A while back we discussed viewing PDFs on your BlackBerry. The solution I saw was BeamReader, though the application was still in beta at the time, and as many readers pointed out, it was quite buggy. Word comes now via BlackBerry Cool that the software has shed the beta tag and has become fully functional software. Those guys explain the advantages of BeamReader better than I can, so we’ll get those words after the jump.
BeamReader is a full fidelity native PDF viewing application for BlackBerry, meaning that all document rendering occurs on the BlackBerry without the need for server side pre-processing or even a network connection. The hallmark of BeamReader is its ability to render actual fonts embedded in a PDF document as opposed to using font substitutes that adversely affect the document’s look and formatting.
If you’re looking for a solution, the price is $19.99. You can download it from your device by visiting http://www.slgmobile.com/download from your BlackBerry browser. If you want to download it to your PC and load it via desktop manager, you can download it here. You’ll need OS 4.2 or higher, 4.5 or higher if you want to read email attachments.
So here’s my question: Is this worth it for you? Are there any better, preferably free, alternatives? I’ve been looking but haven’t had much luck. It seems that while you’re paying a bit for BeamReader, it does pack some nice features.
