8+ Readers in comparison

[carmelra]

mgmueller,

I know you are not reading Hebrew, but may I ask you to check if your devices support Hebrew ePub properly?
I'm aware it's a big request and if you'll prefer not to deal with it, that's fine. This thread is great and helpful anyway.

I uploaded here an example of an Hebrew ePub and a few screen captures of applications and the way the first page of the first chapter is being displayed.

It displays OK on EPUBReader, FBReader, AZARDI, Calibre and Stanza (on iPhone).
on ADE, the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is being displayed properly (although it is aligned to the left).

I know it displays properly on PocketBook (note: while using FBReader!) and it doesn't display properly on the Sony devices (the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is a gibberish.

Any test results on any other device will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Carmel
Hebrew eBooks at Mendele HeBooks
http://www.mendele.co.il

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by sagiquarion

mgm,

I MUST have a dictionary on my reader and I loved sony's implementation of dictionary look up. However, I"m not impressed by the screen and so I'm left with two other options, the neo or the 800. Is there any firmware for either of these devices that provides dictionary functions like on the prs900? I like the 900, a lot, but that screen, ug. I hated trying to find the sweet spot where it didn't bother me in certain lighting conditions. I don't want the screen to bother me in ANY lighting conditions, like on the prs300 and the like.

I haven't checked out the beta firmware for iRex 800. But the former original firmware doesn't have dictionary support yet. I guess, one of the problems was, that the former dictionary implementation has been based on Mobipocket, whereas iRex 800 goes for ePUB.
Dictionary support on iRex iLiad and iRex 1000S has been benchmark.
BeBook Neo does have dictionary support, but in my opinion it's very basic and less convenient than on Sony.
You didn't mention it, but I very much like the dictionary support on Spring Design's Alex. You can "copy" the respective document from the E-Paper display to the LCD screen. On the LCD screen, you easily and quickly select the word you want to lookup. Way better than on nook, where you just direct the cursor, which still remains on the E-Paper display.
BTW: Personally, I can live with the display quality of Sony 900. I simply love its design and UI. The reduced contrast and the glare are compromises, I'm willing to accept. But most likely, iRex 800 will be my personal #1 with the coming firmware update.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Perhaps he doesn't have one?

BOb

Exactly. When looking for a new gadget, I always stumble over it.
But I just can't convince myself. Its design, based on the pictures I've seen, just doesn't apply to me.
Some say, they don't care about the looks, only about features.
That's not for me.
I really like eReaders a lot. But still, they're "only" gadgets to me. And gadgets, first and most, should be fun. I have that kind of fun, every single time I take my Sony 900 off the shelf. And for the moment I have that kind of fun with Spring Design Alex, which is very "different". Jetbook doesn't send those signals for me.
BTW: iPad DID send those signals. In Germany, they're targeted for delivery from May 28th....

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carmelra

mgmueller,

I know you are not reading Hebrew, but may I ask you to check if your devices support Hebrew ePub properly?
I'm aware it's a big request and if you'll prefer not to deal with it, that's fine. This thread is great and helpful anyway.

I uploaded here an example of an Hebrew ePub and a few screen captures of applications and the way the first page of the first chapter is being displayed.

It displays OK on EPUBReader, FBReader, AZARDI, Calibre and Stanza (on iPhone).
on ADE, the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is being displayed properly (although it is aligned to the left).

I know it displays properly on PocketBook (note: while using FBReader!) and it doesn't display properly on the Sony devices (the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is a gibberish.

Any test results on any other device will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Carmel

Tomorrow's public holiday in Germany, I'll try to find some time for your test document.
Maybe you can give some preferences: Which units are most interesting to you?
Sony 300, 505, 600, 700, 900
iRex iLiad, iRex 1000S, iRex 800S
Kindle 2, Kindle DX
BeBook One, BeBook Neo
Cybook Gen3, Cybook Opus
nook
PocketBook 360
Spring Design Alex

[carmelra]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Tomorrow's public holiday in Germany, I'll try to find some time for your test document.
Maybe you can give some preferences: Which units are most interesting to you?
Sony 300, 505, 600, 700, 900
iRex iLiad, iRex 1000S, iRex 800S
Kindle 2, Kindle DX
BeBook One, BeBook Neo
Cybook Gen3, Cybook Opus
nook
PocketBook 360
Spring Design Alex

It will be great!
Unfortunately, the Sony devices doesn't handle Hebrew ePub properly (I tested the 505 and got a reply from Sony support that they don't support it yet), so you can drop these 5 units from the list.
The Kindle doesn't support ePub, so you can drop these two units from the list as well.
I tested the PocketBook devices and they all support Hebrew ePub properly.

I'm most interested to get the results of these devices by the following order:
1) iRex iLiad (any of the devices)
2) CyBook (any of the devices)
3) Nook
4) BeBook
5) Alex

Thanks a lot!

Carmel
Hebrew eBooks at Mendele HeBooks
http://www.mendele.co.il

[sagiquarion]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I haven't checked out the beta firmware for iRex 800. But the former original firmware doesn't have dictionary support yet. I guess, one of the problems was, that the former dictionary implementation has been based on Mobipocket, whereas iRex 800 goes for ePUB.
Dictionary support on iRex iLiad and iRex 1000S has been benchmark.
BeBook Neo does have dictionary support, but in my opinion it's very basic and less convenient than on Sony.
You didn't mention it, but I very much like the dictionary support on Spring Design's Alex. You can "copy" the respective document from the E-Paper display to the LCD screen. On the LCD screen, you easily and quickly select the word you want to lookup. Way better than on nook, where you just direct the cursor, which still remains on the E-Paper display.
BTW: Personally, I can live with the display quality of Sony 900. I simply love its design and UI. The reduced contrast and the glare are compromises, I'm willing to accept. But most likely, iRex 800 will be my personal #1 with the coming firmware update.

From what I'm hearing (unless added last moment) 2.0 for Irex800 won't have dictionary support but all of other lacking features have pretty much been addressed. I may just break down and go for the Irex; I can't comproise with the prs screen but I can comprise with a crap dictionary by using a pocket dictionary or something as if reading a paper book.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by sagiquarion

From what I'm hearing (unless added last moment) 2.0 for Irex800 won't have dictionary support but all of other lacking features have pretty much been addressed. I may just break down and go for the Irex; I can't comproise with the prs screen but I can comprise with a crap dictionary by using a pocket dictionary or something as if reading a paper book.

I very much prefer the form factor of iRex 800 over BeBook Neo. So I clearly can recommend iRex 800.
Instead of a pocket dictionary, you could use a standalone dictionary on iRex 800. Not inline (yet), but as a standalone reference.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carmelra

It will be great!
Unfortunately, the Sony devices doesn't handle Hebrew ePub properly (I tested the 505 and got a reply from Sony support that they don't support it yet), so you can drop these 5 units from the list.
The Kindle doesn't support ePub, so you can drop these two units from the list as well.
I tested the PocketBook devices and they all support Hebrew ePub properly.

I'm most interested to get the results of these devices by the following order:
1) iRex iLiad (any of the devices)
2) CyBook (any of the devices)
3) Nook
4) BeBook
5) Alex

Thanks a lot!

Carmel
Hebrew eBooks at Mendele HeBooks
http://www.mendele.co.il

Sorry for the bad quality, already deepest night here in Germany...

In this post: iRex 800S

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carmelra

It will be great!
Unfortunately, the Sony devices doesn't handle Hebrew ePub properly (I tested the 505 and got a reply from Sony support that they don't support it yet), so you can drop these 5 units from the list.
The Kindle doesn't support ePub, so you can drop these two units from the list as well.
I tested the PocketBook devices and they all support Hebrew ePub properly.

I'm most interested to get the results of these devices by the following order:
1) iRex iLiad (any of the devices)
2) CyBook (any of the devices)
3) Nook
4) BeBook
5) Alex

Thanks a lot!

Carmel
Hebrew eBooks at Mendele HeBooks
http://www.mendele.co.il

In this post: BeBook Neo

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carmelra

mgmueller,

I know you are not reading Hebrew, but may I ask you to check if your devices support Hebrew ePub properly?
I'm aware it's a big request and if you'll prefer not to deal with it, that's fine. This thread is great and helpful anyway.

I uploaded here an example of an Hebrew ePub and a few screen captures of applications and the way the first page of the first chapter is being displayed.

It displays OK on EPUBReader, FBReader, AZARDI, Calibre and Stanza (on iPhone).
on ADE, the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is being displayed properly (although it is aligned to the left).

I know it displays properly on PocketBook (note: while using FBReader!) and it doesn't display properly on the Sony devices (the text is being displayed LTR (instaed of RTL) although it is properly aligned to the right. The TOC is a gibberish.

Any test results on any other device will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Carmel
Hebrew eBooks at Mendele HeBooks
http://www.mendele.co.il

In this post: Spring Design Alex

[carmelra]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Sorry for the bad quality, already deepest night here in Germany...

In this post: iRex 800S

Originally Posted by mgmueller

In this post: BeBook Neo

Originally Posted by mgmueller

In this post: Spring Design Alex

Thank you so much!
Unfortunately, all the results are the same and not good. All these devices doesn't respect the RTL direction and therefore the letters and words are presented in the wrong direction and the text is not readable. (elbadaer ton si txet eht)
I'm surprised about the Alex eReader because according to the press in Israel, it is going to be shipped in Israel in a few months. Well, maybe that's the reason why just in a few months...

Thanks again,

Carmel

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carmelra

Thank you so much!
Unfortunately, all the results are the same and not good. All these devices doesn't respect the RTL direction and therefore the letters and words are presented in the wrong direction and the text is not readable. (elbadaer ton si txet eht)
I'm surprised about the Alex eReader because according to the press in Israel, it is going to be shipped in Israel in a few months. Well, maybe that's the reason why just in a few months...

Thanks again,

Carmel

Hmm, maybe I have to change some setting.
Somewhere I've briefly read about Unicode for Asian languages. I'll check on Alex.

[YoYo]

[QUOTE=carmelra;907402]mgmueller,

I know you are not reading Hebrew, but may I ask you to check if your devices support Hebrew ePub properly?
I'm aware it's a big request and if you'll prefer not to deal with it, that's fine. This thread is great and helpful anyway.

Hi Carmel, I do read Hebrew and was very curious to see if it would work on my Astak ezreader. I tried opening it with ADE and it was backwards like you said. Then I tried opening it in Calibre. Surprise, surprise, Calibre opened it correctly. However, when I tried to transfer it to the EZ reader, it displayed left to right. How annoying!!

Please let me know if you find a device that can do this as there are many Hebrew readers around.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Hmm, maybe I have to change some setting.
Somewhere I've briefly read about Unicode for Asian languages. Maybe there's something similar for Hebrew. I'll check on Alex.

EDIT: So far, I haven't found any setting.
Next I'll try the obvious, switching to Hebrew as the general language for the OS. Would be surprised, if that works, but I'm curious.

[mgmueller]

[QUOTE=YoYo;910300]

Originally Posted by carmelra

mgmueller,

I know you are not reading Hebrew, but may I ask you to check if your devices support Hebrew ePub properly?
I'm aware it's a big request and if you'll prefer not to deal with it, that's fine. This thread is great and helpful anyway.

Hi Carmel, I do read Hebrew and was very curious to see if it would work on my Astak ezreader. I tried opening it with ADE and it was backwards like you said. Then I tried opening it in Calibre. Surprise, surprise, Calibre opened it correctly. However, when I tried to transfer it to the EZ reader, it displayed left to right. How annoying!!

Please let me know if you find a device that can do this as there are many Hebrew readers around.

Just out of curiosity: What happens, if you convert the book within "calibre"? Does the "new" book show correctly on your reader?
You probably don't even have to convert, to check. "calibre" saves the original file with your modifications in metadata within the "calibre" library. Maybe it changes the formatting as well?
I guess, there should be quite a few threads about that in the "calibre" subforum?