Please Recommend a Pocket PC for ebooks

[johnjen]

Looking for the best device for using ebooks. Suggestions please.

[yvilla]

Ebook reading in VGA resolution, on the Toshiba e805, is spectacular. There is nothing else right now that can beat that!

P.S. And it does have a jog dial; great for one handed page flipping.

[Steven Cedrone]

I love my 2215, but... (you knew there had to be a "but") If ebooks are what you are looking to do with a Pocket PC, you need a device with either a jog dial, or at least some kind of button on the side that you can remap to turn the pages...

The 22xx series is definitely not the best Pocket PC for ebooks...

Steve

[Brad Adrian]

To Steven's point, I wouldn't recommend the 19XX either. The screen is really very nice and the price is right, but the side button (which could be remapped for <pagedown>) is pretty small and hard to use if you've got big hands.

[Jason Dunn]

I use the d-pad to go up/down in the book, so I don't think the side buttons should be much of an issue for anyone...

[tanalasta]

The toshi's have jog dials and whilst i've never seen the vga screen in action, i agree its probably going to very pretty! However, i wouldn't buy a pocketpc device just for reading ebooks! Not only can you use them for so much more, but its quite a lot of money!

I usually navigate through ebooks using my stylus to click on the next buttons (or scroll buttons) but honestly, its not that much of an issue. Everyone has their own little personal preferences :) Actually though, i'm not a big fan of ebooks. The only one that i use now is pocketbible (laridian) and thats more a program than an ebook 8)

[nosmohtac]

I agree that the Toshiba E805 is going to be the best thing out there for reading Ebooks, but If that's going to be the main use of it, $599 might seem a bit steep. If your looking for a cheap way to read Ebooks, I would recommend the Toshiba E335. You get a 3.5" transflective display, WM 2003, SD slot, and best of all you can pick one up for about $150.00 right now.

[yvilla]

The toshi's have jog dials and whilst i've never seen the vga screen in action, i agree its probably going to very pretty!

It's not just that it's pretty. Depending on your eyesight, and thus your choice of font size, you get up to four times as much content per page than with any other PPC! For a serious ebook reader, there is just no comparison to this experience; it much more closely approximates the experience of reading a paper book. :ppclove:

[eamonn]

I have a compaq h1910 and i love it for ebooks. its a cheap pda but its light and has a great screen and its small too!!

i love it!

[pocketpcfox]

To Steven's point, I wouldn't recommend the 19XX either. The screen is really very nice and the price is right....

Interesting point. If reading ebooks is the main reason for getting a PPC, then price may be an important factor. The cheaper the better -- lots of wear and tear, no heartache when lost on a bus or crushed in a backpack.

I do miss my jornada 548 jog dial for reading, and got so tired of paging down on my 2210 from the front that I've been using uBook which has an excellent page turning feature... but with a twist (at least I've never seen it on another app). The page doesn't scroll (anti-nausea pills are a must, I find) but rather it exchanges a single line of text at a time. That way, your eyes move down the page, and keep up with the change of the "page" of text. Hmmm... hard to describe.

Anyhow the scroll rate is highly configurable for uBook, and landscape mode is useful too.


[/quote]

[dMores]

arent't there dedicated ebook devices out there? franklin or something? those are pretty cheap, i think.

i'd also say that a b/w palm that's in the sub-$100 range might be an alternative.
i don't like palm, but if you have to watch your budget, you might want to consider one of those.

[Martin I Pettinger]

-
Hi

I've been reading this thread with interest. I haven't read an ebook for a while since MS stopped their free MS Reader promotion. Anyhow - is it possible to install a voice recognition program on a PDA and map a spoken command - i.e. turn to a button press = i.e. page down. I have an iPAQ 2210 and the D-pad or O-pad or whatever it is called is a bit sensitive and sometimes I jump forward a few pages rather than one.

Cheers

Martin
-

[Jorgen]

I agree with those that find that a jog-dial is a must. My hp-548 has a very nice one. The up/down switch on my hp-568 is just about nearly as good. On my 1910, I have programmed the recorder button to page forward, but the button is a bit flimsy; ashame as the 1910 is the one I carry around!

Jorgen

[Jolard]

I have an Ipaq 1945, and I read ebooks constantly. I do admit however that a side jog dial would be VERY nice.

I use Mobipocket, and it has an option to allow you to map screen taps to page turns. I end up holding the PPC in my right hand with my thumb close to the screen. Then every page turn I simply tap the screen with my thumb. It works wonderfully, and I have read many books that way! :)

But if you can afford it, a scroll wheel would be nice.

[Tom W.M.]

I know that I'm a bit late to this discussion, but if all you want to do on your device is read eBooks, the I'd recommend getting a Handheld PC (cheap from eBay or www.usedhandhelds.com) instead of a Pocket PC. I have used both a 320x240 device and my NEC MobilePro 780 to read eBooks, and I must say that the experience is far more natural with the bigger screen (240x680, 8 in. diagonal), and plethora of ways to advance the page (jog-dial on H-VGA MobilePros, numerous keyboard shortcuts). If PPC-specific features like clear type and Microsoft Reader are a must, or if maximum portability is important, then go with a PPC, but as an eBook reader a Handheld PC is worth considering.

[dmacburry2003]

I've had the Franklin Ebookman. It was great for e-books, except there was no MS reader support. It was 49 dollars at J&R's Music and Computer World.

[zamus68]

Well i'm another late comer to this thread. But if your only looking for an e-book reader it's probably best to buy a used unit or a dedicated reader. I personally prefer my 4155 to my 3955 for reading books. The thing feels alot better in my hand. I think that's the key. Using the record button to page up and down has always seemed odd to me. I prefer being able to tap the screen to turn the page. More than likely this is due to my love of normal books. Reach up turn page (tap page).

But the key factors would be:

1. Screen. Is it easy to read in all lighting conditions.
2. Ergonomics. Is it easy to hold for extended periods of time.
3. Reader softare avail. I prefer Ubook then Mobi.

[Gee Mont]

I’ve been using an iPaq 3835 for almost two years. I think it’s pretty good for ebooks and never had a problem. I often have a cat sitting on me and demanding affection, so I’ve become proficient at reading one-handed, holding the PDA in the my right and using my thumb on the large button in the center to page forward or back, and petting the cat with my left. Only on occasion do I fat finger the key and jump ahead by more than a page.

Stay away from the Franklin Bookman, even though it is cheap as dirt now. Not only is it obsolete and unsupported, it is piece of a hobo’s merde. I got one as a gift in 2001 and could never get it to sync with ebooks, although it sync with Outlook fine. I returned it after a frustrating few week and no response from its customer service.

I’m reading this thread with interest. The battery life on my current iPaq doesn’t seem holding a charge the way it used to when she was young, (it could just be the 256MB SD I added last November), I’m may be in the market for a new PDA later this year. The Toshiba e805, for its 4” screen, is tempting, but I’d want to see one in action first, and haven’t been shopping around yet. The old Dame still has life in her

[portnoy]

The toshi's have jog dials and whilst i've never seen the vga screen in action, i agree its probably going to very pretty! However, i wouldn't buy a pocketpc device just for reading ebooks! Not only can you use them for so much more, but its quite a lot of money!

A friend of mine bought a Toshiba e310 JUST for reading ebooks. I had a Handspring Visor Deluxe at that time and he was intrigued. He couldn't get it to sync so he returned it and actually bought a Sony NR70, just for reading books! Well, ok, he also plays a couple simple games on it but still has no idea how to create notes or phonelists or calendar entries on the thing. :(


I usually navigate through ebooks using my stylus to click on the next buttons (or scroll buttons) but honestly, its not that much of an issue. Everyone has their own little personal preferences :) Actually though, i'm not a big fan of ebooks. The only one that i use now is pocketbible (laridian) and thats more a program than an ebook 8)

I generally use the D-Pad on my Toshiba e335 for turning pages. I keep the thing in a Belkin case, and that makes it hard to use the jog wheel unfortunately.

[senfeng]

I've been reading on my 2215 and though I long for a jog dial, its comforable in my hand. I recently got the Toshiba e805 and its got a jog dial, but its so dang big that I can't really use it for reading for more than a few hours. Now I'm a big guy with big hands, but my Toshi's just too uncomforable for long stretches of reading.

[Fishie]

Once you go VGA its hard to go back.
The screen on the Toshiba e800/e805 is incredible and everything else looks like poo on a stick compared to it(apart from some Japan only WinCE devices who either have VGA or WVGA as well).

Im starting to wonder how I could ever live witouth it.

[yvilla]

I've been reading on my 2215 and though I long for a jog dial, its comforable in my hand. I recently got the Toshiba e805 and its got a jog dial, but its so dang big that I can't really use it for reading for more than a few hours. Now I'm a big guy with big hands, but my Toshi's just too uncomforable for long stretches of reading.

Yeah, I feel the same way as Fishie. That's why I was so surprised to see senfeng's post. As for the e805's size, I do have small hands, and my e805 always wears an extended battery too, yet I find it extremely comfortable to hold. It may be a little bigger than an Ipaq 2215, but it's still smaller than most paper back books, and of course much smaller and lighter than any hard back out there. The other great benefit over a QVGA Pocket PC is that you only have to "turn the page" one-third or one-fourth the number of times you would have to in QVGA resolution, depending on what font size you've selected. In other words, you get close to a paper back book's page worth per page. And, you get to "turn the page" when you have to with a jog dial!

Please don't misunderstand me -- I'm not claiming everyone has to love the e805 the way I do. I know opinions differ. But I do think the above mentioned advantages that I see in the e805 might well also be appreciated by others, so that's why I wanted to present this perspective that differs from the quoted post.

[Jorgen]

>Im starting to wonder how I could ever live witouth it.

He, he - I started reading ebooks on a Psion 3 (at a later stage using a vertical reader that turned the text 90 degrees) some 12 (or more?) years ago.

Jorgen

[senfeng]

I've been reading on my 2215 and though I long for a jog dial, its comforable in my hand. I recently got the Toshiba e805 and its got a jog dial, but its so dang big that I can't really use it for reading for more than a few hours. Now I'm a big guy with big hands, but my Toshi's just too uncomforable for long stretches of reading.
...Please don't misunderstand me -- I'm not claiming everyone has to love the e805 the way I do. I know opinions differ. But I do think the above mentioned advantages that I see in the e805 might well also be appreciated by others, so that's why I wanted to present this perspective that differs from the quoted post...
I'm not saying that the e805 isn't a good PDA, I'm just saying that I like the size of the 2215 for long hours of ebook reading.

[divajess]

I think if my trusty lil' 1910 had a jog wheel, I would have it surgically implanted into my hand!!

I love its size and screen for reading my ebooks. When I was in the dark ages with my EM-500, it taxed me to hold it for long periods of time because it was quite the brick. The 1900 series is so sleek and little that it fits perfectly in my small hands.

I still can't wait to upgrade, though. :)

[alizhan]

I have used uBook (http://gowerpoint.com) for a while now, both on my old e740 and on my new e805. On the e740 I would put uBook into landscape mode with the d-pad on the left, and use the d-pad to page through the book. I actually found this to be more comfortable for long reading sessions than holding a paper book.

On the e805, I use VGA portait mode with the scroll wheel. Unfortunately, extending my thumb to reach the scroll wheel makes it a bit sore after a while. I'd love to use the d-pad in landscape mode like on my old e740, but the buttons on the e805 are so darn loud I can't stand to use them for turning pages. :grumble:

In short: most PDAs are fine for reading e-books. Find one you think you can stand looking at and holding long term. 3.5" screens are perfectly usable, though 4" screens are definitely nicer. And don't forget to use good reader software.

[socrates63]

Reading on a QVGA screen just doesn't do it for me. For most of my ebook reading, I use my Sony Clie SJ33 (I got it after I broke my iPaq 3670 last year and then returned to PPC-land with 2215). Its 320x320 resolution screen and Agfa/ITC fonts for Palm Reader Pro rocks! Nice, crisp text rendered in beautiful typefaces.

PLUS, I like the fact that I can configure the background and text colors on Palm Reader Pro. I absolutely hate reading black text on white background...too much contrast, and when trying to read in bed with the room lights turned off, the screen is too bright. I read text on a black background. It's much easier on the eyes.

I look forward to reading on a VGA screen in the future (if I can get my 3-year-old to "accidentally" drop daddy's iPaq on the concrete driveway, this could be sooner than later :devilboy: ).

[Janak Parekh]

I look forward to reading on a VGA screen in the future (if I can get my 3-year-old to "accidentally" drop daddy's iPaq on the concrete driveway, this could be sooner than later :devilboy: ).
You should. It's amazing. :)

senfeng, watch closely for the A730 -- it might be a perfect combination of resolution and size for your hands. :) In my case, I find the e805 decently comfortable with the extended battery, but I can see how a smaller device might be a bit more appealing.

--janak

[sylvangale]

I loved the SonySJ33! I read so many books when I owned it. The scroll wheel is like a wheel mouse wheel which never hits an end, which is such a small but big difference in book enjoyment.

Now I have an h1945 with no scroll wheel at all! But at least it has a really good firm/stable/stiff control pad. I'm so afraid of cushy control pads since owning a Toshiba e330 series. :evil: