PDF and eBook functionality on the pandora

[Brotasmo]

Ive been considering investing in a amazon kindle or a barnes and noble nook lately, but then it hit me! Instead of spending the 100-200 dollars on a new device, why not spend 100 bucks on upgrading my order to premium?


Fantastic idea isnt it? Alas, there is one question.


How well does the Pandy fair with reading eBook formats and PDFs? Is it easy to read and is it practical on the semi smallish screen?


Or, is it wise to invest in a dedicated device for this task?


Thanks in advance!

 

[atomicthumbs]

I haven't tried it in a while, but FBreader is fantastic for reading books. I read several, including John Steakley's Armor on it.

 

[freamon]

There's quite a few people (including me) who use their Pandora for reading ebooks and comics. I've never used a Kindle, so I've nothing to compare it with, but I'd say the experience is surprisingly acceptable.

 

[NoeleyC]

I've not tried reading ebooks on it, but reading comics on the Pandora is very good (in my opinion anyway)

 

[Batou456]

I have a Border's Kobo(v2 aka WiFi), which is a rather basic but fully functional eInk reader, but no Pandora yet. Note Kobo just went v3 with IR touchscreen technology and there's talk of another Kindle revision soon.


The main advantages of a dedicated eReader is they're lighter and eInk, like used by the Kindle and Kobo, isn't turned into a mirror in sunlight like a LCD tends to be. The 6" verse 4.3" screen in their standard configurations makes the Pandora wider, but requiring of more vertical scrolling. You can help compensate for the glare problem of outdoor lighting with screen protectors designed to help with that sort of thing, but arm fatigue will still come in significantly faster then with any of your usual eReaders.


Based on how things are usually done via-a-vis Linux book reading if you buy from a eBook vendor, like Amazon, who is not using ePubs you will need to convert the files which will often enough involve cracking off the DRM protections and thus is technically illegal. Of course so is the way Linux users often play DVDs, mp3s, etc.


It also doesn't look like Calibre has been ported yet so you may have some fun with recompiling ahead of you if you decide to go that way.

 

[PeeZapp]

i have and iPad (i know not a dedicated reader) and a pandora and have used both for reading ebooks the pandora has a good screen it has no glare for reading outside which is good compared to an iPad's reflective screen and it's functional (also if you know where to find the books considerably cheaper ) as a reader but the constant scrolling with the inability to view the whole page is frustrating. in saying that it does work quite well and if you dont think that will bother you then i wouldn't spend the money on another device that you will need to lug around.

 

[ChaosWarmech]

I'm currently reading Parasite Eve on my pandora and it works quite well with the default pdf viewer.

 

[SiegfriedCroes]

I read all Harry Potter books as PDF's on my Archos 605 (which has the same screen as Pandora) Should read some books again, now on my Pandora

 

[Blue Protoman]

Let's not forget the games that you'd be getting with the deal.

 

[Mr Rob]

I recently bought a Kindle v3 (with special offers, the one that has ads as the sleep screen instead of a book cover, also $114) and I absolutely love it. I personally think that the slightly bigger screen and the eInk would be worth it compared to the Pandora.


I should have a Pandora arriving in a few days (it's shipped), so I'm more than happy to give you a comparison between the two when it arrives.


Also, do you find you read a lot?

 

[Caine]

EBook formats which support reflowing of text work especially great. PDFs are quite readable but performance can be a bit sluggish.


If your eyesight is a bit poor than the smallish screen can be problematic and you will need to zoom which introduces horizontal scrolling. Due to this my brother didn't really enjoy reading comics on the Pandora.


Currently, I spend more time reading books on my Pandora than gaming.

 

[Brotasmo]

I recently bought a Kindle v3 (with special offers, the one that has ads as the sleep screen instead of a book cover, also $114) and I absolutely love it. I personally think that the slightly bigger screen and the eInk would be worth it compared to the Pandora.


I should have a Pandora arriving in a few days (it's shipped), so I'm more than happy to give you a comparison between the two when it arrives.


Also, do you find you read a lot?

I read frequently enough. Mostly when there's downtime in class. I get through about ten or twelve books in a school year, and something like five over break. And I'd love to hear your opinion on the Pandora reading ebooks in contrast to your e-reader.

 

[Mr Rob]

And I'd love to hear your opinion on the Pandora reading ebooks in contrast to your e-reader.

Alright, I'll keep you posted. As I said, it's shipped, so it should be here pretty soon. I like reading myself, so I'll probably enjoy having a stand-alone gadget for that.

 

[Mr Rob]

Alright, a quick review.


When it comes to the sole purpose of reading books, my Kindle 3 is better than my Pandora. And that shouldn't be shocking, since the sole purpose of the Kindle is reading -- the bigger screen and the eInk instead of the LCD screen that the Pandora has makes it easier to read on the Kindle.


However the Pandora is still good, there isn't really much eyestrain (very similar to reading a book on a laptop or monitor) and from the sounds of it lots of people do read books and the like on the Pandora, so I'd honestly say try doing some reading on the Pandora when you get it. But if you have an extra $100 laying around and having a dedicated book reader is important to you, try out a Kindle, too.

 

[Brotasmo]

Thanks so much everybody, and thanks rob for getting back on that!

 

[Mr Rob]

Thanks so much everybody, and thanks rob for getting back on that!

You're welcome; it's what the boards are for.


Also, have you decided? I'm just a bit curious....

 

[zonova]

This is a massive necropost, i'm sorry about that, but i'm about to buy a Sony ebook reader for reading PDFs. Do you think i should? Or is the pandora just as good at reading PDFs? Because i have a Lot of files to read, i'd be using either rather intensively.

 

[ekianjo]

The pandora is good to read on. But an ebook reader probably has a better screen for that purpose, i recommend having both!

 

[gotwake424]

This is a massive necropost, i'm sorry about that, but i'm about to buy a Sony ebook reader for reading PDFs. Do you think i should? Or is the pandora just as good at reading PDFs? Because i have a Lot of files to read, i'd be using either rather intensively.

Well the point of an ebook reader is the screen. It won't strain your eyes after prolonged use and it can be easily seen in direct sunlight. 

Honestly, the pandora is not a device I would buy for the purpose of using it as an ebook reader. That being said, hell yea I read all the time on my pandora, ebook files and pdf s  work flawlessly on the device, it works great as an ebook reader. But in my opinion it can't be compared in the same category as an ebook reader solely due to the screen 

 

[elwing]

ebook reader are massively better for the simple purpose of reading. but beware of PDF, some ebook reader (like my nook) don't allow you to zoom in pdf, only to reflow them with bigger font (which is pretty bad in my opinion). so you can either read your pdf with f**ked up paging or fitting a whole A4 pages on a small 6" 800*600screen...

edit: for the purpose of reading PDF I wouldn't buy an ebook reader smaller than 8" or 9"...