Which E-Ink reader supports the most formats?

daesdaemar · 10-29-2008, 12:09 PM

If my primary concern is to have the greatest number of format support, then which would be the best E-Ink reader? I feel obliged to go with E-Ink as opposed to other screen technologies.

Nate the great · 10-29-2008, 12:15 PM

The Hanlin V3 supports the most formats natively. Also, now that it has Mobipocket support it also supports the largest number of converted formats.

daesdaemar · 10-29-2008, 12:39 PM

I understand the Hanlin V3 is sold under various re-branded names... Is that correct? Which current devices are Hanlin V3s?

wallcraft · 10-29-2008, 12:42 PM

With the addition of FBReader, the iRex iLiad and DR1000S may support the most formats. They have largers screens, but are also more expensive than the 6" screen devices. The Hanlin also has a FBReader add-on, and OpenInkpot (alternative firmware for EInk devices, currently the Hanlin) comes with FBReader and (soon) a PDF reader.

Only the Sony PRS-505 and PRS-700 supports multiple DRMed formats (Sony, Adobe PDF and Adobe ePub).

wallcraft · 10-29-2008, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daesdaemar

Which current devices are Hanlin V3s?

See the E-book Reader Matrix.

HarryT · 10-29-2008, 01:42 PM

Given a choice between mediocre support for many formats, or high quality support for a few, I'd go for the latter every time. Format conversion is, generally speaking, easy to do, but if all document formats are displayed poorly, you can't do anything about that.

There's a lot of truth in the old saying "jack of all trades, and master of none".

tcv · 10-29-2008, 01:50 PM

Doesn't the new BeBook support a lot of formats? (I ask because I am a little confused on this.)

HarryT · 10-29-2008, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcv

Doesn't the new BeBook support a lot of formats? (I ask because I am a little confused on this.)

Yes, it does, but it's a Hanlin V3 clone.

daesdaemar · 10-29-2008, 01:58 PM

Which DRMed formats does the Hanlin V3 support?

Am I correct that it DOES NOT support Adobe?

HarryT · 10-29-2008, 02:01 PM

MobiPocket - but not (at the moment) terribly well. That was the reason for my comment about preferring good support for a small number of formats to mediocre support for more.

pilotbob · 10-29-2008, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given a choice between mediocre support for many formats, or high quality support for a few, I'd go for the latter every time. Format conversion is, generally speaking, easy to do, but if all document formats are displayed poorly, you can't do anything about that.

I agree and was going to say the same thing.

BOb

tompe · 10-29-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given a choice between mediocre support for many formats, or high quality support for a few, I'd go for the latter every time. Format conversion is, generally speaking, easy to do, but if all document formats are displayed poorly, you can't do anything about that.

There's a lot of truth in the old saying "jack of all trades, and master of none".

But since Hanlin V3 can run FBReader then it supports the format as good as FBReader and I have not seen people claiming that FBReader is bad.

If you accept converting files I am sure you can convert any non-DRM infested book to a format that works well.

But you are right that poorly supported formats can lead to more work. The support for html on the Cybook caused me much problems lately when I tried to just take an html file from the net and view it (the Cybook rebooted if there was more than on html tags in the document...). So it had been better in this case if html had not been supported.

DaleDe · 10-29-2008, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

But since Hanlin V3 can run FBReader then it supports the format as good as FBReader and I have not seen people claiming that FBReader is bad.

FBReader is a good program but has quite a few limitations. for example no css or other styles and no tables. CHM is limited in the size of files it will accept and there are other limits on various formats. You can read about it in our wiki.

Dale

daesdaemar · 10-31-2008, 07:54 AM

Sorry to be so dense, but I need to ask a specific question. In light of the fact that I would be making use of public lending libraries which have many volumes in Adobe PDF/Digital Editions and Mobi DRM, which ereaders support both those formats best?

HarryT · 10-31-2008, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daesdaemar

Sorry to be so dense, but I need to ask a specific question. In light of the fact that I would be making use of public lending libraries which have many volumes in Adobe PDF/Digital Editions and Mobi DRM, which ereaders support both those formats best?

Unfortunately no one device supports them both "best".

The Sony Reader probably has the best support for DRM-protected Adobe books; the CyBook Gen3 has the best support for MobiPocket books.

10-29-2008, 12:09 PM	#1
daesdaemar Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 4282 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Florida Device: Sony 505, Kindle 3, iPad 3	Which E-Ink reader supports the most formats? If my primary concern is to have the greatest number of format support, then which would be the best E-Ink reader? I feel obliged to go with E-Ink as opposed to other screen technologies.

10-29-2008, 01:58 PM	#9
daesdaemar Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 4282 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Florida Device: Sony 505, Kindle 3, iPad 3	Which DRMed formats does the Hanlin V3 support? Am I correct that it DOES NOT support Adobe? Last edited by daesdaemar; 10-29-2008 at 02:01 PM.

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10-29-2008, 12:15 PM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	The Hanlin V3 supports the most formats natively. Also, now that it has Mobipocket support it also supports the largest number of converted formats.

10-29-2008, 12:39 PM	#3
daesdaemar Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 4282 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Florida Device: Sony 505, Kindle 3, iPad 3	I understand the Hanlin V3 is sold under various re-branded names... Is that correct? Which current devices are Hanlin V3s?

10-29-2008, 12:42 PM	#4
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	With the addition of FBReader, the iRex iLiad and DR1000S may support the most formats. They have largers screens, but are also more expensive than the 6" screen devices. The Hanlin also has a FBReader add-on, and OpenInkpot (alternative firmware for EInk devices, currently the Hanlin) comes with FBReader and (soon) a PDF reader. Only the Sony PRS-505 and PRS-700 supports multiple DRMed formats (Sony, Adobe PDF and Adobe ePub).

10-29-2008, 01:42 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Given a choice between mediocre support for many formats, or high quality support for a few, I'd go for the latter every time. Format conversion is, generally speaking, easy to do, but if all document formats are displayed poorly, you can't do anything about that. There's a lot of truth in the old saying "jack of all trades, and master of none".

10-29-2008, 01:50 PM	#7
tcv Addict Posts: 330 Karma: 596 Join Date: Oct 2006	Doesn't the new BeBook support a lot of formats? (I ask because I am a little confused on this.)

10-29-2008, 02:01 PM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	MobiPocket - but not (at the moment) terribly well. That was the reason for my comment about preferring good support for a small number of formats to mediocre support for more.

10-31-2008, 07:54 AM	#14
daesdaemar Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 4282 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Florida Device: Sony 505, Kindle 3, iPad 3	Sorry to be so dense, but I need to ask a specific question. In light of the fact that I would be making use of public lending libraries which have many volumes in Adobe PDF/Digital Editions and Mobi DRM, which ereaders support both those formats best?

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