Korean Job Discussion Forums

Sapa · Joined: 05 Nov 2007

I have a backlog of books and magazines in PDF format just sitting on my laptop. I can't see me ever sitting in front of it or sitting on the toilet with it reading them. My laptop is pretty bulky so I tend to just leave it in one spot. I want to get something that I can read them in bed, a cafe, etc.
What options do I have?

DJTwoTone · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 3:46 pm Post subject:

I have a Sony e reader on the way... I'll let you know how it is when I get it...

oldtactics · Joined: 18 Oct 2008

Amazon's Kindle has also gotten decent reviews, although I've never used it myself.

I have a PDA that I use for reading ebooks on the bus or whenever I'm killing time. It's a bit bigger than an iPod, size-wise. Nobody really uses PDAs anymore so they're super cheap to buy online and I'm sure you could find them discounted in Yongsan or other electronics markets.

Sapa · Joined: 05 Nov 2007

Can you actually upload your own pdf's onto either the Sony reader or Kindle? Don't you have to convert them some how? I doubt that would work well with scanned books or magazines, especially magazines because of all of the images.

Rusty Shackleford · Joined: 08 May 2008

The best PDF reader I have used is a modded Sony PSP. Most of the kids that have PSPs, that I have seen, have them modded so it shouldn't be difficult to get it done. It generally runs pdfs very well with zoom and stuff. TXT files are good too but you often need to fix the font size before you load it on.

Mine cost about 200,000w, second hand about 2 years ago. So a new one would probably be about that much now.

I've hardly used it for games but it plays movies really well and the battery is so-so. PDA would be by far the cheapest option, I would think, though the screen would be only slightly larger than a Touch(which can't handle pdfs). The screen on the PSP is great too.

Sapa · Joined: 05 Nov 2007

well I already have a PSP with M33 firmware on somewhere gathering dust. That's great, I didn't even consider the PSP. What program do you need to view PDFs on it.
You don't have to convert the files or anything? I could just stick on a photography magazine and see everything clearly?

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

EricB · Joined: 08 Sep 2007

The Sony e-reader is great. About 89 billion times better than using a PSP (which I've used in the past). The amount of reading I do has increased at least ten-fold since I got it.
As for PDFs, the e-reader can read them, but sometimes the text is a bit small. The best thing to do is to convert them with a program called PDFLRF. I hate converting things, but this program does it quite quickly and painlessly. It basically cuts out all the extra space and zooms in a bit. Also, be sure to download a program called Calibre. You can use that to download several magazines and newspapers formatted to the e-reader.

crabstix · Joined: 14 Apr 2008

Where can I get the sony e-reader? I am studying Korean now and so I want to be able to install the pdf files which I download from the internet onto it and be able to practise reading hangeul. Is the software that comes with it in English? That's pretty important to me.

Also how user friendly are they?

I have pretty bad eyesight and want to be able to zoom.

Do I need to purchase additional software to be able to convert the pdf's I get from the net? Or does it pretty much come complete with everything?

darkpoet · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Location: Korea

After a ton of research over the last few weeks, I've concluded the best e-book reader on the market is the Sony Reader PSR-700 (touchscreeen for notes, sidelights for reading in the dark)... $350 US without a case, charger, on Amazon.com... A PSR-505 has a more crisp screen but no touch and no light if you just want daylight reading and $100 cheaper. The Kindle may look good and the keyboard is neat but lacks PDF support. Sony, contrary to its usual behavior has really kept this device open and can even display the entire google library which is set for a big expansion in the coming year... and yes, you can zoom on both devices. A USB charge-connection cable is included but apparently a PSP charger will charge it more quickly.

Something to watch for though is the Samsung Papyrus (파푸러스?) which will have a touch screen as well and being local will be much cheaper... Samsung is likely to include PDF and DOC support. Another local device is the Soribook but it's tough finding any actual review in English... but looks promising.

Samsung Papyrus: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/23153/samsung-papyrus-touchscreen-ebook-debuts.phtml.

MobileRead's Wiki on E-book devices: http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_devices - take a look at the comparison matric for all sorts of details.

One thing to watch out for, if you're interested in Asian language support is that CJK languages require unicode font support, and info is extremely sketchy about how well non-PDF files work, if at all...

http://www.sonystyle.co.kr/ lists 2 official Sony Stores but no mention of the Reader. I'm going to call them later and see if I can order it without going through Amazon.com (which is still cheaper than Amazon.co.jp).

Sapa · Joined: 05 Nov 2007

Do you think the Sony one is powerful/fast enough to view magazine PDFs on? I've been downloading a lot of great magazines recently but they are just way too slow to view on my PSP because of the images and graphics. I would love an e-reader that meant I could look at these magazines away from my computer.

blackjack · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Location: anyang

darkpoet · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Location: Korea

E-book readers can all display images... albeit in greyscale... 4-16 levels depending on which model you get.

The Sony Stores in Apgujong and Coex have heard of the PRS-devices but said if you can't get it at http://Sonystyle.co.kr, it won't be in their store and they don't know when it will arrive... I've scoured the Internet for alternate sources and thanks to crappy exchange rates or price-gougers, Amazon still seems the best place to get any e-book reader... I'm gonna see if I can't get to Yongsan and see if there are any sellers with anything...

I'm also suddenly convinced a touch screen is not a big deal in a reader, unless there's a built-in dictionary or other reference you can use while reading (James Joyce & Umberto Eco)... something most of the sub-$1000 readers lack.

The Sony PRS-505 is now looking pretty good if I can't wait for Samsung to release theirs... I remember waiting months just to get a look at the Q1. But when it does come out... Samsung is famous for jamming as many functions as possible into a device. I wouldn't be surprised if it had Wifi which would kickass for Wikipedia...

JMO · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

I use my i-pod touch to read pdfs. You just need a 5 dollar app. I wouldn't buy it just for reading but it does the job.

EricB · Joined: 08 Sep 2007

I read magazines on my reader all the time. You can download them formatted for the PRS-505 using Calibre.
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/
You can get Discover, Scientific American, Time, and many others. They are in greyscale, but they are definitely readable. As for being slow, once the file is loaded into memory, there is no loading regardless of how many pictures it has. The 505 page turns are a bit slow, but it is consistent and has nothing to do with file size. You get used to it.
The PRS-505 OS is all in English, and it is not available in Korea.