I own a Kindle 3 HOWEVER, I need something for me, preferably under $200

[kyzu]

I love my kindle but sometimes I'm looking to read magazines, or pdf's, or just browse the web and it really sucks in every one of those categories EXCEPT novels, it's perfect for those.

But I want a change, so, can anybody recommend one that has color, magazines/pdf's look good, and is ~$200 ?

Thanks SO much

[hughes]

If you can stretch it a bit to $250, Nook Color with its Android 2.2 (Froyo) update is a nice piece of color hardware. Web browsing is good, and the apps and games scene is good and getting better. PDF support is ok, but you'd have to go to an iPad to get better color PDF support, and that'd double the price.

Strictly under $200 color ereaders are the Pandigital Novel White, the Cruz Reader and the PocketBook IQ ereaders.

[VicLavigne]

Originally Posted by hughes

If you can stretch it a bit to $250, Nook Color with its Android 2.2 (Froyo) update is a nice piece of color hardware. Web browsing is good, and the apps and games scene is good and getting better. PDF support is ok, but you'd have to go to an iPad to get better color PDF support, and that'd double the price.

Strictly under $200 color ereaders are the Pandigital Novel White, the Cruz Reader and the PocketBook IQ ereaders.

Let me just add to this description of the Color Nook that better pdf readers are also available for it, if you choose to root the device and get full Android Market access. Browse the nook subforum for more info.

Vic

[LaurieGator]

I have both the Kindle and the Nook Color. I feel that they do compliment each other quite nicely. I use my (rooted) Nook Color for Magazines, PDF's and non-fiction books with charts and graphs. I use my Kindle for fiction books, non-fiction without charts or graphs and for overseas use.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by kyzu

I love my kindle but sometimes I'm looking to read magazines, or pdf's, or just browse the web and it really sucks in every one of those categories EXCEPT novels, it's perfect for those.

But I want a change, so, can anybody recommend one that has color, magazines/pdf's look good, and is ~$200 ?

Thanks SO much

Welcome to mobileread!

I do not think that your Kindle sucks on those categories . The Kindle is an ereader; was designed for novels, pure text books. It is not a tablet.

Now, for Magazines and PDFs a tablet is better, no question about it. Can you find a good tablet below $200.00? Difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. However, for about $350.00 you can buy a wifi Galaxy Tab. It is more expensive but is a nice piece of hardware, Froyo out of the box and it is lighter than similar devices at that size.

I respectfully disagree of getting a Nook Color and root it. On my case, I don't justify the effort of rooting plus the problem when receiving the official B&N firmware upgrade later via wifi. To me, it is too much trouble for just $100.00 more. Granted, that maybe is too much for some people, but at the end, you are getting more hardware for what you pay.

Pocketbook IQ is ok, good value, but IQ's resisitive touchscreen is just not for me. Once you have used capacitive screens, you don't want to go back.

I'm with Hughes about his PDF and iPad comment though. iPad is a bit more expensive but unbeatable, in my opinion, when reading PDFs.

[RoxyJ]

There is a few rumours going around the interwebs that Kindle may be coming out with a colour ereader/Tablet sometime later this year (maybe even as early as June) Of, course it may be just a rumour, but if you aren't in a big hurry maybe try and wait it out until June?

That's my plan anyways, but knowing my luck just as I run out of patience and finally settle on buying a nook color the kindle tablet will be released the next few days.

[delphin]

Your two best options for color PDF reading are probably an inexpensive mid sized Android tablet like the PocketBook IQ 701 (or 'rooted' Color Nook as already suggested) or a compact Intel compatible Netbook PC.

If you can deal with something about the size of a full sized hardback book, don't overlook the Netbook option. Today, with the rush to touch screen tablet devices, you can find really nice compact 10 inch screen Netbook PCs with impressive specs on clearance for as little as about 200 dollars.

My Netbook boasts a 1.6 GHz Atom CPU, 1 Gig of memory, 250 Gig Hard Drive, 3 USB2 ports, and both Ethernet and WiFi networking built in.

Some of the Android tablets are also a good value, and if you have the bucks the iPads are also nice, but when it comes to the power, flexibility, available software options, etc, vs. the price, my Netbook just blows them away.

I have my Netbook set up to dual boot both Windows 7 and the full blown version of Ubuntu 10.04 (not just the 'netbook' editon) and it runs both flawlessly (including all the fancy 3D desktop enhancements). This gives me access not only to the full PC version of Adobe Reader, but also to virtually every other important software program written in the last 20 years, in a package the size of a typical hardback book.

I can understand why some might find a touch screen tablet device more enticing, either because they prefer even more portability, or because they want some of the newer wiz-bang features features like Accelerometers and GPS that Netbooks typically do not offer. I find however that a smart-phone is more suited for these features, and that a Netbook fills the gap very nicely between a smart-phone and a full sized PC, and in the process, makes a very nice portable PDF viewer.

[SpeakOfTheDevil]

Coby Kyros. 800x460 screen resolution. 7-inches display. LCD. Resistive touch-screen. Cost around $145.

http://www.amazon.com/Coby-MID7015-A...dp/B0047Q9GT4/

Bad news? You need to root it to take every advantage of it. But it's a hella cheaper than the Nook Color.

Not sure if it's a good pdf-reader because, imo, anything that's not 9-inches or above display is not a good pdf-reader at all.

[delphin]

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

Coby Kyros. 800x460 screen resolution. 7-inches display. LCD. Resistive touch-screen. Cost around $145.

http://www.amazon.com/Coby-MID7015-A...dp/B0047Q9GT4/

Bad news? You need to root it to take every advantage of it. But it's a hella cheaper than the Nook Color.

Not sure if it's a good pdf-reader because, imo, anything that's not 9-inches or above display is not a good pdf-reader at all.

The Coby is an interesting tablet, some seem to love them, about the same number seem to have had problems.

If the screen resolution is only 800x460, that's an issue, because the OP's original Kindle already offers 800x600, so though you would gain color, you would actually loose some resolution - NOT GOOD.

The pocketbook IQ 701 is a little better at 800x600, but the small screen size and limited resolution is still going to be a problem when trying to view PDFs based on a full sized 8 1/2 x 11 page full screen.

The Nook Color costs a bit more, but it does offer a larger 1024x600 screen resolution, which puts it on a par with the iPads and other high end tablet devices.

As I mentioned in my previous post in this thread, another way to get a higher resolution screen in a compact inexpensive device is to go with a Netbook PC.

On sale, my Netbook cost only about $220, and it has a razor sharp 1024x600 color screen that does a great job with full page PDFs.

[grumpy3b]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Welcome to mobileread!

I do not think that your Kindle sucks on those categories . The Kindle is an ereader; was designed for novels, pure text books. It is not a tablet.

Sorry but that is just not correct. In fact one of the HUGE selling points of early reader devices was the promise of PDF support. And the issue lies not with the reader devices but the fact that PDF is NOT AN EBOOK FORMAT, it's a printer markup language period. It has been usurped into a convenient document delivery system. In a way it is amazing ebook readers support PDF at all.

The tech hurdles in supporting the various versions of the mistakenly assumed "standard" of PDF. Nothing is further than the truth, there is no PDF standard. What there is, is a set of conventions and a zillion offshoots of those conventions.

But to say ereaders are not made to view PDF's shows some lack of being there at the beginning of ereading devices when people were sold on them because of PDF support.

I have to agree that Amazon's PDF support is nothing short of scary bad for a device with the money behind the thing. Still it's not 100% on Amazon because you never know if the PDF is coming from a printer PDF creator or from a Adobe Acrobat or anywhere in between and all of them having different internal structure and from different eras. Nope not a mess I would want to deal with and I don't expect even Slate devices to be much better, better yes but great, nope. That's because they too need some pretty sophisticated software to sort though the possible variations.