Database Develop

Pdf view?

How is this thing for viewing medical journals and text books in pdf? When you side load the pdf is it easy to view and zoom in on the multi column pages of texts like the ipad? Or crappy like the original nook?
Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Here's a video of the NC viewing a PDF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEh0y0safQs&t=0m52s
Also, that's just the default NC app. With it rooted you could install any Android PDF reader.

Terrible for textbooks. I've been meaning to write a review of my experiences. I got the NC almost entirely for use with PDF textbooks, after being disappointed with the Kindle3.
PDF on the NC:
Uses the QuickOffice suite. I don't know if this is optimized for NC (I think it is), but you may be able to take a "test-drive" of the software on another android device.
Approx. 4 seconds to turn the page on a 160mb PDF.
You must swipe down to page turn, unlike .epub, where you tap left/right. This is often unresponsive, moving the page instead of turning the page.
Does not interpret page renumbering. If book preface is in roman numerals, with the relative numbered pages starting after the absolute numbering. (I.e. Page 1 starting at absolute page number 90), it only displays absolute numbering.
No bookmarking, highlighting, notation. Although it will display highlights made on the computer.
No search of scanned images with an OCR layer of text. I did not test native-created PDF.
Zooming could be better. There is a plus/minus zoom, and it has three or four levels, but nothing inbetween.
Doesn't save your place in the PDF. (Are you kidding me!? And because of the page numbering issue, you have to keep track of two different page number systems. And you cannot just text search for a page.)
I do not know how it handles DRM/password protected textbooks.
Root is starting to roll out for NC. But, I've done a casual inspection of other PDF viewing Android software, and I wasn't impressed.
As of right now, my impression is that the iPad is probably the best PDF tablet solution. Note, I hate Apple, and haven't used any PDF software, but I expect that it is well-done.
I think that the Kindle DX might be a solution (I loved everything about the Kindle3 except that the screen was too small for text-scanned PDFs, and the conversion process wasnt' very good.) However, I don't think I want to carry around the DX. They have demo units at Staples. In a case, the Kindle3 feels sturdy. The DX is so large and thin, it makes me nervous. Maybe I'd feel differently if it had a case. I suppose it might end up being about the size of a legal pad holder. Finally, I don't know how I feel about spending ~$400 on an e-ink tablet, which is limited in the applications it will support.
I'm also keeping my eye on Win7 tablets. Native Adobe Reader might be the best solution.
I'll answer any additional questions.

DroidReader has been seen a lot of activity lately and is quite usable. Follow the google groups mailing list to get the latest test packages.
code.google.com/p/droidreader

[Q] "Complete" Word Processor for G-Tab

I have both DocumentsToGo, and QuickOffice on my G-Tab. DocsToGo will let you open a Word Doc, but when you go to edit, it opens a new edit dialog with the previous sentence (at most) visible. It does not seem to allow you to edit many formatting options, and I can't see any way to use it to insert an image file into a document. QuickOffice lets you edit inline, but otherwise seems to have the same limitations.
Is there a "complete" word processing program for the G-Tab that will let me do some formatting and insert pictures, as well as produce a .DOC or .DOCX compatible file?
Is there some way to setup Google Docs like this, and have it be available if I don't have a connection (maybe through dropbox)?
TIA!

I'm using the QuickOffice HD from the Notion Ink Adam and it works great!
It's available via this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928832
Right now, the current version lets you connect to Google Docs and both edit AND create new documents (Word, Excel, PPT) as well as read PDFs
You could easily open a document up and re-save it internal to your gTablet for offline use -- or as you suggest use Dropbox to keep a local folder synced up for offline use...
Google only recently added support for the XML office files to GDocs -- so creation of new documents in those formats isn't natively supported in this version (but may be available in a newer version of QuickOffice HD I suppose)
Long Pressing in a Word document brings up a dialog with the following options:
- Add Image from Gallery
- Add Image from Camera
- Select Text
- Input Method
You can also change Fonts (inc. set Bold, Underline, Italic, etc), Alignment, Colour...
I think that just about meets your requirements (?) -- give it a try...

+1 for quickoffice tablet addition from notion ink. Works great for me!

OK, have given it a try. To begin with, I feel a little odd using it since I can't find the HD version in the market, so have to wonder if it won't up and die on me at some point.
In any event, I was able to insert and resize a picture, but couldn't find any way to select just the picture so I could try to center it. Selection handles seem a bit difficult to operate. Also could not find any way to edit my headers or footers, or to apply my document styles for chapter hearings.
Tool may support all this, but the online help isn't the greatest either. Half tempted to register and see if there have been any updates.
FWIW

The HD version is great. Use it for my college classes and I love it. Have the USB case and this and ur good to go. Being integrated with google docs and dropbox is a nice feature too
Sent from my Evo 4G using Tapatalk Pro

I just side loaded the Notion Ink Quick Office app, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to create a document. Am I supposed to create a Google Docs account or something? Or should I just be able to create a document on my G tab?

goog64 said:
I just side loaded the Notion Ink Quick Office app, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to create a document. Am I supposed to create a Google Docs account or something? Or should I just be able to create a document on my G tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you click the app (e.g., word), then select SDCARD, then press the small + at the bottom, which will popup file or folder choice.
Jim

Got it, thanks. Very cool!

Wow i must say the Quickoffice HD is way better than my DocstoGo full at this moment. Wasted my money on Docstogo...
I like the ported canvas app as well.

This seems to be much better than doctogo.
It asked about registering it do I need to?

Nope it's optional.
Sent from my Evo 4G using Tapatalk Pro

Eink RSS reader please!

Here's what I've tried:
G:RSS (don't want a web based solution)
Google Reader (nice, but not quite)
NookFeed (doesn't work)
Nook Reader (doesn't work, just tries to open then closes)
NewsRob, Feedr, etc...
Calibre - push epub to dropbox...formatting is just a bit ugly. Don't want to have to wait for a scheduled time to sync.
All I want is a nice e-ink friendly app. If you could even get G:RSS without the damn add and the table size slightly increased, that would be perfect.

Of course i would find what I was looking for right after I post this. For those interested:
http://code.google.com/p/sparserss/
No google reader auto-sync, but it can import an OPML file that one can export from google reader (manage subscriptions > import/export > OPML)
Also can inverse the screen, and has nav arrows below. The only problem is it doesn't scroll (with or without hard keys). But the font works out so I can read nearly all of it, and there's a go to link button if you really want to check it out
EDIT: Seems you can scroll down the article with a swipe, but it needs to be nearly a top to bottom swipe. Also once you do this, you cannot use the nav buttons on bottom to go to next/previous, but must back out then select the article again. Still the best I've found

Why is it better than Google Reader?
Google Current has paged reading, which would be awesome. It can read rss feeds too. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on the nook, see the other thread..

unattached said:
Why is it better than Google Reader?
Google Current has paged reading, which would be awesome. It can read rss feeds too. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on the nook, see the other thread..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's better IMO. Less refreshing, quicker, and better use of hard keys (I want had keys for both paging up and down the articles and their lists).

8.9 for note taking

For two weeks now, I've been using my tab 8.9 at work for note taking. I've tried a bunch of apps and stylus and wanted to start a thread where we can share experiences.
I'm a lawyer and need to take a fair amount of notes and sometimes mark up documents. So far my favorite is Supernote 1.4 (the Asus app which I found online) for note taking. I generally like the app, but wish it could export notebooks in .doc format or rtf and wish it some greater formatting options. For now, I don't export notes very much and when I do, I combine notes into a single pdf using ConverttoPdF by tabletsoft (paid version). I really liked Evernote too because it has good formatting tools, but I don't want my notes automatically uploaded to the cloud. If Evernote added a feature to turn off automatic uploading, I would definitely try it again.
For writing, I use a Pogo sketch plus and the swype keyboard app. With a little practice, the keyboard is more pretty accurate and typed words are definitely easier to read than my handwriting. The pogo stylus is a little small, but the foam tip moves the smoother than the rubber tipped stylus I've tried. I only hand write when drawing a diagram or sometimes when providing comments to a pdf.
For pdfs, I use EZ pdf reader (from the market) and insert notes usually using a text box. Text box show up easily when I look through thumbnails of the document.
What apps/stylus have other people tried and liked?

I use Handrite free for writing notes unless I can find something better.
Its pretty decent at what it does though. You write however you like and it will shrink it down to a decent size, I do need to get a decent sketch app though.

Do you not find the tab 8.9 screen impossibly unresponsive? I've dabbled in using mine for notes but never got anything like an acceptable result - including that Asus app you mention.

The screen is unresponsive and I usually don't hand write or draw.
I find the screen plenty responsive to use the Swype keyboard. When hand writing or drawing I intentionally move slower than normal and use larger letters.
Jeremy

I can write text all day long about .5 to .75 inches high, printed, with no issues. I use the pogo sketch stylus and have used another cheap rubber tipped on with similar results. SuperNote makes it really easy to capture notes and I've found another called Quill that works pretty nice as well. Landscape gives you more room obviously. The 8.9 touch screen is just as responsive as the iPads (I've tested both) and so you get the same experience (with the same limitations eg. no palm rejection and you need to write kinda larger than you normally would on paper).

[App] Reader for scientific documents (TeX/LaTeX/PDFTeX)

Since I have invested quite some effort searching for the best reader to use for scientific documents, I thought I would create this thread to tell other people what I found; maybe it will save someone some work:
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In mathematics, physics, parts of computer science and other scientific disciplines we use a typesetting system called TeX to make our documents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX It is a pretty powerful system that ensure beautiful typesetting, page layouts, logical structure, bibliographies etc. almost automatically. In addition, it is the only real way to make mathematical formulae, so in many subjects there is no alternative anyway.
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Using the NST with documents coming from this system is tricky: The re-flowing features of all PDF readers I know of will break these complex documents. Also, they destroy the aesthetics of the documents. So what we need is a reader that can display them in their original layout, but still in a usable way. The only workable solution I have found so far is "Mantano Reader" together with the "Smart Rotator" app.
In Mantano you can double tap on the text section of a TeX document and the reader will automatically fit this text section into the display. While all PDF readers can do this, it works much better here: If you now scroll up and down, you will stay "locked" horizontally, so you don't lose the column will scrolling.
Even when you go to the next page, the lock to the column remains. This even seems to work, when then column is not in the same place (e.g. because the PDF is a book, so it has different left and right margins on even and odd pages).
There is a feature to remove whitespace around the TeX document. Generally this works reasonably, although sometimes it bugs a little. I personally don't use it, as the double tap zoom already works well.
It supports the NST page nav buttons without any hacks.
The interface is quite ugly and disorganized; the file browser horrible. But you don't notice these things while actually reading, and I guess you can't have everything.
I combined this app with the "Smart Rotator" app from the market. This allows you to set screen orientations individually for all apps. I set Mantano to Landscape and all other apps to Portrait. In landscape mode the screen really is wide enough to read comfortably TeX documents on the NST, even without reflowing.
Mantano reader: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mantano.reader.android.trial
Smart rotator: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.xdevelop.rotator_t

rhhd said:
It supports the NST page nav buttons without any hacks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm always interested in this because B&N snarfed some unallocated keycodes to use for the four hard keys.
Are you saying that all four hard keys cause some sort of page up/page down?
It seems to me that if a software provider didn't know about the Nook then only the left two keys would do something.

Yes all four work as they should.

Thank you, it works fine
Imo, the only major drawback is when you use the NST buttons or you tap the screen, it goes to the following page (it would be better if it just scrolled down a little).
Ebookdroid (particularly with NoRefresh) and APV PDF Viewer (optimized for the nook) are also rather good

Yes I agree, that is a little annoying.
Also, it does not support multitouch.