David Friedman <ddfr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in news:ddfr-
D18789.16402705072008@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In article <050720081329587530%nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> nospam <nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>
>> there are also apps on the iphone that don't exist on other
platforms.
>> pick the device that best suits your needs and let others choose what
>> works for them.
>
> Is there currently a good way of using the iPhone as a word
> processor/book reading device? That's one of the things I want a
> smartphone for.
>
> When the 3G iPhone was announced, there was an announcement from a
firm
> that apparently had a sort of office suite for it, but I don't know if
> they have actually delivered or not.
>
> (googling around) Possibly Glide OS 3.0?
>
David, the FruitFone has no I/O other than what the carrier wants to
sell you. Its USB ****t simply isn't implemented to transfer user files
to/from other systems and the ****t is incapable of being put in host
mode so the FruitFone could act like a real computer, to output the word
processed do***ent to a printer, for instance. It's bluetooth
capability is also hobbled up which prevents you from using a bluetooth
connection to a BT printer or other computer for do***ent output,
storage and printing. Your choice is to email it in and out, or
possibly if it's allowed and sup****ted, move it in and out through the
awful itunes syncronizer nannybot.
Ebooks are probably way too big for emailing. I'm not sure how big a
file you can move over FruitTunes, but I suspect the carrier, hell bent
on limiting data transfers to devices they control to boost profits,
will have a low limit or tolerance for huge file transfers.
For ebooks on the move, I'd suggest a Nokia N800 Linux tablet (around
$200). Put your ebooks on any sized SD card you may already have and
plug it into the handy external SD card slot located in a little
magnetic door under the stand/handle below the display. Then,
automatically install Evnice, the Linux do***ent viewer:
http://www.gnome.org/projects/evince/
The Maemo OS2008 ****t of it is free from:
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/evince/
Its reviews are posted there, too.
The N800's big SD cards (mine are both 16GB) have massive storage for a
large range of ebooks/mags/etc. Not limited to just one card, because
the SD cards are all hot-swappable (just open the door which
automatically dismounts them from Linux, pull out the card and plug in
another, close the little door which mounts the new card as a new drive
automatically), you can carry your entire library of books in a watch
pocket in your jeans....an immense library anywhere you go.
Of course, you'll need to make margin notes, highlight text with your
yellow highlighter and be able to make any kind of hand drawings on
those PDF ebooks, I suppose. So, you'll need Xournal, another great
Linux program ****ted to the Maemo platform:
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/xournal/
http://anidel.blogspot.com/search/label/xournal
http://xournal.sourceforge.net/
I have a friend who is involved in major building construction for a
major contractor. His whole company has fallen in love with Xournal
since I set him up with it. There he stands on top of a building with a
troublesome AC unit, let's say. He emails his secretary back at the
office to send him the required drawings and schematic in PDF form for
this unit. She emails them to him. He boots the PDF into Xournal and
makes notes and drawings on the very drawings for the unit, highlighting
the parts needed from the parts list with any notations their
procurement people may need to assemble the needed parts.....then
Xournal creates a new layered PDF file with all his drawings and notes
on it to email back to the office for resolution. As he still has the
original, unannotated drawings she originally sent him, further
notations and layers can be added for further clarification....right on
the drawings......all done from a little Linux tablet up on the roof of
a 42 story building over a sellphone or wifi without lugging the laptop
out of the truck, or going down to the truck in the lot.
Xournal is now one of the most-downloaded apps for the Nokia tablets,
right up there with Maemo Mapper (like having GPS connected Google Earth
in your pocket with full vehicle tracking) and the snazziest media
players like Canola 2.
For word processing, nothing beats Abiword, a part of Open Office Suite
on Linux. Abiword is freeware from thousands of coders working on it
for years. You can run Abiword on:
AbiWord: Sup****ted Platforms
Here's a list of platforms that AbiWord currently sup****ts:
* BeOS (Intel)
* FreeBSD (Intel)
* Linux (Intel)
* Linux (PowerPC)
* MacOSX (10.2 and higher)
* Microsoft Windows 95
* Microsoft Windows 98
* Microsoft Windows NT
* Microsoft Windows 2000
* Microsoft Windows ME
* Microsoft Windows XP
* NetBSD
* QNX (Neutrino)
* Unix (Generic)
and now it has been ****ted to the Nokia N8xx Linux internet tablets:
https://garage.maemo.org/projects/abiword/
This project is in Beta 4 since January, but it works really good.
Chinook is OS2008, which is a free upgrade from Nokia for the N800 so it
runs N810 code. OS2007 is bora, but everyone is upgrading to
OS2008...soon to have another major revision with even more new toys
free.
What's neat about Abiword is all the cross platform sup****t. You can
run the same word processor on Mac, Windows, Linux and your tablet,
without all the conversions and nonsense....for free! Even though the
Maemo Abiword isn't complete, most of its functions work very well.
Onscreen typing sucks, however, but that is easily cured with the
addition of the Nokia folding Bluetooth keyboard, a nearly full sized
QWERTY keyboard with queer, but usable, 3rd function that takes some
getting used to. The top row functions as the number/character row with
an Fn key toggle that slows you down, some. The N810 keyboard is a
thumb keyboard and nearly useless for typing real do***ents. Both the
N800 and folding keyboard fit in a Case Logic laptop hard drive carrying
case like a glove. There's even room for a second Li-Ion battery for
the N800 and a few memory cards in the case if you're careful...a very
compact useful PC when Bluetooth DUN tethered to your Sellphone as a
modem.
FruitFones my ass.....nothing but a controlled toy and box office!
|
