eBook readers to try on your Axim

overbyte · #1 (**permalink**) 01-28-2010, 10:16 AM

EBook reader devices are becoming very popular: Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc. Even Apple is now getting into the eBook business with its iPad. I've been using my x51v to read eBooks for a while now. I have the following reader programs installed, all of which work fine for me. They display various formats of eBooks, so you'll need more than one program if you want to read lots of different types of eBooks.

Freda
MobiPocket
VadeMecum
ZuluReader

Just Google search for them and you'll find the places to download the cab files for installation. I download the cab file to a folder on my PC and send it to the x51v (usually I copy it to my CF card). That way, I can re-install it later if the program somehow is lost from the PDA. I save my books on SD cards and the programs on one CF card that stays in the x51v.

A nice companion program that runs on your PC, Mac, or Linux computer is Calibre. Go to calibre - E-book management to read about it and download it. Calibre allows you to manage your own library of eBooks, read them on your computer, download them into your mobile device, subscribe to feeds and periodicals, find and get cover images for the books if they don't contain their own, and even convert books from one format to another. It is freeware and is updated frequently. Very nice.

Where do you get free eBooks? Here are some good sources:
Google Books
Feedbooks
Gutenberg Project

Also, I've read that some public libraries run an eBook lending service online. I haven't tried them yet, but I hear that it works like borrowing a physical ink-on-paper book: You become a library member, borrow the eBook by downloading, read it until the due date, and then it no longer works on your device thus making it a legitimate borrowing and not a give-away. If you have used an eBook lending library, please let me know where to find it on the Internet by commenting here.

Stan

Pedah · #2 (**permalink**) 01-29-2010, 01:12 AM

Microsoft Reader

dontknow007 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-02-2010, 03:47 PM

hi, overbyte, downloaded the MobiPocket e-book reader very good, and they have plenty of free books, thanks for the details,

8bitwonder · #4 (**permalink**) 02-02-2010, 07:46 PM

Thanks Overbyte. I just got an axim and was looking into using it for eBooks, among several other reasons.

I have only played around with this thing for one day, so i don't know yet- Is it fairly easy to view .pdf files or is that what most ebooks are?

Thanks,
8bitwonder

Pedah · #5 (**permalink**) 02-03-2010, 04:12 AM

Most eBooks are not .pdf, but there are PDF readers for winmo available for free, from Adobe, easy search

dontknow007 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-03-2010, 04:28 PM

hi, i tried to read e-books in pdf format, its a pain in the rear !!!!, use a e-book reader, lot better,

Pedah · #7 (**permalink**) 02-04-2010, 02:00 AM

..........

overbyte · #8 (**permalink**) 02-23-2010, 10:53 PM

The pdf format was designed by Adobe to be a portable (across all systems) way to view documents so they appear exactly the same no matter where viewed, being a faithful reproduction of what the document would look like if printed on a sheet of paper. Since most documents are written for ink-on-paper, most pdf files have rigid formatting to fit the standard page size, unlike html for example, which is designed to be re-flowed to fit the screen size. Therefore, it's a pain to read most pdf documents on a small screen. (The pdf spec does allow for re-flowable content, but most pdf files are not built that way.)

Enter the eBook formats.... These formats have been designed to be flowable. That is, you can dynamically change the font size, for example, and the device will re-format to flow the text so it's all visible without panning the screen sideways. Adobe came out with the ePUB format, which is a wrapper for content in html form with metadata inside the wrapper. Other eBook formats do similar things.

It does not matter whether you are looking at a pdf file on a PDA like the x51v or an ebook reader like the B&N Nook -- a fixed format pdf will be hard to read unless it was designed for re-flowing. I've looked at journal articles in pdf format using my daughter's Nook. They looks terrible. I haven't tried yet, but the desktop program Calibre may be able to re-flow pdf to fit a small screen. In any case, if you select ebooks that are in one of the common ebook formats, the appropriate reader program on your PDA should be able to display it well. There are lots of free ebooks out there in ePUB or mobi format.

dryster · #9 (**permalink**) 02-24-2010, 05:28 PM

Also, don't overlook that Mobipocket reader is also an RSS aggregator too, subscribe and sync to read stuff offline in the enews section of the program.