kindle e-reader and scientific papers

**nbo10** · Nov24-09, 07:49 PM

Has anyone used the new e-readers with scientific papers? I'm looking into getting a kindle or something similar. But am concerned about the formating of the pdf files on the small screen. While it would be nice not to have to carry a stack of papers the screen needs to be easy to read, otherwise it's mostly a waste. Any comments?

**Greg Bernhardt** · Nov26-09, 02:06 AM

Kindle just came out with PDF support, but it looks like it has a few problems.
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/K...07719-893.html

**hamster143** · Nov26-09, 03:09 AM

Scientific PDF's are all but unreadable on most modern e-readers (Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, basically everything with 6" displays, which is, as far as I know, everything except the $500 Kindle DX) if you upload them natively. The trick is to reformat them into a usable form. I found the program called "pdf2lrf" quite useful for uploading scientific papers in pdf format onto Sony Reader, that makes them a lot easier to read. The program automatically cuts off margins, splits pages, increases contrast, and it's smart enough to handle two-column PDFs.

On a related note: scientific PDF's are one thing, but just try to find a (legal) e-textbook...

**hamster143** · Nov26-09, 06:50 AM

I took some pictures, if you're interested.

#1: PDF when loaded directly into the e-book reader (landscape orientation)

#2: PDF at maximum zoom

#3: PDF converted into LRF

Shown next to a typical paper textbook.

**hamster143** · Nov26-09, 06:52 AM

And one more shot of the final version:

**nbo10** · Dec1-09, 10:45 PM

Thanks for the reply. How do equations look? I was thinking about the DX because the screen is larger, with increased resolution.

**harborsparrow** · Dec15-09, 10:46 PM

I have had pretty good luck reading computer science textbooks on Kindle 2. They recently improved the .pdf displays with a code update, so you might want to actually look at a friend's Kindle.

I just love the Kindle, period.