The Great Geek Manual

This is a guest post from laptopLogic.com – make sure to check out their big selection of laptop reviews where you can find your ultimate inexpensive laptop.

With the Kindle 2 coming out, there’s a mass flurry over eBooks once again. The idea of carrying a digital library in ones pocket is absolutely thrilling to some (and sacrilege to others).

Who wants to spend hundreds of dollars on an ebook reader, though? Do you read enough books in a year to justify that cost? Assuming you spend a ‘mere’ $200 on an eReader, you could by 33 $5.99 paperbacks–or almost three books a month every month. Do you read that often?

If you’ve already got a smartphone of some sorts (or an audio player that is similar, a la iPod Touch), then you’ve already got the hardware to make your own eReader. With a few simple steps, you can have your own pocket library for less than $20.

Know your Player

The ebook format(s) you use will depend on your device. If you run Windows Mobile, you’ll have a lot of options available to you: Mobibooks, Adobe PDF, MS Reader, etc. If you’re using Palm, you options are slightly limited. Check out the main ebook programs and see if they’re supported on your system. Install the ones that are.

Convert your Books

Ebooks, like music, come locked into a DRM. You’ll need to convert them into something your player can use. There are numerous online ebook converters available, as well as software packages and even portable apps. This webpage offers a huge list of converters for all operating systems and ebook types.

Get a ‘Library Card’

Not the type you’d imagine, however. You’ll need a flash card to store your ebooks. Most new systems take a microSD card, but some take SD(HC), MMC, etc. A dedicated card will make it easy to store your books and transfer them between devices.

Enlarge the Text

Does reading text on a small screen make your head hurt, your eyes water? A digital magnifier is the solution, allowing you to magnify the text on the page to an easy-to-see level. There are many apps available, and they vary based on your device. Here is a good example for Windows Mobile; the Mobile Magnifier.