MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Aura HD or stick with Android tablet for pdfs?

leaston · 05-26-2014, 07:09 AM

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. The video helped a lot too.

The speed difference between the devices was significant and I think that alone may be a deal breaker for me. I need to be able to flick through and browse pages of textbooks, so to have to wait 2-3 seconds between page turns on the Kobo would become tedious very quickly. The problem with that delay would be because I often need to refer to specific articles within pdf documents, sometimes a few pages apart or dotted throughout the book. It would take an age to do this on the Kobo based on the page turn delay. That it's virtually instant on the Kindle makes a huge difference to me.

I noticed a few times during the video that he pressed the screen on the Kobo and it didn't register, forcing him to do it again. Despite my fondness for the Glo, this has always been an irritation for me. I'm not impatient by any means, but when I tap the screen I think it's reasonable to expect the page to turn and it doesn't always.

The lower res on the Kindle could be a potential issue as some of my pdfs are scanned documents and therefore the lack of pixel density and smaller screen would make some of these hard to read. I'll need to look through and decide how many of my documents could be unreadable compared to the native ones.

Rendering text in native pdfs on the Kindle seems to be much clearer, although it would be far better to have finer control over the zoom instead of the increments. Being able to create markup on the Kindle is a huge plus too. Lack of SD card slot is a pain, but manageable with some manipulation of the documents.

Another problem I have with the Kobo was the way the reviewer felt the need to alter all his pdfs to meet the 4:3 aspect ratio in order to accommodate the screen size. I understand why he did it and the results meant he got the most out of the screen real estate. However, I don't have the time or inclination to do that with the many docs I would need to install on the reader. Maybe I'm just awkward, but I'd rather the ereader have features to cater to my needs rather than my having to alter the way I work to accommodate shortcomings in software design

I found it really interesting and quite surprising that the reviewer said the Kobo blows the Kindle away when it comes to dealing with pdfs. My impression, based on his video, was the opposite. I was left with the thought that the Kindle would be a better deal. Perspective eh?

I managed to have a quick look at an Aura HD yesterday in WHSmith (a stationery supplier in the UK for you guys who haven't heard of them). As davidfor said, it was clear the firmaware on the Aura is the same as the Glo and for the purpose of reading pdfs, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Unless I find another option within this price range, I'm leaning toward the Kindle now.

All the best,
Leaston

05-26-2014, 07:09 AM	#4
leaston Addict Posts: 265 Karma: 1135030 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: England Device: Boox Go Color 7, Kobo Forma, Kindle Keyboard	Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. The video helped a lot too. The speed difference between the devices was significant and I think that alone may be a deal breaker for me. I need to be able to flick through and browse pages of textbooks, so to have to wait 2-3 seconds between page turns on the Kobo would become tedious very quickly. The problem with that delay would be because I often need to refer to specific articles within pdf documents, sometimes a few pages apart or dotted throughout the book. It would take an age to do this on the Kobo based on the page turn delay. That it's virtually instant on the Kindle makes a huge difference to me. I noticed a few times during the video that he pressed the screen on the Kobo and it didn't register, forcing him to do it again. Despite my fondness for the Glo, this has always been an irritation for me. I'm not impatient by any means, but when I tap the screen I think it's reasonable to expect the page to turn and it doesn't always. The lower res on the Kindle could be a potential issue as some of my pdfs are scanned documents and therefore the lack of pixel density and smaller screen would make some of these hard to read. I'll need to look through and decide how many of my documents could be unreadable compared to the native ones. Rendering text in native pdfs on the Kindle seems to be much clearer, although it would be far better to have finer control over the zoom instead of the increments. Being able to create markup on the Kindle is a huge plus too. Lack of SD card slot is a pain, but manageable with some manipulation of the documents. Another problem I have with the Kobo was the way the reviewer felt the need to alter all his pdfs to meet the 4:3 aspect ratio in order to accommodate the screen size. I understand why he did it and the results meant he got the most out of the screen real estate. However, I don't have the time or inclination to do that with the many docs I would need to install on the reader. Maybe I'm just awkward, but I'd rather the ereader have features to cater to my needs rather than my having to alter the way I work to accommodate shortcomings in software design I found it really interesting and quite surprising that the reviewer said the Kobo blows the Kindle away when it comes to dealing with pdfs. My impression, based on his video, was the opposite. I was left with the thought that the Kindle would be a better deal. Perspective eh? I managed to have a quick look at an Aura HD yesterday in WHSmith (a stationery supplier in the UK for you guys who haven't heard of them). As davidfor said, it was clear the firmaware on the Aura is the same as the Glo and for the purpose of reading pdfs, I'm not sure that's a good thing. Unless I find another option within this price range, I'm leaning toward the Kindle now. All the best, Leaston