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Wow, a eBOOK!!!

You mean I get to stair at my monitor for 84 hours to read a MS Press Book!!

Didn't this go out of style with the words 'synergy' and 'convergence'

over /thread-crap
 
Originally posted by: thatsright
Wow, a eBOOK!!!

You mean I get to stair at my monitor for 84 hours to read a MS Press Book!!

Didn't this go out of style with the words 'synergy' and 'convergence'

over /thread-crap
Click to expand...
I think you could use an "eBOOK" yourself so you wouldn't have to stair{sic} so much.

 
Originally posted by: thatsright
Wow, a eBOOK!!!

You mean I get to stair at my monitor for 84 hours to read a MS Press Book!!

Didn't this go out of style with the words 'synergy' and 'convergence'

over /thread-crap
Click to expand...


Who cares about MS press book or wtf you are talking about. I only d/l and read pure text files in ebooks. Or convert HTML/RTF files to pure text. Then I put it onto my palm pilot and adjust the font to whatever size or type I want then read it. In fact I bought my palm specifically for that purpose so I chose one with a monochrome screen (for longer battery life) and a backlight and a built in battery, and an expansion slot, etc.
Then I dont "stair" at a monitor either. And if "stair"ing at a monitor is a problem for you, better check that refresh rate. Its probably 60 hz on a CRT since thats windows detault. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: matstars
Hey - where can I get a cheap palm to read these books??
how much do they run
great idea!
Click to expand...
This was in a PM to me, it applies to the topic so I'm answering it here.
It depends on your needs. For me I wanted:
a) monochrome screen, not color; to extend battery life.
b) built in battery so I could drop it into cradle to charge and not have to worry about replacing batteries all the time
c) a backlight so I could see the screen in dim lighting conditions. Like if I'm waiting in a movie theatre for movie to start and I got there 45 mins early to get a good seat
d) preferably an expansion card slot so I could add some extra memory for books if I wanted

If this list of features is what you want, there's actually only ONE model of palm pilot that supplies them all. The m500. Its discontinued but can still be easily had on ebay (which is where I got mine, for about $50). And I got one in mint condition and all the original parts and accessories and manuals, and the built in battery works great.
It has 8 megs of built in memory (enough for a dozen books or more), and I have a 64 meg SD card I have in it that I got for free after rebate from office max.

When I read paper books I can go through about 100 pages an hour, and I read in every spare moment. I typically have a dozen or so books on my palm. I usually only have to recharge my palm about once a week or maybe twice even with my mutiple hours a day of typical reading habits, and that includes using my palm as my alarm clock. I can set a number of differant fonts in differant sizes, there's plenty of options in palm fonts to d/l on the net.
 
Originally posted by: Wedge1
The m500. I am wondering if there is an alternative unit out there at the moment that, were you to buy again, would suit your needs as a reader even better than the m500.
Said another way, if you were buying right now, would you pick the same unit again, or do you feel there is something even better suited for your needs.
Click to expand...
Another PM. Hey its ok if you guys respond in the thread you know. I think discussion of practical palm models to read ebooks applies to the topic 🙂
No, no other units than the discontinued m500 fit my needs.

At first I purchased the new Zire 21 which is monochrome screen for $99 because I thought that would work. I was SHOCKED when I got it home and found out it was the first palm since the original Palm I that does NOT HAVE A BACKLIGHT!!! I cannot live without a backlight that I can turn on to read in dim lighting conditions. So I returned that and made an exhaustive review of all palm models past and present to find one(s) that would fit my needs.

I previously had owned a palm VII which was great, but it is even older and has very limited memory, only 2 megs and no expansion card slot (although it still had the internal battery, backlight, monochrome screen). So I wanted one that was a step up from that.

After extensive research, the m500 emerged as the only possible model to fit my needs.
Again, my criteria were as I said above:
It depends on your needs. For me I wanted:
a) monochrome screen, not color; to extend battery life.
b) built in battery so I could drop it into cradle to charge and not have to worry about replacing batteries all the time
c) a backlight so I could see the screen in dim lighting conditions. Like if I'm waiting in a movie theatre for movie to start and I got there 45 mins early to get a good seat
d) preferably an expansion card slot so I could add some extra memory for books if I wanted

The m5xx series of palms were until recently the king of the hill. Its only been since they started the zire and tungsten series that the m5xx series was discontinued. Anyway, you can still find plenty of them on ebay, and I found a mint condition one for $50 which was 10 times better than that cheap piece of crap zire 21 that I paid $99 for in officemax.

Now perhaps your needs are differant, perhaps you dont mind shoving in AAA batteries every few days, or perhaps you want a color screen with built in wireless internet so you can browse the web and you want to pay $500 for your palm. Thats fine, then one of the other models will suit you. But in my case I had very specific needs and I choose a specific model.

Out of the entire line of palms sold today, only the Zire 21 is monochrome screen, and as I said, that lacks a backlight (in addition to having no expansion slot).
 
Originally posted by: Wedge1
Thanks Devistater. One more question: do you have a dictionary loaded/installed in yours?
Click to expand...

No, but a lot of people do. I think my father has one on his. He has a m515 palm I think its called, its a color one.
 
This is a good deal for those that do not know about this site...

Been reading ebooks for years .. from Palm to PocketPCs

The best CONVERTER for HTM/DOC/TXT/

is ISILO

Free Reader for either Palm or Pocketpc.
Files converted are waaaaay smaller than conventional formats so this works wonders for even Palm III's and up. Converts even WEBSITES!!!

It does use a proprietary format but use this to convert your files
Isilo -WEB
 
Devistater,
IMHO, you have singlehandedly raised the price for these Palm m500s by about $20 on fleaBay. 😀😀😀

Don't ask me how I know.
 
Originally posted by: RideFree
Devistater,
IMHO, you have singlehandedly raised the price for these Palm m500s by about $20 on fleaBay. 😀😀😀

Don't ask me how I know.
Click to expand...

Try searching for PLAM instead of PALM 🙂
 
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