, made by PocketGoods.

This one is not very demonstrative regarding pdf reflow, nor any other I could find. I would have appreciated they show both 902, 602, and 302 with the same document.

pashlit · 10-13-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulo

thanks for all the replies!

I really don´t need big screen devices, I prefer something small so I carry it easily.... 6" is serves very well for my purpose!

the other think that I would need is a WIFI connection...

about the PDFs: some of them are scan from old books with A4 format, so sometimes I would like to have an easy way to zoom the pages, just like the Iphone.

Small screens will not handle PDFs to your needs. I tried 5'', 6'' devices and just ended up with Kindle DXG for now. Also look forward to release PocketBook 903 with new screens but its another year at least I think. Pearl screens are way better than current Viziplex ones. So for me the answer to "what device is good for pdfs" was very simple: BIG ONE

Even 9.7 screen is not enough sometimes to really enjoy PDFs.

lalebarde · 10-14-2010, 06:40 AM

Thanks for your advices. Considering them and the fact PocketBook is not very demonstrative on their pdf reflow capabilities, plus their huge price, I consider now Kindle DX and Sony PRS 950 (a pitty it is only 7").

901hw · 10-14-2010, 10:07 AM

Kindle 3 is unfortunately much worse than the sony (650 here) for handling pdfs (tried it and sent it back). As the 650 doesnt have wifi, I would suggest the sony 950 if you dont want a larger device. I have the 650 and am reading all my technical books on it with no problems as it has excellent zoom, reflow and other functions.

lalebarde · 10-14-2010, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 901hw

Kindle 3 is unfortunately much worse than the sony (650 here) for handling pdfs (tried it and sent it back).

Thank you very much all of you for your feedback. It is really helpful for me since I myself read a lot of pdf technical documents too. Wifi is not a big concern for me. Two questions please : Is there the same software for PC with which you can synchronize books, bookmarks, highlights, notes, where you are in every book, etc (I know that kindle can do it) ?
Do you think the additional 1" of the 950 worth it (not considering wifi) ?

Sony 650 ($170) is far cheaper that the PocketBook 602 (199€ ~ $260) which has no touchscreen. For wifi : Sony 950 ($300), PocketBook 603 (269€ ~ $350) with only 6".

SeaBookGuy · 10-14-2010, 12:53 PM

The 650's retail price is $229 not $170 - I think you've confused it with the smaller 350 (@$179)?

10-12-2010, 10:32 AM	#1
Paulo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: none	Best ereader for PDF books Hi all, I have tons of PDF books and I'd like to know which ereader is the best for PDF reading. Some of the PDFs are just images, with no text on it....... I'd like to know if it is easy for zooming the page when I need it....

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10-12-2010, 11:59 AM	#2
Lady Fitzgerald Wizard Posts: 2,013 Karma: 251649 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth Device: JetBook Lite (away from home) + 1 spare, 32" TV (at home)	Sadly, there are no readers yet that are "best" for reading PDFs, especially. You will have to settle for some kind of compromise. Ideally, your reader should have a screen the same size as the original pages the PDF so the text will not require a magnifier to read. HYowever, depending on the size of the original book, that could require a large screen that isn't readily or inexpensively available. There are a few larger screened readers, such as the Kindle DX and LCD tablets, like the I-pad, but they are still a bit on the small side to get a full screen display unless the original page size was a paperback. They aren't all that portable, either. An alternative would be to get a reader that has the same screen length as the width of the text, then read the page with the reader set to landscape. You would have to scroll down each page to finish reading it before moving to the next one. Not all readers do this or do it well. The older Astak Mentors add a margin in addition to the original book margin and will not zoom when viewing an image PDF making it pretty much useless for the purpose. I've had good luck with the JetBook Lite. The zoom increases in large steps which means one could go from too small to too large in a single step. However, it also has a setting that sets the zoom to have the text to fill the width of the screen which usually works for me. I also like that it runs on easily replaced AA batteries. It's tempermental (I have to frequently reset it) but it's been the best I've found so far. I would suggest putting a few PDFs of various sizes on an SD card and trying them out on store displays of various readers. You could also set up some "meet ups" via the first sticky thread in this forum to try out other kinds of readers not available locally.

10-12-2010, 12:47 PM	#4
patrik Guru Posts: 684 Karma: 4568205 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Forma	What do you think about Pocketbook 902/903 vs Pixilar MReader 9"?

10-12-2010, 01:05 PM	#5
Nexutix Reading and reading Posts: 582 Karma: 8250144 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Infibeam Pi, iPod Touch 4G, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, Oneplus One	You can buy any ereader and use briss if you want Secondly sony's PRS 650 features quick zoom on double click on touch screen. That might be good. But for bigger Pdfs, u need Kindle dx 3 which is burning expensive

10-12-2010, 05:05 PM	#8
SkyDream Wizard Posts: 1,377 Karma: 9400 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Europe Device: PRS-650, iPod touch 4G, iPad 3	Regarding PDFs if not especially formatted for 6" the "bigger is better" rule still rules. Therefore i would go for a big reader like PocketBook 902/903. Personally i don't like the KDX; eReader with keyboard ?

10-14-2010, 06:40 AM	#12
lalebarde Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Sony PRS-950SC daily edition	Thanks for your advices. Considering them and the fact PocketBook is not very demonstrative on their pdf reflow capabilities, plus their huge price, I consider now Kindle DX and Sony PRS 950 (a pitty it is only 7").

10-14-2010, 10:07 AM	#13
901hw Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 2178 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: germany Device: Trekstor Pyrus Mini, PB Touch Lux 2, Onxy Boox C67ML (maybe))	Kindle 3 is unfortunately much worse than the sony (650 here) for handling pdfs (tried it and sent it back). As the 650 doesnt have wifi, I would suggest the sony 950 if you dont want a larger device. I have the 650 and am reading all my technical books on it with no problems as it has excellent zoom, reflow and other functions.

10-14-2010, 12:53 PM	#15
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	The 650's retail price is $229 not $170 - I think you've confused it with the smaller 350 (@$179)?