iPad Mini: How are PDFs on the Mini?

[d123]

Originally Posted by WilliamLondon

There are people running around here saying the screen is so awful that it displays PDFs "horridly" - that is simply not true. Horrid? Talk about exaggeration! If the mini displays PDFs "horridly" what words would people use to describe how my (wonderful) Kindle displays PDFs??

If you think that's OTT, there was a post in another thread where the poster proclaimed the Mini screen was "hideous" and he reckons users should rather buy a Kindle Fire for ereader purposes .

[HabSonic]

Originally Posted by WilliamLondon

Nice rant, hope you feel better.

Apologies that I assumed if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, but it's simply not true that PDFs don't display well on this device.

I read academic PDFs, in fact today I read academic PDFs on my iPad mini - reading PDFs is the *main* reason I bought this device. It's not perfect, it can be improved, and hopefully we'll see that next gen but for this version it's pretty damn good (it surprised the hell out of me!).

There are people running around here saying the screen is so awful that it displays PDFs "horridly" - that is simply not true. Horrid? Talk about exaggeration! If the mini displays PDFs "horridly" what words would people use to describe how my (wonderful) Kindle displays PDFs??

I'm talking about the screen size, not the screen resolution!!!!! Seriously, did you read? I just quoted Gruber, it is NOT my opinion, I did not even tried a PDF on the Mini... I can't believe how people are so protective about the Mini.

[Quantus]

If anyone is looking for a good app to read PDFs, try iAnnotate. Lots of features, including locking zoom.

[WilliamLondon]

Originally Posted by HabSonic

I'm talking about the screen size, not the screen resolution!!!!! Seriously, did you read? I just quoted Gruber, it is NOT my opinion, I did not even tried a PDF on the Mini... I can't believe how people are so protective about the Mini.

And I can't believe how silly you're being in a thread *devoted* to the mini. I don't disagree that the full sized iPad displays differently (I chose to ignore that irrelevant comment, given this thread is about the mini and viewing PDFs on it) - I used to own a full sized iPad, so I'm well aware of what the increased screen size means.

This thread is about PDFs on the mini. I have tried them (it's the number one reason I bought the mini - I own a Kindle, and while I love, love, love that device, it's crap at viewing PDFs - not a fault of the Kindle, that's just not its forte), today I even read a few PDFs on my new mini (for school), and the whole time I was comfortable on my sofa thinking to myself how wonderful it is to hold a device the size of the mini and read PDFs without even having to zoom in. That to me is amazing, I love this device and the fact I can read PDFs on it (even academic ones).

Originally Posted by Quantus

If anyone is looking for a good app to read PDFs, try iAnnotate. Lots of features, including locking zoom.

I've currently got Good Reader, and it's got some great features, but at the same time I'm considering getting an app that better syncs with a desktop PDF programme. I was using Skim, but recently got PDFpenPro which seems quite good (on the desktop), and there is an iPad version, which I assumed might complement their desktop version better.

I read a lot of PDFs for school, and annotation is what I would like to be able to do. Good Reader does annotations (I'm just getting to know all it can do) and I have no complaints, I just thought perhaps another programme would be better. I've read good things about iAnnotate, and PDF Expert too, was wondering if you have any experience with any others, or more details about iAnnotate and why you like it so much. Thanks in advance!

[glitch44]

Originally Posted by TaKashMoney

Has anyone tried reading screenplays?

I'm curious about this too, especially the scanned PDFs that aren't OCRed, so the PDF reader can't reflow the text. I would think you could hold it sideways, as the length of the Mini is wider than the width of full iPad, but you would just have to scroll a lot.

[AdonisSMU]

Its actually better than I expected. Its just the safari browser that makes text look like hell.

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by WilliamLondon

I read a lot of PDFs for school, and annotation is what I would like to be able to do. Good Reader does annotations (I'm just getting to know all it can do) and I have no complaints, I just thought perhaps another programme would be better. I've read good things about iAnnotate, and PDF Expert too, was wondering if you have any experience with any others, or more details about iAnnotate and why you like it so much. Thanks in advance!

I have tried PDF Expert, GoodReader and iAnnotate. iAnnotate is my favourite, and I've written about it here. However, both GoodReader and PDF Expert are excellent apps and I think what people end up choosing comes down to personal preference. Personally, I'm envious of GoodReader's zoom window for hand writing, but it's not enough for me to give up the vertical, continuous scrolling of iAnnotate. I sync to my mac using DropBox, but as you probably know there's not mac counterpart. If you want pdf reference management with annotation tools that syncs across mac and iPad, you can try Sente or Papers.

[bogatyr]

Originally Posted by WilliamLondon

I've currently got Good Reader, and it's got some great features, but at the same time I'm considering getting an app that better syncs with a desktop PDF programme. I was using Skim, but recently got PDFpenPro which seems quite good (on the desktop), and there is an iPad version, which I assumed might complement their desktop version better.

I read a lot of PDFs for school, and annotation is what I would like to be able to do. Good Reader does annotations (I'm just getting to know all it can do) and I have no complaints, I just thought perhaps another programme would be better. I've read good things about iAnnotate, and PDF Expert too, was wondering if you have any experience with any others, or more details about iAnnotate and why you like it so much. Thanks in advance!

If you're desktop is running OS X and you use iCloud, you already have everything sync'd over. Just browse to ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ and look for the GoodReader folder. Anything placed in there syncs back to GoodReader and anything in GoodReader syncs to there. No setup required.

[WilliamLondon]

Originally Posted by jojoba

I have tried PDF Expert, GoodReader and iAnnotate. iAnnotate is my favourite, and I've written about it here. However, both GoodReader and PDF Expert are excellent apps and I think what people end up choosing comes down to personal preference. Personally, I'm envious of GoodReader's zoom window for hand writing, but it's not enough for me to give up the vertical, continuous scrolling of iAnnotate. I sync to my mac using DropBox, but as you probably know there's not mac counterpart. If you want pdf reference management with annotation tools that syncs across mac and iPad, you can try Sente or Papers.

Originally Posted by bogatyr

If you're desktop is running OS X and you use iCloud, you already have everything sync'd over. Just browse to ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ and look for the GoodReader folder. Anything placed in there syncs back to GoodReader and anything in GoodReader syncs to there. No setup required.

Excellent, thanks to both of you!

[bogatyr]

Originally Posted by WilliamLondon

Excellent, thanks to both of you!

Also I should note that it requires the "Documents & Data" flag in iCloud for both the iOS device and OS X. Plus GoodReader needs iCloud turned on within it.

[monniewolf]

Hi Guys,
I have the original iPad and LOVE it for reading scientific articles and books. I can tell you that being able to take an iPad with me to sea (I'm an oceanography grad student) versus having to stuff half of my suitcase full of articles, textbooks, and general books is extremely nice.

I too am thinking of getting a mini, but I have a couple questions reading reading/writing before I do. I live in New Hampshire, and the nearest Apple store is over an hour away, so I cannot readily test one. I use Goodreader to read/annotate all my articles on the iPad.

1) How do you find annotating the PDFs on the mini? Do you have room to write notes, or do you feel cramped using a stylus?

2) Have any of you guys used the mini to take handwritten notes? If so, how do you find the experience compares to the full size iPad? I know this is a PDF thread, but given that the thread seems to be focused on academic use, I figured there is a good chance someone here has.

Basically when I travel I take both my computer and the iPad. While I do still love my iPad 1, I have been thinking that getting a newer model with more space on it would be nice. I thought that if I paired it with a bluetooth keyboard, I could possibly just work from the iPad on some days and leave the laptop at home. I am in the writing phase of my dissertation, and I like to be able to write from coffee shops and other places besides my cubicle to help keep me from feeling "stuck." I am just not sure if I would be better off getting the iPad 3 or the mini. The fact that the mini weighs almost a pound less and can be more readily held in one hand for reading is very tempting. On the other hand, I just don't read on the iPad but annotate as well, and wonder if the full size wouldn't be better. I also like to play some games and watch Netflix, but given that the both the iPad 3 and the mini have a better screen resolution than the iPad 1, I am not overly worried about Retina. Either one will be an upgrade for me.

Thank you!

[fraggot]

It mostly depends on the PDF and what it's used for. Also depends on the resolution of the PDF, sometimes they'll a little slow to render but look beautiful.

[aaronvan]

Originally Posted by TaKashMoney

Has anyone tried reading screenplays?

FinalDraft has a screenplay reader for the iPhone. I assume it's available on the iPad as well.

[TyPod]

I've read a few PDF's on my iPad Mini (homework) and I have had no problems at all. I think the screen is perfect for them.