Thinking Of Buying Gp2x - Question About The Screen

[RubarbCrumble]

Hi everyone,

I considering buying a GP2X for several reasons - one of which is that I would like to read books, articles, news on it whilst travelling to work (in between games of Duke Nukem). Can those of you out there who have one please let me know how suitable it is for this? Specifically:

1. Is the screen and resolution easy on the eyes, especially for reading long documents?
2. Does the device make transferring web pages/PDFs to the GP2X easy for viewing?

I understand that out of the box it supports TXT files only but am sure I've seen a PDF viewer available somewhere. Hope this isn't a silly question but could find nothing in the FAQs that mentions much about using the GP2X for reading.

...my alternative is to look at tablet PCs or even the Sony Reader. But these are waaaaaaaay more expensive and not as fun!

Thanks,

Mr RubarbCrumble.

 

[iignotus]

I can only answer the first question right now, but yes the screen is easy on the eyes. It's not too bright that it hurts, and the dot pitch is of a moderate size so that you don't have to squint to read small text.

 

[bullwood]

I like the built-in ebook reader (for ascii txt files), the pdf viewer that I tried was VERY slow and hard to read.

 

[saehn]

1. Is the screen and resolution easy on the eyes, especially for reading long documents?

It's been great for me. Having a portable ebook reader in addition to gaming, video, and music is just awesome. I used to have a Palm Zire, I used it for the same purpose and read several books on it. The GP2X's screen is even better & larger. It's backlit, though, so don't expect to be able to use it in bright/direct sunlight.

2. Does the device make transferring web pages/PDFs to the GP2X easy for viewing?

I mostly agree with bullwood on the PDF reader. It's just not good enough yet, especially since there are better solutions. You can use the links browser to view HTML, but it's not ideal either. The best solution I've found so far has been a reader called xreader (found here). Handles word wrap, very readable, snappy interface, better than the GP2X's built-in reader.

saehn

 

[Fishbong]

If you want .pdf files, you´re better off with a Palm or PPC.

 

[RubarbCrumble]

Thanks dudes, useful advice!