Why No Acrobat Reader?

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
I know you can buy applications from the app store to view them but with PDF being native in Mac OS X, how come Apple has not created a PDF viewer? Or even Adobe for that matter?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    Perhaps for the very reason you mentioned. There are already several dozen Apps in the store that do it, why should Apple and/or Adobe waste resources developing a duplicate?



    Now, I'm sure Apple could probably do it "better" than some with regards to sticking to a standardized interface... and having access to non-public API's and all... but... it'd still be redundant.
  • Reply 2 of 14
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Well that's exactly it, Apple could make a better one plus it would be free and PDF support in iTunes, at least to upload would be very nice.
  • Reply 3 of 14
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    I'm surprised Adobe doesn't develop it. Apple on the other hand, I never understood why they had to re-invent the wheel. Although sadly Preview is better at several things than Reader, oddly enough. Kind of embarrassing for Adobe I mean. Of course, wouldn't it be nice if Adobe/Apple also made Flash for iPhone. \
  • Reply 4 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aquatic View Post


    ... Of course, wouldn't it be nice if Adobe/Apple also made Flash for iPhone. \



    NO NO NO !!!!





    What would be "Nice", is if website designers would quit using Flash on their sites!!!
  • Reply 5 of 14
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    As you say, it is native to the OS and you can view PDF files just fine on the iPhone.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    As you say, it is native to the OS and you can view PDF files just fine on the iPhone.



    My point is, the apps that are out there are not easy to get PDFs to the iPhone and, are not free. I am not complaining about 99 cent apps to view PDFs, it's just that it should be included with the iPhone OS, as it is included with the Mac OS.
  • Reply 7 of 14
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    My point is, the apps that are out there are not easy to get PDFs to the iPhone and, are not free. I am not complaining about 99 cent apps to view PDFs, it's just that it should be included with the iPhone OS, as it is included with the Mac OS.



    My point is, that you don't need a separate app to view PDFs on the iPhone. It is a native file format and can be viewed without any app, whether free, $0.99 or $999....no app needed.



    Now if you are not asking for a PDF viewer and are instead looking for a why to get files onto the iPhone for viewing, that is a completely different issue. Already you can email them and read them on the iPhone, or copy them to your iDisk and then read them on your iPhone or put them on DropBox and use their app to access them and then read them on your iPhone.



    getting the files to the iPhone is completely, totally different that being able to view them. You can view them on the iPhone with no app required. period.
  • Reply 8 of 14
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    PDF viewing is included in the iPhone OS, open an attachment in mail or a link to a pdf in Safari and they open just fine.



    PDF was open sourced, therefore there are plenty of alternatives to Adobe unlike Flash which wasn't so Adobe retains complete control.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    ... copy them to your iDisk and then read them on your iPhone [or Touch]...



    This worked with the iPod Touch until Apple broke it with the last 3.x update. When Apple first enabled this, you could log in to your iDisk from your Touch and open a PDF. The file would be cached onto your Touch and you could read the file anytime and anywhere you wanted. No WiFi required. But with the last update the Touch insists on connectivity to your MobleMe iDisk. No WiFi, no connectivity, no file. Somebody at Apple has their head stuck up their 3G butt. They need to pull it out and look around, we are not all AT&T drones.
  • Reply 10 of 14
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aresee View Post


    This worked with the iPod Touch until Apple broke it with the last 3.x update. When Apple first enabled this, you could log in to your iDisk from your Touch and open a PDF. The file would be cached onto your Touch and you could read the file anytime and anywhere you wanted. No WiFi required. But with the last update the Touch insists on connectivity to your MobleMe iDisk. No WiFi, no connectivity, no file. Somebody at Apple has their head stuck up their 3G butt. They need to pull it out and look around, we are not all AT&T drones.



    Sure, and that relates to the ease and ability to get files to the iPhone or to access files from the iPhone. It has absolutely nothing to do with whether you can view PDF files, specifically. Once you can access files, whether locally or on a network, if it is a PDF, the OS support viewing the PDF natively.



    I guess it is just confusing that someone would complain about a missing feature that is not actually missing. It has in fact been in the OS since the beginning. Sort of like complaining that the iPhone has no UI or no web browser or no dialer...
  • Reply 11 of 14
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    I would not call emailing them or uploading them as an easy method of viewing PDFs. I have several hundred eBooks, I am not about to email them all or upload them all to MobileMe. While I know that it's native, I am really talking about an easy solution specifically designed to upload and view PDFs. I never said it was missing from the phone itself.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    I would not call emailing them or uploading them as an easy method of viewing PDFs. I have several hundred eBooks, I am not about to email them all or upload them all to MobileMe. While I know that it's native, I am really talking about an easy solution specifically designed to upload and view PDFs. I never said it was missing from the phone itself.



    Try "FileMagnet". It's not flawless, but I find it works very well for reading eBooks... .pdf, .txt, .doc, and many other formats. Rather than flipping pages, it uses tilt-scrolling... a feature I really like. It's method for uploading files is simply drag-and drop on a Mac-based desktop app., followed by wireless syncing. Push transfer would be nicer, but... it's the best reader for me so far.
  • Reply 13 of 14
    tulkastulkas Posts: 3,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    I would not call emailing them or uploading them as an easy method of viewing PDFs. I have several hundred eBooks, I am not about to email them all or upload them all to MobileMe. While I know that it's native, I am really talking about an easy solution specifically designed to upload and view PDFs. I never said it was missing from the phone itself.



    You did actually:

    Quote:

    how come Apple has not created a PDF viewer?



    i.e., it must then be missing...it isn't.



    So, what you are really looking for has nothing at all to do with PDFs but with general file access and management. Once again viewing PDFs on the iPhone is very easy, no matter how difficult one wants to say it is. Getting PDF files or any other file onto the iPhone is the challenge you are actually trying to solve. Just taking a very confusing path to the solution and asking the entirely wrong questions.
  • Reply 14 of 14
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post


    You did actually:



    i.e., it must then be missing...it isn't.



    So, what you are really looking for has nothing at all to do with PDFs but with general file access and management. Once again viewing PDFs on the iPhone is very easy, no matter how difficult one wants to say it is. Getting PDF files or any other file onto the iPhone is the challenge you are actually trying to solve. Just taking a very confusing path to the solution and asking the entirely wrong questions.



    Wow. Okay. They have not created an application that is specifically designed to view PDFs. Sorry I did not get specific. What I am looking for is the total package with simplified installation. If anyone could do it, Apple could. And they haven't.
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