Help an eReader newbie!

hartyewh · 02-26-2013, 05:35 AM

Hi,

so here's the deal. I'm trying to find out about the latest eReaders and the technology in general since I've never even touched one. I live in Finland and there doesn't seem to be any place where I could go to look at the Nooks and Kindles, only some of the more vague-ish brands that don't really seem to interest me.
The Paperwhite and Fire HD are the first ones that caught my eye, but I'm starting to think that maybe neither is what I'm looking for (the best of both might be what I want). And I'm not that interested in buying a proper tablet (with an appropriate price-tag) since reading is all I'd most likely use it for.

My ideal eReader would something like this: something suitable for several hours of reading (contrast, luminosity etc. Presumably much like the Paperwhite), "hassleless" user-experience (I'd actually prefer a simple folder view and a mp3-player -like drag-n-drop functionality) and sufficient format support (functions between and within formats), which leads to my questions (asked in general, while having Paperwhite and Fire HD in mind):

1) How is the screen-size and resolution for reading something like study materials (800+ page books with fairly large pages and smallish text)?

2) When an eReader supports a format, say for example PDF, it's probably limited in some ways? What if my material has horizontal pages or if the layout is non-standard in other ways?

3) About the overall use of an eReader. Let's say you get one (e.g. some Kindle). What's the basic operation like compared to like an Ipod (iTunes and other usability annoyances) vs any other mp3-player (drag-n-drop, life's good!)? How does Amazon stick it's moneygrubbing face into the operation (how bothersome are the ads on Paperwhite and so on?).

4) What's the browsing of ones collection (let's say the Paperwhites' announced capacity of 1,100 books) like? All I've seen is a view with a few book-covers that doesn't look too promising...

So if anyone could enlighten me in regard to any of these questions it'd be very much appreciated! Primarily I'm thinking in terms of Paperwhite vs Fire HD, but all other comparisons and recommendations are equally welcome!

Billi · 02-26-2013, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

1) How is the screen-size and resolution for reading something like study materials (800+ page books with fairly large pages and smallish text)?

I would strongly suggest you to investigate the Onyx subforum here, especially the Onyx Boox M92. If most of your reading will be study books you need a greater screen (ca. 10"), be it on a eink or lcd device.

And, hartyewh, welcome to MobileRead!

hartyewh · 02-26-2013, 07:17 AM

Okay, thanks. I'll check it out! Good point about the screen size. Regardless of the ppi a smaller screen might be a bit more difficult for prolonged use.

hartyewh · 02-26-2013, 07:51 AM

After checking out the M92 I came to the conclusion that it's a bit pricier than I'd like, especially since it doesn't offer much with regard to resolution and a few video reviews noted some other weaknesses or at least less than great aspects of it and at a price of 350€ I'm not that keen. But thanks for the tip regardless, the M92 had many functions that were well suited for what I was looking for.

Randy11 · 02-26-2013, 08:25 AM

The M92's videos are old. There is some new improvements and features, look at Firmware updates, dictionaries, fonts and third-party apps for Onyx Boox M92. The device it's really better.

1/ I've tried with my 6", but it's not possible. A big screen is necessary. Only some EPUB files are usable, but the pictures are a problem : too small. With the M92, you can annotate the texts.

2/ With the M92, there is no problem. You can define the zoom level, you can read in landscape mode too, read multicolumn documents, etc.

3/ I'm not sure to understand your question. The M92 is seen like an USB key and can play MP3 files.

4/ On the M92 you have a filesystem. You makes your folders and put your files in. When you have many documents, it's more interesting. You can use an SD card.

hartyewh · 02-26-2013, 08:29 AM

After looking at some larger eReaders (as advised by Billi) I came across the Fire HD 8.9, which I didn't know about before since it's not yet released in Europe. I'm quite interested since it offers some nice toy-usage possibilities (with the full hd screen) for a nice price.

Does anyone have experience with at least 2 hours (preferably 4+)) of reading with a Fire HD? (the smaller I assume is very similar when it comes to "eye fatigue" and such).

And about using it: how free from anything third-party can I expect to be with a Fire HD 8.9 with the ads removed? Any contact with Amazon? Can I basically just use without ever putting it online?

Thanks!

hartyewh · 02-26-2013, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy11

3/ I'm not sure to understand your question. The M92 is seen like an USB key and can play MP3 files.

Yeah, not the most easily understood question ever I'll agree. What I meant was that do I need to use any software on my pc (like with apple products you're stuck with iTunes) to copy to or convert pdf's for the device , do I need to do any registration/sign up or be in any way connected to some third party (Amazon)? I have a lot of pdf material to do with my studies and work that I'd need to view and some of the work stuff is confidential so I couldn't use the cloud services for that, but are the locally saved files in any way connected to Amazon etc.? I was talking about something along these lines...

susan_cassidy · 02-26-2013, 11:40 AM

You can't use a Fire in Finland. At least, no apps will be available to you from the Amazon appstore, and you can't stream movies, etc. from Amazon.

Randy11 · 02-27-2013, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

Yeah, not the most easily understood question ever I'll agree. What I meant was that do I need to use any software on my pc (like with apple products you're stuck with iTunes) to copy to or convert pdf's for the device , do I need to do any registration/sign up or be in any way connected to some third party (Amazon)? I have a lot of pdf material to do with my studies and work that I'd need to view and some of the work stuff is confidential so I couldn't use the cloud services for that, but are the locally saved files in any way connected to Amazon etc.? I was talking about something along these lines...

The M92 is seen like an USB key. There is only one registration possible, it's for the DRM, that's all. If you can use an USB key with your software, you can use the M92.

Billi · 02-27-2013, 06:18 AM

I understand that 350 Euros are a lot of money. I have the Onyx Boox i62 which is a 6" device (like the Kindle Paperwhite) and otherwise much the same as the M92. It is possible to read study books in landscape mode on it but it's not very convenient as study books are created for bigger screens. I can't tell you if it would be acceptable for you.

Rizla · 03-09-2013, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

...(I'd actually prefer a simple folder view and a mp3-player -like drag-n-drop functionality)

As far as I know, only the French Cybook ereaders do this out-of-the-box. I'm sure there are some others, but none of the big players. The Sony 650 / 350 can do this with Prs+, but they are no longer made. Check out the Kindle Duokan software. Maybe it offers it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

1) How is the screen-size and resolution for reading something like study materials (800+ page books with fairly large pages and smallish text)?

2) When an eReader supports a format, say for example PDF, it's probably limited in some ways? What if my material has horizontal pages or if the layout is non-standard in other ways?

Be aware, the PW handles pdfs poorly. They don't do reflow. I know the Touch didn't do landscape. Maybe the PW is the same. You need landscape for pdfs. Sonys are the best for handling pdfs. In landscape the divide the page into two and magnify so its readable. They also reflow the text. A tablet is best for pdf, but not for your eye-sight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

3) About the overall use of an eReader. Let's say you get one (e.g. some Kindle). What's the basic operation like compared to like an Ipod (iTunes and other usability annoyances) vs any other mp3-player (drag-n-drop, life's good!)? How does Amazon stick it's moneygrubbing face into the operation (how bothersome are the ads on Paperwhite and so on?).

The Fire OS is very restrictive. Read the low-star reviews on Amazon. I've read you can root it, but I don't know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hartyewh

4) What's the browsing of ones collection (let's say the Paperwhites' announced capacity of 1,100 books) like? All I've seen is a view with a few book-covers that doesn't look too promising...

Don't know, but learn to use Calibre.

02-26-2013, 05:35 AM	#1
hartyewh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: none	Help an eReader newbie! Hi, so here's the deal. I'm trying to find out about the latest eReaders and the technology in general since I've never even touched one. I live in Finland and there doesn't seem to be any place where I could go to look at the Nooks and Kindles, only some of the more vague-ish brands that don't really seem to interest me. The Paperwhite and Fire HD are the first ones that caught my eye, but I'm starting to think that maybe neither is what I'm looking for (the best of both might be what I want). And I'm not that interested in buying a proper tablet (with an appropriate price-tag) since reading is all I'd most likely use it for. My ideal eReader would something like this: something suitable for several hours of reading (contrast, luminosity etc. Presumably much like the Paperwhite), "hassleless" user-experience (I'd actually prefer a simple folder view and a mp3-player -like drag-n-drop functionality) and sufficient format support (functions between and within formats), which leads to my questions (asked in general, while having Paperwhite and Fire HD in mind): 1) How is the screen-size and resolution for reading something like study materials (800+ page books with fairly large pages and smallish text)? 2) When an eReader supports a format, say for example PDF, it's probably limited in some ways? What if my material has horizontal pages or if the layout is non-standard in other ways? 3) About the overall use of an eReader. Let's say you get one (e.g. some Kindle). What's the basic operation like compared to like an Ipod (iTunes and other usability annoyances) vs any other mp3-player (drag-n-drop, life's good!)? How does Amazon stick it's moneygrubbing face into the operation (how bothersome are the ads on Paperwhite and so on?). 4) What's the browsing of ones collection (let's say the Paperwhites' announced capacity of 1,100 books) like? All I've seen is a view with a few book-covers that doesn't look too promising... So if anyone could enlighten me in regard to any of these questions it'd be very much appreciated! Primarily I'm thinking in terms of Paperwhite vs Fire HD, but all other comparisons and recommendations are equally welcome!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Hello from an ereader newbie	Pistos	Introduce Yourself	5	07-26-2011 09:59 AM
ereader newbie	joker	Introduce Yourself	7	12-30-2010 03:50 PM
Hello from an ereader newbie	nluoma	Introduce Yourself	6	09-06-2010 09:57 PM
Newbie to the ereader world!	countcatula	Introduce Yourself	13	08-16-2010 07:27 AM
Hi from Ereader Newbie	superstitious	Introduce Yourself	12	08-31-2009 10:15 AM

02-26-2013, 07:17 AM	#3
hartyewh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: none	Okay, thanks. I'll check it out! Good point about the screen size. Regardless of the ppi a smaller screen might be a bit more difficult for prolonged use.

02-26-2013, 07:51 AM	#4
hartyewh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: none	After checking out the M92 I came to the conclusion that it's a bit pricier than I'd like, especially since it doesn't offer much with regard to resolution and a few video reviews noted some other weaknesses or at least less than great aspects of it and at a price of 350€ I'm not that keen. But thanks for the tip regardless, the M92 had many functions that were well suited for what I was looking for.

02-26-2013, 08:25 AM	#5
Randy11 Wizard Posts: 1,138 Karma: 1577094 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Samsung EB60, Onyx M92, Onyx Max2	The M92's videos are old. There is some new improvements and features, look at Firmware updates, dictionaries, fonts and third-party apps for Onyx Boox M92. The device it's really better. 1/ I've tried with my 6", but it's not possible. A big screen is necessary. Only some EPUB files are usable, but the pictures are a problem : too small. With the M92, you can annotate the texts. 2/ With the M92, there is no problem. You can define the zoom level, you can read in landscape mode too, read multicolumn documents, etc. 3/ I'm not sure to understand your question. The M92 is seen like an USB key and can play MP3 files. 4/ On the M92 you have a filesystem. You makes your folders and put your files in. When you have many documents, it's more interesting. You can use an SD card.

02-26-2013, 08:29 AM	#6
hartyewh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: none	After looking at some larger eReaders (as advised by Billi) I came across the Fire HD 8.9, which I didn't know about before since it's not yet released in Europe. I'm quite interested since it offers some nice toy-usage possibilities (with the full hd screen) for a nice price. Does anyone have experience with at least 2 hours (preferably 4+)) of reading with a Fire HD? (the smaller I assume is very similar when it comes to "eye fatigue" and such). And about using it: how free from anything third-party can I expect to be with a Fire HD 8.9 with the ads removed? Any contact with Amazon? Can I basically just use without ever putting it online? Thanks!

02-26-2013, 11:40 AM	#8
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	You can't use a Fire in Finland. At least, no apps will be available to you from the Amazon appstore, and you can't stream movies, etc. from Amazon.

02-27-2013, 06:18 AM	#10
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	I understand that 350 Euros are a lot of money. I have the Onyx Boox i62 which is a 6" device (like the Kindle Paperwhite) and otherwise much the same as the M92. It is possible to read study books in landscape mode on it but it's not very convenient as study books are created for bigger screens. I can't tell you if it would be acceptable for you.

Advert

Advert