Getting an eReader

[natra]

I am wanting to get a Kindle. I have found that you can do a hack on the software to read Chinese books, but I was looking for a way to download Chinese newspapers... Anyone had luck with that?

[gato]

How about getting an iPhone or iPod Touch? The Kindle is available as an app, along with a number of other eReaders, and Pleco, of course.

Using Stanza, a reader on the iPhone or iPod, you can download newspapers such as 《东方早报》，《21世纪经济报道》and 《南方都市报》 for offline reading.

See my writeup about it here:

http://www.plecoforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2113&p=15668#p15668

Chinese books and newspapers on Stanza

By the way, Amazon bought the developer of Stanza earlier this year. I suspect that they will add the ability to read Kindle-format files into Stanza. Some fear that Amazon is trying to kill Stanza and ePub, but buying Stanza wouldn't achieve that because it wouldn't be that hard for someone else to replicate the functionality of Stanza in another program. The only reason for the acquisition that makes sense is that Amazon wanted to save the time it would take for them to develop their own version of Stanza.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/04/28/amazon_scoops_up_developer_of_leading_ebook_iphone_app.html

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Amazon scoops up developer of leading eBook iPhone app

Edited December 26, 2009 at 03:31 PM by gato

[natra]

Ohh, I had actually written off the Iphone long ago. This actually a pretty good idea. ^_^

Screw getting a Kindle.

[taylor04]

I know there is a panasonic manga reader as well. It has an LCD so the battery only lasts about 6 hours or so. It's a little more hassle to put files on and since it is out of production it was 400 kuai for a new one 5 months ago. It's a good cheap option if you don't want to fork out the cash. This is a picture of it, http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/391803794_ec39dbe671.jpg

[gato]

To be fair, E-Ink is better for your eyes than screens like that on the iPhone. Probably should use moderation when reading on the phone.

See this thread:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=651223

E-Ink vs. iPhone

[gato]

The magazines/newspapers available on Stanza through shucang.com in ePub format include: 《南方周末》,《东方早报》,《21世纪经济报道》,《南方人物周刊》,《三联生活周刊》,《读书》,《瞭望东方周刊》,《中国新闻周刊》.

See below:

http://www.shucang.com/journal.php?category=rf&viewtype=basic

[natra]

I got an Ipod touch. Seems to be working pretty well so far.

[gato]

Cool. Let me know if you need any help finding e-reading material.

[zhen_shuai]

Just figured out how to use my Sony Touch prs-600 to read Chinese novels!

The problem with simply loading txt or epub files in Chinese is that there are no native Chinese fonts and aside from very sketchy sounding 'flashing' of your firmware no way (so far) to get them on your device. One way to get around this:

1) Find novel in txt or other copy and paste-able form

2) Open in Word or paste into new Word doc

3) Go to File -> Page Setup

Set the Margins to 0.15 and Paper size to 3.47" x 4.54"

4) Go to File -> Print

Select PrimoPdf (www.primopdf.com) and click Properties. Under Paper / Layout choose Color and click Advanced. Under Paper / Output select PostScript Custom and click Edit Custom Page Size. Set width to 3.47" and height to 4.54". Click Okay. Click Okay again. Now you should be back to the original Print dialog. Under Zoom, in the bottom right-hand corner next to Scale to paper size change from No Scaling to PostScript Custom page size. <-Second most Important part!!!

5) Click Print <- This step may take a couple of minutes depending on the size of your file

5) Set the output settings in PrimoPdf to PrePress <- Most important part!!!

6) Copy final pdf file to ...databases/books/

As far as I know this should work for all versions of the Sony Reader. Basically, what you are doing is creating a custom-sized pdf with an embedded Chinese font.

This would also work for newspaper articles, although it might be kind of a pain to do it this way.Reading eInk is way more comfortable than reading pixels though. And the batteries last longer, too.

Edit: Figured out how to fix the page size problem (see step 4) so you don't end up with wonky pages that don't fit right on the screen.

Edited December 28, 2009 at 10:45 PM by zhen_shuai
fixed page size problem

[natra]

I got an account on 书苍 and have been downloading stuff directly through wifi... Seems to do pretty much everything I wanted it to.

[Gleaves]

gato - Thanks for the additional library for Stanza (http://books.blah.me/index.atom). Good stuff.

I'll just also note that I find the iphone/ipod to work well for reading comics (I use Comic Reader Mobi, which is pricey at $15, but I love it. Comic Zeal is another option).

[zhen_shuai]

Bump for edit that fixes the page size problem I was having.

Also, I just found an open source project that might help people who want to read newspaper articles on their readers:

http://calibre-ebook.com/about

Use Calibre to rip an RSS for a Chinese news site, output to text, open in word processor, print to PDF (using above process) and save to your Sony Reader.

Still sounds like a pain to me though. Does the Kindle come pre-installed with Chinese font support?

[jamesfoster]

I have just recently purchased a Kindle and downloaded a "Learn Chinese" book sample for it. All of the chinese characters appear to be images in this book, suggesting that the Kindle might not support chinese fonts.

The proper way to test the Kindle's chinese font support is probably to create a PDF and/or MOBI book and load it onto the Kindle, though. I'll try this out and let you know how I go within a few days.

[natra]

I read somewhere that the Kindle does not have Chinese fonts. You can install them by doing a hack on it.

[Prodigal Son]

I would get an ipod touch. check out this article: http://www.chengduliving.com/studying-chinese-with-an-iphone-or-ipod-touch/

[Shadowdh]

I got an account on 书苍 and have been downloading stuff directly through wifi... Seems to do pretty much everything I wanted it to.

I am looking for ebooks or whole journals/papers to download and then read on my phone... can you download the whole paper from that sight Natra or is it summaries and feeds?

Is it worth registering...?

[sui.generis]

gato wrote: "To be fair, E-Ink is better for your eyes than screens like that on the iPhone. Probably should use moderation when reading on the phone."

Eink is highly over-rated; useful, but not as useful as it claims to be. Although it is more like paper than LCD, that's something that comes with both positives and negatives. Which is better for a particular person depends on How they intend to use it.

I started reading ebooks as exclusively as possible (selection was more limited back then) in 2003, and now I won't read fiction at all unless it's an ebook. Before that, I got a new eyeglass prescription every other year, because I love to read at night, and booklights and flashlights are a wonderful way to get eyestrain. Once I began using a backlit PDA, my eyes stopped getting worse. I've had one teeny prescription change in the past 7 years.

Eink screens can't be truly backlit at the moment. There is one sidelit reader that I'm aware of (made by sony), but because the light is uneven it would lead to similar eyestrain at night, and because there's an extra layer plastic between you and the eink screen, even daytime reading isn't as comfortable on other eink screens.

Reading on an LCD does require a little more work to be comfortable. Lower backlighting levels will strain eyes less -- you should never use more backlighting than you need at any given time. Also color scheme and even font choice and font size can reduce strain. But even with a little extra work, you couldn't pay me to swap out my LCD reader (my phone) for something with an eink screen.

The other benefit to using LCD is that it isn't limited to JUST reading. Video, magazines, comics, games and the internet are all better when you don't have to put up with a several second refresh rate. On an ereader, the most expensive detail is the eink screen. If you get a smart PMP or smartphone, you can spread the cost to get a better process and GPU because LCDs are (relatively speaking) cheap.

[kdavid]

Has anyone been successful with reading Chinese novels on their Kindle?

I've done a few simple searches through Google, but only find mention of hacks or long, drawn-out explanations which don't seem to make much sense.

If anyone has been successful with this, could you provide/link to a simple 1, 2, 3 guide?

[Prodigal Son]

The other benefit to using LCD is that it isn't limited to JUST reading. Video, magazines, comics, games and the internet are all better when you don't have to put up with a several second refresh rate. On an ereader, the most expensive detail is the eink screen. If you get a smart PMP or smartphone, you can spread the cost to get a better process and GPU because LCDs are (relatively speaking) cheap.

I agree with almost everything that you said there. E-ink, although easier on the eyes, doesn't make up for what LCD's add. iPad is about to wreck the Kindle, big time. I hear Amazon is making their own app store and touch screen Kindle in retaliation. Good luck Amazon, you'll need it.

[roddy]

Any updates from anyone on e-reading solutions for Chinese? See a couple of 汉王 devices in bookstores lately and am quite tempted, but I'm loath to add yet another gadget to my collection. I don't want new phone at the moment, but can see the attraction of an iPhone / Touch for this.