Tablets driving out ebook readers?

[James_Wilde]

Is it just me or do I get the feeling that iPads and the Android equivalents are driving out ebook readers? Of course they won't make much impression on the various Kindles, but the rest of the field seems to be shrinking.

Personally I have an old Iriver Story, which is getting to the end of its useful life but if it weren't for that I'd say I love it, and now I'm looking round for something else that uses e-ink, preferably can play music, and handles epub format.

Any comments or suggestions?

[cvkemp]

For me I have been reading on the Nexus 7 tablet but now I have gone back to the Kindle e-ink readers. It was suggested to my by my eye doctor that I should either go to the e-ink or back to paper. Well I have too many ebooks, that I want to read so I have gone to the Kindle PW2. I find it easy with calibre to convert my ebooks to what ever format I need it to be. Also with the correct plugins DRM is not an issue either.

[AnemicOak]

Seems to me there are still a lot of eInk devices/manufacturers out there. Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Bookeen, Onyx Boox, Boyue, Pocketbook, Icarus

[GlenBarrington]

I'm in the process of going BACK to an eReader from a 1st Gen Kindle Fire. I've just got to decide for sure between the Paper White and the Voyage. For me it's a question of reading comfort and battery life.

If I think about it, I can question my judgement since the Tablet is so versatile and has so much more Access to the wider world than an eReader does. But I realize, in the wealthier nations, that sort of access is everywhere. Most of us have smartphones that can function as tablets and provide that level of access wherever we go.

We may see some contraction of the number eReader hardware vendors, but I haven't heard anything that makes me think that the eReader devices will go away completely. Actually, if that contraction makes the remaining vendors stronger, that might be a good thing.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Is it just me or do I get the feeling that iPads and the Android equivalents are driving out ebook readers? Of course they won't make much impression on the various Kindles, but the rest of the field seems to be shrinking.

Personally I have an old Iriver Story, which is getting to the end of its useful life but if it weren't for that I'd say I love it, and now I'm looking round for something else that uses e-ink, preferably can play music, and handles epub format.

Any comments or suggestions?

I think it could be just as much the fact that 4-year-old ereaders are nearly as usable today as they were when new. Once the reading population was fulfilled, sales dropped.

[Matth79]

Horses for courses - the tablet can do other things, but the battery is a ticking clock.

My personal pet hate is the Kindle Fire, and indeed most other tablet+ereader devices which are usually less versatile than loading your choice of ereader apps (1 for every store, I have no loyalty) on a tablet - the KF, for instance, lacks Google Play, a disadvantage compared to an Android Tablet with both Play and Android appstore - there are also dual cameras on many lesser devices, but the KF only gets that on the biggest

[peaceridge]

My main problem with ereaders vs tablets is that the background of the ereaders (I've got the Kobo Glo and the PW2) is too grey or beige. My Nexus 7 has truly white background which makes the letters stand out and thus, makes reading easier. I find the grey or beige makes my eyes strain. Of course, many folks say that about tablets! So, as much as I like the battery life and size of my ereaders, I seldom use them. I keep hoping an ereader will come out with very white background and then I will change.

[cvkemp]

I personally cannot stand the white background for reading, it hurts my eye. Reading on a tablet or even a monitor really strains my eyes. I prefer the e-ink reads, and I get no eye strain. I have tried different background colors on my Nexus and found that while some of the gray colors help the light in the back of the screen is what causes my eye strain. I love my PW2 with the front light is seems so much more normal.

[peaceridge]

Isn't it great we have so many choices! I've tried finding studies on eyestrain and fonts/background colors, but everyone I've found seems to contradict another one. So, I guess, it boils down to noticing whether we personally get eyestrain while reading on our various gadgets.

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I personally cannot stand the white background for reading, it hurts my eye. Reading on a tablet or even a monitor really strains my eyes. I prefer the e-ink reads, and I get no eye strain. I have tried different background colors on my Nexus and found that while some of the gray colors help the light in the back of the screen is what causes my eye strain. I love my PW2 with the front light is seems so much more normal.

[ebusinesstutor]

I do think the use of tablets is affecting ereader use. When you already have one device that will let you ebooks, why carry a second?

My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is my primary ereader and our eink reader sits in a drawer somewhere.

Yes, eink does have some advantages like battery life and readability outdoors, but the tablet has a number of benefits like being able to access ebooks from all the online book stores instead of one, lighter because I am not carrying a second device, and it is always with me.

The few advantages of the e-ink readers just don't offset the tablet benefits for me. Of course, everyone is different.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Matth79

there are also dual cameras on many lesser devices, but the KF only gets that on the biggest

Wrong. The current Fire HD 6, which can be had for only $99, has dual cameras.

[NickyWithNook]

I've gone back and forth but I'm often using my Kindle Fire lately, despite my complains about readibility. I love being able to read my Kindle books, my Nook books, and from Scribd all on one device. Convenience is a big deal. If my eyes get tired or I'm going to read outside, it's usually the Paperwhite for me these days. My husband mainly uses the Glowlight.

[conan50]

I think smartphones are cutting more into the ereading space than tablets at this point. With the move toward phablets I think it gets harder to justify carrying two devices that large.

[Ripplinger]

Until a tablet or smartphone lets me read comfortably out in direct sunlight, or even in bright daylight, and has much longer battery life, I can't see them pushing out ereaders.

Those are the 2 biggest reasons I carry an ereader. I don't carry a tablet and a 5" phone screen is just too small to read on even if the sunlight and battery life weren't issues.

[conan50]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Until a tablet or smartphone lets me read comfortably out in direct sunlight, or even in bright daylight, and has much longer battery life, I can't see them pushing out ereaders.

Those are the 2 biggest reasons I carry an ereader. I don't carry a tablet and a 5" phone screen is just too small to read on even if the sunlight and battery life weren't issues.

It is kind of astounding that they have not invented a phone screen that can be easily read in direct or even indirect sunlight.