[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET ] [ 103 ]
[] WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EBOOK FORMATSboth Moon+ and Cool Reader for Android,
which support a larger variety of file formats,
including all the major formats.- For comics, look for Astonishing Comic
Reader on Android or Comic Zeal on iOS
(the latter costs $8).
CONVERTING EBOOKS
So the ebook format you got and the device
you’re planning on using to read it don’t like
each other. Don’t worry — converting formats
is pretty easy. You just need a popular Windows
and Mac app called Calibre, available for free
at calibre-ebook.com. It will convert books for
you, as well as upload them to ebook Readers
attached to USB. It can even upload them to
your online library of ebooks, such as your
Amazon library. It also serves as a capable
ebook reader for Windows.
During installation of Calibre, you’ll be asked
what ebook reader you use, and it will give you
direct upload options if applicable. Choosing an
ebook reader will set the default conversions.
So if you choose a Kindle, it will automatically
convert your book library to .mobi and upload
them over USB to your Kindle. Or you can
choose a generic reader and manually control
file conversions. We’ll assume here that you’re
doing the latter. Then just follow these steps:
* To add books to your Calibre library click
on the ‘Add books’ button, or click on the
arrow next to it if you want to add whole
directories. You’ll get a progress bar as
books are imported. Copies of the imported
ebooks will be placed in the directory you
chose during setup to be your Calibre
Library directory.
* In the library list, select the books you’d^
like to convert. You can Ctrl-click and
Shift-click to select multiple books or Ctrl-A
to select all. Then click on ‘Convert Books’.
* In the top right, select your destination
format (generally .mobi or AZW3 for
Kindle; EPUB for everything else). Then
click OK. Back on the main window, you’ll
see the jobs counter on the bottom left start
as it converts them. You can click on it to see
a more detailed jobs list.
* When it’s done, it will have created
additional files in the Calibre library
directory — copies of the books in the
new format.If you’re using the generic option, you can click
on the arrow next to the Save to disk. Select the
option ‘Save single format to disk’. This will
extract all the copies of the selected books in a
particular format and save them to a directory
of your choosing. If you converted the books to
EPUB, for example, you can now extract all the
.epub files from your library and save them
somewhere, ready for uploading. Choose the
format you want to extract, then choose where to
save them. You can now manually upload the
books to your reader.
If you chose a specific eReader during setup,
you can instead upload books to the device
directly from Calibre. Make sure the device is
plugged in and click on the ‘Send to device’
button. It will upload the appropriate copies of the
books in the format supported by that reader.
There’s a lot more so Calibre, of course,
including the ability to read and edit ebooks.
There are plugins that will strip DRM (see
apprenticealf.wordpress.com) and tools to
directly upload to online shares like Amazon and
Google cloud (which your eReader might be able
to read from in turn). It’s a powerful tool, and
worth exploring.Kobo and Amazon are
the last major providers
of ebook readers.
Pictured: The Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite (6”)
and Kobo Aura H2O (6.8”).EBOOK READERS
Even if you have a tablet, having a
dedicated ebook reader is actually pretty
great. Their E Ink displays give them
better daytime readability and weeks
of battery life.
Unfortunately, the number of ebook
readers on the market has been whittled
down significantly, especially in
Australia. If you’re in the market for one,
you’re pretty much busted down to one
of two vendors: Amazon and Kobo, both
of whom offer a range of devices. Sure,
you can still get a Nook, an iRiver reader
or BeBook on import (or an old Sony
eReader second hand), but you’ll have a
hard time finding them at retail.THE NUMBER OF EBOOK
READERS ON THE MARKET
HAS BEEN WHITTLED DOWN
SIGNIFICANTLY, ESPECIALLY IN
AUSTRALIA. IF YOU’RE IN THE
MARKET FOR ONE, YOU’RE
PRETTY MUCH BUSTED DOWN
TO ONE OF TWO VENDORS:
AMAZON AND KOBO.You can add individual books
or whole directories. Choose your destination format.