PDFs on a Jetbook Lite?

jackitsu · 03-05-2010, 04:57 AM

Hey. I am thinking about buying a Jetbook Lite and was wondering how well PDFs display. I'm not doing anything technical with them, mostly if not all text. A majority of the ebooks I already have are in PDF.

Also, any big pros or cons to the Jetbook Lite in general would be nice. Its my favorite so far as I've been searching.

Thanks!

steven522 · 03-05-2010, 10:13 AM

Depending on the layout, I have some PDF files that I can read with no problem showing the standard "portrait" mode. If the text is small, the rotated screen and scrolling up/down works very well.

If you have text-only PDF that are actually embedded text and not scanned JPG images, use one of the free PDF extractors out there to pull the text out to just a TXT file. I have done this for several books. Depending on the way it was made into a PDF, sometimes the text -only file is smaller and sometimes it is larger.

I am really enjoying the jetbook lite that I have and have been showing it off. So far the only negative comments by those I show it to have been along the line of "why no wifi connectivity?"

If this is not important to you, a jetbook would make a very nice reader.

jackitsu · 03-05-2010, 03:59 PM

Yeah, I'm not really interested in the wifi or other connectivity things, which is great because it means the ones I am looking at are on the vaguely cheaper side.

Thanks for your input. I am so indecisive this has been nearly torturous... but I think I have it at least narrowed down now. ^_^

greenapple · 03-05-2010, 10:49 PM

Calibre's chief programmer has mentioned a couple times that the team is working on an improved conversion engine for PDF. That would be really cool when it is out.

jackitsu · 03-06-2010, 02:25 AM

Yeah it would! So much of what I already have is in .pdf I don't want to have to rebuy them all.

cmbs · 03-06-2010, 02:04 PM

I have a JetBook Lite and a Cybook Gen 3.

The JBL crops the edges of the pdf which makes a huge difference in making it more readable. I can read a lot of pdfs on the JBL that I can't read on the Cybook.

I like the AA batts, no waiting for the battery to recharge before I can read again. It will also be awesome when I travel.

The screen on the JBL is better than the e-ink screens, in my opinion. But the e-ink is readable too, I haven't had a problem reading on it. The JBL screen has a lighter background, creating more contrast.

I love the super fast start from sleep mode on the JBL.

Cons-

JBL doesn't support links.

The formatting of epub and mobi is poorly supported. Particularly mobi. Some people have said the same of txt files. The JBL doesn't display all the formatting included in the book, it rewrites it.

Kris777 · 03-06-2010, 11:46 PM

I read mostly books in ePub format but I have several books in PDF too. I had no problems to read it.

03-05-2010, 04:57 AM	#1
jackitsu Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: none	PDFs on a Jetbook Lite? Hey. I am thinking about buying a Jetbook Lite and was wondering how well PDFs display. I'm not doing anything technical with them, mostly if not all text. A majority of the ebooks I already have are in PDF. Also, any big pros or cons to the Jetbook Lite in general would be nice. Its my favorite so far as I've been searching. Thanks!

03-05-2010, 10:13 AM	#2
steven522 binomial: homo legentem Posts: 1,061 Karma: 25222222 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Alabama, USA Device: iriver Story HD; Archos 80 G9	Depending on the layout, I have some PDF files that I can read with no problem showing the standard "portrait" mode. If the text is small, the rotated screen and scrolling up/down works very well. If you have text-only PDF that are actually embedded text and not scanned JPG images, use one of the free PDF extractors out there to pull the text out to just a TXT file. I have done this for several books. Depending on the way it was made into a PDF, sometimes the text -only file is smaller and sometimes it is larger. I am really enjoying the jetbook lite that I have and have been showing it off. So far the only negative comments by those I show it to have been along the line of "why no wifi connectivity?" If this is not important to you, a jetbook would make a very nice reader. Last edited by steven522; 03-05-2010 at 10:16 AM.

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03-05-2010, 03:59 PM	#3
jackitsu Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: none	Yeah, I'm not really interested in the wifi or other connectivity things, which is great because it means the ones I am looking at are on the vaguely cheaper side. Thanks for your input. I am so indecisive this has been nearly torturous... but I think I have it at least narrowed down now. ^_^

03-05-2010, 10:49 PM	#4
greenapple Evangelist Posts: 404 Karma: 664 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DX, Kobo Aura HD	Calibre's chief programmer has mentioned a couple times that the team is working on an improved conversion engine for PDF. That would be really cool when it is out.

03-06-2010, 02:25 AM	#5
jackitsu Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: none	Yeah it would! So much of what I already have is in .pdf I don't want to have to rebuy them all.

03-06-2010, 02:04 PM	#6
cmbs non-believer Posts: 384 Karma: 713 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: USA Device: Cybook Gen 3, JetBook Lite	I have a JetBook Lite and a Cybook Gen 3. The JBL crops the edges of the pdf which makes a huge difference in making it more readable. I can read a lot of pdfs on the JBL that I can't read on the Cybook. I like the AA batts, no waiting for the battery to recharge before I can read again. It will also be awesome when I travel. The screen on the JBL is better than the e-ink screens, in my opinion. But the e-ink is readable too, I haven't had a problem reading on it. The JBL screen has a lighter background, creating more contrast. I love the super fast start from sleep mode on the JBL. Cons- JBL doesn't support links. The formatting of epub and mobi is poorly supported. Particularly mobi. Some people have said the same of txt files. The JBL doesn't display all the formatting included in the book, it rewrites it.

03-06-2010, 11:46 PM	#7
Kris777 Banned Posts: 1,767 Karma: 2520493 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Nexus 7, jetBook-Lite, jetBook mini, Toshiba Thrive, JETBOOK COLOR	I read mostly books in ePub format but I have several books in PDF too. I had no problems to read it.

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