Why does it have to be so complicated? (Good reader for PDF's)

drumknott · 11-13-2009, 02:42 PM

Hello everybody, it's nice to be on this forum.

I live in Germany and, ever since I saw the Sony PRS-505 in a bookstore a few weeks ago, I have been wanting one. An ebook reader seems a very practical solution for me because I don't have so much room for books and I'm tired of always selling my used books on eBay. But, to make a long story short, I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the ebook formats available.

I know PDF isn't probably the best format for a reader but I have a lot of books and documents in PDF format and converting them just doesn't do it for me. I've converted a sample PDF to word and then it's been a lot of work until I managed to manually format the document so that I can convert it to epub in calibre (manually removing each page number, removing hyphens, etc). I would really like to find a reader on which I can just read my PDF's without all this hassle of converting and formatting. The IREX iLiad book edition seems to be the best choice but I just can't afford to pay 550€ or more. Also, here in Germany, we don't have so much variety when it comes to choosing a reader. The txtr is supposed to become available next month but it still has the same screen size as the PRS-505 and I don't know if it would be a solution for me.

I haven't been able to test my PDF's (resolution of about 595x842 pixels) on any reader because I don't own one yet but from what I've read on this forum, they can't really be read on the PRS-505.

So, my question is: could you recommend any readers for PDF documents that are not formatted for the Sony reader?

Thank you!

Alex

gwynevans · 11-13-2009, 02:46 PM

If you post a sample PDF, someone with a Sony could try & capture some images of it in use, but other than a Kindle DX (which isn't out in Europe yet) it's probably the best option at the moment.

wallcraft · 11-13-2009, 03:15 PM

The Kindle DX has demonstrated that a 9.7" EInk screen is large enough to display PDFs without doing much beyond trimming margins and adding a landscape mode. There are going to be many large screen EInk devices available by the spring of next year, and they are going to cost significantly less than $500. Note that the enTourage eDGe has an 9.7" Wacom touch EInk screen and a 10" LCD screen and it will cost $490.

It is possible that 8" screens are also "good enough". The first real test of this will be the DR800SG, which I expect to get cheaper by the time it is introduced in Europe next year.

drumknott · 11-13-2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwynevans

If you post a sample PDF, someone with a Sony could try & capture some images of it in use, but other than a Kindle DX (which isn't out in Europe yet) it's probably the best option at the moment.

Here's a sample, if anyone can help me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The Kindle DX has demonstrated that a 9.7" EInk screen is large enough to display PDFs without doing much beyond trimming margins and adding a landscape mode. There are going to be many large screen EInk devices available by the spring of next year, and they are going to cost significantly less than $500. Note that the enTourage eDGe has an 9.7" Wacom touch EInk screen and a 10" LCD screen and it will cost $490.

It is possible that 8" screens are also "good enough". The first real test of this will be the DR800SG, which I expect to get cheaper by the time it is introduced in Europe next year.

So it seems the best option would be to wait a little longer. And I was hoping to get one for Christmas...

pikelet · 11-14-2009, 05:20 AM

Here it is on a Sony PRS-300 (which is only a 5" screen).

In portrait mode, the text was too tiny to read easily. Viewing it in landscape mode: The text size is small, but it's readable.

On medium text size in portrait mode: There are some problems with the formatting as you can see:

drumknott · 11-14-2009, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pikelet

Here it is on a Sony PRS-300 (which is only a 5" screen).

In portrait mode, the text was too tiny to read easily. Viewing it in landscape mode: The text size is small, but it's readable.

On medium text size in portrait mode: There are some problems with the formatting as you can see:

Thank you! So it is possible.

11-13-2009, 02:42 PM	#1
drumknott Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: no idea...	Why does it have to be so complicated? (Good reader for PDF's) Hello everybody, it's nice to be on this forum. I live in Germany and, ever since I saw the Sony PRS-505 in a bookstore a few weeks ago, I have been wanting one. An ebook reader seems a very practical solution for me because I don't have so much room for books and I'm tired of always selling my used books on eBay. But, to make a long story short, I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the ebook formats available. I know PDF isn't probably the best format for a reader but I have a lot of books and documents in PDF format and converting them just doesn't do it for me. I've converted a sample PDF to word and then it's been a lot of work until I managed to manually format the document so that I can convert it to epub in calibre (manually removing each page number, removing hyphens, etc). I would really like to find a reader on which I can just read my PDF's without all this hassle of converting and formatting. The IREX iLiad book edition seems to be the best choice but I just can't afford to pay 550€ or more. Also, here in Germany, we don't have so much variety when it comes to choosing a reader. The txtr is supposed to become available next month but it still has the same screen size as the PRS-505 and I don't know if it would be a solution for me. I haven't been able to test my PDF's (resolution of about 595x842 pixels) on any reader because I don't own one yet but from what I've read on this forum, they can't really be read on the PRS-505. So, my question is: could you recommend any readers for PDF documents that are not formatted for the Sony reader? Thank you! Alex

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
reader for academic pdf's	luckycharms	PDF	28	11-04-2010 01:07 PM
calibre software makes te prs-300 good for pdf's?	mrmojo	Sony Reader	4	05-04-2010 11:49 AM
which reader <250 is good for pdf's (wih equations, and graphs)	mrmojo	Which one should I buy?	5	05-03-2010 07:22 AM
Looking for advice about reader and/or PDF's	Joga_Bonito	Which one should I buy?	2	08-04-2009 05:30 AM
Problem getting PDF's onto Reader	SillyBear80	Sony Reader	1	12-18-2008 05:43 AM

11-13-2009, 02:46 PM	#2
gwynevans Wizzard Posts: 1,402 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: iPad 2, iPhone 6s, Kindle Voyage & Kindle PaperWhite	If you post a sample PDF, someone with a Sony could try & capture some images of it in use, but other than a Kindle DX (which isn't out in Europe yet) it's probably the best option at the moment.

11-13-2009, 03:15 PM	#3
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The Kindle DX has demonstrated that a 9.7" EInk screen is large enough to display PDFs without doing much beyond trimming margins and adding a landscape mode. There are going to be many large screen EInk devices available by the spring of next year, and they are going to cost significantly less than $500. Note that the enTourage eDGe has an 9.7" Wacom touch EInk screen and a 10" LCD screen and it will cost $490. It is possible that 8" screens are also "good enough". The first real test of this will be the DR800SG, which I expect to get cheaper by the time it is introduced in Europe next year.

11-14-2009, 05:20 AM	#5
pikelet girl from oz Posts: 67 Karma: 834 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: iPad, Sony PRS-650, Sony PRS-300, Cybook Gen3	Here it is on a Sony PRS-300 (which is only a 5" screen). In portrait mode, the text was too tiny to read easily. Viewing it in landscape mode: The text size is small, but it's readable. On medium text size in portrait mode: There are some problems with the formatting as you can see:

Advert

Advert