Here we go again: What eReader do you recommend?

nimrod337 · 06-24-2011, 04:37 PM

Ok, I am going to list the things that are important in my purchase, and then list the things that are unimportant. Hopefully some people with more experience in this area could chime in and let me know what I should do.
(just to be clear, I have done a fair amount of background reading on several eReaders I was looking at (K3 and nook... I have no idea what types of nooks are out there, but I just did some general compare/contrast business.))

The cares:
-I want first and foremost, to be able to read books on this thing. Lots of books, and long time. This means e-ink is a must.
-battery life (one week is the minimum I will deal with.
-PDFs: I am a graduate student studying plant genetics, and I need to read a lot of scientific literature. I would love it if I could put science papers on my eReader, and keep them organized within a folder or something like that.
-I'm not talking about just being able to read PDFs. I want to be able to do it with some level of ease. I don't want to jump through tons of hoops converting to this, converting from this to that, then resizing and whatnot once I finally get it.
I've read that the K3 can do it, but it's really cumbersome. And the text is often not even readable.

-basically, if I can get an eReader to do those things really well, I'll pay almost anything. But if the PDF support is not fluid and somewhat easy to do, I will just scrap that whole plan and get a K3.

The "don't cares"
-I have a collection of .mobi books that I plan on reading (over 500 books.) so the purchasing interface, price, and anything else people complain about with eReaders is irrelevant for me. (side note: The eReader I chose must be able to use .mobi files, or at least have some conversion that will work.)
-3G, who cares... its for reading books.
-memory, not really an issue. (more is better obviously.)
-weight, so long as it weighs less than my macbook, I'm cool with it.
-anything else not mentioned in the "cares" section.

Thanks in advance. I really really want to just buy one and get to reading, but I have a curse, where I need to look so deeply into my purchases before I make them, that I'm usually sick of hearing about them by the time I buy them.

TLDR: I want an eReader to read primarily books (.mobi) and secondarily, PDFs.

-A

charmian · 06-24-2011, 04:52 PM

Try the Kindle DX or other readers that utilize a 9.7" e-ink screen. Kindle 3's problems with handling PDFs, IMHO, have more to do with the size of the screen than the software, although all I do is read them (I don't annotate them or use other features). Kindle software natively reads PDFs, so there will be no need to convert them. I'd advise looking for youtube videos of the Kindle DX reading PDFs, so you can see whether it's good enough for your purposes.

Kindle software can't reflow PDFs, however, although it does read .mobi without any need for conversion.

ucfgrad93 · 06-24-2011, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmian

Try the Kindle DX or other readers that utilize a 9.7" e-ink screen. Kindle 3's problems with handling PDFs, IMHO, have more to do with the size of the screen than the software, although all I do is read them (I don't annotate them or use other features). Kindle software natively reads PDFs, so there will be no need to convert them. I'd advise looking for youtube videos of the Kindle DX reading PDFs, so you can see whether it's good enough for your purposes.

Kindle software can't reflow PDFs, however, although it does read .mobi without any need for conversion.

Agreed. PDFs on any 6 inch screen is going to be a painful experience.

CRussel · 06-24-2011, 08:35 PM

Kindle DX. You really need the larger screen if you're going to deal with PDFs without first converting to something else.

The K3 would be a better overall reader, IMO, but you'd not have a good experience with PDFs unless they were easily converted to mobi. I use my K3 for PDFs, but only small ones. I don't try to read lots of whitepapers, etc, in PDF.

NNolan · 06-24-2011, 08:49 PM

The PDF support on the DXG is pretty primitive, though (same as the old K2). If you need to annotate those PDFs then you don't want a DXG either.

Dulin's Books · 06-24-2011, 10:57 PM

The DX barely supports PDf. IF you want Eink then you should consider either the PocketBook 902/903 or the Onyx M90.

I sell the 902 and M90 currently so I am a bit biased. But the reason I sell them is that PocketBook and Onyx have the best PDF support on the market. PocketBook even has a "column view" that lets you read multiple column PDFs with ease. Onyx has multiple zoom and reflow like PocketBook plus "selection zoom" which is great for zooming in on diagrams etc. You select a section with the stylus and that section gets zoomed to display size then you can pan around.

Both companies made their 6 inch devices very excellent for pdf reading. Their 9.7" devices are even better. The column view gives a slight edge to PocketBook while the selection zoom and Pearl display puts some extra pluses on Onyx's side

hughes · 06-25-2011, 12:08 AM

Hassle-free, guaranteed PDF reading does not seem to exist on the E Ink ereaders. Only the Kindle DX is close enough to having a big enough display, but its PDF support isn't the best. Sony Readers do well since they run the Adobe's Mobile PDF Reader software, and they support text reflow, but their biggest screen is 7 inches (PRS-950). It seems that even with reflow support, people end up encountering docs that need a larger display to avoid having to horizontally scroll.

I think you may have to relax the care-free, conversion-free PDF support expectation or the E Ink requirement.

nimrod337 · 06-26-2011, 05:15 PM

Hmmm... This seems to be the consensus everywhere I turn. And I guess since I would like it for reading first, and PDFs second, I will just have to suck it up, and read my PDFs on paper, or the computer.

I think I will just snag a K3, since I already have a fair number of books to read with it, the $140 investment is not really a big deal.

@dullin's: I will have to look into both those readers, as I am not opposed to owning two seperate readers, one for books, and one for PDFs. And if one can do both to my liking, it will get use, and the other will gather dust.

Thank you all for your responses. Wish me luck in my eReading adventures. I will be lurking around the boards.

-A

06-24-2011, 04:37 PM	#1
nimrod337 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: none	Here we go again: What eReader do you recommend? Ok, I am going to list the things that are important in my purchase, and then list the things that are unimportant. Hopefully some people with more experience in this area could chime in and let me know what I should do. (just to be clear, I have done a fair amount of background reading on several eReaders I was looking at (K3 and nook... I have no idea what types of nooks are out there, but I just did some general compare/contrast business.)) The cares: -I want first and foremost, to be able to read books on this thing. Lots of books, and long time. This means e-ink is a must. -battery life (one week is the minimum I will deal with. -PDFs: I am a graduate student studying plant genetics, and I need to read a lot of scientific literature. I would love it if I could put science papers on my eReader, and keep them organized within a folder or something like that. -I'm not talking about just being able to read PDFs. I want to be able to do it with some level of ease. I don't want to jump through tons of hoops converting to this, converting from this to that, then resizing and whatnot once I finally get it. I've read that the K3 can do it, but it's really cumbersome. And the text is often not even readable. -basically, if I can get an eReader to do those things really well, I'll pay almost anything. But if the PDF support is not fluid and somewhat easy to do, I will just scrap that whole plan and get a K3. The "don't cares" -I have a collection of .mobi books that I plan on reading (over 500 books.) so the purchasing interface, price, and anything else people complain about with eReaders is irrelevant for me. (side note: The eReader I chose must be able to use .mobi files, or at least have some conversion that will work.) -3G, who cares... its for reading books. -memory, not really an issue. (more is better obviously.) -weight, so long as it weighs less than my macbook, I'm cool with it. -anything else not mentioned in the "cares" section. Thanks in advance. I really really want to just buy one and get to reading, but I have a curse, where I need to look so deeply into my purchases before I make them, that I'm usually sick of hearing about them by the time I buy them. TLDR: I want an eReader to read primarily books (.mobi) and secondarily, PDFs. -A

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06-24-2011, 04:52 PM	#2
charmian Addict Posts: 386 Karma: 1814548 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2	Try the Kindle DX or other readers that utilize a 9.7" e-ink screen. Kindle 3's problems with handling PDFs, IMHO, have more to do with the size of the screen than the software, although all I do is read them (I don't annotate them or use other features). Kindle software natively reads PDFs, so there will be no need to convert them. I'd advise looking for youtube videos of the Kindle DX reading PDFs, so you can see whether it's good enough for your purposes. Kindle software can't reflow PDFs, however, although it does read .mobi without any need for conversion.

06-24-2011, 08:35 PM	#4
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,157 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Kindle DX. You really need the larger screen if you're going to deal with PDFs without first converting to something else. The K3 would be a better overall reader, IMO, but you'd not have a good experience with PDFs unless they were easily converted to mobi. I use my K3 for PDFs, but only small ones. I don't try to read lots of whitepapers, etc, in PDF.

06-24-2011, 08:49 PM	#5
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	The PDF support on the DXG is pretty primitive, though (same as the old K2). If you need to annotate those PDFs then you don't want a DXG either.

06-24-2011, 10:57 PM	#6
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,806 Karma: 13500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	The DX barely supports PDf. IF you want Eink then you should consider either the PocketBook 902/903 or the Onyx M90. I sell the 902 and M90 currently so I am a bit biased. But the reason I sell them is that PocketBook and Onyx have the best PDF support on the market. PocketBook even has a "column view" that lets you read multiple column PDFs with ease. Onyx has multiple zoom and reflow like PocketBook plus "selection zoom" which is great for zooming in on diagrams etc. You select a section with the stylus and that section gets zoomed to display size then you can pan around. Both companies made their 6 inch devices very excellent for pdf reading. Their 9.7" devices are even better. The column view gives a slight edge to PocketBook while the selection zoom and Pearl display puts some extra pluses on Onyx's side

06-25-2011, 12:08 AM	#7
hughes Addict Posts: 223 Karma: 1006020 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Akron, OH USA Device: Kindle PW, Galaxy Nexus, iPad 1	Hassle-free, guaranteed PDF reading does not seem to exist on the E Ink ereaders. Only the Kindle DX is close enough to having a big enough display, but its PDF support isn't the best. Sony Readers do well since they run the Adobe's Mobile PDF Reader software, and they support text reflow, but their biggest screen is 7 inches (PRS-950). It seems that even with reflow support, people end up encountering docs that need a larger display to avoid having to horizontally scroll. I think you may have to relax the care-free, conversion-free PDF support expectation or the E Ink requirement.

06-26-2011, 05:15 PM	#8
nimrod337 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: none	Hmmm... This seems to be the consensus everywhere I turn. And I guess since I would like it for reading first, and PDFs second, I will just have to suck it up, and read my PDFs on paper, or the computer. I think I will just snag a K3, since I already have a fair number of books to read with it, the $140 investment is not really a big deal. @dullin's: I will have to look into both those readers, as I am not opposed to owning two seperate readers, one for books, and one for PDFs. And if one can do both to my liking, it will get use, and the other will gather dust. Thank you all for your responses. Wish me luck in my eReading adventures. I will be lurking around the boards. -A

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