from iOS to Kindle

[arslonga]

Good day.

I have been using Marvin on my iPad mini as a dedicated ereader but the backlight of the iPad is hurting my eyesight, and no background experimentation with Calibre dims it. I am thinking of switching to an e-ink Kindle. I am aware that Calibre will allow me to embed fonts in an AZW3 ebook as I am currently doing with my EPUBs; however, will the reading experience be similar to reading an EPUB in Marvin? Thank you for your attention.

[jhowell]

This sub-forum is mainly for discussion of the file formats used by Kindle devices and authoring content, not the user experience. There are separate "Amazon Kindle" and a "Which one should I buy?" sub-forums in the "E-Book Readers" category, either of which is more appropriate for this sort of question.

The Amazon Kindle forum would be a good choice if you are set on a Kindle. The other one would be better if you are unsure since it covers comparison of different of readers, including Android-based devices and Kobo.

You can report your post ("!" icon bottom left) and ask to have it moved if you like. Repeating a question in multiple sub-forums is considered bad etiquette on MobileRead.

[issybird]

Moved to Kindle forum per OP request.

[Isamilis]

Hi, I am an avid reader, in iPhone and iPad before finally I moved to Kindle e-Paper. The experience is different obviously. Kindle is black and white, no other colors. Also, it is slower response compare to iDevice, especially if you want to take note (which I saw, this is rare needs to add notes when reading). Highlighting is normal.
The best thing is the e-ink screen which is very eye-friendly. Secondly is battery which can take weeks - almost 1 months. You shouldnt worry missing your charger for few days.

For ePub you have to convert it to AZW3 - I used Calibre, which is open source and very good.

I hope this helps.

[barryem]

I used to do some reading on my Ipad Mini. I got rid of it 2 or 3 years ago so it's been a while and I don't think I knew about Marvin, if it even existed then. I think I read with Bluefire but I'm not sure.

I've had a Kindle for the past 8 years so the Ipad was just used occasionally. I found reading on the Kindle to be far superior. Yes it's black and white but so are most books. I read novels and color simply doesn't matter.

If you get a Paperwhite or a Voyage or an Oasis you get a front light, entirely different than the Ipad's backlight. The screen is opaque and there's a coating above it that directs light down to the screen. No more eyestrain than reading a paper book by lamplight.

My suggestion is get one and try it. That's the only way you'll really know. You have 30 days to return Kindles if you aren't happy.

As for which model, the three I mentioned are the lighted ones and I sure recommend that. In addition to better contrast they also let you read in any situation. They're hugely better. The differences in the three models are small, mostly involving buttons, so which you pick doesn't matter a lot. They all have excellent screens and lights and they have nearly identical interfaces.

Barry

Originally Posted by arslonga

Good day.

I have been using Marvin on my iPad mini as a dedicated ereader but the backlight of the iPad is hurting my eyesight, and no background experimentation with Calibre dims it. I am thinking of switching to an e-ink Kindle. I am aware that Calibre will allow me to embed fonts in an AZW3 ebook as I am currently doing with my EPUBs; however, will the reading experience be similar to reading an EPUB in Marvin? Thank you for your attention.

Have you experimented with the iPad mini Display and Brightness settings? With iOS 10 there is a feature called True Tone which shifts the color a bit to the red side of the spectrum to give you a warmer screen lighting that some find easier for reading. Also there is a feature called Night Shift that does essentially the same thing. Also you might want to turn off Auto-Brightness when reading and manually set the lighting to a dim setting.

Which iPad mini do you own? The first model had a low resolution screen that was difficult to read on, at least for some people, as it only had 162 ppi. Starting with the iPad mini the screens are the newer Retina displays that have 326 ppi and are really easy on the eyes for most people, as far as resolution goes.

Some people just cannot deal well with the backlighting of tablet devices. Personally I have no issue with them and actually prefer them over the e-Ink devices for all my reading with the exception of reading in direct sunlight and extremely bright conditions.

If you try a Kindle, you will notice a few things different from the iPad. For one thing it is grey-scale, so no color. Probably not an issue with most books. It is also slower to react. The fonts will look thinner and lighter on the Kindle than on the iPad because e-Ink cannot achieve the dark blacks that tablets can. Front lit Kindles will likely have some weird colorized shadowing on the screen under certain conditions. Quite frankly the front lit Kindles are worse on my eyes than tablets are, that is when the front light is on. Again, this is something you might not have an issue with. I also find it more difficult to highlight text on a Kindle because it s so sluggish compared to tablets. And if you read PDF files, forget the Kindle. PDFs suck on most devices, but they really suck on a Kindle.

So as someone suggested in an earlier post, you really need to get a Kindle and try it out for a few weeks to see if you like it. I suggest that you not sell the iPad mini until afterwards, just in case you decide the Kindle is not for you.

[Isamilis]

I have (almost) perfect black letters on my Paperwhite (but not so black in Oasis). e-Ink is much easier for eyes, also be very crystal clear if you read outdoor. But it's not for magazines nor for gamer and other social media people.

Originally Posted by Isamilis

I have (almost) perfect black letters on my Paperwhite (but not so black in Oasis). e-Ink is much easier for eyes, also be very crystal clear if you read outdoor. But it's not for magazines nor for gamer and other social media people.

Perhaps for your eyes, but not for mine. Everyone has unique eyesight and unique needs and issues.

[arslonga]

Thank you all for your replies.

My strategy has been to use a variety of grey backgrounds in my EPUBs using Calibre in an attempt to recreate the eInk settings, but still, the backlight of the iPad is too hard on my eyesight, even though Marvin has an additional dimming filter. Thank you for your attention.