Best ebook reader for pdf files.

[Ntsimp]

The Story HD actually handles PDFs really well for an e-ink reader. It's got a higher resolution than most, and you can zoom to different levels. I have hundreds of PDFs on mine and read them about as often as I do "real" ebooks.

[Abbyroza]

Have all the people here who advise a tablet instead of an e-reader to read PDF's ever tried to read anything on a tablet in bright sunlight? I'm looking for an e-reader too, because on holiday, I want to read all the books I have - in pdf-format- and that just does not work on my iPad. Too much reflection and not enough brightness.

So, I hope to get an answer, other than 'buy a tablet'. I have one.

[HarryT]

My advice would be to start buying books in a real ebook format, rather than PDF, and use an eInk reader. PDF has its place, but that place is not reading fiction.

[Abbyroza]

I have a source where I can get a large number of free books - on a subject that I am particularly interested in- , but they only exist in pdf-format. So buying e-books is not the best solution in this case...

[ProfCrash]

Learn to convert formats. It is pretty easy to do. Google it

[markom]

Originally Posted by Abbyroza

Have all the people here who advise a tablet instead of an e-reader to read PDF's ever tried to read anything on a tablet in bright sunlight? I'm looking for an e-reader too, because on holiday, I want to read all the books I have - in pdf-format- and that just does not work on my iPad. Too much reflection and not enough brightness.

So, I hope to get an answer, other than 'buy a tablet'. I have one.

I read pdfs on a iPad in bright sunlight without any problem, because I use good ultra anti-glare (matte) protector and shade cap (reduces the light reflection off of our face considerably), and if necessary, sunglasses.

I've also got a couple of homemade cardboard sunshades but I seldom use it because there is no need, but when I do, I can further reduce the brightness to about 65-70 %.

Nevertheless, 75 % of time I would use Kindle DX in bright sunlight rather then iPad.

If you don't need to annotate pdfs by handwriting, and pdf underscoring is enough for you, then you can buy used or new Kindle DX, install kindlepdfviewer thereon in a couple of minutes and, like me, enjoy reading pdf, djvu, epub, cbz, html and of course mobi books on your big e-ink.

You can use Kindle DX even if you plan a lot of handwriting on pdfs but then you should simultaneously use tablet for handwriting while reading on e-ink.

When M96 comes out next year, you can kiss your DX goodbye, like I will do if M96's price will be close to my liking, because regrettably Sony DPT-S1's will not be.

The majority of pdf books there, are easily readable in portraite mode and A4 pdfs in landscape mode using kindlepdfviewer's fit-to-document-content-width that will even give us a slight letter magnification in comparison to the original paper size.

If some pdf files (like those from archive.org) take to long to flip them through (like 3-4 seconds per page or more) because of its complex compression method, you can use k2pdfopt (default bitmap mode) to quickly and easily adjust pdf for Kindle Dx beforehand and it will again flip through the pages in a second.

[Abbyroza]

Thank you, Markom for this very helpful advice. Problem solved: I'll be looking for a Kindle DX.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Abbyroza

Have all the people here who advise a tablet instead of an e-reader to read PDF's ever tried to read anything on a tablet in bright sunlight?

I confess that I have never tried; being pale-pink and living in Perth, I don't ever sit in direct sunlight long enough to read. I can read an iPad/iPhone on full brightness in outdoor shade.

[Sgt.Stubby]

PDF rendering is a software problem, not hardware.

Evince and xpdf can render PDFs quite well. Xpdf is particularly good because you can override the background color with something better (less harsh) than white (if you want to read on an LCD).

For hardware, I recommend the XO-4 Touch. It has a gnu platform that can run the above pdf apps, and also has a dual-mode (pixel qi) display, which has both an e-ink mode and a backlit LCD mode.

BTW, you might want to consider security. PDFs can be infected with malware that becomes active by simply opening them. One control is to setup a vm strictly for opening untrusted PDFs, and for each PDF you first clone that vm, use it to open the PDF, then destroy the vm clone (which you assume to be infected). In light of security issues, I doubt you can use any of the other readers mentioned because they probably don't sandbox the PDF.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Learn to convert formats. It is pretty easy to do. Google it

Converting a PDF into another format is like starting with ground beef and trying to get a cow. PDFs are a formatted document with the markup absent - and may even be a sequence of raster images.

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by Abbyroza

Have all the people here who advise a tablet instead of an e-reader to read PDF's ever tried to read anything on a tablet in bright sunlight? I'm looking for an e-reader too, because on holiday, I want to read all the books I have - in pdf-format- and that just does not work on my iPad. Too much reflection and not enough brightness.

Yes, I have tried several times. This just depends on your priorities and circumstances. I read all my PDFs for work and need a certain level of functionality when I work with them that won't be covered by e-ink. The consequence is that I will have to work with my PDFs away from sunlight. If you want to read pdfs in sunlight when you're on holiday, your usage scenario is different and your willingness to compromise on functionality may be higher than for many others of us. People provide advice based on their specific experiences. YMMV.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sgt.Stubby

BTW, you might want to consider security. PDFs can be infected with malware that becomes active by simply opening them.

That's a little misleading.

Although arbitrary programs can indeed be embedded inside a PDF, in order to activate a virus embedded in a PDF a user would have to:

1. Open the PDF Inside the full version of Adobe Acrobat. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Digital Editions, and all other PDF reading applications do not support embedded files and will not allow the virus to run.

2. Double-click on the file attachment annotation inside the PDF document. This attachment cannot be run automatically – the user has to double-click on it before anything happens.

3. Ignore the VERY stern warning that Acrobat will display warning you that the attachment might be malicious.

ie You have to work pretty hard to catch a virus embedded in a PDF. It cannot run automatically, and certainly not be merely opening a PDF.

[Sgt.Stubby]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's a little misleading.

Although arbitrary programs can indeed be embedded inside a PDF, in order to activate a virus embedded in a PDF a user would have to:

1. Open the PDF Inside the full version of Adobe Acrobat.

Any PDF reader is free to interpret the contents of a PDF.

Originally Posted by HarryT

The free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Digital Editions, and all other PDF reading applications do not support embedded files and will not allow the virus to run.

All readers support embedded files. If they didn't, they would not even be able render anything, because PDF is just a *container*.

I think you're trying to say that these particular readers you mention do not support certain kinds of executable payloads. But that doesn't matter, because you cannot assume these apps are bug free. And worse, even if they were theoretically bug free, the PDF spec is defined with copious ambiguities, so PDF app developer has multiple ways to satisfy the standard, which facilitates many opportunities for exploits.

Originally Posted by HarryT

2. Double-click on the file attachment annotation inside the PDF document. This attachment cannot be run automatically – the user has to double-click on it before anything happens.

You're clearly under the impression that vulnerabilities don't exist, or that malware doesn't exploit them. Social engineering someone to get them to do something stupid is a drop in the ocean of techniques to execute malware.

Originally Posted by HarryT

3. Ignore the VERY stern warning that Acrobat will display warning you that the attachment might be malicious.

I'm betting that the PDF spec does not require player implementations to give such a warning. It's merely a good idea that one tool has voluntarily implemented, which only helps when the player is in control of the execution. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by HarryT

ie You have to work pretty hard to catch a virus embedded in a PDF. It cannot run automatically, and certainly not be merely opening a PDF.

You really need to get an idea of how insecure apps are that attempt to conform to the PDF spec. I highly recommend youtube vid l6eaiBIQH8k, where a security researcher just scratches the surface on the inherently insecure nature of the whole PDF format.

[HarryT]

You really need to stop being so paranoid, and just enjoy reading. Everybody is not out to get you - relax, chill out, and enjoy a good book. I have never, in the 30-odd years I've been working as an IT professional, heard of anyone getting a virus from a PDF file, and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. The OP is asking about reading on an eInk device. There are no viruses for such devices, so why worry?

[Rizla]

Get a Nook ST or a Kobo and root it then install a decent pdf reading app. Obviously you have to deal with screen size but if you read it landscape its fine.

I too grow weary of the 'buy a tablet' advice. I've been reading pdf on ereaders since the Sony 650. It works okay.

[apos]

I would wait for this device:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=228247
(not on the US side)

Greets