So What's Up With eReader Pro?

[Adrenochrome]

Okay, I never thought I'd be into reading books off my Palm because I just love the visceral feeling of real books so much. But having two babies and no time led me to try eReader for a book (Ilium by Dan Simmons - good, but not great). It worked out wonderfully because I could read it while holding a sleeping baby or at night in bed or on lunch at work or whenever I could find three spare minutes. So the value of an ebook has been proven to me.

But here's my question: is there any point in upgrading to eReader Pro? I know it's only $10, but the only reason I can see to do it is for the fonts, but they cost another $15 on top of that, and paying $25 just for a non-sans font seems kinda excessive. Now, the dictionary is nice, especially being able to look up words within a book, but how quickly can you get to the dictionary outside eReader? I'd love a kick-arse dictionary, but not if I have to do nine pen-taps every time I pick up my Palm.

So, does anyone use eReader Pro and feel the Pro has features worth it? How's the dictionary? Does anyone use some other dictionary they like for quick access? Any other ebook readers anyone would recommend?

[JulianL]

I like eReader Pro but then again I've never used the free version so I can't comment.

As far as the dictionary is concerned though, there is no shortcut (that I'm aware of) to get to it quickly if you are not in eReader already so that is a bit clunky. The only way I know to get to it is to start eReader Pro (1 tap), hit the menu button (1 tap), select the Book menu (1 tap) and choose "Reference" from that menu (1 tap). At this stage you are then in the dictionary interface. At 4 taps it isn't quite as bad as the 9 taps you fear, but still not as good as a single-tap for a stand alone application.

Once into the dictionary interface it is OK but nothing out of the ordinary. I can't see what PDA you have so I don't know if 320x480 support is an issue for you. I have a TH55 and the most frustrating thing about the dictionary interface is that it only runs in 320x320 mode whereas the main book reading code runs in 320x480.

I think that just for an English dictionary I like the SlovoEd full dictionary, it has a nice interface and the definitions are formatted beautifully. Also, many (I could probably even say most) of the stand-alone English dictionaries are based on the Princeton Wordnet project and SlovoEd have been quite good about preserving most or all of the original Wordnet content, as opposed to BDicty for instance that has cut a huge amount of useful stuff from the content; you wouldn't think they are derived from the same source.

Some people criticise the SlovoEd interface for being slow, but I find it useable. One final point on stand alone dictionaries, many of them offer resident modules, often accessed via an icon they put on the "/" command bar. I have found every one of the resident modules to exhibit some level of instability. Trying to call a third party dictionary's resident module from within eReader Pro forinstance seems to be particularly problematic, the SlovoEd one resets my TH55 when I try it and the BDicty one causes wierd stuff to happen with the virtual graffiti area and the status bar.

Stay tuned to this thread by the way, I'm planning to buy the Webster's Unabridged this weekend so I'll post some comments on Sunday or Monday to tell people how a 37MB 476,000 entry dictionary works out in practice on a PDA!

- Julian

[Adrenochrome]

Cool. That answered a lot.

Definitely post your experience with the new dict. I was eying that one as well.

I write for a living and need a good dictionary right on hand. I used Noah for a while, but its interface is blah and the definitions are less than stellar. On the plus side, it was one button push away.

[mikegehl]

To launch the dictionary with a single tap (from the launcher - home screen)...

1) Using FileZ or another file manager (LauncherX, etc.), find the dictionary file and do whatever it takes to get to its info screen (various file managers will do this in different ways).

2) Check the box marked "launchable."

Now it should show up in your launcher screen along with all your other applications (you may have to refresh). Categorize as you wish.

[bryus]

I think part of it is depends on how much you plan on reading. I have had eReader Pro since it was first released as Palm Reader Pro. I also have the Agfa MonoType font pack and Webster's 11th dictionary.

I really like the improved fonts over the system fonts. If you are going to do a lot of reading I find it more comfortable on the eyes.

I agree with julianl about the dictionary. I would prefer it if they supported the whole screen and hope that it will come in a future release.

Overall I think dont' think $10 is much for the improvements.

[JulianL]

Overall I think dont' think $10 is much for the improvements.
And the $10 does include some "free" books. I'm in the middle of "Black Ice" at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it. OK, I wouldn't have paid $10 for it, but personally I think it's worth a dollar or two against the $10. I read the Star Trek book too, and that's junk (and I like Star Trek). I have no intention of reading the romance novel, so that just leaves "Checklists for life" which I have skimmed (a little contrived, but not entirely without merit; maybe for me $0.50 to $1 worth), and "Shoeless Joe" that I haven't looked at at all. The "Vest" dictionary that comes with eReader Pro is totally worthless, even my vocabulary far exceeds the contents of that.

- Julian

[JulianL]

Definitely post your experience with the new dict. I was eying that one as well.
To anyone that might be watching this thread, I just bought Websters Unabridged and have posted some comments. I thought it might be more sensible to post under a seperate thread so look for my post entitled "Websters Unabridged Dictionary - My Initial Impressions"

- Julian

[Adrenochrome]

To launch the dictionary with a single tap (from the launcher - home screen)...

1) Using FileZ or another file manager (LauncherX, etc.), find the dictionary file and do whatever it takes to get to its info screen (various file managers will do this in different ways).

2) Check the box marked "launchable."

Now it should show up in your launcher screen along with all your other applications (you may have to refresh). Categorize as you wish.
I've just tried this with Filez and can't find any way to make it launchable. What version of Filez are you using?

[Adrenochrome]

Strike that. I found it, but it only appears on files in the Palm directory. The dictionary has to reside on a card. Oh well.

[mikegehl]

Oops - you're right.

It does work for files in RAM. It also works in Launcher X if you set the launchable bit before moving the book file to the card.

It won't work if the book file is already on the card of if the book file is too big to get into RAM.

How big is the dictionary file and what model handheld are you using?

Mike

[Adrenochrome]

Oops - you're right.

It does work for files in RAM. It also works in Launcher X if you set the launchable bit before moving the book file to the card.

It won't work if the book file is already on the card of if the book file is too big to get into RAM.

How big is the dictionary file and what model handheld are you using?

Mike
I'm using a T2 with 32 megs of RAM. The dictionary is a whopping 37 megs, so no luck there. But I'll likely upgrade to whatever Palmone is bringing out this fall, so I may then have the internal RAM to make it happen. Thanks for the advice.

As it is, getting to the dictionary isn't all that bad. I have eReader set up on a button, so I hit the button, and then the dictionary is just one tap or swipe away. Not so bad, but I've already sent the eReader folks a note about it.

[GolfBot]

Hi, what I like most about eReader Pro is its possibility to invert the screen and set different color schemes. Especially when reading in a darkened room (which I imagine is a standard situation for a father with a sleeping child), it really is much more convenient for my eyes to dim the screen, invert it to a grey text on a black background and read. Hope that makes the decsion a little bit easier. USD 10 might save you glasses (more expensive :-), best, GB

[Adrenochrome]

That's what I do as well. Dim it, invert the screen, but I also flip the screen because with a T2 at least, your hand falls into a much more natural position holding the whole thing in your palm with your thumb on the D-pad. Works great, except that the menus are still upside down.

[Adrenochrome]

By the way, I just had an email conversation with the folks at eReader, and basically got nothing. I was asking about launching the dictionary directly, and they told me to buy eReader Pro. I explained that I had it, and that wasn't my question, but they kept suggesting that "all" I had to do was open eReader, tap here, swipe there, go to that menu, etc., all of which I knew. All I was asking was if they would ever produce an upgrade that would give more direct access to the dictionary. I guess not.

[Wazowski]

Hi, what I like most about eReader Pro is its possibility to invert the screen and set different color schemes. Especially when reading in a darkened room (which I imagine is a standard situation for a father with a sleeping child), it really is much more convenient for my eyes to dim the screen, invert it to a grey text on a black background and read. Hope that makes the decsion a little bit easier. USD 10 might save you glasses (more expensive :-), best, GB
The feature of inverting the screen is available in the FREE version of eReader. I also use this feature with my sleeping child!

[GolfBot]

Wazowski, true, but bonly eReader Pro let's me use different color schemes than the black&white one. I have found some color tones other than these extremes to be much more convenient for my eyes. But then: If it is worth USD 10, every one has to judge for himself. Regards, GB