eBook Reader Soup

I currently have 6 different ebook readers on my Palm PDA, my ebook reading device of choice. Why? Well partly it is because I'm testing ebook reading software, but it is also because no one ebook reader actually reads all the formats I encounter. It seems like every ebook reader out there is about 80% of what you need to really have full coverage of all the formats available and have the features I like.

Here is what is on my Palm:

1. eReader - (fka PalmReader) I have the free version. It is a decent reader for the PDA. I keep it for reading DRM (encrypted) books. I try to avoid buying books with a DRM scheme, but sometimes it cannot be avoided so whaen I do buy a DRM title it is in eReader format.

2. TiBR Reader - this is the very first ebook reader I ever installed right after I bought the Palm. I had no idea what I was doing but TiBR was easy to install, free and easy to use. It is not a bad little free reader, very stable, but it only reads PalmDOC and that format is covered by other readers like eReader and iSilo.

3. Weasel Reader - reads PalmDOC and the more compressed open source zTXT formats. It is not a bad little open source ebook reader. The two reasons I keep it: it is the only thing I have that reads zTXT and it has the ability to beam a copy of itself and books to other Palm PDAs. As one who is trying to popularize the reading of ebooks that strikes me as an important feature: being able to give a friend not just an ebook, but also a free reader for it. Half the battle is just getting people to try it. eBook evangelism!

4. Plucker - I love the reader's interface. I wish Plucker would read some more formats like PalmDOC and zTXT in addition to it's own open source Plucker format. It would make Plucker a better rounded reader. I do like the off-line reader too. I like being able to convert documents from HTML and still have hyperlinks and character formating. I like that it is free. I like that it is open source. This one is a keeper.

5. iSilo - right now I have this on 30 free trial. I will probably buy it. It essentially does the same thing that Plucker does in converting HTML pages - I am still experimenting with it but it seems to handle HTML tables better than Plucker. That normally is not a problem with fiction books, but I was trying to convert an open source game rule book which has tables in it and iSilo did handled the tables very well. I will probably start buying unencrypted ebooks in iSilo format whenever Plucker is not available, because of iSilo's high file compression, font formating and hyperlink support.

6. Adobe Reader for Palm OS - this program actually has a decent interface and they do not try to charge you for it. It only reads Adobe PDF format and it still has to optimize a regular PDF file so it will display on your Palm. It takes awhile for it to do that conversion on my desktop computer. Then it has to be synched to the Palm. There is a lot of code bloat here sometime I think my Palm has frozen because there is a pause when reading from the SD card. File size is large. So far I have kept this reader because I still encounter ebooks that are only published in PDF format. However, I am really starting to think about getting rid of this and see if I can get by without it. PDF is just not the best format for handhelds. One problem I see is that some DRM'ed ebooks are not offered in eReader but are offered in Adobe.

Summary - every single software reader has some glaring omissions or fault. TiBR is the first to be slated for removal. I would like to slim down to 4 readers. I am eyeing Adobe with a mind to removing it too, but I worry about encountering a DRM'ed book that is not available in eReader. I could get rid of Weasel, but then I would have no reader I could beam over to others, and nothing else that will read zTXT. *Sigh.*