Once again..the million dollar question!

rhari79 · 02-23-2009, 09:04 AM

Hi folks,

This is my 2nd post to this forum(after my intro).
As my profile shows, I am from India, currently in Tokyo. Sadly, both these are extremely isolated in terms of Ebook reader availability.

My N95 is ok for mobi files and rss. But pdf is difficult though possible.

Here in Tokyo, I have found an Iliad posted in Amazon. I know bebook, cybook, hanlin etc., are shipped internationally.

I am slightly partial to Bebook(due to formats, open nature etc.,). But have concerns about its stability.
I need the device for technical docs; So need stable pdf(big file size; 10+ MB) and chm rendering.
Dont intend to read novels in the device.

Also I am concerned about Customs, taxes, Device delivery quality(international shipping) among others. The sellers dont throw much light on these.
And lastly I am not able to decide because I havent had a chance to hold the device in my hands.

Please do help me decide..

Thanks
hari

HarryT · 02-23-2009, 10:05 AM

Most PDFs are formatted for A4/Letter page size and simply cannot be read satisfactorily on a machine with a screen with only 1/6th that area, and that's the simple truth. The Sony Reader (alone) will attempt (if possible) to "reflow" a PDF to fit the screen; this generally works reasonably well for "text" PDFs; it rarely works well for those with more complex layouts - charts, images, etc.

To be honest, for your usage, I'd stick to using a notebook or tablet PC.

DesiLinguist · 02-23-2009, 10:45 AM

Hari,

Welcome to the forum! I just bought an iLiad and I have been reading a lot of conference and journal articles on it and, for the most part, it works just fine. I don't think it has CHM support so that would require some pre-processing on your part.

I don't have an answer about customs and all because I ordered from a local reseller here in the US (ereaderoutfitters.com) and didn't have any such issues.

Please take a look at these two threads to see what technical PDFs look like on the iLiad.

Good Luck!

rhari79 · 02-23-2009, 05:04 PM

Thanks for the suggestions/links.

I remember reading in this forum about a chm software for the iliad. I cant find it now, however the wiki on iliad software lists fbreader as capable of rendering simple chm files.

On the other hand, bebook has native chm support and their support forum says they are working on 4+ level zooms. I dont know how useful that would be. I have good pdf zoom and reflow in my n95 currently. But scrolling while reading is a pain.

wallcraft · 02-23-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhari79

I remember reading in this forum about a chm software for the iliad. I cant find it now, however the wiki on iliad software lists fbreader as capable of rendering simple chm files.

Windows MobiPocket Reader will import CHM and export MOBI. This isn't always successful, but it is worth trying because many of the EInk devices (including the iLiad) have good MOBI support. FBReader on the iLiad or on the Hanlin V3 (or BeBook) under Open InkPot can read CHM, and it does a pretty good job when it works. The problem is that FBReader always reads the entire ebook into memory when it starts, and CHM files tend to be very large. If they are too large, then FBReader can hang (or just take a very long time to start). Here "large" is probably anything over 5 MB.

If you have a link to an example CHM that is free to download, I can try it on the iLiad and on the Hanlin V3 and post screenshots or screenscans.

Given your reading preferences, the iLiad may be your best bet or even the DR1000S (larger still and very expensive). Alternatively, Asus and Gigabyte have relatively inexpensive convertable netbooks either available or in the wings. These will certainly give you very good CHM and PDF support, but on a LCD screen with a relatively short battery life and in a heavier device.

rhari79 · 02-24-2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

If you have a link to an example CHM that is free to download, I can try it on the iLiad and on the Hanlin V3 and post screenshots or screenscans.

hi wallcraft, thanks for the offer.
The first free CHM file I can recollect is the PHP manual. This is 8+ MB in size though.

http://www.php.net/get/php_manual_en.chm/from/a/mirror

It will be a great help if you can judge it on the iliad and/or hanlin.
Thanks again for your help.

--hari

wallcraft · 02-24-2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhari79

The first free CHM file I can recollect is the PHP manual. This is 8+ MB in size though.

I was able to convert this to MOBI using Windows MobiPocket Reader. It took 10-15 minutes and resulted in a 16 MB MOBI. The first two screenshots are from Windows MobiPocket Reader on the MOBI version of the CHM.

I first tried the CHM and MOBI on the Hanlin V3. The MOBI Reader takes a "local" approach to reading the ebook, so there was no problem opening the MOBI. However, the procedure for following links did not work, because there were many links per page and the numbers that are supposed to show up to tell you which keys to press for each link were not visible. The CHM reader initially seemed to work (navigation worked well), but I made the mistake of trying to increase the font size. This hung up the device and when I tried again later the font size had been increased but now navigation routinely failed (bringing me back to the start of the CHM).

As I excepted, FBReader under OpenInkPot failed on the both MOBI and the CHM. Probably because of too little available main memory.

On the iLiad, the MOBI version worked well because the stylus could be used for navigation. See the attached scans, which are 100 ppi (less resolution than the screen). The CHM version (FBReader) again failed.

rhari79 · 02-25-2009, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I was able to convert this to MOBI using Windows MobiPocket Reader. It took 10-15 minutes and resulted in a 16 MB MOBI. The first two screenshots are from Windows MobiPocket Reader on the MOBI version of the CHM.

Hi wallcraft, thanks for a wonderful hands-on review. I sincerely apologise for the trouble and appreciate the time/effort you have put in.

..So large CHM files are evil to the best CHM compatible ereaders.

Yesterday, I almost pressed the buy button on Amazon to get an iLiad BE. I would most likely have had it with me by end of this week.
Only thing stopping me currently is (according to me), the exorbitant price of the model...

wallcraft · 02-25-2009, 09:38 AM

The iLiad is a frustrating device in many ways. Its software has huge potential that iRex never had the resources to exploit, page turns can be a bit slow and the ~12 hour battery life (with no sleep mode) is ok but far short of other EInk devices. However, the larger screen really does make a difference and the software is "good enough".

On my comments about the Hanlin MOBI. This is good enough for most ebooks, and I think what happened on this particular CHM is that the numbers written to the screen to indicate which key to press for each link are obscured by the icons before each link. So this may not be as bad with other CHMs, and you may be able to guess its numbering scheme after using it for a while. I have screenshots from a Kindle on the same MOBI from CHM here.

The other option is to wait a while to see if the devices with 9.7" EInk screens that are likely to appear this summer are a better fit to your needs. Jinke will also soon introduce a 6" device with a touch screen.

02-23-2009, 09:04 AM	#1
rhari79 Addict Posts: 375 Karma: 2200000 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chennai Device: .*	Once again..the million dollar question! Hi folks, This is my 2nd post to this forum(after my intro). As my profile shows, I am from India, currently in Tokyo. Sadly, both these are extremely isolated in terms of Ebook reader availability. My N95 is ok for mobi files and rss. But pdf is difficult though possible. Here in Tokyo, I have found an Iliad posted in Amazon. I know bebook, cybook, hanlin etc., are shipped internationally. I am slightly partial to Bebook(due to formats, open nature etc.,). But have concerns about its stability. I need the device for technical docs; So need stable pdf(big file size; 10+ MB) and chm rendering. Dont intend to read novels in the device. Also I am concerned about Customs, taxes, Device delivery quality(international shipping) among others. The sellers dont throw much light on these. And lastly I am not able to decide because I havent had a chance to hold the device in my hands. Please do help me decide.. Thanks hari

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02-23-2009, 10:05 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Most PDFs are formatted for A4/Letter page size and simply cannot be read satisfactorily on a machine with a screen with only 1/6th that area, and that's the simple truth. The Sony Reader (alone) will attempt (if possible) to "reflow" a PDF to fit the screen; this generally works reasonably well for "text" PDFs; it rarely works well for those with more complex layouts - charts, images, etc. To be honest, for your usage, I'd stick to using a notebook or tablet PC.

02-23-2009, 10:45 AM	#3
DesiLinguist Computational Linguist Posts: 110 Karma: 100 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: iLiad BE, iPhone, Kindle DX	Hari, Welcome to the forum! I just bought an iLiad and I have been reading a lot of conference and journal articles on it and, for the most part, it works just fine. I don't think it has CHM support so that would require some pre-processing on your part. I don't have an answer about customs and all because I ordered from a local reseller here in the US (ereaderoutfitters.com) and didn't have any such issues. Please take a look at these two threads to see what technical PDFs look like on the iLiad. Good Luck!

02-23-2009, 05:04 PM	#4
rhari79 Addict Posts: 375 Karma: 2200000 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chennai Device: .*	Thanks for the suggestions/links. I remember reading in this forum about a chm software for the iliad. I cant find it now, however the wiki on iliad software lists fbreader as capable of rendering simple chm files. On the other hand, bebook has native chm support and their support forum says they are working on 4+ level zooms. I dont know how useful that would be. I have good pdf zoom and reflow in my n95 currently. But scrolling while reading is a pain.

02-25-2009, 09:38 AM	#9
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The iLiad is a frustrating device in many ways. Its software has huge potential that iRex never had the resources to exploit, page turns can be a bit slow and the ~12 hour battery life (with no sleep mode) is ok but far short of other EInk devices. However, the larger screen really does make a difference and the software is "good enough". On my comments about the Hanlin MOBI. This is good enough for most ebooks, and I think what happened on this particular CHM is that the numbers written to the screen to indicate which key to press for each link are obscured by the icons before each link. So this may not be as bad with other CHMs, and you may be able to guess its numbering scheme after using it for a while. I have screenshots from a Kindle on the same MOBI from CHM here. The other option is to wait a while to see if the devices with 9.7" EInk screens that are likely to appear this summer are a better fit to your needs. Jinke will also soon introduce a 6" device with a touch screen.