WHAT’S
HOT

   Speed! If I attempted to open a 2Mb eBook in Microsoft’s
Reader (stored on my SD card), it takes just about 1 minute to just
load the initial page. Opening a 2Mb file in TomeRaider takes about
2 seconds. Of course, it’s not really loading the entire file at once,
but you would never notice that difference, for when you switch to the
next chapter, there is only another 1 second delay before you can continue
reading.

SETUP

   Sadly, while the installation of TomeRaider went
smoothly on my iPaq 2215 (stored on my 512Mb CF), the Windows installation
is rather, well, ugly. When one dishes out $25 for a program, one expects
things to look good, even if the installer is only copying over a .cab
file. Below are a couple of screenshots to serve as an example:

  
Now, this shouldn’t dissuade you from using the product. The installer
does it’s job, albiet like quasimodo bringing back a brain on a shovel.
I merely mention this as a note to Proporta: update your installer!
We want snappy-cool graphics! *grin* TomeRaider files used in this review
were downloaded from MemoWare
– a fantastic and free document listing that’s been around since my
early Palm days. Names, size, and location are:

PROGRAM
FEATURES

    First, let’s review the list of features
(copied verbatim) that Handango
has listed:

Super-compressed
and indexed files for fast, browsing, reading, navigation and searching.


Full text formatting, like bold, italic, underline and lists.

New in version 2.5, the full text search speed had been dramatically
accelerated. You can search through ten megabytes of compressed TomeRaider
text in under 30 seconds.

Fast index lookup. This takes you to the page or article you want
as fast as you can write.

Full bookmark and hyperlink implementation.
Now
reads standard Palm Docs (*.pdb) as well as TomeRaider files.
Attractive
and ergonomic interface.

  
Starting TomeRaider takes no time at all – even when creating an index
from multiple storage locations. I was pleased with the fact that it
automatically found all of my TomeRaider files without having to point
the application to their location on the SD or CF cards.

  
The unregistered trial is fully functional other than the fact that
it hides some of the chapters (as seen below):

_

   
Once you choose the TomeRaider file that you want to view, you are presented
with a index, or chapter list. There is an Index Lookup text box that
allows you to quickly find a chapter via text search. This comes up
very quickly and accurately. Note that it doesn’t search the "Preview"
text, just the Subject text.

   
After you have selected the chapter you want to view, then you have
several options across the bottom to choose from. First is the green
arrow pointing to the left. This is essentially the main menu from which
you can either exit the application, return to the Index, or go back
to the File List. The green arrow next to it never lit up. The up/down
yellow arrows allow you to quickly jump from chapter to chapter.

  
The next icons over are the find and find next features. These searche
the text of the current chapter, but the entire TomeRaider file. If
nothing is found, it will ask to return to the beginning of the file
to continue the search (as seen in the following screenshots). In this
test seach we looked for the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus
wept." Search results were extremely fast (under 5 seconds):

  
The star icon is a carry-over from the Internet Explorer world. It allows
you to bookmark chapters, return to that bookmark later, or delete old
bookmarks.

  
Next is the double-a icon. This allows you to choose the size of text,
and if your device allows it, whether or not ClearType is enabled.

  
Finally, there is the full-screen button. This allows you to read the
text, full-screen, returning by pressing an application button. The
application buttons are remapped for this feature, and then remapped
again once you return to the normal viewing size.

HELP
SUPPORT

    The help file included (in TomeRaider format)
is simple but easy to understand. The email address for support is not
easily found on Proporta‘s
website, and when you do find an email address it points to sales@proporta.com.

SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS

    Nothing on Proporta‘s
website, or Handango‘s
product listing shows system requirements as far as processor or storage
is concerned. Compatible devices are the Toshiba Genio-e,iPAQ h3100/h3600/h3700
series,and Cassiopeia EM500 (as listed by Handango).
This list has not been updated to include the newest iPaq devices.

BUGS
AND WISHES

    I found no glaring system-crashing bugs.
And my wish list is short:

Ability
to bookmark individual lines vs chapters (as some chapters can be
quite long).

PURCHASING

    You can buy
this software directly Handango
or Proporta.
The price shown is $25.

PROS

• 
  

  Fast
  indexing

• 
  

  Easy
  to read

• 
  

  Lot’s
  of documents available.

CONS

• 
  

  Windows
  installer is ugly

• 
  

  Price!

• 
  

  Bookmarks
  only work on chapters.

OVERALL
IMPRESSION

   Is this worth the $25? Depends on how much you
read. If the price was even $5 cheaper, I would probably give this an
instant "must buy" rating. But $25 is a lot of money when
there are lots of other ways to view the same text. No doubt that Proporta
has proven itself as a great software company – and they’ve stuck with
their TomeRaider line since the early Palm application. So if you enjoy
reading, and would like to try it out on your PocketPC, you might give
TomeRaider a chance to impress you too.

Have
you used TomeRaider? See something that isn’t quite right? Tell us what
you think! Click on the Discussion Link below.