PDF annotation

[squelchy451]

Hi

For most of my classes, my professors give me PDF's to read. I like to annotate them as I read but I don't want to print them out all the time. What's the best best ebook reader for annotating PDF's? Wifi ability does not matter, neither does color screen. In fact, black and white e-Ink is preferred as it does not cause much eye strain.

Thanks!

[HarryT]

You need a large-screen device to satisfactorily read PDFs, since most are formatted for an A4/Letter sized page. Realistically, at present, that means you're looking at a tablet device - something like an iPad or an Android tablet. I would forget any 6" eInk device for this purpose.

[lalebarde]

I wonder if xournal has been built / tried on some Linux ereader (sony, onyx, bebook, bookeen, PocketBook) ?
I have just ordered the Sony PRS-950SC (7"). I will receive it in 2 or 3 weeks. It looks to fit your needs and mines. The Sony PRS-650 (no wifi, 6") may fit your needs too, thanks to multi-column management and note taking. But if the size and the price are not a show-stopper, the new Onyx M90 (9") may be a good choice.

[Grindathotte]

I'm also looking for the same thing. Even in column mode, my PRS-350 is still a little small for most two column scientific PDFs, so the 650 might be OK. The Onyx Boox M90 is shortly to be released. This has a 9.7 inch pearl screen and promises PDF annotation. I am a little concerned about the fragility of large ebook readers and would welcome any comments on that. Also coming up (might be available in some parts of the world) is the Asus EEE Note EA800, which uses a monochrome LCD display with no backlight. The image quality is reportedly not as good as E-ink, but it looks like being a very flexible tool for academic use.

[lalebarde]

Ooops, the Asus EEE Note EA800 looks good. I may resell my forthcoming Sony PRS950 as soon as I receive it.

[loyukfai]

Originally Posted by lalebarde

I wonder if xournal has been built / tried on some Linux ereader (sony, onyx, bebook, bookeen, PocketBook) ?

Saw this...?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87593

[paola]

both Pocketbook 90X and Onyx M90 have the capability - but with Pocketbook the firmware is lagging behind (though there is a half promise of an improved FW in a couple of weeks, and it may indeed be the case as both Onyx and PB will hit the US market in a couple of weeks, so if the M90 is already functional and PB does not want to be trunced, they will have to deliver). In any case, if I were you I would wait until you have actually seen the note taking in action before your purchase.
One large screen device is the Asus DR900, but annotation seems wanting there, adn again unsatisfactory firmware from what I gather - you may find this thread (starting from this post) useful.
I am hoping sooner or later we'll get a port of Xournal to the pocketbook...

Good luck with your search!

[loyukfai]

There are a few PDF apps with annotation capabilities for Android. Haven't evaluated but guess the annotations are saved within the PDF files.

Xournal allows the annotations to be saved on a separate file (.xoj). Hopefully there will be an Android port.

Cheers.

[loyukfai]

Originally Posted by loyukfai

There are a few PDF apps with annotation capabilities for Android. Haven't evaluated but guess the annotations are saved within the PDF files.

To whom it may interest - Checked with the developers of the top 2 results of searching "pdf annotate" in Android Market - RepliGo and ezPDF, neither of them support xournal's .xoj formats.

Besides, check this out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q804QKtSuOU

BTW, PDF Annotator (for Windows only) is on sale today...

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/p...-3/saf=500770/

[loyukfai]

Just tried annotating some files with ezPDF on Android and then open them on desktop with Adobe Reader, PDF Annotator and xournal.

Adobe Reader opens just fine and is able to view the highlights and annotations, and change the text in Sticky Notes. Fairly fast. (The filesize is about 400KB, BTW) However, making new freehand writing is not supported (I think you need the full version Acrobat for that).

PDF Annotator also opens the file just fine, albeit slow, the highlights and annotations are displayed as well, but one is not able to view nor change the content of the Sticky Notes. Freehand writing is okay but it cannot make highlights the way Adobe Reader and ezPDF do.

xournal can also open the file fast, but annotations and highlights are not properly displayed, they become solid blocks which cover the text entirely.

A few screenshots to illustrate the above points...

Adobe Reader


PDF Annotator


xournal


P.S. I've read good things about Bluebeam Revu. It has a trial version but got no time to test it. The price is cheaper than Acrobat but more expensive than PDF Annotator ($179 vs $299 vs $70). Adobe Reader and xournal are downloadable free.

[Filark]

You might want to check out the enTourage eDGe. Not sure if it runs Xournal, but I have seen mention of it in the forum: http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/forum.php.

You would want the big eDGe, with its 9.7" e-ink screen and 10.1" Android screen. New, they are over $500, but you can find them used on ebay or Amazon Marketplace for under $200 (or, more realistically, around $300). Just make sure you're not buying a Pocket eDGe (6" e-ink and 7" LCD) -- not that there's anything wrong with the PE!!

Here's a link to some videos: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...ACD88BB53D6385.

You'll want to know that the company may be in trouble, but they are still supporting their products. Check the forum (link above) for real user reviews.

[loyukfai]

Thanks for the heads-up.

BTW, tested one more utility, PDF-XChange Viewer, by far the best among the 4 tools I tested. Fast, handle the ezPDF annotations just fine, can do both freehand and highlight annotations by itself.

Screenshot:



Starting at $0, which seems adequate for general reading and basic annotations. More functional products available for a fee (see http://www.tracker-software.com/pdf-...mparison-chart for more information).

Edit: The pencil/freehand tool is not as smooth as PDF Annotator and xournal...

[loyukfai]

In case anybody is interested, PDF-XChange PRO is having a 40% off discount today. For a final price of 44.4USD.

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/p...e-pro/src=not/

Cheers.

[jojoba]

I first started looking at the e-reader market with the aim of finding something that could help me with my academic work (specifically, reading and annotating tons of pdfs), but had to give up on e-readers for that purpose - they simply don't offer the functionality that I need.

I now use an iPad and annotate with PDF Expert and iAnnotate. Both are very powerful apps with lots of features and cost $10 each. There are a couple of free apps around called neu.Annotate and PDF notes, but I don't know enough about them to say if they're any good or not.

[picco]

Originally Posted by lalebarde

I wonder if xournal has been built / tried on some Linux ereader (sony, onyx, bebook, bookeen, PocketBook) ?
I have just ordered the Sony PRS-950SC (7"). I will receive it in 2 or 3 weeks. It looks to fit your needs and mines. The Sony PRS-650 (no wifi, 6") may fit your needs too, thanks to multi-column management and note taking. But if the size and the price are not a show-stopper, the new Onyx M90 (9") may be a good choice.

I would settle for a way to convert notes from xournal format to whatever format used by the ereader, and back. That would be a decisive factor for me in choosing an ereader. No luck so far..