MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - pdf-oriented e-reader recommendation?

vxf · 06-28-2011, 11:29 PM

I have gone through a PhD program over the past five years and I read and annotate lots of PDFs every day. I have some things... here are my experiences:

1) iPad + iAnnotate + boxwave stylus. Still the best option. The backlit screen is a pain when your eyes are tired (need to turn the brightness way down) and the limited battery means you need to always schedule your recharges. But the big screen, the fast scrolling and zooming, the ability to open multiple copies of the same file on different pages in different tabs, smooth annotation you can save in PDF format and view on other devices are just priceless. Especially if you want to annotate.

2) Kindle DX - I actually didn't use it much. Office mate has it. I can't comment on the PDF conversion (but I believe it handles PDFs now, the conversion thing is a thing of the past... but someone else might want to confirm this). But the lack of a touch screen makes annotations clunky. If you just want to read PDFs, this might still be the best eink option. Not if you need to highlight/annotate.

3) SONY PRS950. The screen is not big enough to read in portrait - at least, not for most people. Some people have a high tolerance for small fonts - but I don't think it's doable. But you can turn the reader landscape and view a third of the page at the time. That way, it's actually better than the Kindle DX - you get a larger image. But not the full page. If you are doing text, it works fine. But tables and graphs might get cut and require some clunky zooming. Annotations work nicely, but they are only exportable in RTF or viewable on PCs only through SONY's own software. PDF reflow is supported, but with mixed results.

4) I tried various devices with smaller screens (SONY PRS650, Kindle2, Samsung E60) but it just doesn't work.

5) My office-mate has an Asus Transformer. I used it for a week while he was on vacation. Measure it on any metric, the iPad wins out.

Overall... I still think the iPad is the only solution that will NOT make you want to go back to paper. As far eink goes, Kindle DX if no annotations, PRS950 if you want to highlight/take notes.

An interesting new product is the Asus EENote. I have not seen it yet, but that might be a nice alternative.

06-28-2011, 11:29 PM	#2
vxf Guru Posts: 944 Karma: 1490348 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Norman, OK Device: Sony PRS 350, 900, 950; Kindles (ALL of them!); Kobo Aura One	I have gone through a PhD program over the past five years and I read and annotate lots of PDFs every day. I have some things... here are my experiences: 1) iPad + iAnnotate + boxwave stylus. Still the best option. The backlit screen is a pain when your eyes are tired (need to turn the brightness way down) and the limited battery means you need to always schedule your recharges. But the big screen, the fast scrolling and zooming, the ability to open multiple copies of the same file on different pages in different tabs, smooth annotation you can save in PDF format and view on other devices are just priceless. Especially if you want to annotate. 2) Kindle DX - I actually didn't use it much. Office mate has it. I can't comment on the PDF conversion (but I believe it handles PDFs now, the conversion thing is a thing of the past... but someone else might want to confirm this). But the lack of a touch screen makes annotations clunky. If you just want to read PDFs, this might still be the best eink option. Not if you need to highlight/annotate. 3) SONY PRS950. The screen is not big enough to read in portrait - at least, not for most people. Some people have a high tolerance for small fonts - but I don't think it's doable. But you can turn the reader landscape and view a third of the page at the time. That way, it's actually better than the Kindle DX - you get a larger image. But not the full page. If you are doing text, it works fine. But tables and graphs might get cut and require some clunky zooming. Annotations work nicely, but they are only exportable in RTF or viewable on PCs only through SONY's own software. PDF reflow is supported, but with mixed results. 4) I tried various devices with smaller screens (SONY PRS650, Kindle2, Samsung E60) but it just doesn't work. 5) My office-mate has an Asus Transformer. I used it for a week while he was on vacation. Measure it on any metric, the iPad wins out. Overall... I still think the iPad is the only solution that will NOT make you want to go back to paper. As far eink goes, Kindle DX if no annotations, PRS950 if you want to highlight/take notes. An interesting new product is the Asus EENote. I have not seen it yet, but that might be a nice alternative.