Whats the best reader for ePubs and PDFs?

BIG45-70 · 07-27-2010, 08:10 PM

I've been trying to decide what ebook reader to purchase lately. I've had two Kobos which I both returned because they weren't getting anywhere close to the battery life promise. I've been looking and the Sony, Kindle (I don't really mind converting) and Nook and I'm trying to decide which one is for me.

I do like the idea of a web browser and other features but plan on spending little time on that ad more time reading on the device. My question is which piece of hardware offer's the best quality, battery life and features out of the devices available now? I'm hoping to keep my spending within 100 dollars, and will be reading mainly ePuds and the some PDFs I have for hand loading.

I should also throw in that I'm from Canada.

Redfox · 07-28-2010, 08:07 AM

I think you'll struggle to find a good ereader for PDFs in that budget range - the cheaper ones are mostly 5" screens, which will be a disaster with many PDFs. Maybe if they're text-only PDFs and the device has text reflow, but if you're talking tables and images...

zetareticuli · 07-28-2010, 10:28 AM

I am a scientist and I have to read a lot of research papers, scientific documents, mathematical and statistical charts, equations, etc. All these documents are in PDF. No 6" device will adequately display these PDFs. The reflow feature is only good for PDFs that are text-only. Reflow is useless for documents of this type. I will list below the readers that I think are best suited to handle PDFs for this particular usage (academic, technical, and scientific) that have a large display

0. Notebook/netbook - of course, you can always read on them with a full-featured PDF viewer (disadvantages: heavy, short battery life, lack of portability for reading).

1. The iPad - currently best PDF viewer at the portable device level (disadvantages: a bit heavy for my preference and has an LCD screen. I get eye strain from reading on LCD a long time).

2. The Entourage eDGe - good PDF viewer with dual screen support (disadvantages: even heavier than the iPad and not very portable. Difficult to read on it for long periods of time).

3. Kindle DXG - haven't tried this one yet but the PDF support appears to be decent (disadvantages: poor PDF support, many important PDF features missing, slow searches in PDF documents).

That's about it in the current market. In a few months, there will be better devices more suitable for PDF reading.

simplyparticular · 07-28-2010, 01:35 PM

What kind of PDFs? If they are largely text, the Kobo, Nook and Sony Pocket handle PDF the same - they reflow the text. reasonably well. If you're talking about graphic or image-heavy PDF, the Kindle DX or iPad are better options, although the Sony Touch has a zoom mode that can work in landscape mode. I'm not familiar with PDFs on a Kindle, but you'll have to convert any ePub to Mobi, which will require removing DRM for purchased books.

If you weren't happy with the Kobo's battery life, the Nook's will bother you, too. I get about 8-10 hours of reading out of my Nook - the LCD screen uses more battery power than a typical e-Ink device. So I just charge every 2-3 days.

Honestly, your price range is very limiting. Even the Kobo is more than $100. Just above your price range, I think your best bet is still the Kobo or a Sony Pocket, maybe consider the Sony Touch if you can handle the glare.

And there is always the used market - eBay, and is it Kiiji?

07-27-2010, 08:10 PM	#1
BIG45-70 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Whats the best reader for ePubs and PDFs? I've been trying to decide what ebook reader to purchase lately. I've had two Kobos which I both returned because they weren't getting anywhere close to the battery life promise. I've been looking and the Sony, Kindle (I don't really mind converting) and Nook and I'm trying to decide which one is for me. I do like the idea of a web browser and other features but plan on spending little time on that ad more time reading on the device. My question is which piece of hardware offer's the best quality, battery life and features out of the devices available now? I'm hoping to keep my spending within 100 dollars, and will be reading mainly ePuds and the some PDFs I have for hand loading. I should also throw in that I'm from Canada.

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07-28-2010, 08:07 AM	#2
Redfox aka Anne Lyle Posts: 85 Karma: 437516 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cambridge, UK Device: Sony PRS-600	I think you'll struggle to find a good ereader for PDFs in that budget range - the cheaper ones are mostly 5" screens, which will be a disaster with many PDFs. Maybe if they're text-only PDFs and the device has text reflow, but if you're talking tables and images...

07-28-2010, 10:28 AM	#3
zetareticuli Addict Posts: 367 Karma: 228 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Aztak Mentor	I am a scientist and I have to read a lot of research papers, scientific documents, mathematical and statistical charts, equations, etc. All these documents are in PDF. No 6" device will adequately display these PDFs. The reflow feature is only good for PDFs that are text-only. Reflow is useless for documents of this type. I will list below the readers that I think are best suited to handle PDFs for this particular usage (academic, technical, and scientific) that have a large display 0. Notebook/netbook - of course, you can always read on them with a full-featured PDF viewer (disadvantages: heavy, short battery life, lack of portability for reading). 1. The iPad - currently best PDF viewer at the portable device level (disadvantages: a bit heavy for my preference and has an LCD screen. I get eye strain from reading on LCD a long time). 2. The Entourage eDGe - good PDF viewer with dual screen support (disadvantages: even heavier than the iPad and not very portable. Difficult to read on it for long periods of time). 3. Kindle DXG - haven't tried this one yet but the PDF support appears to be decent (disadvantages: poor PDF support, many important PDF features missing, slow searches in PDF documents). That's about it in the current market. In a few months, there will be better devices more suitable for PDF reading.

07-28-2010, 01:35 PM	#4
simplyparticular Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 1395952 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New York Device: Oasis 3 & GlowLight 4	What kind of PDFs? If they are largely text, the Kobo, Nook and Sony Pocket handle PDF the same - they reflow the text. reasonably well. If you're talking about graphic or image-heavy PDF, the Kindle DX or iPad are better options, although the Sony Touch has a zoom mode that can work in landscape mode. I'm not familiar with PDFs on a Kindle, but you'll have to convert any ePub to Mobi, which will require removing DRM for purchased books. If you weren't happy with the Kobo's battery life, the Nook's will bother you, too. I get about 8-10 hours of reading out of my Nook - the LCD screen uses more battery power than a typical e-Ink device. So I just charge every 2-3 days. Honestly, your price range is very limiting. Even the Kobo is more than $100. Just above your price range, I think your best bet is still the Kobo or a Sony Pocket, maybe consider the Sony Touch if you can handle the glare. And there is always the used market - eBay, and is it Kiiji?

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