All I care about is PDF?

Zorz · 11-25-2009, 10:06 AM

I have many technical pdf's which I get from work for free. My employer buys them from various technical companies for all the programmers to use and they have no DRM, if that matters.

I have trouble reading on the computer monitor and have wanted a ebook reader for a very long time. But always worried about pdf support. I am talking another look now and want to know which device has the best pdf support. I dont care about the bookstore, because I will never buy an ebook and don't really care if it has wireless because I will again never buy a ebook from the devices online bookstore.

So I just need the absolute best PSF support, at a great price.

Thank you all so much, great site here.

wallcraft · 11-25-2009, 10:17 AM

The 5"and 6" EInk screens are not large enough for letter/A4 PDFs. A 7" or 8" screen might be big enough, but the contenders (Sony Daily Edition and iRex DR800SG) are not out yet, both are due any day now. A 9.7" screen or larger is big enough. The best EInk PDF device today is the iRex DR1000S, but it is very expensive. The best less expensive device is the Kindle DX, but its PDF support for everything except displaying the pages is very poor (e.g. no TOC).

There are likely to be half a dozen ~10" Eink devices introduced at CES in January. They won't all be for sale in January, but this will greatly expand the PDF-capable Reader landscape.

See E-book Reader Matrix: Larger Devices for more info.

retro · 11-25-2009, 06:30 PM

I bought a Sony PRS300 a couple months ago for reading library books. But I have quite a few technical books and I remembered they all come with CDs with a ebook version of the book. I tried a few out on the 300 and I really like the result. Most of my technical books have screenshots and the 300 displays them very well. If I change the view to horizontal, it displays 1/2 a page at at time (there's a little icon at the bottom that shows which half you're on). I prefer vertical view with medium font size. The text just flows from page to page, but it only shows the text for graphics. I can change to the small font and the graphic shows up.

I love this ereader, and I got so excited, I've consolidated all my techincal books and used BeCypdfmetaedit to rename them to what I what to see on the reader. I have about 50 technical books now and am looking to get a 2nd reader to put them on, instead of mixing with my library books. They are considerably larger than a normal book. My 50 books equal 665mg and the 300 holds less than 500mg. I'm considering a 600 that has an SD card slot and the bigger screen might display graphics at medium font size. The only disadvantage is there is no search option, but I'm not sure if any ereader has that. I really like having 50lbs of books in a 5oz device though!

Superlucky · 11-25-2009, 07:11 PM

It depends on the formatting of each pdf as to how well it will display on a particular device. On this thread I took some pics of a technical pdf provided by another user displayed on my PRS-505. If your pdf's are formatted similarly, then I would recommend a PRS-300 (unless you can get your hands on a 505).

PhishStyx · 11-28-2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The 5"and 6" EInk screens are not large enough for letter/A4 PDFs. A 7" or 8" screen might be big enough, but the contenders (Sony Daily Edition and iRex DR800SG) are not out yet, both are due any day now. A 9.7" screen or larger is big enough. The best EInk PDF device today is the iRex DR1000S, but it is very expensive. The best less expensive device is the Kindle DX, but its PDF support for everything except displaying the pages is very poor (e.g. no TOC).

There are likely to be half a dozen ~10" Eink devices introduced at CES in January. They won't all be for sale in January, but this will greatly expand the PDF-capable Reader landscape.

See E-book Reader Matrix: Larger Devices for more info.

Ditto from me.

wallcraft · 11-28-2009, 09:55 PM

Based on mtravellerh's comprehensive review of PDF reading in Pocketbook 360 test diary, I now regard PocketBook as having the best PDF capability in 5" (360°) and 6" (301 Plus) Readers. These screens are very small, but if any EInk device of this size can do the job it is the PocketBooks. Don't forget that mtravellerh's 600x800 screenshots will look much smaller on the actual screen than they do on most PC monitors.

11-25-2009, 10:06 AM	#1
Zorz Zealot Posts: 134 Karma: 36 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle 2i	All I care about is PDF? I have many technical pdf's which I get from work for free. My employer buys them from various technical companies for all the programmers to use and they have no DRM, if that matters. I have trouble reading on the computer monitor and have wanted a ebook reader for a very long time. But always worried about pdf support. I am talking another look now and want to know which device has the best pdf support. I dont care about the bookstore, because I will never buy an ebook and don't really care if it has wireless because I will again never buy a ebook from the devices online bookstore. So I just need the absolute best PSF support, at a great price. Thank you all so much, great site here.

11-25-2009, 07:11 PM	#4
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	It depends on the formatting of each pdf as to how well it will display on a particular device. On this thread I took some pics of a technical pdf provided by another user displayed on my PRS-505. If your pdf's are formatted similarly, then I would recommend a PRS-300 (unless you can get your hands on a 505). Last edited by Superlucky; 11-25-2009 at 07:13 PM.

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11-25-2009, 10:17 AM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The 5"and 6" EInk screens are not large enough for letter/A4 PDFs. A 7" or 8" screen might be big enough, but the contenders (Sony Daily Edition and iRex DR800SG) are not out yet, both are due any day now. A 9.7" screen or larger is big enough. The best EInk PDF device today is the iRex DR1000S, but it is very expensive. The best less expensive device is the Kindle DX, but its PDF support for everything except displaying the pages is very poor (e.g. no TOC). There are likely to be half a dozen ~10" Eink devices introduced at CES in January. They won't all be for sale in January, but this will greatly expand the PDF-capable Reader landscape. See E-book Reader Matrix: Larger Devices for more info.

11-25-2009, 06:30 PM	#3
retro Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 245 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: USA Device: Kobo Clara Blue PRS 350	I bought a Sony PRS300 a couple months ago for reading library books. But I have quite a few technical books and I remembered they all come with CDs with a ebook version of the book. I tried a few out on the 300 and I really like the result. Most of my technical books have screenshots and the 300 displays them very well. If I change the view to horizontal, it displays 1/2 a page at at time (there's a little icon at the bottom that shows which half you're on). I prefer vertical view with medium font size. The text just flows from page to page, but it only shows the text for graphics. I can change to the small font and the graphic shows up. I love this ereader, and I got so excited, I've consolidated all my techincal books and used BeCypdfmetaedit to rename them to what I what to see on the reader. I have about 50 technical books now and am looking to get a 2nd reader to put them on, instead of mixing with my library books. They are considerably larger than a normal book. My 50 books equal 665mg and the 300 holds less than 500mg. I'm considering a 600 that has an SD card slot and the bigger screen might display graphics at medium font size. The only disadvantage is there is no search option, but I'm not sure if any ereader has that. I really like having 50lbs of books in a 5oz device though!

11-28-2009, 09:55 PM	#6
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	Based on mtravellerh's comprehensive review of PDF reading in Pocketbook 360 test diary, I now regard PocketBook as having the best PDF capability in 5" (360°) and 6" (301 Plus) Readers. These screens are very small, but if any EInk device of this size can do the job it is the PocketBooks. Don't forget that mtravellerh's 600x800 screenshots will look much smaller on the actual screen than they do on most PC monitors.

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