Sony also working to improve PDF readability

Original Post from January 21st 2008.

This post on MobileRead forums states that Sony is about to release updated firmware for the Sony PRS-505 eReader.

One of it's benefits will be to address viewing and resizing PDF documents on the reader, which is one of the shortcomings of the current crop of eReader devices that many are working to address via:-

• larger display sizes
• higher screen resolutions (these are shown in demos and evals at trade-shows but none yet released to market)
• better viewing software on the device
• PC host software to resize or reflow - still needs more work and better solutions.

I can attest to this with the Sony reader. It's almost the perfect portable size (for my personal preferences) but documents designed for A/A4 layout with normal font sizes or diagrams or tables are virtually unreadable on it. The iRex Illiad is much more readable, but much less portable.

My personal approach to solving this problem would be:-

• keep external size and portability of the Sony eReader
• use more of the device area for actual screen real estate, reducing bezel size and area for buttons etc.
• increase screen resolution even more, I don't mind smaller font sizes if they are well defined (not true for all people I know)
• make practical a flexible display that folds open to use both sides, and that can be rotated 90degrees to become one seemless double-sized screen in portrait format, close to A4 size with 200dpi or greater resolution.

How many people out there are like me, and will keep their wallets closed until something along these lines becomes a reality?