delving into ebook readers

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>
| 
| On Fri, Jun 08, 2012 at 01:45:02PM -0400, Neil Watson wrote:
| > It occurs to me that an ebook reader might be a good choice for me to
| > read PDF technical manuals while commuting.  I've avoided these devices
| > completely in the past due to the DRM issues.
| > 
| > What kind of reader can I get that can read PDF's and ebooks from my
| > local library?

ebooks in epub format are not a problem.  TPL uses Adobe's DRM, but
perhaps not exclusively.  So Kobo and Sony readers should work.

I've not really encountered DRMed PDFs, but they apparently exist.

| I know my wife's sony reader does PDFs.  The newer model she has does
| them a lot better than the old one, but both are pretty good at it.

Does it reflow PDFs?  That's pretty hard to do in a generic way, I
think.  PDF gives the producer full control over layout, and that
layout normally does not fit in an e-ink reader.

Panning and zooming a PDF on an e-ink display seems like a horrible
experience.

With an iPad-like tablet
- you have a lot more real estate
- panning and zooming are quite fluid
- the device is more expensive, heavier, and has shorter battery life

(My daugther reads PDFs on a Nokia n810.  One step before loading the
documents on the tablet is to strip off the margins.  I don't know how
painful the reading process is.)

| I have no idea what the library uses as a format, although the sony
| readers support most formats.
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