Neoreader questions

[marst]

For a while I've had my eye on the Onyx Boox devices and I'm thinking about taking the plunge. Primary use: 10" e-reader (with less interest in using it as a note-taking or drawing platform—though the ability to use the pen for highlighting and adding the occasional note within a book is appealing).

I'm interested to know if there's anyone here with extensive Neoreader experience who can answer questions about some of its features. It's been kind of difficult getting the information I'm after.

Rather than just start hurling questions into the ether I thought I'd ask first if there's an experienced Neoreader user who'd be willing to tackle some of the questions.

Thanks in advance.

[fbrzvnrnd]

I use it a lot to study, ask me. If I can, I'll try to answer.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by marst

Rather than just start hurling questions into the ether I thought I'd ask first if there's an experienced Neoreader user who'd be willing to tackle some of the questions.

I would ask the questions - if someone can answer them, then they will be answered; if answers are not known, then there will be little contribution.

[Robert Bitzer]

I would recommend checking out the "my deep guide" channel on Youtube. The creator, Voja, has excellent videos about all the features of Boox devices. I use Neoreader a lot and they keep improving it. I also use the Kindle app and MoonReader Pro on my Boox Note Air....this is my 4th Boox and they are making very good products these days.

[marst]

Originally Posted by Robert Bitzer

I would recommend checking out the "my deep guide" channel on Youtube. The creator, Voja, has excellent videos about all the features of Boox devices. I use Neoreader a lot and they keep improving it. I also use the Kindle app and MoonReader Pro on my Boox Note Air....this is my 4th Boox and they are making very good products these days.

Thanks. I agree—those are great reviews. The questions I have cover topics that I haven't seen so far in his reviews.

The Boox products do seem very good now. I've been using a Kobo device and while its screen display is good enough, I've had more trouble with it than I've had with any previous tablet, ranging from difficulty downloading new books, to crashes, to (nowadays) no longer being able to update the device's operating system without first having to reset my Kobo account. (Which is Kobo's only recommended "solution.")

The reset forces me to download books again and blows away all side-loaded books, which then have to be sent to the device again. Time to find something better designed and more reliable.

[marst]

Originally Posted by fbrzvnrnd

I use it a lot to study, ask me. If I can, I'll try to answer.

Thanks—I appreciate it! Rather ask all of them at once :-), I'll ask one or two at a time. Two this time:

1) The few videos I've seen about Neoreader skip over this feature: Does the program enable you to set an alignment style for a book—whether justified (flush left and right), or flush left, or centered? I'm thinking here about EPUB or similar format books—not PDFs. I would think it has such a feature—all decently written e-reader apps I've used so far have it. But for some reason this just isn't mentioned in the videos I've seen so far.

2) Can Neoreader be set up in a way that enables it to open DRM-protected books downloaded from, say, either Barnes and Noble or KOBO?

Thanks again for your help.

[marst]

The Note Air 2 product description includes: "...supports 17 file formats and offers a ton of customization tools for reading. So you can enjoy ebooks in your favorite layout without conversion."

Does anyone Out There know what kinds of conversion tools they mean, and what formats might they convert into what-other formats?

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by marst

The Note Air 2 product description includes: "...supports 17 file formats and offers a ton of customization tools for reading. So you can enjoy ebooks in your favorite layout without conversion."

Does anyone Out There know what kinds of conversion tools they mean, and what formats might they convert into what-other formats?

I read that quote as talking about customization tools - font, margin, and so on - and not conversion tools. I have a Note Air 2. NeoReader has no conversion tools that can convert from one eBook format to another. It has a good number of tools to customize how the text looks on the display.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by marst

Thanks—I appreciate it! Rather ask all of them at once :-), I'll ask one or two at a time. Two this time:

1) The few videos I've seen about Neoreader skip over this feature: Does the program enable you to set an alignment style for a book—whether justified (flush left and right), or flush left, or centered? I'm thinking here about EPUB or similar format books—not PDFs. I would think it has such a feature—all decently written e-reader apps I've used so far have it. But for some reason this just isn't mentioned in the videos I've seen so far.

2) Can Neoreader be set up in a way that enables it to open DRM-protected books downloaded from, say, either Barnes and Noble or KOBO?

Thanks again for your help.

1) Others can chime in, but I have not found an alignment feature in NeoReader.

2) NeoReader cannot open DRM-protected eBooks. You could use Calibre (on your desktop or laptop) with a plug-in that can remove DRM. Then NeoReader could open the eBooks. The same would be true for any third party Android reader app you might install.

[marst]

Re: "...supports 17 file formats and offers a ton of customization tools for reading. So you can enjoy ebooks in your favorite layout without conversion"

Originally Posted by downeaster59

I read that quote as talking about customization tools - font, margin, and so on - and not conversion tools. I have a Note Air 2. NeoReader has no conversion tools that can convert from one eBook format to another. It has a good number of tools to customize how the text looks on the display.

I see what you mean—I gave "customization" more weight than it deserved. :-) Then I suppose my question changes to: when they say without conversion, what might they be referring to?

Now I see your follow-up comment in which you say there doesn't seem to be any alignment-related formatting possible in Neoreader. If there isn't, that's... that's just weird. The few videos I've seen that pertain to Neoreader mention some typographic controls that other e-reader programs lack...I wonder why they'd omit that one. Several e-reading apps I've used up to now do have alignment controls—and they work (most of the time).

This is why I used the program "calibre" in the past—to get past the DRM problems and be able to edit the CSS files, fixing some publishers' poor decisions w.r.t. certain hard-coded formatting.

[marst]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

NeoReader cannot open DRM-protected eBooks. You could use Calibre (on your desktop or laptop) with a plug-in that can remove DRM. Then NeoReader could open the eBooks. The same would be true for any third party Android reader app you might install.

Thanks for your feedback about this.

I assumed it couldn't open those books but decided to try hoping against hope. I once used an Android app that could open Adobe-DRM protected books, at least those from Barnes and Noble. Then one day B&N changed its protection scheme and that was the end of that—forced back to using the Nook app.

I have a bunch of Kobo books and I suppose a person could always just use the Kobo app for Android. Only one problem: Both their Windows and Android apps are the crudest and worst designed I've ever seen—they make the Nook app look positively world-class. I assume Kobo leaves the app that way to keep its own tablets more attractive—the on-board software is at least semi-well designed. I hoped it might be possible to avoid going the calibre "route" as I did when I used a Samsung color tablet for all e-reading. I guess Calibre's in my future again...

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by marst

Re: "...supports 17 file formats and offers a ton of customization tools for reading. So you can enjoy ebooks in your favorite layout without conversion"


I see what you mean—I gave "customization" more weight than it deserved. :-) Then I suppose my question changes to: when they say without conversion, what might they be referring to?

Now I see your follow-up comment in which you say there doesn't seem to be any alignment-related formatting possible in Neoreader. If there isn't, that's... that's just weird. The few videos I've seen that pertain to Neoreader mention some typographic controls that other e-reader programs lack...I wonder why they'd omit that one. Several e-reading apps I've used up to now do have alignment controls—and they work (most of the time).

This is why I used the program "calibre" in the past—to get past the DRM problems and be able to edit the CSS files, fixing some publishers' poor decisions w.r.t. certain hard-coded formatting.

I read "without conversion" as meaning you don't need to convert it to a given format before NeoReader can open it. For example, you need to convert an ePub to read it on a Kindle, or convert a MOBI to read it on a Kobo.

You'll need to try your luck with an app like Moon Reader or KOReader if you want alignment options! But you already knew that! : )

[marst]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

For example, you need to convert an ePub to read it on a Kindle, or convert a MOBI to read it on a Kobo.

You'll need to try your luck with an app like Moon Reader or KOReader if you want alignment options! But you already knew that! : )

I did know. But please—no more Kobo! :) (Amazon's own Kindle software is probably acceptable by now for the old Kindle books I have—but years back it was awful. Someone found a hack for enabling flush-left alignment in the old Kindle app—yeah, it required a stupid hack. Why? These companies with entire floors of buildings full of developers...why do they write such awful software? Don't get me started...)

When I tried Moon Reader some years back I thought it was ok—but egad, the bookshelf/organizing tools were awful. The one I was truly happy with was Mantano Reader—what a powerhouse for notes and annotations and bookshelf organizing, and their display "engine" was excellent. Being able to add your own fonts was a huge plus—the book weight of Minion was a great addition. Unfortunately, Mantano's alignment controls could not overcome publishers' hard-coded CSS. That program had great promise...but alas it seemed to just dry up and blow away. All development seemed to stop quite suddenly. Too bad.

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by marst

Thanks—I appreciate it! Rather ask all of them at once :-), I'll ask one or two at a time. Two this time:

1) The few videos I've seen about Neoreader skip over this feature: Does the program enable you to set an alignment style for a book—whether justified (flush left and right), or flush left, or centered? I'm thinking here about EPUB or similar format books—not PDFs. I would think it has such a feature—all decently written e-reader apps I've used so far have it. But for some reason this just isn't mentioned in the videos I've seen so far.

No, there are several options about font size or spacing, but not alignment. The ePub support in Neoreader have some lights and a lot of dark problems. TBH the alignment in ePub with a so big screen is not a problem for me, but everyone has got his way to handle ebook.

2) Can Neoreader be set up in a way that enables it to open DRM-protected books downloaded from, say, either Barnes and Noble or KOBO?

Thanks again for your help.

Afaik, no.

Fabrizio

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by marst

Does anyone Out There know what kinds of conversion tools they mean, and what formats might they convert into what-other formats?

You can open ePub, mobipocket, txt, html, docs, pdf and a lot of other format using Neoreader. No conversion is needed. If you want to convert in ePub or pdf from another format you can use tools like Calibre as downeaster59 told.

Fabrizio