E-book Reading and the Archos Tablet.

Posted on 07 October 2009, Last updated on 13 March 2020 by

archosebook

I’m no expert on e-book reading but I’m a big e-reader. What I mean by that is that I read electronic content all day long but I don’t read many books. I’ve been working my way through the Adventures of Tom Sawyer on the SmartQ7 and have tried to continue on the Archos 5 but I don’t get very far before I’m distracted by an email or twitter notification and then I’m off into one of those enjoyable but never-ending web journeys.

Based on my experience with the Archos 5, its form factor, hours of using Google Reader (Android formatted) and the web browser I’d say that the form factor lends itself perfectly to 1hr reading sessions and that due to the weight (smartphone weight) and screen characteristics (200 ppi and well-aliased fonts and adjustable back-lighting) many people will end up doing more. What effect that has on your eyes is unknown to me but it certainly feels more comfortable than smaller screens I’ve tried.

I can’t really show you the quality of the screen on a video but you might get an idea of how you might use this device to read e-book content in the video I’ve prepared for you below. You’ll see FbreaderJ with a mobipocket-formatted e-book and Aldiko and an epub-formatted book with online download. One thing missing is commercial content. It is possible to convert encrypted and even DRM-protected content but I’d like to be able to link directly into books from commercial stores like Amazon and Mobipocket without all that hassle.

Don’t forget to watch in full-screen and hit the ‘HQ’ button for the higher quality version.

I’ve shown you Social Messaging, HD video playback and now Ebook reading on the Archos 5 IT but there are at least two other usage scenarios that I want to show you. Next week i’ll be highlighting the Web browsing experience and the navigation experience and that will probably round-up the Archos 5 IT coverage for a while.

If you have experience with dedicated e-book readers, let us know how you feel about this LCD reading experience. How would you feel if the Amazon Kindle software was ported to the Archos Tablet?

P.S. Anyone know if there are commercial audiobook apps for Android? An Audible app would be awesome!

More info on the Archos 5 Internet Tablet here.

15 Comments For This Post

  1. Steve 'Chippy' Paine says:

    E-book Reading and the Archos Tablet. (Video) @aldiko @fbreader http://cli.gs/NdLGb

  2. Mark Hirsch says:

    RT @chippy: E-book Reading and the Archos Tablet. (Video) @aldiko @fbreader http://cli.gs/NdLGb

  3. pk says:

    how about as a comic reader chippy? or anyone else tried?
    at the moment i use my m912 which in many ways is perfect. but if usable the archos would be more portable and have better battery life.

  4. Chippy says:

    What format are we talking about?
    800×480 isn’t the best for full-screen page viewing so image degradation on scaling could be the issue here.

  5. Patrick says:

    Gosh, put a trasreflective screen and you have a almost perfect business reader.

  6. Patrick says:

    Archos 5 really got me interested! Hand held devices like these are perfect for the stuff like RSS reader and ebook reader. Still as i mentioned before transreflecive screen version like with PixelQi would be superb round the home/office environment.

  7. Aldiko Book Reader says:

    Reading ebooks on Archos Tablet with #Aldiko http://cli.gs/NdLGb (via @chippy)

  8. Tiffany Wong says:

    Reading ebooks on Archos Tablet with #Aldiko http://cli.gs/NdLGb (via @chippy) @mikecane @Hadrien

  9. wastemobile says:

    GJ!Aldiko ePub 閱讀器在 Archos 5(螢幕4.8",系統為Anodroid)上的表現很不錯,書櫃頁的比例似乎還有調整的空間,但從影片中看到的閱讀功能確實不錯~複合設備上的電子書接下來應該會很好玩!
    http://tinyurl.com/ybwlxvg

  10. Dennis says:

    I don’t own an e-book reader, but after seeing them in person, IMO e-paper is not really so big a deal that e-paper based e-book readers will push out other mobile devices. Currently e-paper is not quite as readable as real paper, and the long latency of the display really prevents effective annotation. If LCD technology developers can reduce the power demands of LCD screens, a multi-functional device will displace the e-paper e-book readers to some degree.

    In general, the main limitation these days is always battery life and battery technology, IMO. The benefit of a dedicated device (mp3 player, e-book reader) is primarily that using one doesn’t drain the battery on your phone/internet device. If smartphones had a 24h battery life instead of a 5 or 6h battery life, having additional, more dedicated-function devices in addition would seem a lot less appealing.

  11. UMPCfan says:

    I read on another forum that you named this the World’s Greatest e-book Reader. I must have missed something because nowhere on here do I read that you have named the Archos as the greatest of anything. Or is someone in fantasy land? Since you recommend waiting on this device I assume you are being cautious about it.

  12. Chippy says:

    No, someone else called it the worlds greatest and linked to my video!
    I quickly commented on that post!!!

  13. UMPCfan says:

    Yep, I did read your reply on that other forum. Pretty rude to misquote you. The other guy seems to think anything with Archos on it is the greatest thing ever made. Not very objective I’d say.

    Thanks for your down to earth reviews.

  14. Britman says:

    Haha that’ll be Charbax. He is a well known Archos fanboy.

  15. Minh Truong says:

    Video featuring #Aldiko running on the Archos 5 #Android tablet http://bit.ly/2DmeG5

Search UMPCPortal

Find ultra mobile PCs, Ultrabooks, Netbooks and handhelds PCs quickly using the following links:

Acer Aspire Switch 10
10.1" Intel Atom Z3745
Acer C740
11.6" Intel Celeron 3205U
VIA Nanobook
7.0" VIA C7-M
Lenovo Ideapad Flex 10
10.1" Intel Celeron N2806
Acer Aspire E11 ES1
11.6" Intel Celeron N2840
Dell Chromebook 11
11.6" Intel Celeron 2955U
Dell Latitude E7440
14.0" Intel Core i5-4200U
Acer TravelMate B113
11.6" Intel Core i3
HP Elitebook 820 G2
12.5" Intel Core i5 5300U
Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131
11.6" Intel Celeron N2807