eReader anyone got one?

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by michael78, Jul 28, 2010.

  1. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Basically reading on a PC screen makes my eyes bleed. I've tradionally bought books and skipped reading helpful articles on say technet which is a shame. I've been able to get away with it for MS exams as there are loads of books on most of the exams. Doing my CCA it's a different issue as all the material is available from Citrix website. Reading 300+ pages on a PC screen isn't going to work and printing it off will be a pain and cost a lot. This leads me to beleive an ereader might be the solution.

    Has anyone used them and what are they like for reading A4/letter documents (as I believe the reader shrinks the page) and how fast are they for opening pages with diagrams and such. Also any recommendations on which to choose (liked the look of the iriver story).
     
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  2. skulkerboyo

    skulkerboyo Megabyte Poster

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    I've got one. Mines the older sony prs 505. No touch screen but the screen on the 600 only adds glare. After I got mine my girlfriend wanted one/ I wanted mine back so bought her a sony pocket reader. Then my Dad wanted one then my Sister and on and on. Now everyone I know is tooled up with a device. I was shocked at how plasticcy the kindle felt but then mines solid aluminium with a screen.

    As for it's usefulness. For text only it's brilliant. I have over 300 titles on my read before I die list. I have also converted webpages to ereader friendly format and push rss feeds to the device when I travel

    For things like microsoft press PDF's it's ok. Just Ok though. i wouldn't want to have to rely on it full time for study from MS books. The PDF's reflow just fine though diagrams can be a pain. The more text the better as this is what they were designed for

    One thing that PO's me is the number of people recently who have said "Ooh just get an Ipad. It's an ebook reader as well". Its not. It doesn't have an E - ink screen. It's no more an ebook reader than my laptop or pc or netbook or phone is. Until you've seen e ink (and on a blazing sunny day next to any non e ink device) you really can't fathom how much like paper it really is. Very easy on the eyes.

    All ereader ave font size settings and some ereader can be hacked to be even more customised
    As for time to open a page with diagrams etc. I have noticed PDF's to be slightly slower than text docs by maybe a second though this will be down to reflowing and trying to figure out what to do with the diagram slapped in th emiddle of the page. For just text they're as quick as turning a page. My girlfriends sony pocket is just under a second.
    I'd just go for the device that most suits your budget and supports the most formats. At the time for me that was the sony. I've just seen you can pick up a barnes and noble Nook on ebay for about 150.
     
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  3. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Cheers for the reply and info mate. I'm looking at the iRiver Story (can pick one up new for £150) as it supports a load of formats including Microsoft Office files which would be handy. Not bothered about WIFI or 3G as I'll just be using it to study mainly from PDF's. My main concern is that the readers will take an A4/Letter formatted PDF and make the text really small and hard to read in order to fit it on the screen.
     
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  4. skulkerboyo

    skulkerboyo Megabyte Poster

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    Lol no they don't present it like a scaled jpg. The device will rel flow the text nicely at whatever size you prefer your text.

    Reckon you can pop into a Waterstones or something for a hands on maybe. The Sony shop will definitely let you try it out. Not saying you should buy Sony but they all behave the same so you may want to have a play with one first. Easily my fave purchase of last year and I'd really miss it if I didn't have it now.

    You could always order it online and return it within 14 days if it doesn't suit you
     
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  5. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Think a trip to the toon is in order :biggrin
     
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  6. delorean

    delorean Megabyte Poster

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    I have a Kindle 2, although I fancy a Kindle 3 DX. I absolutely adore my Kindle. It's especially useful on the train each day now, I can get a good 30 minutes or so of reading in, plus I can use the built-in wifi to browse BBC News and so on saving me reaching for the HTC Desire or my work BlackBerry devices stored in my bag. That said I'd reach for the BlackBerry or Desire for email, Twitter etc.

    If you want to read text books or graphic novels/manga you'd be better off with a Kindle DX. Personally, I plumped for the 6" Kindle 2 as I prefer to purchase physical study materials and GN's/manga.

    I had a bit to say on these devices in the past on my blog, check out this thread here if you're keen.

    Tom Hanks, bowel evacuation and e-Readers. A love story.
     
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  7. dales

    dales Terabyte Poster

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    Oooh interesting coming out cheaper than the sony ereader I have (which has gone faulty). I wonder what its like at tech books.
     
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  8. delorean

    delorean Megabyte Poster

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    It's the same as my Kindle 2 6". Not bad but not great. For text books, PDF's, GN's and manga you'd be better off with a DX.
     
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  9. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    I was about to order a iriver story for £150 from Play but went onto Amazon and was greated by the new Kindle so order both the WIFI and the 3G one and will cancel one when I make my mind which to opt for. The thing I'm confused about is it says free 3G I take it that means no monthly contract but you still pay for data used? Also from the looks of it the 3G can't be used for surfing the net.
     
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  10. Rob1234

    Rob1234 Megabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Yeah I am confused about the 3g thing but will prob buy one on the 27th when it comes out then can get the paper sent stright to the device :D
     
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  11. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    I personally won't be using it for anything other than PDF's for study. I want to read technet documents and Citrix admin guide but can't on a normal screen as my eyes strain too easily. Hopefully an ebook will fix that problem.

    Just out of interest how much is it to get a digital copy of a newpaper sent to the device. Is it the same price as buying in the newsagents?
     
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  12. delorean

    delorean Megabyte Poster

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    If it's the same as my US Kindle, which I strongly think it is, it just means the device has 3G capability. Web surfing is (not great) but always free. You will pay for books sent wirelessly to the device. Though there is a way round this. Use your free Kindle email address and have Amazon encode the book via the PC software or upload it via USB manually yourself.

    Web surfing is very basic, but functional. I use it quite a lot as it is free and saves me using up my data plan on my HTC Desire or reaching for my work BlackBerry just to get news stories. The Kindle already has great bookmarks built in, BBC, CNN etc.

    To reiterate again though, I wouldn't bank on using the 6" display for study books with diagrams or similar, you really need the Kindle DX for that.

    Hope that answers your questions!
     
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  13. delorean

    delorean Megabyte Poster

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  14. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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  15. rockstar6181

    rockstar6181 Byte Poster

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    The new Kindle device which is out end of Aug has me interested too. I would be using it mainly for the MS press Self paced PDFs - I dont know if the 6" screen will be big enough though and am trying to get an idea of how the page will flow when the pictures load up.
     
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  16. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    Thats pretty much what I'm worried about with reading on a 6" screen. I just can't justify buying a Kindle DX as suggested. Still going to get a new Kindle and if it's rubbish I'll just send it back.
     
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  17. delorean

    delorean Megabyte Poster

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    I don't use my Kindle 2 6" for this. The display is just not big enough, and scrolling through single pages will get on your Alan Whicker's.

    Either plump for the larger DX from the US store (God knows why it is not being released in the UK) for a few extra notes, or, buy the physical book.

    I gave up trying to read my MS Press/Sybex/Cisco PDF's on my Kindle and just went back to the physical books. My Kindle comes in handy for revision notes, highlighting and dictionary/thesaurus tools on the move though.

    Side note, an article I read in the Irish Sunday Times magazine today states whispernet delivery of store purchases will be FREE. That's a nice touch. Might have to go for a Kindle 3 later on in the year now!
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2010
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  18. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

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    In all fairness I'm not holding out much hope for it being a good experience but it's better than nothing. I would always buy the physical book and am just wanting to use the Kindle for Citrix study material which is PDF's on Citrix's website and Technet articles as I can't read more than a page or two on a normal screen. The DX is over £300 from what I gather which is too pricey for me (and you might get stung for import taxes). Agree it's a joke it's not available directly from the UK site.
     
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  19. GSteer

    GSteer Megabyte Poster

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    I'll add my 2 pennies.

    I've got a Kobo Reader (6" screen, basic ereader funcationality) and an iPad.

    For fiction reading the Kobo wins, I do have to convert everything to epub's through Calibre but thats the time price you pay for a cheaper reader (~$150 Canadian) but it doesn't reflow PDFs correctly and makes the experience unuseable; scolling sideways anyone? Urk. It's nice and lightweight too.

    For having a PDF library on tap, and understanding it's screen/battery limitations (it's not like a book as pointed out by a previous poster, 10 hours battery), and it's benefits (full colour, zoom, instant browsing from links the iPad wins hands down. With the right software (Goodreader / Stanza) you can access files from Dropbox, FTP, many other sources.

    Best of both worlds for me, I wouldn't want to read a lot of fiction on the iPad, bit too heavy, and I wouldn't even attempt to read PDF's on the Kobo. So as others say, maybe a 9" ereader is the best fit answer.

    As for now, I've got to return a bucket that's got a hole in the bottom due to a manufacturing fault, you just can't get the parts these days.
     
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