PDF Viewing is Smooth and Fast on the iPhone/iPod Touch: Fast PDF Review
Now i got intrigued by the name of this application for the iPhone and iPod Touch called Fast PDF [itunes >>].
If its name is Fast PDF, you can guess that their are assuming that their edge over other PDF Readers are the speed and performance when viewing PDF documents.
How much does it cost
Its retailing at USD 2.99
What is the competition out there?
For PDF readers on the iPhone and iPad, the FREE alternative for reading have always been putting your documents in Dropbox and viewing it on your pc as well as on your iPhone.
I review a good PDF reader previously called GoodReader [Review here>>]. GoodReader was great at USD 0.99 so if this cost more than Good Reader then i would expect it to do what it does better and more.
UI and Functionality
The prevailing UI for reading application seems to be the book shelf metaphor and Fast PDF uses this as well. On this book shelf you would find PDF books and magazines and documents you have uploaded.
To upload a PDF document from your computer, touch the start server and you will find a link where you can use in your desktop browser to upload the PDF document in
You can also browse for PDF documents located on the web via the other 2 options. But really i question when i would ever face a situation when i will need this.
Perhaps when i am browsing through Safari on the iPhone and copy the PDF link, i can switch over here to let Fast PDF download for me.
Reading and Browsing
I have created a video here showing its performance. What i notice is that loading on the iOS is very fast even for large PDF files like a 40-50 MB Magazine images scanned.
Here is a video showing Fast PDF’s performance on an iPAd. Looks bloody good don’t you think?
Conclusion
Overall i feel that in terms of speed of loading definitely it is faster than Dropbox and GoodReader, although GoodReader also prides itself to be a fast reader.
The end state is that overall reading is fast on the iOS Platform compare to Android currently.
However, what i feel is lacking in Fast PDF is categorization or tagging in folders. Backup and Exporting and integration to other applications such as Dropbox, Box.net is something they can look into to improve competitiveness.
At the price they are pricing, GoodReader still looks much more attractive here.
I would like to thank the folks from FAST PDF for giving me the opportunity to test drive this application.
About the Author
Kyith Kyith is a blogger with interest in all things on Wealth Mastery, Technology, Business and Productivity.
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