Stanza & iPhone/iPod

[Jot]

I just myself a new iPhone to replace the Palm Pilot and phone. But now that I've got it, I'm not sure how to move across all my stuff.

Does anyone create their own documents with Stanza to read on the iThing? I have a few hundred short stories + Gutenbergish novels etc that I currently have on the palm that I want to move across to the shiny, beautiful iDoodad. On the palm, I've been using Repligo (the best ever palm app) but I've still got the originals in word/rtf/text etc. I've also got a few commercial ebooks, but I can cope with them not porting across.

Is Stanza the way to go? Suggestions would be welcomed.

[indro]

Stanza is fantastic but you cannot create anything in it. It is just a reader. It reads a whole host of ebook formats but doesn't create jack.

For reading books on the iPhone, Stanza is good. I read my own pdf files in PDF Expert, and use Stanza to read free books available online.

[Jot]

Thanks indro. Hmm, that's a bit disappointing - I'll have to figure something out.

[jebni]

Indro, that's totally untrue -- I think you're only talking about the iPhone application, which is a reader. Stanza has a desktop application that can convert Microsoft Word, RTF, PDF and other formats to transfer to the iPhone application over wifi.

[Jot]

jebni thanks for that - it looks like I'm going to have to read the instructions. I'll download the desktop Stanza and give it a whirl.

[indro]

Yes. I was talking about the iPhone app. I haven't looked into Stanza for the desktop. You have much more information on that then I do.

[xiamenese]

There are a couple of apps which have been mentioned for taking texts in PDF, TXT, HTML and other formats and outputting them in EPUB and other digital book formats, and which allow you greater editing/preparation possibilities: "Sigil" and "Calibre". I've tried using Calibre and it's definitely preferable to the Stanza desktop app; I also have Sigil and it looks much better than Calibre, though I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

Mark

[Jot]

Thanks Mark. I haven't come across Sigil - I'll check it out.

I've stumbled upon Calibre and am relieved to find a way of batching all the document conversion (from docs to epub, or at least rtf to epub - irony - I had to convert all my document to doc format for Repligo and now I'm converting them back for Calibre. Sigh).

So, I've got the conversion thing happening, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the converted epubs onto the iPhone. I've opened them in the desktop Stanza but all that does is open them I've got to be doing something wrong.

I haven't had this much fun since I got my first palm pilot! I'm loving it. I especially like that the iphone "feels" the same as my beloved PP, even if it is a bit tricky to drive. The only thing I'd prefer is a stylus.

[signinstranger]

So, I've got the conversion thing happening, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the converted epubs onto the iPhone. I've opened them in the desktop Stanza but all that does is open them I've got to be doing something wrong.

This is from the Lexcycle website:

Sharing using Stanza Desktop
The dedicated Stanza iPhone application, which can be downloaded onto the iPhone via the Apple App Store, can upload books from your computer using Stanza Desktop. The Stanza Desktop application is currently available for Apple Macintosh and Windows computers from http://download.lexcycle.com.

1. Launch Stanza Desktop.

2. Go to File->Open, and open a book or document in one of Stanza's supported formats. Note: The text of eReader books will not be displayed, but you can still use this interface to share books with Stanza iPhone.

3. Go to the "Tools" menu, and ensure that the "Enable Sharing" menu item is checked.

4. Ensure that your iPhone is connected to the same wireless network that your PC is on.

5. Launch Stanza on your iPhone.

6. From the top-level library menu, select "Shared Books". You should see your computer name. Select it.

7. Stanza Desktop will then notify you that your iPhone is attempting to connect to your shared library, and request your permission to allow the connection.

8. Once you have granted permission, Stanza iPhone will display a list of books that are open in Stanza Desktop.

9. Tap on the book to download it Stanza on your iPhone. It will appear in Titles and Recent Downloads.

[Jot]

Thanks for that - I'm getting closer. I finally got the Stanza method working but I've got hundreds of files, and the Stanza thing is one at a time. I'm investigating something called "nuevasync" at the moment and I'm hoping that'll help. I may have to read the instructions (but where's the fun in that?).

[jebni]

Last time I checked, Neuvasync was a third party Exchange server, i.e. for syncing stuff like calendars.

[Jot]

Yep, you're right. Just discovered that. Sigh. There's something on the Stanza FAQs about using something called DiskAid with a USB cable, but I didn't have much success with it either (this is very hard on my ego). I shall not be defeated though. It's surely just a matter of persistence. I hope.

Edited to add: Got DiskAid working. Files can be copied from the computer straight to the iphone and then Stanza sees them and gets them. Nearly there!

[Amaru]

I played with Stanza et al for a while, but the loss of format decreased the readability of my files. Then, I had to spend too much time fiddling with the desktop side of the conversion. The idea is great, but not ready.

For a few weeks now, I have been using GoodReader, which allows to you to read almost anything without messing with the original format. You don't have to do any conversions, but simply open the WiFi external disk and copy your files. For convenience, I usually print to PDF from any application and I have a beautifully formatted document to read. GoodReader is a $4.99 app, but well worth it (it's cheaper than a couple of lattes).

[macosxguru]

Good Reader is available for a limited time for 0.99

[Jot]

I bought GoodReader (bargain!) - thanks for the tip Amaru and macosxguru. I initially discounted PDFs because they used to be horrible to read on a Palm but neglected to notice that five or more years have passed since I last tried them. If I can find a batch PDF maker, I'm set.

I've just about given up on Stanza. The formatting is horrible (I'm spoiled by Repligo, I'm sure) and Calibre is just not working for me properly.

The iPhone continues to be lots of fun. I love it. I swear my MacBook is jealous.