Introducing Head2Head
This is my first head to head review. I'll be covering more of these in the future. Basically a head2head review will take 2 similar applications marketed by 2 different publishers and try to compare all the features both applications offer. A table presentation will be applied to make things clear and easy to find.
In the end, I'll try to grade both apps on a scale from 1 to 10 and tell you which one I use (always or more frequenlty) and why. Sometimes you'll see a winner.
First up is a Head2Head between 2 major eBook reading applications: Mobireader for Symbian and iSilo. Both are very powerful, both are very widely used, both have their advantages and both may be of use at a certain time.
Head2Head: Mobireader vs. iSilo
In Words
What I like about mobireader are RSS feeds, annotations & highlights, adding links, indexes, dictionary look-up, highlights, ability to read books on several types of devices from pc to windows mobile to s60, and sync'ing between all. They also offer really useful books and have a decent eBook Store. Heck I've spent over 190$ over medical books there, I must love this app to invest this much money in it! Still, I think a little more customization won't hurt, like shortcuts, library, fixed pages, find option and better RSS integration...
What I like about iSilo are the customizable shortcuts and library view, categories, aility to rename books, and the wide availability of free ebooks.
Judgement
Mobireader score: 9.5/10
iSilo score: 8.5/10
The lack of annotations and highlights in iSilo can be overlooked. But indexes, dictionary look-up and RSS are just too much to give up on. Once you have them with mobi, you wonder how you've gone through all of your life without them. The dictionary feature will dazzle you, it's fast, it's effective, it's simple: just press 9, scroll to the word and press the middle button. It's something you will get used to quickly and that will save you a lot of trouble opening other apps or going through that 2Kgs dictionary of yours.
Conclusion
In a battlefield, it's a decent advantage for Mobireader, especially that it's free. But on my phone, you'll find both applications because in the medical field, iSilo offers some decent .pdb ebooks that can not be read by Mobireader.
In one word, Mobireader won't replace iSilo, and vice-versa.
Edit: I have edited this post after receiving feedback comments from Fabien Hertschuh (Mobipocket developer and moderator in the Mobipocket Forum) and Darren Chi (iSilo developer).
This is my first head to head review. I'll be covering more of these in the future. Basically a head2head review will take 2 similar applications marketed by 2 different publishers and try to compare all the features both applications offer. A table presentation will be applied to make things clear and easy to find.
In the end, I'll try to grade both apps on a scale from 1 to 10 and tell you which one I use (always or more frequenlty) and why. Sometimes you'll see a winner.
First up is a Head2Head between 2 major eBook reading applications: Mobireader for Symbian and iSilo. Both are very powerful, both are very widely used, both have their advantages and both may be of use at a certain time.
Head2Head: Mobireader vs. iSilo
| FEATURES | MOBIREADER FOR SYMBIAN | ISILO |
| eBook format support | ||
| prc | all .prc | .prc with no links or indexes |
| pdb | .pdb with only text content | .pdb books (links & images) only |
| txt | yes | yes |
| Library | ||
| Categories | no, you can make reading lists on the pc & sync | yes |
| Favorites | no | yes |
| RSS feeds support | YES | no, edit: can be done via creating a file from your internet browser using iSiloX |
| Renaming eBooks | no, only on the pc | yes |
| eBook sorting | no, only by name | yes, by name, date or size |
| eBook filtering | no, edit: yes (prc+pdb, eNews, txt) | yes (all, prc+pdb, txt) |
| eBook deleting | yes | no, edit: yes |
| eBook information | yes | yes |
| One-click access to eBook store | yes | no |
| Customization & Settings | ||
| Shortcuts | yes | yes |
| Customizable shortcuts | no | yes |
| Customizable library | no | yes (can show book size, date added, extension, icon) |
| Justification | yes | yes (disable all layout) |
| Settings for all books | yes (one setting for all) | no (every book can have its own settings) |
| Adjustable font | yes | yes |
| Customizable colors | yes | yes, in theory, but crashes everytime I try it |
| eBook reading | ||
| eBooks placed in one predefined folder | yes | yes |
| Full-size picture viewing | yes | no |
| Tables viewing | fine | not very adaptable |
| Searchable index | yes, if available on the book | no |
| Find option | no (working on one) | yes |
| Dictionary-like experience | yes | no |
| Dictionary support | yes, select a word and you'll see its meaning in any of your eBook dictionaries, or in one preselected dictionary | no |
| Adding links | yes, add a link from one word/phrase to another word/phrase in the same/different ebook | no |
| Full screen | yes, one-time setting | yes, but have to be set everytime |
| Rotate | yes | no |
| Copy | no, edit: yes | yes (lines, pages,…) |
| Bookmarks | yes | yes |
| Adding bookmarks | yes | yes |
| Highlighting words | yes | no |
| Adding annotations | yes | no |
| Autoscroll | yes | yes |
| Page division | yes, but not very specific | yes |
| Go to page | yes | yes |
| Go to % of a page | no | yes |
| PC experience | ||
| Desktop library client | yes | no |
| Full sync of bookmarks, notes, highlights between pc and phone | yes | no |
| RSS feeds reading and updating | yes | no |
| Creating RSS lists and Books lists | yes | no |
| Others | ||
| Price | free | $ |
| free eBooks | can be found | are more available |
| Online eBook store | yes | no official one |
| Device specific eBook encryption | yes (device PID) | no |
In Words
What I like about mobireader are RSS feeds, annotations & highlights, adding links, indexes, dictionary look-up, highlights, ability to read books on several types of devices from pc to windows mobile to s60, and sync'ing between all. They also offer really useful books and have a decent eBook Store. Heck I've spent over 190$ over medical books there, I must love this app to invest this much money in it! Still, I think a little more customization won't hurt, like shortcuts, library, fixed pages, find option and better RSS integration...
What I like about iSilo are the customizable shortcuts and library view, categories, aility to rename books, and the wide availability of free ebooks.
Judgement
Mobireader score: 9.5/10
iSilo score: 8.5/10
The lack of annotations and highlights in iSilo can be overlooked. But indexes, dictionary look-up and RSS are just too much to give up on. Once you have them with mobi, you wonder how you've gone through all of your life without them. The dictionary feature will dazzle you, it's fast, it's effective, it's simple: just press 9, scroll to the word and press the middle button. It's something you will get used to quickly and that will save you a lot of trouble opening other apps or going through that 2Kgs dictionary of yours.
Conclusion
In a battlefield, it's a decent advantage for Mobireader, especially that it's free. But on my phone, you'll find both applications because in the medical field, iSilo offers some decent .pdb ebooks that can not be read by Mobireader.
In one word, Mobireader won't replace iSilo, and vice-versa.
Edit: I have edited this post after receiving feedback comments from Fabien Hertschuh (Mobipocket developer and moderator in the Mobipocket Forum) and Darren Chi (iSilo developer).
1. iSilo does not have text justification (even if all tables are disabled)
ReplyDelete2. iSilo does have a highlighting/annotation option
3. iSilo pages can be dragged, mobipocket can not.