Pandigital Novel, PocketBook IQ 701 Tablet PC, or something else?

[denclock]

I am going to get a device just for the purpose of reading comics. I have a Libre Pro and love it for books, but it is pretty useless for comics because of the screen size. I would like something that can make Comics (CBR and CBZ) readable, and while I know that the screen size isn't much larger, these devices are touchscreens, and therefore probably scrollable. I haven't definitely decided that it has to be one of these devices, but both are seemingly inexpensive and I could justify the cost for the sole purpose of reading comics. Hopefully a few people have tried this on these devices and can tell me if they are good for this. I would like something with a little bigger screen, but I am not willing to pay an Ipad price for a device just to read comics.

Feel free to offer any advice on reasonbaly priced devices with bigger screens that wouldn't be uncomfortable to hold while laying in bed reading.

I Just noticed on the pandigital website that they are offering a 9" e-reader and I was wondering if anyone has tried one of these, and if so, was it decent?
Thanks for any help.

[citac]

Someone else will have to share their impressions of the Pandigital device with you, but I can tell you about my experience with the IQ.

I've been reading both cbr and cbz files with it using the AVC in landscape mode, and I am very happy with it. The screen responds well to my finger, zooming in and panning is fast. The only thing you need to watch out for is not to get your finger too close to the bottom right of the screen while scrolling down, because that's where the "Next" link is and you might skip to the next page earlier than you intended.

The quality of the images is quite good, and text can be read easily. There is some slight pixelization when you come across a large area of a solid color, but I don't know whether this is due to the device or the image; I haven't had time to check the comic in question on my computer.

There is a recent firmware update for the IQ, and there will be an update to Android 2.2 soon.

[denclock]

citac thanks for the response. is it possible to view the whole page at one time on the IQ, or does that make it hard to read due to the screensize? At least now I know that it can be done easily(hopefully) with the IQ. If I end up with the IQ I may ask for some pointers.

Also, what is the battery life? This isn't huge concern just thought that I might get a ball park?

[denclock]

I just ordered a 9" pandigital I will post my findings once I get it and play around with it. Hopefully it is a decent product.

[citac]

Originally Posted by denclock

citac thanks for the response. is it possible to view the whole page at one time on the IQ, or does that make it hard to read due to the screensize? At least now I know that it can be done easily(hopefully) with the IQ. If I end up with the IQ I may ask for some pointers.

Also, what is the battery life? This isn't huge concern just thought that I might get a ball park?

Sorry it took me so long to answer, work got in the way. Yes, it's possible, although you'd probably have trouble reading the text, but the pan and zoom works quite well. Of course, since you got the Pandigital, you might be able to view the entire page and read the text without any problem. I'm interested in reading your thoughts on it once you've been using it a while.

[denclock]

Originally Posted by citac

Sorry it took me so long to answer, work got in the way. Yes, it's possible, although you'd probably have trouble reading the text, but the pan and zoom works quite well. Of course, since you got the Pandigital, you might be able to view the entire page and read the text without any problem. I'm interested in reading your thoughts on it once you've been using it a while.

Citac, sorry it took me so long to get back to you, we have been running our butts off getting ready for Christmas. The novel got here on thursday and yesterday was the first time that I really got to play with it.

I had to go through several different Comic reading apps to get one that I liked, and I don't guess I could even say I really like it yet because of my limited use. The one I liked is Perfect Viewer and why certain not perfect it is definitely easier to use than some. With Perfect Viewer I can quite comfortably read a full page fit to screen. I have ran into text issues with a couple of other readers, but not yet with perfect viewer (doesn't mean it won't happen it just hasn't yet.

I have found it to be a pain in the butt to get around not having the android market, and I knew that it didn't have AM on it when I got it and thought that it simply wouldn't be an issue, but it is one. There is one program called Comics by Comixology that I really want to try, but I can find it anywhere else, yet. Feel free to pm me, or reply back on the thread.

[primetime34]

Perfect Viewer is pretty good. I've been using Comic Reader Mobi. It is pretty good since it lets you zoom in on text and it also caches the next page. I'd like other suggestions if there are any.

[vxf]

I use an iPad for comics. It is fairly heavy and pricy, so this might not be the solution you are looking for. But ComicX is just great (I absolutely love the way it transitions between panels... if you have not experienced reading a comic book like that, you absolutely have to try it...). And I use iBooks for all the PDF comic books I have collected over the years.

This might be a bit off topic... but, despite reading a lot of comic books on my iPad, and despite absolutely loving ereaders (I use a SONY PRS950 as well) for books, magazines and work-related PDFs, I just like to buy, collect, store comic books. This is one area in which an ebook reader just doesn't do it for me. But heck, I love the fact that I can finally get the latest Dylan Dog without having to get it shipped from Italy...

[soondai]

If you get a PDN, I recommend getting the 7 inch white model. If you use sales/rebates/price matching strategically, it will cost you from 100-140 bucks. You'll need to hack it. Very simple to do with the instructions on Slatedroid.

If you pay a little more, you can get the IQ, which has the benefits of physical buttons (instead of remapping to the volume buttons), a metal case, 2 year warranty, and manufacturer support. And you won't have to hack it to install apps. Probably the best way for most people to go.

I will say this though: I bought my PDN as a reader and I could not be any happier with it. With the newest version of the firmware, its stock reader handles ePubs and well-formatted PDF books extremely well.

But the big reason I got it was for a large selection of old scanned books. And with the Adobe Reader 10 app, I can read those extremely well in landscape. I had considered a NookColor or iPad, but am delighted with how well the white PDN handles them.

Last I heard the IQ couldn't install that version of Adobe, but I don't know if that is still true (with the PDN you have to install a hack to do it.)

But the thing to know is essentially they are the same machine and a great value. The IQ is probably a good buy out of the box. The PDN is also a good buy out of the box as a reader, and a great buy if you're willing to put in a little work (or rather, play).

I love mine and I think the IQ people sound very happy with theirs.

[primetime34]

Any idea where I can find the Comics by Comixology app that you mentioned? I can't find it and I don't have the app market. Thanks.

[denclock]

Originally Posted by primetime34

Any idea where I can find the Comics by Comixology app that you mentioned? I can't find it and I don't have the app market. Thanks.

The market is the only place as far as I know is to get Comics by Comixology, I havent gotten to use it yet.

I hae comic reader mobi, but find it difficult to actually chose the comic book, I guess I must not know how to select the right one. I got it into a couple of books a couple of times. That frustrated me so much that until I know how to chose, and know a quick way to change comic directories, I doubt I will be using it, though I like the text bubble feature.

[vxf]

Originally Posted by primetime34

Any idea where I can find the Comics by Comixology app that you mentioned? I can't find it and I don't have the app market. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I don't know of places to get it from other than the app store.

[primetime34]

Originally Posted by denclock

The market is the only place as far as I know is to get Comics by Comixology, I havent gotten to use it yet.

I hae comic reader mobi, but find it difficult to actually chose the comic book, I guess I must not know how to select the right one. I got it into a couple of books a couple of times. That frustrated me so much that until I know how to chose, and know a quick way to change comic directories, I doubt I will be using it, though I like the text bubble feature.

It's a little weird, but you have to have all your books inside a parent folder. You then choose that parent folder from the settings inside of comic reader mobi.

I really like the transition between pages and the text bubble...it's the only way to read some books (I use it mostly for children's books)

[v1k1ng1001]

PDN < PB IQ < Nook Color

As far as I can tell the price hike between each of these is worth the upgrade.