Another newbie looking for purchasing advice

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Torwan

Well, I guess PDF-files will make up a fair share in the beginning, but since I haven't owned anything like this before (and still buy all of my books in paper-format), I don't know how important it'll be in the long run.

I wanted to start with a few long texts I had in PDF-format and then browse through "Projekt Gutenberg" for interesting stuff. That's all I have so far.
As long as reading PDF-files is "OK", it'll do. I don't need "perfect" (in case of "perfect" I'll have to use my notebook).

Hmmm. I don't use any other ereader so I can't suggest anything else.

How about you just buy a K3 and then if within 30 days the device isn't what you expect, you can always send it back to Amazon?

[Torwan]

That is of course an option. However, I saw that 90%+ of the Kindle-users here in this forum were satisfied with it (according to one poll), so I don't expect that to happen. But worst-case-scenario, this is of course possible.

[Pinecone]

Of course, most people are happy with their choice, BECAUSE it was their choice, and they have not experienced anything else.

[Torwan]

Still, most people recognize a bad device if they see one; it's usually those that cause a lot of trouble.

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

Of course, most people are happy with their choice, BECAUSE it was their choice, and they have not experienced anything else.

Sure I'm not so happy with K3

But I think I can ignore the unhappiness for now.

[SirTwist]

I am very satisfied with my Kindle 3, just bought a second one for my wife. Do keep in mind its limitations: can read mobi and prc in addition to the Amazon azw format. PDF's is just a hit or miss because the print is so small in the Kindle screen.
I do like the epub format and use my iPad for those but I like the portability of the Kindle, the no glare screen, long battery life. I also use Calibre to convert ebooks to Kindle format.
You can order one and test for a week or two, send it back if you don't like it.

[Torwan]

I thought the Kindle had the option to zoom in on small print...shouldn't that solve the problem with PDF-files?

[delphin]

Originally Posted by Torwan

I thought the Kindle had the option to zoom in on small print...shouldn't that solve the problem with PDF-files?

The problem with zooming to view PDFs is that you can only see small part of the page at a time and moving around while zoomed is pretty cumbersome on an eInk device due to the slow screen updates.

The Sony PRS-x50s probably have one of the best Zoom features among the eInk readers. There are several pre-defined column mode zooms, plus a custom zoom where you can just drag the screen image with your finger using the touch screen.

I find that my Sony does a fair job with text-only PDFs using it's built in re-flow. And reading a few pages in a technical eBook with zoom isn't too bad, but I wouldn't want to read a long complex technical E-book using only the zoom feature. For some technical PDFs with complex page styles, I use the Sony's landscape mode, which is kind of like the zoom-to-page-width setting on a PC's PDF viewer. In this mode I can usually at least read the document, but it's not the greatest; workable, but just a little too small to be really pleasant.

Still, between the multi-column modes, page zoom, and text-reflow, the Sony is at least workable for PDFs.

I found the Kindle's PDF handling a little more awkward, because there is no touch screen drag while zoomed, and no multi-column modes, and no built in text re-flow, even for text-only documents.

When all else fails, I read PDF's on my Netbook, rotating the PDF's 90 degrees, then holding the device like a real book, with the long axis of the screen vertical. My Netbook has a native resolution of 1024x600 and a 10 inch screen, which makes reading in full page mode much easier.

[Torwan]

According to my understanding, you can get around this problem on the Kindle if you use the landscape-mode there as well. Then normal PDFs get readable without the need to scroll (even though it may not be perfect).

I also understand that the Sony-models are a lot more expensive.

Is that the case or did I get this wrong?

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Torwan

I thought the Kindle had the option to zoom in on small print...shouldn't that solve the problem with PDF-files?

You ever surf the Internet using cell? I mean classic cell phone, not the smart and touch and stylus one? It's completely like that. When the screen is smaller than what it is displaying, it's driving me crazy

Originally Posted by Torwan

According to my understanding, you can get around this problem on the Kindle if you use the landscape-mode there as well. Then normal PDFs get readable without the need to scroll (even though it may not be perfect).

I also understand that the Sony-models are a lot more expensive.

Is that the case or did I get this wrong?

Nah nah, landscape mode is better by a bit, however it doesn't solve the problem perfectly. In landscape mode you don't see the page simply by halves. You see it in 3 parts overlaping each other and... Duh. And that is spoken considering books with no illustration/graphs/... Even more parts if they have tables and images.

The mode is good if you're using the web feature, but reading books in that mode is horrible. A good book would turn completely unbearable, IMHO.

[Torwan]

Hm...but isn't this a problem I'll encounter will all 6"-devices? The only solution for that would be to purchase a 10"-tablet...right?

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Torwan

Hm...but isn't this a problem I'll encounter will all 6"-devices? The only solution for that would be to purchase a 10"-tablet...right?

YES!!

If you're reading in pdf that much, then perhaps you should consider Kindle DX.

If you only have several pdfs then you should consider using the cropping tools mentioned in page 1, or converting them to other formats, or simply just put up with it

[susan_cassidy]

If the OP is in Germany, won't he or she be limited to the German Amazon Kindle store? Depending on his/her credit card billing address? Check on the German Kindle store to make sure enough books are available that you want to read.

[jocampo]

How are you planning to get your books from and what type of reading you like? That's a very important question, in my opinion, before start discussing brands and devices.

Also, please keep in mind that PDF is not an ebook format, so your results will vary and on eink devices is quite a painful and slow experience. Tablets are better for that.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

If you're reading in pdf that much, then perhaps you should consider Kindle DX.

I gave up, and sold mine.

For linear PDF documents (those that you must read from start to finish) is an ok alternative. But when you start to jump from chapter A to Z and back, etc, it starts to be a little bit annoying, too slow.

Really sad, because is relatively light and of course, eink, but my iPad 2 with GoodReader proved to be a great alternative: fast, full color with same size too.