Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
I have many .pdf books and docs ... is there a decent portable device to download and read them on the go? I heard about e-book readers and pda's, but am frustrated in internet searches? Must I settle for a laptop to read them?
•
So far, every solution I've seen to this one has some serious disadvantages.
The most promising, however, depends on how far you want to stretch the definition of "laptop".
•
Personally, I have yet to come across a good, portable, PDF reader.
Dedicated devices, such as the various ebook readers that I have seen, all suffer from what, in my opinion, are serious problems. Besides being more expensive than the usage justifies, the most common issue is simply that they often only read a proprietary format, not PDF. That proprietary format is typically one with DRM (Digital Rights Management), preventing you from easily transferring your ebooks from one computer or device to another.
I'm a big fan of PDF. Outside of dedicated readers it's ubiquitous and simple to use and view.
So where can we read PDFs?
I'll throw out two solutions:
Look into a "tablet PC". These are typically smaller than a laptop. Most are possibly still bigger than you're looking for, but there are some fairly small form-factor devices out there.
Advantage number one is that PDFs just work. You're running Windows XP, you download Acrobat Reader, and off you go. With a WiFi or other network connection, downloading's just as easy as any other PC.
Advantage number two is that it's more than a PDF reader. You've got a PC in your hands. Read email, do work, whatever, when you're not reading PDFs.
If I were looking for something to do a lot of mobile PDF reading, this is probably the route that I would go.
The route that I did go?
Look into a Palm OS device. Adobe makes an Acrobat Reader for Palm devices, like the Palm Pilot, or my Treo cell phone. It's what I use. I always have a book on my phone (an interesting phrase in and of itself) to read for those times when I'm out somewhere and waiting for some reason.
The down side to the Palm reader is that they must be loaded onto your device from your PC. They actually get converted and shrunk for the Palm Acrobat reader before they're copied over. That means you can't simply download a PDF to your device, you need to download it to your PC, and then "hot sync" it over.
The other downside is that part of that process often loses some of the "look and feel" of the document. It's only natural that things might look different, since the Palm screens are typically much smaller than regular PC displays. On some occasions things can even get slightly mangled.
However for straight text reading, it's a viable alternative that could work with a device you already have - a cell phone or PDA. I know I don't leave home without it.
Article C2677 - June 3, 2006
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I have run across a low cost PDF reader at www.dittobook.com. Not a lot of bells and whistles...just a good cost effective PDF reader for less than $250.
Posted by: W. Mikelonis at June 16, 2009 1:48 PMHi I am also looking for a good portable pdf reader that wont cost me an arm and a leg. I noticed that this blog entry is about 3 years old. I am looking for someone to recommend such a device, during August-September 2009, that doesn't use a proprietary format and that isn't a mini version of a notebook or laptop. All I want is a portable pdf reader (much like a Kimbo) that can preferrably hold a couple of hundred pdf's. Please respond to this blog comment and do remember to email me at [email address removed] with the link to this page so that I know that my request was answered. Please remember to add this in subject line "portable pdf reader". This request is also for Leo, the owner of this blog. Thank you so much and please do post my comment, Leo. I just helped to keep your 3-yr old blog post fresh. o_~
Posted by: Jules Manson at August 27, 2009 1:43 PMFor any related query of the portable devices you can visit the site given below.
Posted by: elainehuxley at January 19, 2010 4:23 PMhttp://forums.techarena.in/portable-devices/
First I used to waste a lot of time for searching the internet for the latest mobile phone and other portable devices. But now I get the maximum solution from the given link. I will suggest you to visit this site for the solution of your problem.
Sorry, but spend around 250 bucks on an Electronic Device PDF or Doc reader, it is a waste of money. Just for reading! I will look for an device lower than 60.00 bucks, that it an affordable price for this function. For now on, this technology apparently is too expensive (USD 250~489).
Thanks,
Posted by: DALSOM at April 27, 2010 6:54 AMDalsom.
Portable reader and PDF do not go together well, because PDF is made for printing, and usually the paper size is 8.5 x 11.0 inches, too big for most portable devices. It is better to covert the PDF to an ebook when possible (if those converters would just work right!). Thus, I would recommend getting a device with that size screen to read PDFs. The new big Kindle does well with many PDFs, but not all. I am sure that it will get better. The new little Kindle is inadequate because it is quite difficult to move the view around the page. On a small screen, the best I have seen is the Ipod touch with Good Reader. This app has facilities to make PDF reading much more pleasant on a small screen. You can crop off the white space, differently for odd and even pages. You can freeze the left-right scrolling on one column. And the display is great. This is particularly good if you are near-sighted (hehe). It could improve a LOT, though. They need something that pans the view thru the columns as you read them.
Posted by: David at February 13, 2011 6:25 PM