I used my mobile device to read ebooks in PDF format a lot. Previously, I was using Bookr in PSP and I am very satisfied. The display is good and compatibility is good. The widescreen (more than 400 pixels across) allows one page to be fitted on the screen and I don't have to scroll left and right to read a line. For those files with compatibility problem, I would print them into JPG files and use a picture viewer to read them.
Now that I have my Pocket and have tried some of the PDF viewers, I am a bit disappointed. It's mainly because of the limited screen size (320x240). Since I don't want to bring too many different device on the road, I will probably stand with the limitation.
The following contains the viewers I have tried. For those of you looking for PDF viewers, the information maybe of some use to you.
Viewers I have Tried
These are the 4 viewer software I have tried. The Adobe Reader and the PocketXpdf are the ones I decided to keep finally.
The Adobe Reader
I NEVER recommend Adobe Reader for other platforms but I am afraid I have to recommend this for the Pocket PC users.
To be fair to the Adobe Reader, I have no complain to the user interface nor functionality with the software. It's just a bit bulky and starts up a bit slow (and the same applies to the Pocket PC version as well).
Of all the functionalities, the particular important ones are,
Text Re-flow is the functionality that only the Adobe Reader offers. See below another screenshot with text reflow enabled. Compare with the previous screen and you will know why this is important.
Of course, this function may not work for all PDF files. For those with fancy formatting and lots of graphics, it won't work. Note also this function comes with a cost - a conversion software will be installed into your desktop machine when you install the reader software. This also means that you must use your desktop machine to transfer your PDF file to the Pocket PC; you could not copy it directly to your memory card.
PocketXPDF
This is an open source software based on Xpdf, the same engine of Bookr in PSP. I have a very high hope of this with my prior experience with Bookr. It's small and efficient. It has the functionality I want - bookmark works just fine, zoom in/out is not a problem.
The only problem with the Pocket PC version is it has MAJOR compatibility problem with the PDF files. There are very little PDF file I have I could open with this. The limit screen space on Pocket PC also makes this a less useful tools.
Foxit Reader
This is the last PDF viewer I have tried. I tried this because I used it's Windows version and that works good for me.
I version I use is a beta version and I would say it's an early beta version. There are still some improvements needed before it could be a mature product.
Major problem I have with the software is it doesn't has the bookmark function. Also, you could not navigate the PDF file using the navigation buttons. The navigation buttons are used for zoom in/out control (and I think that's odd).
Otherwise, I think it's a stable software.
ClearVue PDF
This is the PDF viewer pre-installed on my X01HT machine.
From my experience on my Pocket PC machine, I consider this a bit unusable for my purpose. I has no problem to open my PDF files. On the other hand, it's so slow that every scrolling requires some re-rendering.
Now that I have my Pocket and have tried some of the PDF viewers, I am a bit disappointed. It's mainly because of the limited screen size (320x240). Since I don't want to bring too many different device on the road, I will probably stand with the limitation.
The following contains the viewers I have tried. For those of you looking for PDF viewers, the information maybe of some use to you.
Viewers I have Tried
These are the 4 viewer software I have tried. The Adobe Reader and the PocketXpdf are the ones I decided to keep finally.
The Adobe Reader
I NEVER recommend Adobe Reader for other platforms but I am afraid I have to recommend this for the Pocket PC users.
To be fair to the Adobe Reader, I have no complain to the user interface nor functionality with the software. It's just a bit bulky and starts up a bit slow (and the same applies to the Pocket PC version as well).
Of all the functionalities, the particular important ones are,
- Zoom in/out
- Bookmark
- Full-screen
- Tex reflow
Text Re-flow is the functionality that only the Adobe Reader offers. See below another screenshot with text reflow enabled. Compare with the previous screen and you will know why this is important.
Of course, this function may not work for all PDF files. For those with fancy formatting and lots of graphics, it won't work. Note also this function comes with a cost - a conversion software will be installed into your desktop machine when you install the reader software. This also means that you must use your desktop machine to transfer your PDF file to the Pocket PC; you could not copy it directly to your memory card.
PocketXPDF
This is an open source software based on Xpdf, the same engine of Bookr in PSP. I have a very high hope of this with my prior experience with Bookr. It's small and efficient. It has the functionality I want - bookmark works just fine, zoom in/out is not a problem.
The only problem with the Pocket PC version is it has MAJOR compatibility problem with the PDF files. There are very little PDF file I have I could open with this. The limit screen space on Pocket PC also makes this a less useful tools.
Foxit Reader
This is the last PDF viewer I have tried. I tried this because I used it's Windows version and that works good for me.
I version I use is a beta version and I would say it's an early beta version. There are still some improvements needed before it could be a mature product.
Major problem I have with the software is it doesn't has the bookmark function. Also, you could not navigate the PDF file using the navigation buttons. The navigation buttons are used for zoom in/out control (and I think that's odd).
Otherwise, I think it's a stable software.
ClearVue PDF
This is the PDF viewer pre-installed on my X01HT machine.
From my experience on my Pocket PC machine, I consider this a bit unusable for my purpose. I has no problem to open my PDF files. On the other hand, it's so slow that every scrolling requires some re-rendering.
Comments