CoolReader vs. FBReader

[Iñigo]

Hi,

Reading this forum for PocketBook 903 ereader information I discovered Cool Reader ([1], [2]), an FBReader-like application, also from some Russian guys.

I compiled it on my linux desktop to see it running and it's pretty and fast, but not so different from FBReader. Initially I even thought it was a fork, but sources looks different, clearer in fact.

Porting to DR devices would require some work, as supplied frontends are based on Qt, wx or XCB (X window async libs), so it would need to write a gtk+ from scratch or maybe porting Qt libs.

For a few moments I thought on spending some time trying to write a gtk+ frontend but as code is C++ and I don't know much about it, I don't think I could get something usable.

Any volunteer or comments?
I could help with the gtk+ stuff if someone C++-experienced could get the lead.

Regards,
Iñigo


[1] https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Cool_Reader
[2] http://www.coolreader.org/e-index.htm

[Billi]

Not a volunteer, but a commenter:

Please, please, do it. It may be not so different from FBReader, but it is simply a little bit better.

[Iñigo]

Originally Posted by Billi

Not a volunteer, but a commenter:

Please, please, do it. It may be not so different from FBReader, but it is simply a little bit better.

My C++ skills are almost null so I can't do it alone.

I've seen in your profile you also have a PB902 so I suppose you run FBReader (it is the default reader there, isn't it?) and CoolReader on the PocketBook... which is better? why? for which formats?


Off-topic: what are your impressions on PB902? and compared to your DR1000? Could you elaborate please.
I've seen some videos of PB903 and it's not so expensive...

Thanks,
Iñigo

[Billi]

You have four readers on the Pocketbook.
Pdfviewer only reads pdf, AdobeReader reads pdf and epub, Coolreader epub, html, rtf, txt, chm, FBReader everything besides pdf.
It's hard to say exactly which is the best, which the worst. AdobeReader has the best css support but you can hardly change anything on the device besides the font size, you have to do it before on the file.
CoolReader and FBReader don't support all css orders but they offer many possibilities to change the text on the device like font, size, space between lines, margins, hyphenation... It seems that at the moment there is more developement behind CoolReader than FBReader.

Puuh, compare the Pocketbook and DR1000? For purely reading I like the IRex a lot better, the feeling in the hand, the touch buttons, as a lefthander, annotations that work. But objectively speaking the Pocketbook is most probably the better device, it has more internal memory, a better processor, much better battery life, it boots faster, turning pages is faster, too.
As you are interested in the 903 and not 902 I guess the wacom touch screen and making annotations is important for you. I'm not quite up to date with this but when I remember right it still doesn't function properly but is promised for the next firmware update (the latest beta firmware has annotations in epub files but not in pdf). Maybe you can ask a question before in the Pocketbook subforum about the actual stand. And there is a very important thread
"User tips..." (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=119973)
where you can get quick information about all the additional programs that have been developed for the Pocketbook readers.

[Iñigo]

Originally Posted by Billi

[Pocketbook]

Thanks for the explanations. I think I'll wait some months to buy it.
In fact I'm very happy with my DR800 but I've started to look for any other devices.