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Text-File Reader in Cell Phone

 Use the screen to read a book instead of playing Pong.
  (+2, -4)
(+2, -4) 		  [vote for,
against]

My new cell phone has one of those itty-bitty memory cards. Well, itty-bitty in physical size, but large in memory. I can put a 512 MB card in there, and I bought an adaptor to plug the card into an USB port. So now I transfer music files from my computer to the phone's MP3 player, instead of buying songs from the phone company (please don't tell them I do that).

But what I want in the phone is not music, but literature. The phone has a large-enough screen to read text messages, obviously. I have lots of text files that I've downloaded from Internet literature sites (I found that any computer screen full of text looks like I'm working, even when I'm Kipling). I can put the text files in my phone, now, with the card and adaptor. But I cannot read them. Yet.

I cannot text-message the files to the phone and read them, as messages have a size limit. I don't want to sign up for web-browsing at the phone company's rates. All I want is a way for the phone to access text files.

I'm not asking for an E-book reader. Just an application that lets me read text files in my cell phone. It would be easy to add to the phone's software, I'm sure.

—baconbrain, Oct 15 2006

Cell phone hard drives Cell_20phone_20hard_20drives
I got the phone that he was wishing for . . . partly. [baconbrain, Oct 15 2006]

J2ME Text Reader http://www.getjar.c...oxReadeBooksforFREE
[theircompetitor, Oct 16 2006]

Halfbakery, low-res text version http://www.halfbakery.com/lr/
If you're using a PDA to access the halfbakery, you might prefer this version. [jutta, Oct 16 2006]

Cell phone book reader http://www.tx2ph.com
Reads books on cellphone via WAP [xipetotec, Oct 19 2006]


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Annotation:







       I'm not sure what the problem is. My phone has pocket Word and I can transfer the file to my 1GB card in the phone and read away.
The only problem is screen resolution, not software.
I can read Excel, notes , Powerpoint and PDF too. Failing that, Email the text either direct in an Email or as an attachment - although you will still pay for the download.
—gnomethang, Oct 15 2006
   

       The problem is that I'm out of touch with new developments, apparently. I've never heard of "pocket Word". I tried an Internet search for text-reader programs, but didn't even know what to use as search terms. It seems like an obvious application, so I'll try again.
—baconbrain, Oct 15 2006
   

       Yeah, my phone will do the HB, too, but it was so frustrating to use that I gave up on all web use before the end of the trial period. I could use my phone's browser to read book files, maybe, but it wants to connect to the internet as soon as I activate it.   

       I am well aware that the phone company would love me to buy minutes to find book files on the internet. I just think that since all phones show text, and have help files in text, and text files are compact, that the phones should let you add and read text files.   

       I looked up pocket Word, and got the impression that it is for PDAs and Smartphones. My phone can't use that, but it can show text messages and help files already. I just can't make it access text files.
—baconbrain, Oct 16 2006
   

       hey, let a guy make a living. And, see link
—theircompetitor, Oct 16 2006
   

       Yeah, that's true. I lost my five-year-old medium-cost cell phone in the Jakarta airport, or maybe the Tokyo airport. When I got back to the U.S., I bought the first phone the salesman tried to sell me, for much money, and replacement insurance for it. Then I carelessly ran that phone through the wash, and got sent a different, better, phone as a replacement.   

       So I have very little idea what phone technology is available, not having done any phone-shopping research for years. But I have what I thought was a high-end phone, which could serve as an E-book reader, very easily, but won't, dammit.   

       Well, if I can't read War and Peace, at least I can listen to the Spice Girls.
—baconbrain, Oct 16 2006
   


 

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