Ebook Reader + Dictionary Lookup

[Wontonion]

I'm trying to find the best Ebook Reader (with autoscroll) + Dictionary Lookup combination. I tried ubook but found the text blurry. I had a problem with mobipocket where, if i saw a word i didn't recognize and wanted to look it up in autoscroll, it flipped a page ahead. (then i had to scroll back, find the word, look it up--too many steps.) i don't know if this goes for every reader with pagination, because i eventually ended up using isilo, with wordbook as my dictionary. (it has a feature, if u don't know about it, where all u have to do i highlight the word u want to look up, then click an icon that is left in the toolbar, and voila, you have your definition.

The problem with isilo is that it's very stripped down. Though it has autoscroll, it does not offer full justification of text, or inverse colors, which are my preferences. The advantage of isilo is that it doesn't paginate, so if i stop autoscroll to look up a word, it stops right there and i can hilight the word to look it up with wordbook.

My question: can anyone recommend a good reader + dictionary combo that offers all the features i like (autoscroll, inverse color scheme, full justification) and a comprehensive dictionary? i'm willing to shell out the bucks for a dictionary from one of these reader-software places, if only it worked with just a few taps.

The only reader i haven't tried is palmreader pro, as there is no demo for it and i'm not about to "try it out" for $15. Anyone have experience with it? i know it offers autoscroll, justification, and inverted colors, but does it have the problem i've repeatedly run into of "page skip" upon stopping autoscroll?

Or is there a reader i'm not aware of that could suit my needs.

Thanks.

[Talyn]

Well, PalmReader does have a free version, but it lacks the autoscroll and dictionary that you seek.

I'm not a fan of autoscroll myself, especially that of µBook but just for you, I'll try it out on my brand new Palm Reader Pro that I just bought a few hours ago. :)

It does 'skip' slightly when you stop it, but it seems to only be attempting to align the paragraphs with the screen; it does not jump back whole pages or anything.

[eeksock]

For what it's worth, after a bit of tweaking with uBook's display settings, it is far and away the best display for me, at least for my eyes. I use Smooth fonts, using the RGB method, on Low contrast with the Frutiger Linotype font.

I found the included Webster's 1913 dictionary very poor, so I converted the free Encarta dictionary that came with MS Reader into uBook's format. The content of the Encarta dictionary is excellent for its size, and uBook's lookup seems quite fast for me.


eeksock

[Talyn]

I use the same settings in µBook and while I did read one book that way, I now keep font smoothing disabled until they get their fonts overhauled; it's just too difficult to read when the text does not appear to be focused. µBook has so many options already, I really don't see why they refuse to implement ClearType as another one.

[davidspalding]

I'm trying to find the best Ebook Reader (with autoscroll) + Dictionary Lookup combination. I tried ubook but found the text blurry. I had a problem with mobipocket where, if i saw a word i didn't recognize and wanted to look it up in autoscroll, it flipped a page ahead. (then i had to scroll back, find the word, look it up--too many steps.) ...

... My question: can anyone recommend a good reader + dictionary combo that offers all the features i like (autoscroll, inverse color scheme, full justification) and a comprehensive dictionary? i'm willing to shell out the bucks for a dictionary from one of these reader-software places, if only it worked with just a few taps.

Thanks.

Try Mobipocket again. I have used it withthe Oxford Press books (I bought the dictionary, thesaurus, and dictionaries of foreign words in English, Idioms, and Computing Terms), and it's lovely. Offers all the features you ask for, though I think you'd have to register the reader to get autoscroll. You can pick any color scheme you like, add fonts to your \Windows\fonts\ directory and use them in Mobi (I use Comic Sans, Trebuchet, and Arial), and highlight/annotate/edit ebooks (again, some features are for the registered version). Offers ClearType, but I find that only works well in black on white and white on black. For nighttime reading I like to do this....

http://www.chromejob.com/images/pda/mobipocket%20landscape%20white%20on%20black%20cleartype%20on.gif


The dictionaries work in the freeware version of the Reader.

If you can't get a definition in autoscroll, I suspect you must first exit autoscroll. On my version, when I stop autoscroll, it does not page down, but stop at the LAST page displayed.

[Chuckwrox]

What does MS Reader lack?

[Talyn]

What does MS Reader lack?

Wow, that could be quite the long list... :lol:

[davidspalding]

What does MS Reader lack?

i only have version 1.0 on my original Pocket PC, but i'd say that Reader misses just about any feature we've talked about here. Oh, it DOES read eBooks, but very slowly. you can get a free dictionary for it, and it's impossible to browse/search directly -- you get what you pay for.