07:16 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book Formats | Workshop

We've talked about the various options for reading Adobe .pdf's (Portable Document Files) on a pda before, but it's time for a review as it's a very popular topic. We'll talk about PalmOS and Windows Mobile as they are the most common devices.

The main problem is that these documents are primarily suited for representing a page as if it was an electronic version of a printed page. This characteristic is fine, and often even beneficial, when you intend to print the document or view it on a large display. But it is generally hard to view on a handheld screen. There is some reflowability of text, but often that has limitations such as not showing the images.

PalmOS
* PalmPDF
This is a free program and lets you read pdf files natively (without converting them first).
* RepliGo
RepliGo is what I currently use. It does require a conversion step, but the program is easy to use and works well. It allows you to reflow the text, but you won't be able to see images when reflowed, so if it has pictures necessary to understand the text, you'll need to either scroll a lot or find another alternative. The cool thing about RepliGo is that it isn't just for pdf file, but you can print to the RepliGo print driver and presto you have it on your handheld after the next sync. Doesn't matter what the document is, you can convert it. And there is a free viewer for PalmOS and for Pocket PC (you just can't do the conversions without the program).
* Documents To Go
This is a great office suite, and now it offers native pdf viewing.
* Adobe Reader for PalmOS
This seems to be universally disliked, both due to the required document conversion step, and because the reader is slow and bulky.
* Picsel Browser or Picsel File Viewer
However, this doesn't seem to support reflow of pdf.
* MobiPocket Publisher (Plus Third Party Tool)
I'm not sure what it means to say third party tools are needed. Maybe it's a format conversion from pdf to html before it gets to MobiPocket Publisher? But wanted to include this potential alternative for completeness.

Windows Mobile
* Foxit Reader for Pocket PC (Beta)
Foxit has all kinds of other desktop programs for pdfs also.
* RepliGo
Converts documents to RepliGo format. Also has PalmOS reader.
* PocketXpdf
* Adobe Reader for Pocket PC
* ClearVue PDF

Your options are for .pdf files with DRM are even limited, and I'm not sure which of these programs will work.

Converting pdf to other formats
* Adobe Acrobat Standard
With the Adobe Acrobat Standard desktop program, you can convert pdf files to HTML. Alex has reported that "The results are OK; only multi-column documents or documents that use a lot of vector graphics get usually screwed up."
* Iceni Gemini
This sounds like a first class solution if you don't mind the cost.
* PDF2HTMLgui
One more alternative if you are more adventurous. Macrotor reports that this can also be used on MacOSX.
* Txt2Latex.

Here are the threads that I pulled this information from:
- Reading PDF Documents on a PDA
- Palm PDF viewers roundup
- Documents To Go adds native PDF support
- PalmPDF V1.1 released
- Foxit Reader PDF Reader for Pocket PC
- Converting PDFs (See this thread for some additional options not listed above.)

And just for you Zaurus users, here is one additional alternative... QPDF2.

06:00 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Just when we heard that a Nokia advisor says fuel cells won't help handhelds, we find that Samsung is working with MIT Micro to develop fuel cells for mobile phones. (And there are also reports of work in progress by Hitachi, NEC and Toshiba.)

How can we reconcile two such differing opinions? Here's my uneducated guess: The Nokia advisor was focusing on heat dissipation problems. Samsung seems to be touting longevity. So if you want a long lasting battery, that's more friendly to the environment, maybe fuel cells can deliver. But if you expect fuel cells to be the solution to ever-increasing power requirements for more powerful devices, you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

Via TheMobileWeblog.

01:31 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

We're all pretty excited about the new e-ink book readers. And we've heard that various signage is planned. But why stop there? How about billboards!

According to GizMag, "Global outdoor advertising company JCDecaux appropriately premiered the new generation of high resolution magink-based digital billboards at the 59th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. The magink digital ink billboards are installed at multiple highly trafficked venues in Cannes, including one located adjacent to the Palais des Festivals, the official home of the Cannes Film Festival."

"The digital ink technology offers full-color, full-motion, high resolution and high contrast images that use ambient light to enhance image quality and visibility -- just like ink on paper. Beyond the world of billboard advertising, magink will also be used with other display applications such as consumer electronic products, in-store point-of-purchase, and promotional displays. Portable devices such as PDA's and mobiles in particular will benefit from the low power consumption offered by magink."

What a tease e-ink technology has become. Will we be surrounded by it before we can own it?!

01:18 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

How would you like to see a holographic-like image displayed in the air from your tv or mobile device? Sound like science fiction. Apparently not, according to IO2 Technology.

"IO2 Technology develops technology relating to next-generation interfaces some of which are not currently available, one platform is--the Heliodisplay.

Heliodisplay images are not holographic although they are free-space, employing a rear projection system in which images are captured onto a nearly invisible plane of transformed air. What the viewer sees is floating mid-air image or video. These projected images and video are two-dimensional, (i.e. planar) but appear 3D since there is no physical depth reference. While conventional displays have the benefit of being attached to a physical substrate, Heliodisplay projections are suspended in air, so you will notice some waviness to the quality of the projections.

The Heliodisplay requires a power outlet, and a computer, TV, DVD or alternate video source. The current version of the Heliodisplay projects 30" diagonal images in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio. The Heliodisplay system is backward compatible and accepts most 2D video sources (PC, TV, DVD, HDTV, Video game consoles). For connection to a computer, the Heliodisplay uses a standard monitor VGA connection; for TV or DVD viewing, it connects using a standard video cable. The Heliodisplay is designed to be concealed (i.e. into furniture) and hidden out of sight thereby creating an unobtrusive display."

By now, we're all jaded enough to figure out that this gee-whiz technology is fun to dream about, but probably isn't going to be something we buy for quite a while.

Our thanks to DaNDeE for the news submission.

09:55 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is pretty awesome: Google has just released a mobile-friendly interface of its Google Reader. Best of all you don't have to install any additional software. The mobile version of Google Reader works with any mobile browser, allowing you to track your subscriptions in real-time while you're on the go.

[via Palm Addicts]

09:36 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Palm Addict never fails to remind us of the weekly deals on e-books offered by eReader.com. Valid till next Wednesday, punch in the promo code NF42ER and you'll receive a 10 percent discount on any e-book priced more than $3.

Now it's not a secret that eReader throws out e-book discounts quite regularly, but do you know of any other e-book store with similar deals? Personally I bought a couple of e-books from Amazon and they seemed relatively fairly priced.

08:54 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

While debates about the effect of cell phone radiation continue to rage, we are pretty confident that no company is thrilled to secure a place on the top list of phones with high radiation levels. The following list was recently compiled by Cnet ranking phones according to their Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values:

1) Motorola Slvr L6 - 1.58
2a) Motorola V120c - 1.55
2b) Motorola V265 - 1.55
4) Motorola V70 - 1.54
5a) Motorola C290 - 1.53
5b) Motorola P8767 - 1.53
5c) Motorola ST7868 - 1.53
5d) Motorola ST7868W - 1.53
9a) Motorola A845 - 1.51
9b) Palm Treo 650 GSM - 1.51
9c) Panasonic Allure - 1.51

The FCC defines the SAR as "a value that corresponds to the relative amount of RF energy absorbed in the head of a user of a wireless handset. The FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is an SAR level of 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg)."

03:49 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

We were pretty jazzed to hear about Fujitsu's sustained efforts to develop e-paper in vivid colors, but it seems we are just not there yet. During the Fujitsu Forum 2006, the group presented a 11-inch film substrate-based e-paper with 4,096 colors. It almost goes unsaid that it's also ultra-thin (0.75mm) and uses ultra-little power (67 mW). Unfortunately, and here is the deal-killer, the current prototype requires up to six seconds to redraw a full screen, an eternity if you have nothing else to occupy your time with.

[via Nikkei Tech-On]