PRS-600 Will the PRS-600 meet my pdf reading needs?

flyash · 06-08-2010, 06:08 PM

Looking to buy an e-reader and the 600 seems like it might be a good choice, as my primary reading materials will be in pdf form and I like the small, light form factor and don't really need wireless capability.

Would the 600 be good for the following?
1. pdf ebooks without many tables or charts (non-technical books)
2. pdfs that have been scanned using OCR?
3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible?
4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page - i.e., if I see a long article that I'd rather not read on my computer, I was thinking I could print it to pdf and read it on a reader. Or is this subject to the same limitations as an image pdf as in 3, above? Or I suppose another alternative is to copy the article's words, paste into a text editor and copy to the reader.

Out of curiosity, is there any software that allows you to copy blogposts over to a reader? That would be a great way to catch up on blogs without having to be at a computer.

mikij · 06-08-2010, 07:56 PM

OK, I am new on this forum and quite new in PRS600, but this is what I noticed by using my PRS600 for about two weeks:

Would the 600 be good for the following?
1. pdf ebooks without many tables or charts (non-technical books)
Absolutely yes.

2. pdfs that have been scanned using OCR?
As they are text, they should be correct.

3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible?
You'll be able to read, but probably not to zoom (as I read somewhere, but didn't try myself).

4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page
This will work, and you'll be able to zoom.

Out of curiosity, is there any software that allows you to copy blogposts over to a reader? That would be a great way to catch up on blogs without having to be at a computer.
This one - I think Caliber could do the job, but didn't try either.

Hope it helps.

Mike_73 · 06-09-2010, 01:02 AM

3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible?
4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page - i.e., if I see a long article that I'd rather not read on my computer, I was thinking I could print it to pdf and read it on a reader. [/QUOTE]

I think all said above is true.

3. Zoom resets on each page turn. But if you're talking about something close to magazines, I see that point as a benefit rather than a set back. With ads or different layouts per page in a magazine, resetting the zoom level on page turns will give you an overview over the next whole page so you can decide on where to zoom in.

4. I've heard about online services that specifically "reformat" blogs and put them into files. The files can be set to the specific device you own. I don't have any of their web addresses at hand, but a quick internet search will give you some results.

DoctorOhh · 06-09-2010, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyash

Out of curiosity, is there any software that allows you to copy blogposts over to a reader? That would be a great way to catch up on blogs without having to be at a computer.

Calibre allows for the creation of recipes to download rss feeds and web pages. Under Unknown in their list of already created recipes there are recipes for the following

Google Reader
Instapaper
Read it Later

Any of these make it easy to grab web sites for reading and I believe Read it Later allows grabbing individual articles.

So if you marked 20 articles with Read it Later you can use the recipe in Calibre to fetch those articles and organize them in a well formatted ebook for easy navigation and reading on your Sony.

flyash · 06-09-2010, 03:59 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I picked up a used 600 at a good price. So far, so good.

dorino · 06-09-2010, 04:13 PM

I use the PRS-600 for PDF, and it's pretty good at it. When able, I try to go with LRF/ePub over PDF, though.
Websites "printed to pdf" are easier converted to LRF, as are image-less novels etc.

flyash · 06-09-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorino

Websites "printed to pdf" are easier converted to LRF, as are image-less novels etc.

Does this mean you print to LRF directly from the website? If so, I guess you installed an LRF printer driver, similar to the pdf printer drivers used to allow 'printing to pdf'?

dorino · 06-09-2010, 04:40 PM

No, I haven't installed anything. I do have Calibre, and can convert an HTML file into an LRF, ePub, etc.

RSS feeds from websites are also great through Calibre.

flyash · 06-09-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorino

No, I haven't installed anything. I do have Calibre, and can convert an HTML file into an LRF, ePub, etc.

RSS feeds from websites are also great through Calibre.

Nice. I just installed Calibre today. How do you import HTML into Calibre for conversion?

Yeah, started setting up some RSS feeds in Calibre.

dorino · 06-09-2010, 04:48 PM

Just drag the htm/html file over the calibre window, or use the "Add books" button and navigate to it.

cadmus · 01-30-2012, 09:24 AM

This thread was helpful, thanks.
How are you liking the machine you bought when using PDFs, flyash?

Can i ask the following about the 600:

1-how well does it handle PDFs with many tables and graphs and equations and 2 or 3 column formats? I saw above several claimed it is only good for text PDFs.

2-can it pinch zoom or only slider zoom?

3-can you scribble (hand write notes) like the more recent sony products? (the manual talks about this but does not say if it is for only ebooks or also PDFs)

4-can you highlight and leave text based notes? (the manual talks about this but does not say if it is for only ebooks or also PDFs)

5- how are these notes highlights and scribbles exported back to the PC? can they be tied spatially to the original PDF? I hear the newer Sony readers export as RTFs but I have not figured out if these RTFs can be converted back to PDFs or if the RTF even has the original PDF text and images.

6- It only has 500meg of storage. Some of the Sony products will take SD cards for additional storage up to 32gb. Is this true with this one? the manual does not specify the max amount and i think it was made before the HDSD cards were made... are HDSD compatible?

7- Does it have a holder for the stylus?

8- can you use a finger or only a stylus?

Thanks for the help.
Pete

speakingtohe · 01-31-2012, 12:26 AM

1. Poorly
2. No pinch
3. You can scribble but not on books AFAIK.
4. You can highlight and text based notes
5. Again AFAIK you can't as part of the ebook file. The files can be copied o the computer, but no idea how they are formatted.
6. I think one gig storage. You can use SD cards, but they degrade battery life and if a lot of files can take a long time to open reader after adding books.
7.Yes
8. Both

06-08-2010, 06:08 PM	#1
flyash Groupie Posts: 196 Karma: 1003498 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	Will the PRS-600 meet my pdf reading needs? Looking to buy an e-reader and the 600 seems like it might be a good choice, as my primary reading materials will be in pdf form and I like the small, light form factor and don't really need wireless capability. Would the 600 be good for the following? 1. pdf ebooks without many tables or charts (non-technical books) 2. pdfs that have been scanned using OCR? 3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible? 4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page - i.e., if I see a long article that I'd rather not read on my computer, I was thinking I could print it to pdf and read it on a reader. Or is this subject to the same limitations as an image pdf as in 3, above? Or I suppose another alternative is to copy the article's words, paste into a text editor and copy to the reader. Out of curiosity, is there any software that allows you to copy blogposts over to a reader? That would be a great way to catch up on blogs without having to be at a computer.

01-30-2012, 09:24 AM	#11
cadmus Member Posts: 23 Karma: 68 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: none	This thread was helpful, thanks. How are you liking the machine you bought when using PDFs, flyash? Can i ask the following about the 600: 1-how well does it handle PDFs with many tables and graphs and equations and 2 or 3 column formats? I saw above several claimed it is only good for text PDFs. 2-can it pinch zoom or only slider zoom? 3-can you scribble (hand write notes) like the more recent sony products? (the manual talks about this but does not say if it is for only ebooks or also PDFs) 4-can you highlight and leave text based notes? (the manual talks about this but does not say if it is for only ebooks or also PDFs) 5- how are these notes highlights and scribbles exported back to the PC? can they be tied spatially to the original PDF? I hear the newer Sony readers export as RTFs but I have not figured out if these RTFs can be converted back to PDFs or if the RTF even has the original PDF text and images. 6- It only has 500meg of storage. Some of the Sony products will take SD cards for additional storage up to 32gb. Is this true with this one? the manual does not specify the max amount and i think it was made before the HDSD cards were made... are HDSD compatible? 7- Does it have a holder for the stylus? 8- can you use a finger or only a stylus? Thanks for the help. Pete Last edited by cadmus; 01-30-2012 at 09:31 AM.

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06-08-2010, 07:56 PM	#2
mikij Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 161 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Quebec, Canada Device: PRS-600	OK, I am new on this forum and quite new in PRS600, but this is what I noticed by using my PRS600 for about two weeks: Would the 600 be good for the following? 1. pdf ebooks without many tables or charts (non-technical books) Absolutely yes. 2. pdfs that have been scanned using OCR? As they are text, they should be correct. 3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible? You'll be able to read, but probably not to zoom (as I read somewhere, but didn't try myself). 4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page This will work, and you'll be able to zoom. Out of curiosity, is there any software that allows you to copy blogposts over to a reader? That would be a great way to catch up on blogs without having to be at a computer. This one - I think Caliber could do the job, but didn't try either. Hope it helps.

06-09-2010, 01:02 AM	#3
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	3. pdfs that have been scanned as images? Does the zoom reset on each page turn make this non-feasible? 4. pdfs of articles printed from a web page - i.e., if I see a long article that I'd rather not read on my computer, I was thinking I could print it to pdf and read it on a reader. [/QUOTE] I think all said above is true. 3. Zoom resets on each page turn. But if you're talking about something close to magazines, I see that point as a benefit rather than a set back. With ads or different layouts per page in a magazine, resetting the zoom level on page turns will give you an overview over the next whole page so you can decide on where to zoom in. 4. I've heard about online services that specifically "reformat" blogs and put them into files. The files can be set to the specific device you own. I don't have any of their web addresses at hand, but a quick internet search will give you some results.

06-09-2010, 03:59 PM	#5
flyash Groupie Posts: 196 Karma: 1003498 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	Thanks for the feedback. I picked up a used 600 at a good price. So far, so good.

06-09-2010, 04:13 PM	#6
dorino I'm odd. Take note. Posts: 325 Karma: 779 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Device: deceased PRS-600, Nook STR	I use the PRS-600 for PDF, and it's pretty good at it. When able, I try to go with LRF/ePub over PDF, though. Websites "printed to pdf" are easier converted to LRF, as are image-less novels etc.

06-09-2010, 04:40 PM	#8
dorino I'm odd. Take note. Posts: 325 Karma: 779 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Device: deceased PRS-600, Nook STR	No, I haven't installed anything. I do have Calibre, and can convert an HTML file into an LRF, ePub, etc. RSS feeds from websites are also great through Calibre.

06-09-2010, 04:48 PM	#10
dorino I'm odd. Take note. Posts: 325 Karma: 779 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Montana Device: deceased PRS-600, Nook STR	Just drag the htm/html file over the calibre window, or use the "Add books" button and navigate to it.

01-31-2012, 12:26 AM	#12
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	1. Poorly 2. No pinch 3. You can scribble but not on books AFAIK. 4. You can highlight and text based notes 5. Again AFAIK you can't as part of the ebook file. The files can be copied o the computer, but no idea how they are formatted. 6. I think one gig storage. You can use SD cards, but they degrade battery life and if a lot of files can take a long time to open reader after adding books. 7.Yes 8. Both

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