New PDF reading software for Sony Reader: Reflowing and resizing will help cope with small-screen issues
Nope, I haven’t sold my Sony Reader PRS5-505 to finance the OLPC laptop. I’m waiting to see if Sony indeed comes through with Adobe Digital Editions, which supposedly will be able to read encrypted PDF and the IDPF’s new .epub format.
But what if Sony first gives us something else, software to cope with one of PDF software’s big failings? The apps loved and hated by millions can’t gracefully process the usual files for small screens like the Readers. But now a Sony spokesman has told Mike Cane:
“…we demonstrated a technology that we are working on for the PRS505. This is code that will allow text based PDFs to be reflowed and resized. This would allow you to read PDFs much better and easier on the 505. When perfected this new code will be updated into the firmware of all 505s sold free of charge. That’s all we are talking about […]“
Now that I can go for, even though I’m not the biggest PDF fan in the world. The growing capabilities of flash memory cards—I just ordered an 8G one for my XO for all of $40 and shipping from Tiger Electronics—should reduce concerns about PDFs’ sizes. I just wonder about the loading speeds on the Sony and the rest. But faster CPUs can help.
Along the way, a bunch of questions emerge. For example:
- Just when will the upgrade appear? MobileRead quotes a spokesman as saying that’s unknown.
- Will this wrinkle lessen interest in Adobe Digital Editions for the Sony and maybe even pre-empt it on this platform?
- Where else will the technology show up? What other products?
- How much of the technology is new? Adobe has used a technique called tagging to make reflowability possible on PDF files. Problem is, not that many PDF content creators make use of it.
- Will the new software even allow readers a choice of fonts styles? Don’t get your hopes up. Just dreaming.
- Will the latest improvement require anything special out of creators? If not, just as Mike speculates, this could be good news for people homebrewing PDFs of their books and other texts.
- Will Amazon take PDF mores seriously and license the tech from Adobe? Hardly likely! But not impossible.
- Will the PDF technology hurt .epub?
Housekeeping: The OLPC XO review is still on tap. Got delayed because of an item I needed to write yesterday for Publishers Weekly.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
[...] hopped over to Teleread and found David citing me (recursion alert!) — and adding the salient and insightful questions I expected of him. Then I went over to MobileRead and discovered they had just a wee bit more, with an URL to a [...]
January 26th, 2008 at 6:45 am
[...] New PDF reading software for Sony Reader: Reflowing and resizing will help cope with small-screen is…Apparently Sony Reader is going to have a way to reflow and resize PDFs for reading. My opinion is the PDF is the single worst e-book distribution method, but this would at least make them usable. Hopefully other devices follow suit.Tags: PDF, Sony Reader, e-books, Tags: Array, artwork, Audiobooks, David Duchovny, e-books, Gillian Anderson, Links, movie, Mur Lafferty, Natalie Metzger, PDF, Playing for Keeps, Scott Brick, Sony Reader, X-Files [...]