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Ask Slashdot: I Want To Read More. Should I Get an eBook Reader Or a Tablet?
gspec writes "I read less and less nowadays, but I realize I need to get back into my old reading habit. Would getting an ebook reader or a tablet help me to enjoy reading more? Would you recommend one over the other? A little relevant background about me: I probably can spare two hours a day to read. I do not travel a lot. I am not a fast reader; if I force myself, I could probably finish a standard length novel in a week. English is my second language, so a built-in dictionary would be nice. I enjoy Netflix, and I have bought many computer/technical eBooks from O'Reilly for reference. I have many technical reference PDFs. I have 300-400 bucks to spare for this. I'd like to hear opinions based on your knowledge and experience on reading using ebook readers/tablets."
Right now I have a Kindle Keyboard. The screen may be too small if you read books with a lot of diagrams or illustrations. The Kindle DX would be better in this regards, but it is a tad spendy.
Regardless of what you get, I'd recommend Calibre for managing your library, and I would strongly suggest checking out your local library system's ebook lending. It is extremely convenient to be able to borrow books at any hour of the day or night. If you have access to different library systems, check out the ebook lending offers at each - sometimes one system will have a wider selection.
It won't be great for techinical books, but for reading novels, the cheapest kindle is just awesome. eInk is super comfortable to read and it doesn't force you to read with an overly bright backlit display. The "page" is about the size of a normal book (the ipad screen is a little too wide to support a good reading speed IMHO).
Bottles.
If you're reading fiction, get a Kindle or other e-ink device, because these guys have the advantage of being lightweight, have long battery lives, and "disappear" when you're reading. You just read and read and can enjoy yourself.
If you're reading non-fiction, especially non-fiction with charts, graphs, and the like, get a tablet. They support more advanced features with ePub.
Finally, the device in many cases also ties you into a store. If you're just interested in loading up your own PDFs, you have free reign to select any tablet. If you want to read books from the iBookstore, you have to go with the iPad. If you like the Kindle store or the Nook store, you can choose most tablets OR their own tablet offering.
Get both. A $70-$120 dollar e-reader and a $330 to $280 tablet. e-Readers are bad for surfing the web or any interactive work, they are also bad for any graphical reading. Tablets are bad for long-term reading, both in strain on the eyes and they tend to go to sleep before wordy pages can be read, not to mention who wants to recharge multiple times to finish a book, and are worthless in sunlight, and Tablets are heavy.
I have a Second-gen Kobo I got on sale as Borders was going out of business. And, I have a HP Touchpad I bought as HP discontinued the product line. Together they cost less than $350. Watch for a sale, the previous generation devices can always be found cheap.
Both the tablet and e-Reader grew on me and I reach for each at different times. I keep both with me almost all of the time. My certification/professional work all ends up on the Tablet for the graphics. O'Reilly publishes their e-books without DRM, so I can put books on both and use whichever works best in a given situation. I wasn't too sure about the e-Reader until I went on a trip without it, I was miserable in an 8-hour layover without it. The Tablet I liked immediately, and have it dual booting between WebOS and Android. The E-Reader ends up with most fiction and non-technical non-fiction, I have downloaded about as many Gutenberg Press books as for pay books off of O'reilly, Google, and Kobobooks. I spend about an hour with each device EACH day. I also have learned to build my own Android APPs and ePub books, not that difficult.
Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
That's not a good way of looking at it. ebook readers are much, much better for reading (easier to read off of is the main advantage, but not having to constantly re-charge is also a huge advantage, as is being able to fit it in a pocket). If you plan to read a lot, I just don't think a tablet is an acceptable substitute.
If you're not a heavy reader and but want to have the capability in case the mood ever strikes you, then reading a book on a tablet is fine.
It's almost a moot point, since a kindle is just $80.
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Ebook readers aren't great for PDFs, but they are leagues ahead of tablets for reading textbooks. I'd leave it another couple of years until ebooks really get all the wrinkles ironed out, then get an ebook reader. I have a nook and I can store tens of thousands of quality books in there at less than the weight of a paperback.
Ebook readers aren't great for PDFs, but they are leagues ahead of tablets for reading textbooks. I'd leave it another couple of years until ebooks really get all the wrinkles ironed out, then get an ebook reader. I have a nook and I can store tens of thousands of quality books in there at less than the weight of a paperback.
I have a Kindle and an iPad. Both have their strong points. The remarks about reading PF files are valid. However there is one other thing to consider, environment. The iPad is 100% useless outside in bright light. I use mine for reading in bed. The Kindle needs ambient light for the display so it is perfect outside, even in bright sunlight.
Since when is "public safety" the root password to the Constitution?
I hate being in bright sunlight so that isn't an issue for me. I have a basic kindle and Nexus 7, and I've read books on both.
Both are a handy size for reading and both can be held in one hand comfortably, though the kindle is lighter. I haven't read so long with the Nexus that I've drained the battery, but if you are going to be away from power for days, the kindle is better because it will have juice.
However, for reading PDFs, particularly PDFs with color, the kindle is very weak compared to the tablet. For example, I have the fishing regs for my state uploaded to my kindle and to the kindle app on the Nexus 7, and it's a real pain to use on the kindle. On the tablet, it's a snap to zoom in on a picture of a fish for example, or on some small print for a particular marine area. It's so clunky to do the same thing on the Kindle that I don't even bother trying.
However, reading in the dark with the kindle app on the Nexus 7 can be blinding. The Kindle app doesn't respect the brightness settings you set for the tablet, at least not once you're in your book. Fortunately, you can choose to adjust the display in the kindle app once you are on a page of the book by clicking on the font size icon -- then you can choose black on white, sepia, or white on black. You can also adjust brightness. I can't figure out why that is in the font size setting area, rather than in the preferences area, and I found it only accidentally. Anyway, for me, white text on black at the minimum brightness is tolerable enough for reading till I doze off. It isn't as good as ambient light on e-ink, but tolerable.
The nexus will play netflix vids fine, though I rigged up a bit of stand by bending up a coat hanger so I can just set it on a side table rather than hold it if I want to fall asleep watching a show. Obviously the kindle won't do video at all. The tablet is a lot closer to having a real computer too and can do interesting things like marine charts, games, etc. etc.
Anyway, if I didn't already have the kindle, I wouldn't buy one now that I have a 7" tablet. It will do what the kindle does best reasonably well, plus a million things the kindle won't do at all, and excels at a few things the Kindle does poorly (like full color PDFs).
I don't have a 10" tablet, but I don't think I'd want one either. At that size a laptop is more compelling to me, but a 7" tablet can be used with one hand quite handily. So anyway, I'd get a 7" tablet and use the $100 a kindle costs for buying books rather than buying both devices.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good