Criteria for puchase

[mjb100]

I've already asked a couple of questions but after seeing other posts Ive decided to lost my criteria of what I want in an ereader. I'm generally swayed to the kindle but happy with suggestions for other brands.

1. I read books & a lot of academic papers in PDF
2. Would like to be able to highlight text like one would do with a highlighter texta for later reference.
2. Preferably has page numbers (I've noticed some people say their reader doesn't show page numbers)
3. E ink or maybe LCD (i can be partial to fancy features & extras)

I'm undecided as to 3G and/or wifi but would appreciate all comments and suggestions

I'm undecided on

[ucfgrad93]

If you read a lot of pdfs, I would suggest a tablet of some kind. They handle pdfs better than most eink readers.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

If you read a lot of pdfs, I would suggest a tablet of some kind. They handle pdfs better than most eink readers.

Yes and for a reading app I'd look at Mantano. You can highlight in various colors if you want. It handles PDF and ePub well and will work with Adobe ID based DRM and B&N style DRM as well.


As for page numbers it will depend on what you mean. Do you want the page numbers to correspond with page numbers in a pbook version or just want page numbers of some kind for the sake of having them?

[jocampo]

Apple iPad , for sure, with GoodReader app. You can highlight, edit, create notes, and even a TOC with links if it's absent from original document.

PDF is not an ebook format, hence, most eink devices won't render it well ( or fast enough, like page turns)

Editing is also limited on eink readers, same goes for zooming. And anything smaller than 10 inches will be too small also, unless the PDF is just a pure text document, like a novel.

[jbcohen]

I agree that a tablet would handle PDFs best of all however I do not agree that an ipad is suitable for reading electronic documents. While I do not own one nor do I wish to own an ipad I have a lot of family friends that have them and they all tell me that the problem with the ipad is that:

1) Its rather ackward for reading documents such as PDFs
2) As with all apple products its propretary so you can look forward to paying more for it

I have a Kindle Fire which is a better candidate then an ipad since its smaller and runs faster than an ipad (I did a test a foot race between my fire and my pals ipad on the same network opening the same document and the same web page my fire beat the ipad 99% of the time.)

However here is the downside, the battery will not last very long, its something that I live with every day.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

1) Its rather ackward for reading documents such as PDFs

What app were they using to read PDFs? If they're using the built-in support, then yes, that is pretty awful and rudimentary. With the GoodReader app ($4.99), PDF support is excellent and it's quite ideally suited for reading academic papers, textbooks and the like.

Of course, the iPad isn't the only option. An Android tablet with 8.9" or bigger screen would probably do the job just as well. I heard ezPDF was pretty good as far as PDF readers go. I do use Mantano but haven't really tested its annotation features as I use it mostly for recreational reading.

Originally Posted by jbcohen

2) As with all apple products its propretary so you can look forward to paying more for it

Unfortunately, this is true.

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I have a Kindle Fire which is a better candidate then an ipad since its smaller and runs faster than an ipad (I did a test a foot race between my fire and my pals ipad on the same network opening the same document and the same web page my fire beat the ipad 99% of the time.)

Small screen. The iPad's screen is barely good enough for letter-sized PDFs (although having higher resolution would probably help with that). If you go with a device with 7" screen, you'd probably need to do a lot of panning.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

What app were they using to read PDFs? If they're using the built-in support, then yes, that is pretty awful and rudimentary. With the GoodReader app ($4.99), PDF support is excellent and it's quite ideally suited for reading academic papers, textbooks and the like.

iPad with Goodreader is quite simply superb. I routinely have to make use of a 1000+ page PDF reference manual in my work. Using it on my iPad is so much easier than on my laptop. It's the primary use I make of my iPad.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by HarryT

iPad with Goodreader is quite simply superb. I routinely have to make use of a 1000+ page PDF reference manual in my work. Using it on my iPad is so much easier than on my laptop. It's the primary use I make of my iPad.

So true. Lol, when I was studying for an exam, I was using my iPad (with GoodReader) to read the reviewer and reference books. Note taking/annotation was excellent and even if I had 2 iPads with me (got tired of switching between books within the app so borrowed my brother's so I can easily refer to both books when needed), the combined weight was still lighter than just one of the books. Admittedly, the cost for the 2 iPads was close to $1,500 (including taxes) - enough for 3 budget to mid-range laptops.