Very small screen or A4. In between doesn't make sense

[jago25_98]

If you want to read PDF's then A4 tends to be a standard minimum size so that is the size tablet you're going to need.

However, if you're reading novels in a proper eBook format then you can get away with a 4 or 5" screen and pocket that along with a phone SO much better.

I think getting caught up in ipad style 10" screens is a big mistake for everyone. Stupidly, I didn't realise this until now.

Big screens: We do have some nice big screen readers at A4 size but they're ~$600. I'm waiting for something simple to come out of China that's A4 capable and can just let me read a pdf, no frills.

Small screens: The inkCase is the closest to this I've found but it was rubbish as far as I know. Is there anything else out there the size of a non phablet phone? I saw someone using what looked like a inkcase on the train but it looked much better than the original project. Perhaps it's been revised since?
Again it seems strange that there's nothing smaller than a Kobo.

[SleepyBob]

If you are buying a tablet specifically because you want to read full-page PDFs, sure it isn't the best choice of size. But it is hardly terrible.

Documents typically have 1" margins on every side, so the text you want to read isn't A4, it's more like 6.5x9". An iPad can display that with only a 15% reduction in size, 10% for the new iPad. And if you are willing to flip sideways and just see the top or bottom half, it can display it at full size, margins and all.

And getting caught up in 10" screens isn't a "big mistake for everyone", since only a small percentage of iPad users are spending significant time on them reading PDFs. The best size for a tablet for consumers is a very different proposition than the best size tablet to read PDFs on.

[Pajamaman]

I read a4 docs on a 9.7" device all the time. I read them in landscape and scroll..

[jago25_98]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

I read a4 docs on a 9.7" device all the time. I read them in landscape and scroll..

I have an 8" ipad1 mini. I find it's OK for a while but I've never done much reading on it. I think there are 2 reasons, firstly the scrolling breaks my immersion and secondly, the LCD screen just reminds me of playing too much and that breaks my concentration too. Perhaps I'm too easily distracted but this is what tech does to me.

Do you think a 10" eink screen might work better for me or do I wait for a decent 13" screen? I quite like the Sony DPT for it's lack of distracting features but the software simply isn't acceptable.

[ps67]

I do not agree with the OP, I bought my Kobo Aura One because my 6" screen Kindle Paperwhite is too small. Now KA1 is my favorite device with its 7.8" screen. I tried to read on my phone but I was uncomfortable because of its small screen and the lack of eink. Not everybody has the same preferences.

I don't read much pdf, otherwise I should consider a Mimas or a Note pro.

But many people regrets the 5" screen of Kobo Mini, so may be that if there was a "Kobo Mini 2" with light they would buy it immediately.

[jago25_98]

That's interesting. What are you reading? .epub format novels?

Originally Posted by ps67

I do not agree with the OP, I bought my Kobo Aura One because my 6" screen Kindle Paperwhite is too small. Now KA1 is my favorite device with its 7.8" screen. I tried to read on my phone but I was uncomfortable because of its small screen and the lack of eink. Not everybody has the same preferences.

I don't read much pdf, otherwise I should consider a Mimas or a Note pro.

But many people regrets the 5" screen of Kobo Mini, so may be that if there was a "Kobo Mini 2" with light they would buy it immediately.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ps67

I do not agree with the OP, I bought my Kobo Aura One because my 6" screen Kindle Paperwhite is too small. Now KA1 is my favorite device with its 7.8" screen. I tried to read on my phone but I was uncomfortable because of its small screen and the lack of eink. Not everybody has the same preferences.

Ditto. 7'' screens are my favorites, 7.8'' is the upper limit. I no longer want to read on a 6'' or smaller.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Ditto. 7'' screens are my favorites, 7.8'' is the upper limit. I no longer want to read on a 6'' or smaller.

I like the 6.8 inches of my H2O2, am interested in the 7 inches of the Libra, that will probably be as big as I ever go, I think.

[ps67]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

That's interesting. What are you reading? .epub format novels?

I'm reading epub format novels but also essays (epub, again).

About screen sizes it's only question of individual preferences, 6" screen eink devices are the most used, a compromise between portability and readability, but (I don't own any statistic, only what I see here) it seems that the use of larger devices is increasing.

[theducks]

Interesting views. (FWIW I read fiction, not reference material)

Back when I got my first, 5" Astak Pocket pro, I discovered that the screen's width MATCHED the width of the print on the page of a standard US paperback. The bezel provided the blank space around the words (IMHO no need for more than a px or two for side margins (One of my touch-ups I do on all books I buy. ADE needed 16 on the right for those block numbers, but now I just use 2 all around)
The only 'annotation' I do is when I find errors I want to fix (and gripe to the seller). I find any keyboard with keys smaller than a 'standard' desktop one, difficult to hit (only ) the proper keys .

Intended usage (reading material), should bias your device selection. I still believe that ONE SIZE FITS ALL type of a choice is a poor one,

[Marinolino]

Originally Posted by ps67

I do not agree with the OP, I bought my Kobo Aura One because my 6" screen Kindle Paperwhite is too small. Now KA1 is my favorite device with its 7.8" screen. I tried to read on my phone but I was uncomfortable because of its small screen and the lack of eink. Not everybody has the same preferences.

I don't read much pdf, otherwise I should consider a Mimas or a Note pro.

But many people regrets the 5" screen of Kobo Mini, so may be that if there was a "Kobo Mini 2" with light they would buy it immediately.

I do not agree either, because I do read a lot of pdfs on 300 dpi KoboAura1 using Koreader app, because majority of them are either paperback/hardcover pdf scans that can easily be read in portraite or landscape, or two-column A4 pdf documents without many colored graphs/tables therein (using column mode) or are one-column A4 documents with about 16 cm text width (without margins) easily legible in landscape mode (KA1' screen dimension is 12 x 16 cm).

We can also use reflow for wider A4 pdf documents (text width about 18 cm) but I rather use 10" eink or iPad in that case.

So, as long as 10" & 13" eink are more expensive than iPad pro or Surface pro (new or used), it makes sense to read some pdfs on a lot cheaper 300 dpi 8" eink and some on a cheaper older 10" eink and lcd tablet.

Hopefully ClearInk' lcd e-paper shall change a lot of pdf reading habits in the next couple of years.

[4691mls]

I just hope manufacturers will continue making devices in a variety of sizes so we can all get the size most useful for each of us.

[Philippe D.]

My feeling is that 10" displays (or around that) are fine for most PDFs, provided the software is a little bit smart about cropping the margins. Scrolling is fine with standard tablets that have the CPU power and display speed for it, but on e-ink devices, I avoid it as much as I can.

Overall, if I have just a few pages to read, an iPad (or likely, any similar device) is fine. If I have a PDF book or long article that I want to study, I'll go for an eink display, and my experience is that my Remarkable is fine for it, and I find it more comfortable than the iPad (of which I have the original format - not the "mini" nor the larger "pro").

For epubs (which, in my case, means novels), I much prefer a smaller device that will comfortably hold in a single hand. I have an Aura H20 at the moment, so a bit on the larger side of the ereader spectrum, but I might go for something smaller and lighter when I have to change, because for this portability is an important concern.

[jago25_98]

Thanks for everyone's insights!

I think the mistake I've made here is discounting 10" eink with pdf. Phillip pointing out that good software handling of the margins is important - what software do you recommend for that?

I've been using the 8" ipad for pdf. I always find myself reading pdfs. It's OK but I much prefer eink.

I could:

- get a 10" reMarkable off the back of comments here
- I could wait for better eink screens and stick it out with the ipad
or
- I can go for the big 12"+ eink screens. The price is crazy though and maybe it's better to wait for a cheap one to come out of China since I only want to read pdfs and not make notes

[ps67]

Originally Posted by Marinolino

I do not agree either, because I do read a lot of pdfs on 300 dpi KoboAura1 using Koreader app, because majority of them are either paperback/hardcover pdf scans that can easily be read in portraite or landscape, or two-column A4 pdf documents without many colored graphs/tables therein (using column mode) or are one-column A4 documents with about 16 cm text width (without margins) easily legible in landscape mode (KA1' screen dimension is 12 x 16 cm).

We can also use reflow for wider A4 pdf documents (text width about 18 cm) but I rather use 10" eink or iPad in that case.

So, as long as 10" & 13" eink are more expensive than iPad pro or Surface pro (new or used), it makes sense to read some pdfs on a lot cheaper 300 dpi 8" eink and some on a cheaper older 10" eink and lcd tablet.

Hopefully ClearInk' lcd e-paper shall change a lot of pdf reading habits in the next couple of years.

Yes, Koreader is much better than normal software of Kobo (Nickel) for pdf. I use it when I read pdf but I still think that if I would need to read pdf everyday I would consider a bigger screen device.

But, as I said before, it is question of personal taste and, of course, of the cost of device: a KAO is considerably cheaper than a 10.3" screen device.