iPad iPad as an eReader

[Caleb666]

I've been hopelessly waiting for the perfect 9.7" eInk reader in the last couple of months, and the Onyx M90 seemed like a dream finally coming true, but alas, it seems to be plagued by firmware and battery life problems.

I realized that if an eReader is going to last me 3 days or so, I should probably just get a tablet, and I'll get both a color screen, and faster page turns. The iPad 2 seems like a natural choice, since it's got a wonderful screen, and a pretty decent battery life.

I'm a student, and I have a lot of PDF and DJVU textbooks (and not that many EPUBs). I'm interested in hearing the opinions of those of you that use the iPad 2 as a dedicated eReader [especially for math/computer textbooks!].

Here are a few general question:
* How bothersome is the glare?
* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?
* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?
* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Caleb666

* How bothersome is the glare?

In brightly lit rooms, especially with bright overhead lights, it can be really distracting. Outdoors in sunlight it is mostly unusable. In the proper lighting where no light fixtures are reflected on the screen it is wonderful. Some people like using a non-glare screen protector and find that it helps. In my experience the non-glare screen protector I tried made the text harder to read. Even in perfect lighting, the iPad will not render text as well as the iPhone 4 are the eInk readers.

Originally Posted by Caleb666

* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?

If the lighting is good then I can read for hours. If there are reflections on the screen, then I have problems after a short period of time.

Originally Posted by Caleb666

* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?

I mostly read on mine and I leave WiFi on. I estimate about 10 hours on a battery charge using my conditions. However, I usually have the screen turned down to around 30%.

Originally Posted by Caleb666

* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?

I love the iPad for the ease and speed of highlighting, looking up words in a dictionary, annotations, etc. All of these functions are excrutiatingly slow on most eInk readers, not to mention clunky due to eInk inerfaces. But here is what I normally wind up doing: Any outdoor reading is done on my eInk. Most bright area (brightly lit room) reading is usually done on my eInk. All dimly lit area reading is done on my iPad or nookcolor. I prefer the iPad over the nookcolor because the nookcolor is not as easy to operate and the touch screen is not as sensitive.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

Here are a few general question:
* How bothersome is the glare?
* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?
* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?
* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?

Thanks!

The glare is about as bothersome as the glare on a laptop screen, if that comparison helps you any.

It is surprisingly not too tiresome to read for long periods of time. Some apps offer the ability to reverse the text colours, so you can read white text on a black background, which is really nice to read off of.

My battery lasts for about 10-12 hours of use with the wi-fi on, I would say. With the wi-fi off I imagine that you could get 15 hrs or so with the battery.

I prefer reading fiction on my e-ink reader, and I use my ipad mostly for PDFs (I do read the odd fiction book on it, though). The PDF functionality is fantastic - I can highlight text in different colours and make margin notes, all without the lag of eink. I had originally planned on getting a large-screen e-ink device for reading PDFs, but I am very happy with my purchase of the iPad. For reading novels and such, I do stick to my Sony, as it is super portable and the eink screen is more comfortable to read on then the LCD screen, but the LCD screen is not nearly as bad as I had thought it would be to read from.

I hope this helps.

[HistoryWes]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

Here are a few general question:
* How bothersome is the glare?
* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?
* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?
* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?

Thanks!

I have never had a real problem with glare. I've seen the glare when I was carrying my iPad in outside but I've only ever used it in the shade. I live in Nevada and you don't stand in the sun to do anything. There is some glare indoors from florescent lights etc. but I can usually compensate by changing the brightness.

I've read for hours on end on my iPad and never experience eye strain. Then again, I look at TV or computer screens and have no problem there.

I use my iPad for at least five hours a day and the battery usually is at about 30-40% when I go to bed. I always have it plugged in on my nightstand.

I loved my eReader, but have no problems reading with the iPad. Now that prices of Nook/Kindles have come down, I might buy one. The battery life is great, they are very light and easy to carry, and most of all, at $100 I wouldn't worry so much about it getting lost or stolen when I take it out with me.

One thing you didn't ask about is versatility. I have a Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and several other apps on my iPad and I use whichever one I need. PDFs look great in iBooks. This is probably the best selling point for reading on the iPad, unless Apple kills it by forcing app developers out.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by HistoryWes

One thing you didn't ask about is versatility. I have a Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and several other apps on my iPad and I use whichever one I need. PDFs look great in iBooks. This is probably the best selling point for reading on the iPad, unless Apple kills it by forcing app developers out.

Great point.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

Here are a few general question:
* How bothersome is the glare?
In bright light, pretty bothersome. Turning up the brightness decreases the glare but that tends to give me a headache.

* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?
For me, it depends on how bright the backlight is. At low brightness, I can read for hours on end (although I mostly just use the iPad for reading manga).

* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?
With WiFi on at low brightness, I think I get around 8~12 hours worth of battery life. I never really turn WiFi off.

* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?
If you meant primarily text works, then nope. I hate seeing all the pixels on the iPad. I prefer the PRS-350 or iPhone 4 (Retina Display) for reading fiction that's mostly text. For reference books, though, (e.g. programming books, PDF manuals, etc), the iPad is pretty great.

See answers in blue.

[Caleb666]

Thanks to everyone that answered!

One more question: How does one manage files on the iPad?

My books are in a strict directory structure on my PC, and filetypes are mixed (for example, one directory can contain both PDF and CHM files).
Is there a way to keep that directory structure, and then launch the appropriate reader software for the different file types? (for example GoodReader for PDFs and ReadCHM for CHMs).

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

One more question: How does one manage files on the iPad?

My books are in a strict directory structure on my PC, and filetypes are mixed (for example, one directory can contain both PDF and CHM files).
Is there a way to keep that directory structure, and then launch the appropriate reader software for the different file types? (for example GoodReader for PDFs and ReadCHM for CHMs).

Hmm, you could try using Dropbox. The problem with the iPad (and iOS in general) is Apple sandboxes the apps. What you're asking for isn't exactly the normal behavior so all you can do is find workarounds.

[Latinandgreek]

Yes, I use Dropbox. It is an excellent workaround.

[sapphiresilver]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

Thanks to everyone that answered!

One more question: How does one manage files on the iPad?

My books are in a strict directory structure on my PC, and filetypes are mixed (for example, one directory can contain both PDF and CHM files).
Is there a way to keep that directory structure, and then launch the appropriate reader software for the different file types? (for example GoodReader for PDFs and ReadCHM for CHMs).

Personally, I use Goodreader. The book formats I use are PDF and ePub, so I load them all into Goodreader in my preferred directory structure. I can then use Goodreader to open the ePubs in an ePub reader like iBooks.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Caleb666

I'm a student, and I have a lot of PDF and DJVU textbooks (and not that many EPUBs). I'm interested in hearing the opinions of those of you that use the iPad 2 as a dedicated eReader [especially for math/computer textbooks!].

Here are a few general question:
* How bothersome is the glare?
* How tiresome is it to read for long periods of time (over an hour)?
* How long, on average, does the battery last, if you mostly have WiFi off, and use it mostly for reading?
* If you have an eInk reader: Do you still prefer reading on the iPad rather than on the eInk reader?

Thanks!

When I bought my iPad I bought the Power Support Anti Glare screen protector at the same time. I had heard some antiglare protectors have moire issues; but this this one does not.



I don't have a problem reading on the iPad for hours. On it's lowest setting, I sometimes don't notice a backlight at all, even though I know that there is one.

As for battery life, for me it lasts all day. I used to charge my iPad daily, but now I do it every other day of so. It lasts way longer than I'm willing to read. In the fall I plan on putting all of my textbooks on there, so that's when it'll get the real test.

As for which I prefer reading on, it depends on what I'm reading and the lighting conditions. EInk is more relaxing to me, but on the downside, if I'm reading boring text for school, it's harder to stay awake with eink.

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Yes, I use Dropbox. It is an excellent workaround.

So do I.

[jocampo]

Hi Caleb,

I bought my iPad 2 for my Magazines, PDFs and computer books. I do also have couple of calculus book there as well. For those kind of titles, there is nothing better. The Kindle DXG is the closest experience but honestly, the iPad 2 is faster and jumping between chapters is way easier. Wish Amazon can improve the firmware though, it is not so good with PDFs. If you bought your computer books from Amazon is a great reading experience, you can use chapters and annotations on default azw books.

However, I prefer eink. With enough ambient light, the same for reading a pbook, you can read using an eink device with the advantage that you can go out and use it outside as well, like on your backyard or balcony.

Regarding battery life, while using heavily, it maybe needs a charge after 3 days or so.

I think that if you don't read novels, fiction or similar, you will be totally fine with your iPad as a dedicated ereader. I don't use mine for hours, the LCD bothers me a bit after an hour or more but maybe that won't be the case for you.

[mgmueller]

When reading for more than 1 hour, I find the weight of iPad bothersome.
Yes, iPad2 is significantly lighter than iPad1 and you definitely feel it. Still, after some times I simply get tired of holding it. For extended periods, I still by far prefer Kindle DXG, iRex 800 and the likes.
I don't have any problems with the glare of iPad2 though.

Yes weight is a problem, but it is a problem for other devices too. Any device that is a pound or more will get heavy if held in the air for an extended period, at least to me it does. Even balancing an iPad or nookcolor on my belly will after a period start to make my hand fall asleep. So when reading inside I try to use a flat surface and a case that props up the iPad to a readable angle.

[JSWolf]

The iPad is not heavier then a lot of textbooks students would be lugging around/reading.