help me understand the new native pdf support

tapar · 12-07-2009, 10:57 PM

Howdy,

I have a Kindle v1 and totally love it. I have been wanting to get my mother and brother the Kindle v2. I just heard about the new firmware that adds native PDF support to the Kindle v2.

I have been trying to read up on the support but I still don't have a clear picture of exactly what it is. I have used MobiPocket Creator to convert PDF's to PRC's for the Kindle v1 in the past. I am trying to figure out if the new support removes the need to take that step or not. I saw posts mentioning that the text was too small to be useful in many cases but I am not totally clear on why. My guess is that with no re-flow it tries to fit the whole page's width on the screen at once, causing most text to be too small.

Anyone able to help me get a clearer picture of what the "native PDF" support really offers? Any clues would be helpful, thanks!

whitearrow · 12-08-2009, 12:08 AM

You are correct -- it both removes the need for conversion and makes the text, in many cases, too small. In landscape mode it's somewhat better, but still not good enough for many pdf's. And there's no way to zoom the font.

tapar · 12-08-2009, 12:01 PM

Thanks that is what I was afraid of. I was hoping the conversion step wouldn't be needed anymore to get readable pdf txt onto the kindle, but it sounds like it still is. It is not a deal breaker or anything but it is something of a disappointment, I was excited when I saw the news they had added it. Thanks for the info I appreciate it.

Ea · 12-08-2009, 01:30 PM

PDFs are adjusted to fit width of the screen - both in vertical and horisontal view. Since most PDFs are created in page sizes larger than the Kindle's, in most cases the text will appear tiny. A page size of 8.5x11.4 cm and 0 margins seems the best match IMO to the Kindle's screen and PDF implementation.

JMikeD · 12-08-2009, 07:46 PM

The new PDF display ability is, IMHO, a marketing gimmick more than a real feature. I have yet to put a single PDF on my Kindle 2 that was readable.

I have to convert anything I want to read, and there aren’t really any good options for doing that. You always end up with formatting errors of one sort or another, although Amazon does a better job than most at converting.

Your mileage may vary.

tapar · 12-08-2009, 11:41 PM

I have had pretty good luck converting PDF's via MobiPocket Creator. I have to sometimes edit the metadata to get the tittle and author to be correct, but other than that I have had good results. It is a hassle though and I was hoping the Kindle 2 firmware update would good enough that I would no longer need to bother. It looks like that is not the case which is unfortunate.

I can begrudgingly handle the conversion process but my deep down secret desire was to avoid having to teach my less technically proficient relatives how to do it.

I will find a way to handle it, but I was hoping the new features would render that unnecessary. I guess I can stop clinging to that futile hope and just resign myself to reality of the situation.

Thanks to everyone for helping me better understand the situation, I appreciate it even if the answers were not what I was hoping for. lol.

12-07-2009, 10:57 PM	#1
tapar Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 1420 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Kindle Keyboard 3g, Kindle Paperwhite v1	help me understand the new native pdf support Howdy, I have a Kindle v1 and totally love it. I have been wanting to get my mother and brother the Kindle v2. I just heard about the new firmware that adds native PDF support to the Kindle v2. I have been trying to read up on the support but I still don't have a clear picture of exactly what it is. I have used MobiPocket Creator to convert PDF's to PRC's for the Kindle v1 in the past. I am trying to figure out if the new support removes the need to take that step or not. I saw posts mentioning that the text was too small to be useful in many cases but I am not totally clear on why. My guess is that with no re-flow it tries to fit the whole page's width on the screen at once, causing most text to be too small. Anyone able to help me get a clearer picture of what the "native PDF" support really offers? Any clues would be helpful, thanks!

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12-08-2009, 12:08 AM	#2
whitearrow Guru Posts: 808 Karma: 2260766 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Kindle Oasis 2	You are correct -- it both removes the need for conversion and makes the text, in many cases, too small. In landscape mode it's somewhat better, but still not good enough for many pdf's. And there's no way to zoom the font.

12-08-2009, 12:01 PM	#3
tapar Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 1420 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Kindle Keyboard 3g, Kindle Paperwhite v1	Thanks that is what I was afraid of. I was hoping the conversion step wouldn't be needed anymore to get readable pdf txt onto the kindle, but it sounds like it still is. It is not a deal breaker or anything but it is something of a disappointment, I was excited when I saw the news they had added it. Thanks for the info I appreciate it.

12-08-2009, 01:30 PM	#4
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	PDFs are adjusted to fit width of the screen - both in vertical and horisontal view. Since most PDFs are created in page sizes larger than the Kindle's, in most cases the text will appear tiny. A page size of 8.5x11.4 cm and 0 margins seems the best match IMO to the Kindle's screen and PDF implementation.

12-08-2009, 07:46 PM	#5
JMikeD Evangelist Posts: 473 Karma: 15000 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: Various and sundry	The new PDF display ability is, IMHO, a marketing gimmick more than a real feature. I have yet to put a single PDF on my Kindle 2 that was readable. I have to convert anything I want to read, and there aren’t really any good options for doing that. You always end up with formatting errors of one sort or another, although Amazon does a better job than most at converting. Your mileage may vary.

12-08-2009, 11:41 PM	#6
tapar Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 1420 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Kindle Keyboard 3g, Kindle Paperwhite v1	I have had pretty good luck converting PDF's via MobiPocket Creator. I have to sometimes edit the metadata to get the tittle and author to be correct, but other than that I have had good results. It is a hassle though and I was hoping the Kindle 2 firmware update would good enough that I would no longer need to bother. It looks like that is not the case which is unfortunate. I can begrudgingly handle the conversion process but my deep down secret desire was to avoid having to teach my less technically proficient relatives how to do it. I will find a way to handle it, but I was hoping the new features would render that unnecessary. I guess I can stop clinging to that futile hope and just resign myself to reality of the situation. Thanks to everyone for helping me better understand the situation, I appreciate it even if the answers were not what I was hoping for. lol.

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