Hello,
I am totally new to the world of ebooks.
I would like to know if any more professional comparison of different ebook readers has been made? Some people obviously regard the adobe reader a joke, others love mobipocket/reader while still others go with the MS reader.
What should I think of before choosing an ebook reader?
Background: I am into medicine, and I mostly read science stuff.
sincerely, Jonas Ludvigsson from Sweden
Ultimately the best reader is the one you are most comfortable with.
I would suggest downloading all of the readers and trying them out. You will get a 14 or 30 day free trial on their Pro versions. After the trial period, the pro version only features will stop working, but you are still left with a very good reader. Most readers will give you a free book or two to start out with.
I like the ability to change the background colors and font size and color. I use a black backgroud with white letters because it is easier on the eyes. eReader allows you to do this with its free version.
I would stay clear of Microsoft Reader only because every time MS upgrades the reader you have to get the new version because any new books you buy won't work on the old version.
I personally prefer eReader over Mobipocket. eReader seems to be more stable.
I also find that when you have over 50 (closer to 100) or so books Mobipocket has a difficult time with the index.
actually, white-on-black is not easier on the eyes. readability is reduced.
while your eyes might like the lower light intensity, the eye has to "work more" to decipher inverted text.
i'd suggest turning down the light (i had my loox on the notch just before "off", and it was very soothing) and keeping a dark type on a light background.
don't ask me how i know, i learned that sometime in class. the medical evidence i cannot remember anymore.
white-on-black is not easier on the eyes. readability is reduced.
I think so too. However, the backlight on some PDAs is too strong (especially iPaqs), which makes it unpleasant to read in a dark room. Changing to dark background can help.
Well guys all I know is that I was getting headaches and my eyes would get tired when I used a white background or slightly coloured background with black type. Turning down the light did nothing, but make me squint more. I inverted white/black to black/white and all my problems were solved. I can read for hours now, no headaches, no eye strain. Hence black background, white type is easier on my eyes.
I really was interested in seeing what everyone else thought about this as well. Funny thing is for me it is D all of the above... :roll: Yes, I use the evil empires reader... :devilboy: I also have eReader, MobiPocket, uBook Reader (sorry I know that's the wrong symbol), and Adobe. I also use IE for Avantgo and PocketBible for my bible. Whew, so many books... so little time. :lol: The other goofball thing I do is pack around HUNDREDS of books. In different formats. For no apparent reason. Crazy! 8O I really like to read on these silly things.
I think that most everyone would agree that Adobe is probably the worst reader. I like being able to read over .pdf files if I need to. But if the wordwrap doesn't format right for a file then forget it. Talk about instant migrane! It is also so FAT! 7-8 megs for a reader is a little bloated to me.
If forced to make a choice on a favorite it would probably be MobiPocket. I like the fact that I can convert web pages into a "book" and take it with me. I seem to have a lot of problems with this causing my PPC to crash though. Not sure why either. eReader would be a very close second. They have an insane selection, and the website is pretty easy to buy from. Probably just used to their DRM methods, but you have to admit it is easier than MS activation.
MobiPocket is good, but I seem to recall that the list of ebooks gets very slow when you have really many ebooks. Try iSilo (reader) and iSiloX (convert webpages and HTML/text to ebooks) - it is faster than any other reader, has the best userinterface and the books are better compressed so you can carry more of them. The downside is that you have to register to get fonts and weblinks, but is free if you don't need these.
I hit my limit and was denied activation with a Dell Axim X50v. I posted a message to Microsoft on the Activation web page a week ago requesting additional activations (and giving the information outlined below), but I initially received an automated denial, followed by radio silence from Microsoft after I appealed the denial.
Since that post, another week has passed by, and I am still waiting to hear from Microsoft. When I attempt to activate my Axim X50v, all I learn is that my request for an additional activation is "pending". I know that considering activiation requests must be low on Microsoft's priority list, but this is highly frustrating. :evil:
I will keep the forum informed of what Microsoft's ultimate decision will be: to require me to stick with old technology forever in order to read ebooks in Reader format that I purchased, or to permit me to update to current technology.
Not sure if this is a legitimate way of doing things, but couldn't you copy the old X5 to the new PPC? I have backed them up and zipped them on a storage card in case I have to do a hard reset. What would the difference be if I copied the files to a new device? Wouldn't it simply "activate" the reader? Just curious.
Do you mean: copy the MS Reader configuration-files to the new PPC? No, you could do so in the old days, but not any more. Apart from un-DRM-ing the Reader files (which most likely is illegal in most countries), I see no way aound the problem.
We need someone capable of negotiating with the copyright holders, including MS. The big blog-owners - including PocketPCthoughts, right, Jason? - hardly touch the problem except now and then, though losing all ebooks is a serious matter for the individual concerned. However, this new initiative may change that http://cebooks.blogspot.com/2004_12_...89072066210759.
Do you mean: copy the MS Reader configuration-files to the new PPC? No, you could do so in the old days, but not any more.
Since when? I have my MS Reader config files copied and saved. Any time Reader is updated I just put them back in the original location and I'm ready to go.
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Re: Best ebook reader - comparison
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