German in Your Palm

Part 3: eBook Software

Software > Intro > Page 1, 2, 3

The selection of German digital book titles, readers and other pocket software for German has been growing steadily. There are now literally hundreds of downloadable titles — from dictionaries and novels to games and time zone converters — for the Palm OS, Windows CE/Mobile 2003, and other platforms. And thanks to German online ebook sources like bol.de and dibi.de, there is a growing selection of electronic titles in German, in many fiction and non-fiction categories: Belletrisk/Romane, Krimi/Thriller, Klassiker, Bibel, Biographien, Lexika, Humor/Satire, Erotika, Sci-Fi/Perry Rhodan usw. If it's classical German literature you're looking for, you can find that at both commercial and free sites, most notably at the free German Projekt Gutenberg site, usually in plain text or HTML format. But there are software programs available that allow you to convert from plain text or HTML to one compatible with the Palm OS or other formats, and vice versa. Palm (.prc) and most other ebook texts are encrypted to protect copyrights and prevent unauthorized copying.

There are two main proprietary ebook reader formats for desktop and laptop computers. The Microsoft Reader™ is only available for the Windows platform, while the Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader™ comes in Mac and Windows versions. Both of these readers are available as free downloads, but you usually have to pay from six to 20 marks ($3-10) per ebook title. (A few titles are free.)

The RCA eBook Reader™ format (formerly known as the Rocket eBook and still called that in Germany), is aimed primarily at its proprietary eBook Reader devices, but the RCA reader software can also be downloaded for use on a Windows PC. Most RCA eBook titles can only be downloaded for a fee, but there are some free titles available.

On the next page you'll find links and information related to the software and hardware we have discussed here. Viel Spaß beim Lesen!