eReader books

**SteveLaw** · 27th August 2009, 09:12 AM

I have a Cybook Gen 3. Best thing I ever bought I think. Almost all of what I read on it so far is free (I use Project Gutenburg and those two from JJonas above). Because the Cybook uses Mobipocket format you can create your own. it also reads pdf, but they usually look rubbish (fixed width pdf does not flow and you have to scroll about or squint - don't know if the Sony can re-flow pdf but I'm not sure it's possible with the format) however the mobipocket creater program will convert pdf anyway. Awaiting the next upgrade which will also support epub.

**jamesb** · 28th August 2009, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by JJonas

So what are they like with PDf's?

Im thinking of filling one with IT books

I've found them to be crystal clear. I had to refer to some technical manuals the other day, which I have in PDF format. Since even the 6" screen was a little small for them I just rotated the display (hold down the zoom button for a few seconds) and could read through without any problems.

Links within the PDFs do work, using the navigation keys. You can jump directly to a page by typing in the number. The interface has been very carefully thought out, particularly shown by the ease of bookmarking and the number of ways you can turn pages. At first I thought three (or maybe four, I forget) ways to turn pages was a bit much. Then I started actually using it.

Since its light enough to hold one-handed comfortably it really does help to have page controls in the three areas where your thumb naturally rests.

The Sony can reflow pdfs as far as I've seen, and the text comes out great. It will break any graphics though if you zoom in too far.

Notably, the only PDFs I've had any trouble with and had to rotate the display for are A4 sized. All the others I've been able to read comfortably.

I feel like I've started something. Where's the eBook owners social group?

**Sylv3r** · 29th August 2009, 11:28 AM

My Sony e-Book reader should be here next week - another little gadget to have a play with!

**dalsoth** · 29th August 2009, 12:28 PM

Got mine yesterday and also got the case with built in light which looks brilliant. So happy i did not choose the newer version as i could not imagine tapping the screen and smudging it. Sooooo easy to use the little buttons to turn pages and a hell of a lot more responsive and fast to switch pages and menus than i thought after reading lots of posts about how slow they are.

On Windows 7 i just copy and paste across the books to the device and they work without any annoying software like the annoying itunes.

The only software i have tried to transfer books is the free calibre which will let you convert to epub and transfer across if you prefer it.

Another nice bit of software is Stanza Desktop which is also free. This lets you convert loads of types of files such as rtf, pdf, lit, epub. doc etc....

With Sony converting all of its library to the epub format i have converted mine to that also as it is an open format i believe.

I did try a pdf file i downloaded yonks ago of a technical manual i owned as a real book. Did not work on the reader when i converted it to epub as apparently the file was too long and did not have proper spacing paragraphs etc although it looked ok to me. I found that if i saved it to epub format then renamed it to zip, then converted it from zip to epub again using calibre, it then worked once transferred across to the device. Apparently calibre formats it properly. Moral of the story is to buy your books and they will look much better than those downloaded! It is a shame though that the books i like are as expensive or more than the real versions especially as i have them all in hard format already!

**jamesb** · 29th August 2009, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by dalsoth

It is a shame though that the books i like are as expensive or more than the real versions especially as i have them all in hard format already!

Its my only complaint about the device. It'd be useful if there were some way to automatically get a copy of any books you already own the hardcopy of, but somehow I don't see that happening. I guess for re-readings I'll just have to stick to primitive hardcopy.

**JJonas** · 18th September 2009, 07:33 AM

This might be useful

Best Places to Get Free Books – The Ultimate Guide

**duncane** · 4th October 2009, 08:53 AM

I've always thought that e-readers were silly - the thought that they could possibly compare to the pleasure you get from holding a book - the simple user-interface, the long-life, ease-of-use etc...

This thread inspired me to get a Sony PRS-300 - I'm hooked.

I think I knew it had clicked when instead of saying, "I'm just going to get my e-reader", I said "I'm just going to get my book" - for the first few days I'd read a page and feel like turning it to get to the next page - the resolution and contrast is wonderful.

Luckily there's plenty of material available for free - I think the cost structure for commercial books is wrong - I'm sure that the material costs for books are significantly more than for CDs. Plus, you don't have to pre-create and store warehouses full of books for an e-reader, which should be a significant cost saving.

I think e-books are going to drag publishing-houses kicking and screaming into the 21st century, just as mp3 did for music. (It won't be pretty, but we'll get there.)

**elsiegee40** · 4th October 2009, 10:51 AM

I have 2 problems with e-Books...

1. Not sensible to read in the bath (waits for the launch of the waterproof variety)
2. I can see the battery running out just as I get to a good bit.

Paper for me!