Ebook Readers for WM

[Jim chapman]

Originally Posted by Daemonax

Bringing up the menu takes me out of fullscreen and I can close the app, but I have to put it back in full-screen when I open the book again. Also, any hopes of a higher-res icon? It pixelates on Sense 2.5.

I'm just completing testing on a fix for that problem where it drops out of full-screen mode. As for the high-res icon, I will see what I can do. Actually I think the icon resolution is quite high already (128x128 ) but the pixelated effect is happening because the icon doesn't blend nicely with its background. I'm working on it ...

Thanks for using Freda,

Jim

[Gwinga]

I'm using Microsoft Reader on my Imagio. I've tried others, including the latest version of Freda. I like the touch and appearance options in Freda, and I think the program has a lot of potential, but Microsoft Reader is so slick, and it's features so intuitive and seamlessly integrated, I keep going back to it in spite of the it's lack of touch friendliness.

[emerald]

I use the Microsoft Reader the most. If there's a .lit version of a book, I'll buy that over the others. Otherwise, I'd just use the normal program to read whatever .extension form it's in. Like Opera for the .html and Word for .docs and such.

However, I've since flashed a 6.5.x rom and Microsoft Reader is acting funny now. There's a bit cut off on the program. Usually it's just a small cut off, you can see the background (like Sense UI) at the bottom, but sometimes it cuts half the page off and you can't see the arrows to turn the pages. Pretty annoying.

I've been looking into MobiPocket, but I've had bad experiences with it freezing often while I read.

Does Freda support .lit documents? I read it just supports .epub, txt and html which then leaves out half the ebook population with .doc, .lit, .pdf.

[Jim chapman]

Originally Posted by emerald

Does Freda support .lit documents? I read it just supports .epub, txt and html which then leaves out half the ebook population with .doc, .lit, .pdf.

That's right, Freda doesn't support LIT, DOC or PDF. My reasons for that decision:
- I believe that EPUB is the emerging standard; in the future, any book that's published will be published in EPUB (and there are solutions to the DRM question)
- Adding other book types would make the program code more complex (meaning a bigger, slower program with more bugs)
- LIT and DOC can be satisfactorily converted to EPUB using Calibre
- Calibre will also do a decent job of converting PDF, given the inherent limitations of the PDF format

Anyhow, it's open-source code, so anyone wanting support for LIT, DOC, PDF. MOBI, RTF, PDB ... (complete the list as you prefer) can always write a version of Freda that does it

Thanks for your interest in Freda,

Jim

[gnatsstang]

i use ubook reader. sorry 2 say 2 date i have had problems with other readers. ubook does take a few seconds to paginate. but is well worth the time. i like the fact that i can modify all the settings, down to the style of book. having the ability 2 do .rtf .doc. .hrm and .txt not to mention .pdb. nice in a 15 $ package. i have been using it since i had mu ipaq. thanks for listening.

[Hortan]

Originally Posted by Jim chapman

- LIT and DOC can be satisfactorily converted to EPUB using Calibre

I didn't know that Calibre can convert DOC files, at least there's no DOC support in "ebook-convert" manual. I usually use http://www.2epub.com for DOC files.

[Robodoc82]

Jim,
Thanks for all the work on Freda. I have been using MS Reader since I had purchased .lit books from baen.com (www.webscriptions.net) for over 6 years now. I have been able to configure Freda to look like MS Reader and also use gestures to change the page (which is most excellent on a TP2). I have found a couple of things that I am interested in addressing: First, Freda seems to have a large memory cost (~10-15%) so I have been closing the app, vs. running multitask (no real biggy, starts up WAY faster than MS Reader). Second, I downloaded Calibre to convert the .lit books I have (all I have are DRM free). I was unsucessful in getting any .lit books to convert to EPUB. Not too worried, all the books I purchased can be re-downloaded in EPUB format so its not a show stopper. Anyway, Jim, Excellent job. Keep it up!

[Psychobaby]

Sweet! Downloading right now! Thank you Jim!

[modembug]

has anyone seen a cab for reader tab in manila 2.5?

[cruxader]

I had already loaded NETCF v3.5.
However, reloading it with latest download got Freda going.
MS should be more consistent in their naming schemes.

First looks is OK though the long initial pagination is a problem.
One of the use I plan to put Freda to is to use it as a reference device - handling large 100~1000kb text files. Game guides.

The pagination delay is unacceptable for this purpose.

At least that is my first impression.

Originally Posted by Jim chapman

Sorry to hear you're having trouble using Freda. If you send me a bit more detail of what's going wrong, I will sort it out.
The most common difficulty that people experience with getting Freda installed is that it requires an up-to-date version of the Windows .Net compact Framework, and not all OEM device builds include that. If that happens, you should get an error message about the Framework version when you try to launch the app. You just need to download (from Microsoft) the updated Framework, and install it. Detailed instructions are in Freda's manual
Thanks,
Jim