eReader.com - The eBook Site Formerly Known As Peanut Press [Archive]

Ed Hansberry

05-22-2004, 09:30 PM

<a href="http://www.ereader.com">http://www.ereader.com</a> The eBook site formerly known as Peanut Press, that then became Palm Digital Media, was <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17520">purchased last fall</a> by <a href="http://www.palmgear.com">PalmGear</a>. They have renamed the site eReader.com and have done a complete site redesign. The old Peanut Press and Palm Digital Media URLs still take you to the old site. I suspect they will be redirected at some point in the future to the new site. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2004/20040522-ereader.gif" /> Their ebook readers have been renamed eReader and eReader Pro. They are arguably the best readers available because they support Windows, Mac OS-X, Palm and - most importantly ;) - Pocket PC, they have one of the friendliest DRM methods that almost guarantees no theft is possible, protecting publishers and authors, yet users don't have to rely on complex activation schemes that can be a massive frustration when it doesn't go smoothly, and they claim to have the largest elibrary on the internet. Other than possible libraries that have thousands of old books out of copyright, I suspect they are right. I have been a Peanut Press fan since 1999 when I first found the site and have purchased a number of books over the years. I highly recommend the site. Being able to read just about anywhere is a huge convenience and I can read for hours at night without bothering my wife by having to have a light on.

05-22-2004, 10:29 PM

Wow, you found them even before I did! I've been on a crusade to replace decades and cubic meters of collected books with electronic versions, and Peanut Press just might do it for me. I started buying my books there in early 2000, and its amazing how a collection can build a few books a month for several years. The great thing is that they get new books too, and I have almost stopped buying any physical books at all. I get impatient with the bulk and also with having to turn a light on to read. I really have become comfortable with their style of DRM, as well, and because the books can be read on so many different systems, I am comfortable that my investment is pretty well protected (and the silverfish can't get to them either!)

05-22-2004, 10:34 PM

Did I say that after corresponding with Microsoft for months in the early days, I decided Microsoft Reader was just not for me - I buy all of my books from Peanut Press/Palm/?? or Fictionwise or Baen Books, and I don't own any Secure Microsoft Reader books (although I read some .lit books that aren't encrypted - but only if I can't get the in the Palm Reader format).

One other thing - from my experience, the PP/Palm/eReader folks have provided excellent customer service, too.

Brad Adrian

05-23-2004, 01:27 AM

I second Ed's praise of this site. Another thing that I really like about it is that they have fixes for situations like wanting to transfer eBooks to a new device or changing the DRM settings when you want to use a different credit card.

A really great selection of titles, too!

VanHlebar

05-23-2004, 04:26 AM

Now if they would just offer a mobile version of the site I would in heaven!

It is the only place I have purchased my books for the last couple of years. I won't even buy paper books anymore, to much bulk to carry around.

-Eric

juni

05-23-2004, 05:34 AM

MS Reader has at least one advantage: The MS Word add-in for creating your own e-books.

I also think the MS Reader looks a lot better and gives you the feel of reading a real book.

Of course, when it comes to DRM or price of e-books and availability of new books MS Reader is totally inferior.

ctmagnus

05-23-2004, 05:59 AM

imho, MS Reader has another advantage: Annotations. I can see it being used in an academic setting on a Tablet PC (or even on a Pocket PC with considerably more "page-flipping") to replace hard-copy textbooks, all file-swapping-type and DRM issues aside.

topps

05-23-2004, 06:52 AM

I too echo Ed and Brad's comments. Good selection, easy DRM, great reader. Much better than M$ product.

I'm afraid that I don't agree with the comments that academia will adopt M$ format for their own stuff. M$ has not been very friendly to universities, although they think they have, and are not that well regarded IMHO.

Also, we have found that lit books are not very good at rapidly jumping to bookmarked sections and are slower to navigate to various sections of a book than PalmReader. Since the home-grown academic works that were mentioned will likely to be more in the nature of reference and study type material, rapid intra-book navigation will be more important.

One last point on this. Most academic centres that I have worked with are dual platform - so readers like PalmReader, iSilo do this quick reference stuff much better and for both platforms. Even PDF does the cross-platform stuff better (although I find it very obstructive for a bunch of other reasons). But lit is not advantageous here.

In general, though, I think that the academic market is irrelevant here. The big drivers in this market are easy publishing of popular material. Peanut and its successors have it right so far. M$ should be embarrassed yet again that small 3rd party company is doing this better than their major initiative in epublishing...but I guess that they're used to this from other areas.

Terry

05-23-2004, 07:27 AM

Anyone know of any good sites with computer-related eBooks?

Rudolf

05-23-2004, 01:39 PM

For reading unencoded stuff, I would highly recommend uBook reader. It's the nicest and most functional ebookreader I've ever seen. It cannot read encripted contenet, but for free stuff it's great:
Rendres: .PDB, .PRC, .TXT, .RTF and .HTML files book-like.
Displays: PRC, RTF and HTML images, .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, .WMF (in RTF) or .BMP.
In additon if you just put your TXT,RTF,HTML file into a ZIP file, it can open it inside the ZIP. So it can produce quite SMALL files and still have a format which is open and can be easily manipulated.
Annotations, coverimages and other nice stuff is supported too.
Altough it's only for Windows/WM. But other than that, perfect. And it's free.
http://www.gowerpoint.com/

disconnected

05-23-2004, 07:12 PM

They're currently doing a survey -- if you fill it out you get 10% off your next purchase.

chirurgen

05-23-2004, 08:31 PM

You can get a discount of 10% by inputting a promo code if you subscribe to the palm digital media newsletter (I recommend this).
I suspect that you will be only allowed a reduction of 10% once per purchase ie you can't use 2 discount codes and get 20% off.

Having said that the site is good, the value is excellent and the ease of purchase etc impressive. There are also usually a few special reductions.

The system uses a clever method of authorisation - you have to input your credit card no into the unlock page on your pda for secure ebooks.

I can't see many people handing that sort of info out to 3rd parties to allow then to share secure ebooks!

ChristopherTD

05-24-2004, 07:25 AM

There is a new version of the Reader itself for Pocket PC (2.5.0).

When you install it, it remembers your registration information, but fails to remove the old version, and requires you to enter your preferences again.

There doesn't seem to be any way to get rid of the old version, which is a bit untidy.

On the plus side, as a consequence of entering my preferences again I noticed a setting for Margins that I had never noticed before. I was able to set them to "Small" which gives a little breathing space at the edges of the screen.

I am happy with both Palm Reader and MS Reader and have a lot of secure titles in both formats. One thing that MS do well is typography, their conversion tools automatically add typographical quotation marks instead of inch symbols, and their word and line spacing in the Reader is more subtle. This helps makes the page look more like a printed page.

Because of variations in the way my name is spelled /formatted I have had much more hassle with DRM in Palm Reader, but I do like that your destiny is in your hands with Palm DRM (as long as you remember your name...)

Ed Hansberry

05-24-2004, 12:30 PM

Because of variations in the way my name is spelled /formatted I have had much more hassle with DRM in Palm Reader, but I do like that your destiny is in your hands with Palm DRM (as long as you remember your name...)
Why would your name have variations in spelling? Aren't you the one filling out your credit card info to have your name put on the card, which is what eReader uses? It isn't like there is some clerk at eReader that is mispelling it. :?:

ChristopherTD

05-24-2004, 12:36 PM

Why would your name have variations in spelling? Aren't you the one filling out your credit card info to have your name put on the card, which is what eReader uses? It isn't like there is some clerk at eReader that is mispelling it. :?:

Upper case, lower case. With or without middle initial. With or without Mr.

Some books were bought from Fictionwise and they initially used the name against my account, whereas PalmDigitalMedia used the name exactly as on the creditcard. Now I think I have it synchronised in all places and the books redownloaded with the same credentials...

Jereboam

05-24-2004, 06:40 PM

I'm a long time Mobipocket user and have to say that I am still not completely convinced on switching to eReader - for one very simple reason - no full screen. The most convincing reading experience is when your page as you see it is completely uncluttered, just the book (and perhaps discrete progress bars etc) on show. eReader seems perfectly suited to this, with the very useful battery icon, and now finally adjustable margins. Why is there no full screen option? It mystifies me. Really... ;)

I would be extremely happy to pay over the cash for the Pro version if it offered full screen. As it is, and the fact that they don't support my new toy, the SE P900 (I've enquired about supporting Symbian in the future) - it's Mobipocket for me still.

J'bm

Ed Hansberry

05-24-2004, 11:14 PM

I'm a long time Mobipocket user and have to say that I am still not completely convinced on switching to eReader - for one very simple reason - no full screen. The most convincing reading experience is when your page as you see it is completely uncluttered, just the book (and perhaps discrete progress bars etc) on show. eReader seems perfectly suited to this, with the very useful battery icon, and now finally adjustable margins. Why is there no full screen option? It mystifies me. Really... ;)
One reason. Tech Support.

You wouldn't believe how many tech support PDM gets just on how to install a book, despite the install wizard that comes with each book. Full screen is something they want to do, but getting those kind of people to figure out how to get out of full screen mode when there is no menu is no small feat. You have to remember, there are still a lot of Windows users that still use one app at a time because they don't grasp the task bar and running multiple apps. Mobipocket and other apps are cool in their richer feature set, but they are niche items.

Jereboam

05-25-2004, 08:20 AM

Mobipocket is a niche item? No more so than eReader I think...until we have a common ebook format, greater platform support, and wider publisher support, not to mention usable DRM, all these applications are niche items.

Many other applications successfully use full screen in both Windows and Windows Mobile...I don't think really that the tech support issue is a good reason (note I don't say it's not a valid reason) to push the envelope and offer people a richer feature set.

J'bm

Ed Hansberry

05-25-2004, 01:06 PM

PatrickD

05-25-2004, 01:11 PM

You wouldn't believe how many tech support PDM gets just on how to install a book, despite the install wizard that comes with each book.

wow! I thought installing an ebook from palm digital media was quite easy. If that is the case, I can only imagine how many support calls online music stores receive from customers trying to figure out how to burn their DRM protected music. :)

Jereboam

05-25-2004, 04:04 PM

Mobipocket is a niche item? No more so than eReader I think...
eReader, formerly known and Palm Reader, comes preinstalled or on the CD of every PalmOS device out there, millions per year.

I am not trying to say "my reader is better than your reader" at all, but very very few third party apps aren't niche items compared to apps in ROM or on the CD. At one time (late 2002?), Palm, Inc. was advertising PDM on TV.

Apps like Pocket Informant and Agenda Fusion have both broken out of that niche market I would say, and I know there are others.

Ha...no I wasn't getting into that either, just pointing out that the ebook industry is in itself a niche, along with all the associated readers...I am a huge fan of ebooks and would be pleased to see it stop being a niche and break out into true mainstream acceptance.

And I would argue (given how many Palm users I know, and what they typically use their Palms for) that having the reader (or any app) preinstalled in ROM does not mean that it is actually used...so not a good indicator that the actual use of Palm/eReader is actually that high, or at least as high as you would presume from sales figures of Palm devices.

I think that many preinstalled apps, MS Reader and Palm/eReader included, are "baitware" to get people to purchase hardware. They think, hey that's cool I can read books on my Palm, but then never actually buy an ebook. It's a hook in. MS Reader is particularly guilty of this, in that there have been absolutely no upgrades that have added new features or usability improvements since inception. As far as I am concerned it is an orphan application, paid little or no attention other than tightening up the DRM code.

J'bm

disconnected

05-25-2004, 04:58 PM

I guess we'll never see ereader pre-installed on PPCs, but I bet if Palm devices pre-installed it, and also included gift-certificates for a choice of some current best-sellers in various genres, that people would at least try them. If you're a reader by nature, it's awfully easy to get hooked on ebooks once you've tried them. I know Microsoft had the free-ebook promotion last summer, but it was very low-key; I think people would notice it more if it were presented with the PPC purchase.

If you're not a reader by nature, then I guess ebooks aren't much more appealing than any other kind of books.

beq

05-26-2004, 07:13 AM

Ed Hansberry

05-26-2004, 01:02 PM

Eh I should check PPCT more often. How transparent is the transition to eReader (both the site and the reader application) for existing account customers?

Does the new eReader app add any new functions?
No. Right now, it is the same version - 2.5. Simply a rename at this point. It changes the executable to ereader.exe though and doesn't remove your old "Palm Reader.exe" or any shortcuts pointing to it. :(

Sort of a lousy upgrade from an execution standpoint.

michie

05-26-2004, 04:02 PM

No. Right now, it is the same version - 2.5. Simply a rename at this point. It changes the executable to ereader.exe though and doesn't remove your old "Palm Reader.exe" or any shortcuts pointing to it. :(

Sort of a lousy upgrade from an execution standpoint.

There is one change that I would have overlooked if someone hadn't mentioned it in an earlier post -- you can now have margins (small, medium, large, or wide). Since optional margins have been on my wishlist for a long time, I'm pretty happy.

My next wish is full screen support, even if it may be difficult for tech support. Actually, I think the reason why full screen is not yet an option is because Palm ebooks repaginate every time there's a change, and most people would expect full screen on the fly. At the very least, I'd like the bars above and below the text to be less distracting so that I can immerse myself in the text. It may seem strange, but I don't want to see the time in the corner when I'm reading. I don't want to know that it's 1 a.m. and I need to get up in a few hours. So while full screen would be ideal, I'd be happy if there was an option to replace the bars above and below the text with blank spaces in the same color as the background and with unobtrusive icons. In this way, there would still be the same amount of text onscreen (and no need to repaginate) but there would be less distractions and the page would look more book-like.

dpeace

06-23-2004, 12:36 AM

I am delighted with eReader, having accumulated quite a library over the last couple of years.

One or two caveats, though - v 2.5.(0) of eReader behaved erratically with several of my ebooks, replacing inverted commas with carriage returns and eating parts of paragraphs. Version 2.5.2 has resolved this, though.

The margins are excellent, and full-screen would be splendid, but my most pressing wish would be the ability to map hardware keys to the turning of pages (as with uBook). I use an iPAQ 5550, and the D-Pad is not nearly as reliable as that on my older iPAQs. It's somewhat galling to see my daughter clicking merrily through a book on her 3970 when I have at best a one on four chance of advancing one page, as opposed to three or four, or indeed none!

Am I the only person to have experienced this problem with eReader on a 5550? Perhaps the unit deserves a warranty return.

The legacy "Peanut Press" directories have a certain eccentric charm, but I would have thought the full screen issue could be temporarily addressed without attracting wails of anguish by merely skinning the top and bottom menu bars to the colour of the page; I have accomplished this by careful use of WisBar, and that will do me for now. No reminders of the early hour!

If only uBook could license the DRM technology - that'd be my ideal reader, I think.

juni

06-23-2004, 07:38 AM

Ok, I'm a little :bad-words: at ereader. The trial version ran out today and the only feature I used was the margins (and without them the pages really look awful). So now I have to pay 19.95 smackeroos just to get margins on my pages??

Oh well...

Ed Hansberry

06-23-2004, 02:03 PM

juni

06-23-2004, 03:13 PM

I bought it, but I would have assumed having margins isn't a "cool feature" but basic functionality. ;)

After all, we also buy the books from them. :P

ChristopherTD

06-23-2004, 03:19 PM

The margins are excellent, and full-screen would be splendid, but my most pressing wish would be the ability to map hardware keys to the turning of pages (as with uBook). I use an iPAQ 5550, and the D-Pad is not nearly as reliable as that on my older iPAQs. It's somewhat galling to see my daughter clicking merrily through a book on her 3970 when I have at best a one on four chance of advancing one page, as opposed to three or four, or indeed none!

Am I the only person to have experienced this problem with eReader on a 5550? Perhaps the unit deserves a warranty return.

I use eReader on my 5550 and I have used the WM2003 "Buttons" setting to map the Contacts and Calendar buttons to Up/Down. This lets me scroll to the next page in MSReader and eReader by pressing the Calendar button.

The D-Pad is too flaky to use for reading.

Janak Parekh

06-23-2004, 04:06 PM

I bought it, but I would have assumed having margins isn't a "cool feature" but basic functionality. ;)
Juni, a question for you if I may ask... how do the margins play out? Does it make eReader feel more like Microsoft Reader in terms of layout? I've been using the free version and that's been my biggest nit as well.

--janak

ChristopherTD

06-23-2004, 04:32 PM

For me the margins are a huge improvement. At their minimal setting you get just enough space that the text doesn't feel jammed against the screen edge and italic text doesn't disappear off the screen!

A definite improvement.

dpeace

06-23-2004, 06:56 PM

I use eReader on my 5550 and I have used the WM2003 "Buttons" setting to map the Contacts and Calendar buttons to Up/Down. This lets me scroll to the next page in MSReader and eReader by pressing the Calendar button.

Pity to have to lose the function of a hardware button outside eReader, but given that the problem is not specific to my device, this is a reasonable suggestion, that hadn't occurred to me. Wonder if it'll also work with Pocket e-Sword.

Thanks. I was using "right" on the D-Pad to go forward a page, but even this isn't reliable.

And in passing, MS Reader would be slightly less useless than I find it if you could reduce the font size to something that allows more than four lines to a page.

ctmagnus

06-23-2004, 09:22 PM

I use eReader on my 5550 and I have used the WM2003 "Buttons" setting to map the Contacts and Calendar buttons to Up/Down. This lets me scroll to the next page in MSReader and eReader by pressing the Calendar button.

The D-Pad is too flaky to use for reading.

I use the d-pad for scrolling all the time. Probably the only app that I always scroll via the scroll bars in is Resco Explorer. I'm on my second unit and I haven't had an issue with the d-pad since I initially got used to it's quirks.

juni

06-24-2004, 08:03 AM

The margins make a world of difference, but is it as good as MS Reader: No, sadly :(

Pros for eReader: the copy protection scheme, price of ebooks

Cons: the reader is a bit basic (yes, even the "pro" version), no easy way to make your own ebooks.

You can try it out yourself, the "pro" version is the same as the free version, they let you test it for 15 days without having to register - after that the "pro" features vanish.

(also, the pro comes with a few free books)