Update 3/21/2012 I have since purchased an iPad specifically to read PDFs and wrote a post on the system I’m using – My “Perfect” System for Storing, Organizing, Reading and Annotating PDFs
There is nothing exceptional or particularly exciting about my returning the Kindle DX . But I’ve been talking about how much I want one just to use it to read PDFs that I thought I should share what went wrong.
In a nutshell something call “enhanced pdf reader”. A huge motivation for getting my Kindle 3G last year was the highlighting and note-taking ability for books. Amazon magically syncs them to kindle.amazon.com so you can access your notes any time. I copy mine to Google docs so I can search all of them whenever I need to. It’s wonderful. It’s fabulous. It’s magical.
I read a lot, I mean a LOT of reports, in pdf format and I got to thinking wouldn’t it be great if I could use these same features for reports. No more searching for that statistic or quote through the 3 shelves of printed reports (yes really). So I started longing for a Kindle DX. I read around, I did some research and after months I finally caved and ordered one. I did my research, I read the Amazon pages, they even have this great comparison chart for you.
Native pdf support! Check! It will work!
Except it doesn’t. What isn’t made clear, on the Amazon.com site, or anywhere else (except a few forums after extensive searching) is that “enhanced pdf reader” is required for pdf highlighting & note taking. Commence teeth-gnashing & weeping. So I’m packing it up and sending it back. Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great, but it doesn’t do what I need from it. I also think Amazon is totally missing a market here for students, especially grad students who read so many pdf reports that the idea of carrying them around in a small device and to be able to take notes & highlights would be awesome.
My quest for the perfect pdf reading/highlight/note-taking tool continues. Before you start leaving suggestions here is what I’m looking for:
- ability to highlight
- ability to make notes
- ability to export those notes & highlights to Google docs separate from the document its self so I can search them easily at any time.
- small & portable, easy to read on a plane or carry around with me.
- preferably e-ink, but if you can recommend a super awesome program that will work on the PC I’d consider it.
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