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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."
I got an kindle dx which was terrible for pdfs, my main interest. Now I have an iPad and use goodreader and it is awesome.
If you get an iPad, and you're not disciplined, you'll find yourself doing everything else but reading books because it's really nice to use. Ebook readers with browsers or application support are still pretty limited.
Why not both? You can easily buy two tablets for $300-400. One e-ink device @ $100 and one tablet @$200-300
I prefer the Kindle because it doesn't have a backlight. I find it tires my eyes much less, like reading a regular book. Try one of each and see which one works out better for you.
The have a wide selection, great price, and 2 weeks to read it.
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.
I would recommend eInk. Less eye-strain. Less battery drain (weeks between charges). And seems to work great in strong sunlight or other adverse conditions.
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Tablets are multi-media devices. They do it all. eInk based e-readers are just for books and they do it exceptionally.
PS - The text on this page is insanely small and CTRL+ won't fix it. What the hell
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.
Like 75-100 books. Do you really need an e-reader just to read? Plus many e-books are overpriced, where used books only cost 1 penny plus shipping.
If it were me I'd buy the cheaper e-book available which is the Kindle for $79. I wouldn't go spending hundreds of dollars on a device.
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I had this same problem. I *love* to read, but I was hardly reading anything.
Then my wife got me a Nook Color. And it's awesome
- Decent price
- B&N reader (very good!)
- on-line dictionary (English is my 3rd language)
- I can read ePubs and PDFs fine
- New Nook Color has Netflix
- Rooteable and good Nook Rooter community
- B&N has free ebooks every week
- If you root it, you can install Kindle Android App
- MicroSD slot
- Decent battery life
- Not awful reading outside
- I can read at night
- (...)
So in those last 2 years I've read a lot, a little bit during lunch and some week-end marathons when wife is at work.
All in all, I love it and give it my OpKool Seal of Approval.
--- Peace!
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....
You'll fart around and waste time on the internet with a tablet.
At least, that's what I'd probably do...
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
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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When I read for pleasure, I used a Sony 505, and, before that, a COOL-ER reader. Each had its flaws, but, for the simple act of displaying a page in an easy-on-the-eye manner, they were streets ahead of the iPad. They are different things, for sure — I'm happy with my iPad for annotating my reading, as I tend to read mostly academic works now, and, when I do read for pleasure, I use the iPad, simply because it's with me, and the best book is the one I have to hand. But if I were looking for something to read for pleasure, I'd go for eInk, whether a Kindle or something else.
Oh, and I'd make sure I had DeDRM and Calibre installed, to ensure that I can read any book I purchase on any software client I like :)
But really -- hear me out. I found myself in the same position, having once been a voracious reader to not reading books at all. And I found that when I did make a conscious effort to start reading books again, I would finish a book and then take some time to start another, up to a year - or worse, start reading a book I really did not like, *cough*Crytonomicon*cough* which would stop me from reading all together for a period because I felt obligated to finish something that I really, really hated reading and would never actually get around to finishing.
What did get me "reading" again on a regular basis was audio books. It seems that it wasn't so much my lack of interest in reading, but my lack of ability to make time for reading and that the pace of my life is much more condensed than it was in my early 20s. So audiobooks fit in with my schedule better, I can listen to them while driving, while eating or while working and have averaged about 4 books a month. And since it was much less effort of my time, I found that I could even make it through books I found I HATED such as Bleak House (sorry Dickens -- that was a long-winded turd), if only because it didn't take physical effort of actually reading the book and feeling I was wasting my time. Audiobooks are not dumbed down and while being read to you, they require your mind to provide the mental imagery and are every bit as cerebral as a paper or digital book. And often times they have well known actors such as Tim Curry, or even Samuel L Jackson doing the narration, which adds it's own element to the book.
So you might want to ask if it's rally a factor of being able to make time and how busy your schedule is, and if it is pretty busy to the point of being unable to keep a constant commitment to a couple hours a day for reading, you might want to head over to Audible and give audio books a go.
If you want to read more go get some dead tree books for free (library/friends) or cheap (swap meets, garage sales, used book stores) and save your money.
If you want something JUST to read go for an ebook reader for the longer life.
If you want a justification to get a tablet, just admit it to yourself that you want to play angry birds or use/try other apps and buy one.
1. They're easier on the eyes.
2. They retain their resale value; trying to resell an ebook ranges from hard to impossible.
3. They never crash.
4. They work even when you're out of battery power.
5. If you drop them, the book (and 500 others) doesn't instantly become completely useless.
6. You're not beholden to any particular supplier.
7. Neither Apple nor Amazon can remove the book from your house if they decide that releasing it was a mistake.
8. They look great on shelves.
9. They provide insulation in the winter.
10. You don't have to turn the book off for takeoffs and landings.
Of course, I'm hardly a neutral observer. On the other hand, I do take my own advice.
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If yo read it, then your desire to read has come back. If you don't finish it then you're really just kidding yourself - so no amount of technology will re-kindle (groan, no pun intended) your earlier love of reading. Either you want to read, in which case yo will, or you don't. Simply buying a new toy won't kickstart it. But I reckon you already knew that.
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I know I'm in the minority here--particularly on Slashdot, I'm sure--but I absolutely hate books.
Before getting my kindle, I read only while in high school and college, and only during class. After graduating, I read almost nothing. Since getting my kindle, I read on my commutes, and even take out time to read when I'm at home and could be on the Internet or playing a game.
Books are bulky. It's a pain to keep your place. The feel of the paper in paperback books gives me goosebumps. I find the smell of books unpleasant. You have to hold the books open, making reading one-handed challenging (a necessity on subways, and also helpful for reading in bed). Holding books open is particularly annoying at the start and end of the book, when the two halves are quite lopsided.
Like I said, I know I'm in the minority, but as far as I'm concerned books are almost singularly unsuitable as a medium for recreational reading.
Why does everyone here want/recommend an idevice? I thought slashdot was a little more enlightened than this, and an ipad2? The screen resolution's not all that special at reading range and it's too large, what about the lovely nexus7, high res screen, good size for reading, cheap, or if you must get a 10" device how about the asus transformer 101, pad only since you want it primarily for reading, refurbished for ~$200.
If all you want is to READ, then any e-ink device is much better than any tablet. First, because of the display and second because they are much LIGHTER than tablets. When I want to read in bed, I can comfortably hold my Kindle with one hand over my hand while lying on my back and use the thumb to page up/down. If you'd try the same with an ipad, you'd get muscle cramps within a few minutes. E-ink readers are built specifically for reading and do that exceptionally well - display, battery life, size/weight are all much much better than on any tablet. Tablets are built for so many more functions than only reading (video, games, surfing, ...) that if all you want is read e-books, they are too expensive and too big.
Only situation where I could accept choosing a tablet over an e-ink reader is if you mainly read pdf files which are heavy on colour photos/diagrams, because the b/w e-ink displays suck at those.
Yes.
I picked up a Nexus 7 when it came out. We have iPads (specifically the iPad 2 at work) but I found them too heavy for extended use (both browsing and reading.)
I stopped reading books more than a decade ago, short of tech manuals. I hated dealing with the books themselves (like storing them and donating etc.)
So far I've read two books in the weeks after I got the tablet, going to start the third soon. This is more reading than I've done in the last ten years. I love it so far, no dealing with the physical books themselves.
I honestly didn't think I'd use it for reading books at all, just using it for browsing the web and typing responses like this one. Its not bad for reading at all.
I don't. For anything but photo books, I can't find a compelling reason to use paper books. Less comfortable to flip, much heavier, harder to read at odd angles, can't be operated with just one hand, etc. Not only that, but I have to handle all my books: store, transport, clean, etc. If I can get rid of the bookshelves I have when I buy a flat, it will save me thousands of dollars in real estate (not kidding, literally thousands of dollars).