Above: A map from Landscapes of Andalucia displayed on an Archos media player. Above right: A page from Walk & Eat Madeira displayed on an i-phone
Although most people prefer to purchase walking guides in printed book form, some users prefer to buy books in e-book form. An ebook is a book that is available in electronic format. Various formats are used, but one of the most popular is Adobe Acrobat, since the pdf files produced by this software can be viewed using media players - such as the Archos range - or on virtually any computer, including easily-carried netbooks or laptops. Ebooks can also be viewed on the more sophisticated mobile phones such as the iPhone though you'll need good eyesight as the screen is only 50 x 75mm in size. Most of our titles are available as ebooks in a pdf version. These can be transferred to an iPhone or any mobile phone capable of importing pdf files (seebelow). They can also be used on an Amazon Kindle. Transfer to a Kindle is easy - just drag the pdf file from your computer to the Documents folder of the Kindle. Note that on the Kindle, all the photographs and maps will be in black and white. The Apple iPad (coming soon) will display books in colour and will probably be capable of downloading our pdf versions. Ordering one of our pdf versions is easy - choose the appropriate destination page then just click on the ebook link to be taken to a form where you can order using your credit or debit card. (If no link is shown, it means that for technical reasons the title is not available as an ebook.) After you've placed your order, we debit your credit or debit card and then send you an e-mail telling you how to download the ebook you require onto your computer. As long as you have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3 or later on your machine, you will be able to view the book immediately. (Adobe Acrobat Reader software comes as standard with many computers but if you don't already have it you can download it free of charge from www.Adobe-Reader.co.uk) Once the pdf version is installed on your computer, it can be transferred to a media player or to a compatible mobile phone. In some instances you can transfer the pdf file direct (e.g. the Archos media player accepts pdf files) in other cases the pdf files may need to be converted. We can provide guidance on doing this if required. Note that in our opinion "Landscapes" and "Complete" series titles have a page size which is too large to be viewed satisfactorily on the iPhone as whole pages, but the Walk & Eat series titles can be viewed satisfactorily provided your eyesight is good. However, if you download a pdf file to an iPhone using the Good Reader app, you can save the pdf file and view it as large as you wish by zooming to a specific part of the page, with the highest possible image quality. (This is particularly useful for the maps as you can zoom in to the precise area you are in.)
Ebooks have certain advantages:
1. Are you in a hurry? They are available almost immediately - no waiting for the post. Provided you order before 15.00hrs on any working day, we will normally be able to e-mail you the instructions for downloading the same day - and in any case within 24 hours.
2. You can if you wish print out selected pages (for example just half a dozen walks you plan to do) or the entire book. Moreover, if you prefer to print pages in a larger size than our normal size (21cm for Landscapes books and 15cm for Walk & Eat titles) you can do so. All maps are included in high-definition so that within reason there is no limit to the size you can print them - especially useful if you prefer a larger type size than is found in the printed book. See notes below regarding printing the large touring maps.
3. If you want to find the place in a book where a particular item or location is mentioned or described, Acrobat will search the entire text within a couple of seconds and take you to the appropriate page.
If you want to see what a typical ebook page looks like, click here (You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to view the sample) |
