Brett's Blog Handheld PDF Reader May 05, 2009 | 8:50 pm There have been a variety of ebook readers over the years. Most of them simply display text and a minimal of graphics. Sony has one that also displays PDFs, but I haven't seen it in person. Then there's the iPod Touch and iPhone, but how much can the small screens really display? You can get cheap mini-notebooks, but again, the screens are limited, plus it's a still a handful. I want a computer that is the size of a softcover book that displays PDFs full-screen. It should be quite easy and low-cost to build. First, design a motherboard with a mobile processor, basic video support, touch screen, and pack in USB, Wi-Fi, a flash drive (solid state drive), and possibly Bluetooth. The display could even be grayscale to save on money. Then pack it with some form of Linux, a PDF reader, custom virtual keypad, and custom launching application. Pretty simply really. If I was a computer manufacturer, that's what I would do. It would also be easy to upgrade via software. Who can make me one of these? 5 Comments | Add Comment | Permanent Link | Return to Overview roryb Commented: May 06, 2009 | 1:37 am I hear you; I actually do use my iPhone as my handheld .PDF reader. It's certainly not ideal, and I wish there was a better app for bookmarks, form controls, etc. The small sized screen doesn't bother me so much. cknason Commented: May 06, 2009 | 11:04 am I'd go for that in a heartbeat. The tech is easy and cheap, though I wonder about the market. I still wonder why Amazon's Kindle is so stupidly expensive when the files it displays are basically stripped down HTML and not even full-blown PDFs. I'd love to be able to take my stuff with me wherever I go to read and browse but in a very portable, streamlined, and user-friendly package. Brett Commented: May 06, 2009 | 11:30 am I've been following this for some time, but it's optimized for web browsing. Brett Commented: May 06, 2009 | 1:10 pm It looks like Amazon released the Kindle DX which has native PDF support finally. However, it is $500. Forget it. mtwofive Commented: May 06, 2009 | 3:02 pm I can get about a quarter of a page at an easily readable resolution on an iPod Touch. It works, and it is beautifully portable, but it isn't ideal. http://www.eink.com claims that they have prototyped a flexible touch screen display (at Arizona State University). It looks like they are going for military applications, but I think it would make a great basis for an electronic book. If only it was in colour. Add Comment