Reading Ebooks on iPad

Question

Level 1

0 points

Reading Ebooks on iPad

I have bought an iPad since Apple released it. The first image came in my mind was that it would be a nice portable device to view Ebooks. But unfortunately there is a single mention of PDF support for the iPad—in the mail application as an attachment, which means, I can only view my Ebooks with PDF format in the mail. I feel some inconvenient compared to experience on my Mac using Preview.

Thusly, for a long time I wanna Search for an approach or application in Apple Store to help me view PDF files and Ebooks on my iPad using Preview. And now I think I would find the way to instead of viewing them as attachments of the mail. Google told me that EPub format based Ebooks could be view perfectly on iPad, which means, I need only convert PDF to EPub using the relative application, and then I can view my PDF files on iPad normally. I think this is a gift for my iPad and Ebooks which could be view on Mac or PC before.

MAC

Posted on May 11, 2010 2:09 AM

Reply

Answer 1

ECVOICE

Level 1

10 points

May 11, 2010 2:32 AM in response to HedeNelson

Yeah, you definitely want a good PDF reader. And you do NOT want to convert PDF to ePub (you could use calibre), because you'll encounter tons of formatting errors. Better to keep PDFs as PDFs.

That said, which PDF program should you get? That's easy.

GoodReader for iPad.

It's $0.99. And it'll read your PDFs, big and small. It's also network enabled, so you can wirelessly transfer files from your computer to GoodReader...you just mount your iPad on your desktop and put the files in the folder. (It's very easy and GoodReader walks you through it all.)

That said, another good thing to do is to get DropBox running on both your desktop and your iPad. That way you can transfer files to your iPad easily and DropBox lets you select what program you want to open your files with. In this case, you'll open your PDFs with GoodReader.

Best $0.99 you'll spend in the App Store.

Reply

Answer 2

HedeNelson Author

Level 1

0 points

May 11, 2010 3:03 AM in response to ECVOICE

Thanks ECVOICE, you would give me a great advice.
For just a while, I have tried goodreader on my iPad and it can work well. The point is that it only cost me $0.99. I think I would purchase one. As I have already bought PDF to EPub Converter, so I would use it for other requirements, such as I can use them on my ipad touch and other portable device like Kindle, thouht I now never get one.^_^

Reply

Answer 3

StevePug2

Level 2

376 points

May 11, 2010 12:26 PM in response to HedeNelson

Goodreader is an excellent PDF reader for the iPad. But if all you want to convert from a PDF file is text, then they easily convert to epub format which you can then read using the iBook app with all its utilities. Be wary of expensive conversion programs, however. Also, you have to use iTunes and a sync to get epub files onto your iPad. Just drag them into the books tab.

Reply

Answer 4

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

May 11, 2010 1:17 PM in response to StevePug2

then they easily convert to epub format

Not necessarily true. Converting from PDF to ePub can result in serious format issues which make reading uncomfortable if not nearly impossible.

Reply

Answer 5

StevePug2

Level 2

376 points

May 11, 2010 10:40 PM in response to dwb

Yes it can, but usually because the PDF file had things like tables, vector graphics or other heavy formatting. To avoid such problems, you can first convert the PDF to a text file which simply strips all graphics and non-text matter. Finish correcting any format problems by loading the text file in Word or whatever. Then convert that to epub. But for most PDF files that are largely text, the epub conversion using something like Calibre is fairly straightforward and has good results.

Reply

Answer 6

ECVOICE

Level 1

10 points

May 12, 2010 12:44 AM in response to StevePug2

True...but then I have some PDFs that have all types of errors introduced when converting to ePub. Also, even using Calibre, the formatting can be way off.

In one book, every instance where the text was "ff" was replaced with a square or other symbol. Another had line breaks everywhere. Yet another had a hyphen and a space added in the middle of about 5% of the words.

So...you can certainly try converting PDF-->ePub, and I would definitely recommend Calibre. But for me, I'll spend $0.99 and just transfer the files and read the files as PDFs in GoodReader.

A whole lot easier, a whole lot less time spent fussing around. I don't care to spend time converting files when there's a practically free, no hassle option available.

Reply

Answer 7

HedeNelson Author

Level 1

0 points

May 12, 2010 1:29 AM in response to StevePug2

The mistakes you said would happen really. I have tested the PDF to EPub Converter I have purchased before I posted here. when coming acorss the image, table, it will convert it to EPub as an image, so that the contents would not be messed up. I have tested some of my PDF files and seldom found that there are some garbled. Considering its converion quality,I think it is good, though I also think GoodReader is a better way for me to view eBooks on iPad(actually I have bought one). Maybe I need to use this application for other purpose.

Reply