Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only)

[msundman]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

It has been mentioned in other threads that a good test is to try to goto the middle of a page somehow (e.g. search). If this ends up at the top of a page after all, then the reader isn't enforcing a fixed page layout for the document as a whole.

Yes. Or to jump to a chapter. Or to a bookmark added with a different font/margin/line-height/whatever-changes-the-pagesize.
And I wouldn't mind seeing other user-specifyable options either, such as whether new chapters start right after the previous one ends or on a new page (such an option is of course impossible with fixed-page systems).

Originally Posted by wallcraft

FBReader is a good example of a reader that does not enforce pagination, and it allows overlap between pages if you want (or not if you don't want).

FBReader seems nice, but unfortunately there isn't a version for Symbian S60. (I'm stuck with QReader for now, which wouldn't be totally bad if it only would support some half decent format (e.g., some format that actually specifies what encoding the text is in (which is the first "feature" that should be added to any format, but apparently all devs who create formats are super-ignorant americans that don't use anything above ascii 127 and believe that "plain text" actually exists), so that I don't have to modify the encoding manually all the time just to get it to display the damn text).)

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by msundman

FBReader seems nice, but unfortunately there isn't a version for Symbian S60.

FBReaderJ is in Beta for the Android emulator only, but will have a version for J2ME devices (like Symbian mobile phones) in future releases.

[msundman]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

FBReaderJ is in Beta for the Android emulator only, but will have a version for J2ME devices (like Symbian mobile phones) in future releases.

I know, but j2me really sucks on symbian in general and on the e61 in particular. It takes forever to start (6+ seconds, but much more if the program is large or inefficient at starting), and whenever you try to put a java program in the background it immediately exits.

QReader, OTOH, is native S60v3 and sits happily in the background for days on end, and it takes 150-200 ms to bring it to the foreground to start reading exactly where I left it. (If QReader for some reason isn't in the background (e.g., after I've rebooted the phone) it still takes less than 3 seconds to start it and open the last book where I left it.)

[Gester]

I'm still dying for details here, Robertb, May is very, very far away.

[TallMomof2]

...tapping foot, looking at watch.

Is it May yet?

[Gester]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

...tapping foot, looking at watch.

Is it May yet?

While we're waiting, let me ask a...ahem...personal question. You already have a Kindle and an Iliad, what are you looking for in an e-reader device that you don't already have?

Second, as mother of two, where do you find the disposable income?

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Gester

You already have a Kindle and an Iliad, what are you looking for in an e-reader device that you don't already have?

Duh. Gadget Lust.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Gester

Second, as mother of two, where do you find the disposable income?

As you can see from her avatar, her cat has a job, he works on computers.

BOb

[Gester]

Ouch, I was asking for it.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

As you can see from her avatar, her cat has a job, he works on computers.

BOb

lucky. mine are just 2 hairy freeloaders. i don't even think they're trying. every time i ask them how the job search is going they roll their eyes and tell me unemployment is sky high, the economy is in the toilet, and no-one is hiring.

[TallMomof2]

<------ That's an old picture circa 2002, the cat only would get on top of my old Gateway case, she won't get near any of my more recent rigs. Maybe it was the color but I suspect it was the heat, that computer put out a lot of BTUs. Of course, the cat hates LCD monitors, no tube to generate heat.

Yeah, gadget lust and looking for the perfect or at least better device. The Iliad is fine if I had oodles of time to tinker and troubleshoot but I don't. What really sells me on the Kindle is all the content pushed right to my device, sure it's paid but I don't have to spend time finding, formatting and loading it on another device.

Budgetwise, I'm a geek, I don't spend money on bars and restaurants, my wardrobe is modest (when you work at home how much do you really need?), and my vehicles are low mileage 13 and 17 years old. I spend money on gadgets, one day I'll find the perfect one.

[Gester]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Yeah, gadget lust and looking for the perfect or at least better device. The Iliad is fine if I had oodles of time to tinker and troubleshoot but I don't. What really sells me on the Kindle is all the content pushed right to my device, sure it's paid but I don't have to spend time finding, formatting and loading it on another device.

Thanks for indulging me. I was being nosy, but I meant the first question seriously. I think there are parts of the Kindle I'm interested in (mainly content and connectivity) and parts of the Iliad (mainly the touchscreen stuff), as well.

For me, though, price trumps. The Kindle is on the upper end and the Iliad is out of the park.

[TallMomof2]

What I'd probably like is a Iliad sized eInk Palm TX. A multipurpose device that has a killer reading app. Color would be nice but I can be happy with grayscale. To duplicate some of the TX functions on the Kindle I tried Google calender but making entries with the Kindle results in 30+ duplicate entries on the Google calender. At least I can view my calender on the Kindle. I converted my contact list into a .PRC file but I can't make entries.

The main reason I purchased the TX was for the large screen for reading and the TX was not that much less than the Kindle! I never was completely happy with reading on the TX, constant page turns, eye fatigue, and can't read outside but I liked it far better than toting around pbooks. The eInk screen is the best for me but I'm still searching for my perfect device. I realize that the controlling factor is battery size, the more functionality the larger and heavier the battery.

A dedicated reader is fine for now but one day I hope to have a PDA-like device.

[slayda]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

What I'd probably like is a Iliad sized eInk Palm TX. A multipurpose device that has a killer reading app. Color would be nice but I can be happy with grayscale. To duplicate some of the TX functions on the Kindle I tried Google calender but making entries with the Kindle results in 30+ duplicate entries on the Google calender. At least I can view my calender on the Kindle. I converted my contact list into a .PRC file but I can't make entries.

The main reason I purchased the TX was for the large screen for reading and the TX was not that much less than the Kindle! I never was completely happy with reading on the TX, constant page turns, eye fatigue, and can't read outside but I liked it far better than toting around pbooks. The eInk screen is the best for me but I'm still searching for my perfect device. I realize that the controlling factor is battery size, the more functionality the larger and heavier the battery.

A dedicated reader is fine for now but one day I hope to have a PDA-like device.

Hey Tall, I agree completely but want the color & speed of the TX. I would also want it to "fold" to the size of the TX.

[radleyp]

TallMom, I don't understand how you can say that the TX is not that much different from the Kindle, the screen is much much smaller and for me at least there is a world of difference, which is why I don't mind carrying the Kindle around in my hand (as it does not fit in a pocket).

Query: eink is a technology developed, I think, by Philips and Sony. How can this company produce eink screens, as seems to be implied, quite easily? Wouldn't it need a license and, if so, how can it be sure to get it?