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

[jago25_98]

Thanks. I think I'm gonna have to wait for those bigger eink screen devices to come down in price.

KAO = Kindle Amazon Online?

I don't understand why ereaders aren't cheaper. My Nook NST was cheaper than a lot of devices now are... until the rubber degraded and it couldn't stand the 90% tropical humidity.
I also don't really get why there isn't a Chinese devices with a screen bigger than 7".
Is there some kind of non compete thing from Amazon in the same way as Google have non competes with manufacturers?

Originally Posted by ps67

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.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

KAO = Kindle Amazon Online?

Kobo Aura One.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

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.

IMO the best on a 10" would be an Onyx. Put it in landscape. The neoreader software that comes with it is the best I've found to crop margins and manipulate pdfs viewing in general. It also comes with an A2 non-refresh screen mode so you can scroll like an LCD screen. I don't know if it would work for you. It would certainly work for me. I read pdf on an Onyx 6" and I'm okay. 6.8" is better. 7.8" would be great. Depends on your eyesight I guess. For a dedicated pdf reader, a 9.7" would be best, and would work very well for me.

Likebook do similar devices, but IMO Onyx is better. A little more expensive, but worth it.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by 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.

Personally, I find 9.7" perfectly usable for PDFs even with margins. That's around 50% area reduction compared to A4/letter size but the high 2048*1536 resolution on iPad keeps things perfectly legible for me without needing to zoom. The 9.7" is more than a 20% reduction even taking out margins, though.

For ePubs, I just read in 2-column landscape which is roughly the size of 2x 6" readers side by side.

I have a 12.9" iPad but that's too big and heavy to lug around all the time. Also have the 7.9" iPad mini but find it a bit too small now. The 10-11" class iPads is a nice medium-size compromise and fits nicely in my purse.

[Philippe D.]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

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?

My own 10" reader is a reMarkable, and I find it works fine for my needs - but you don't get to choose the software on this device.

My wife has a Boox Note Plus, which is about the same size but runs Android 6.0, so you could pick your own choice of compatible Android software. But here again I cannot help you, as I don't think she's tried anything other than the original software.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by 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.

Good subject.

[jago25_98]

Thanks for everyone's opinions. This has been really useful.

Seems like my ipad could just be that much better if it had 10" rather than 8". I'm leaning towards the 10" Boox. If I get a 10" I think only I'd use that. I'd like to think that if I had a 12" I could use that to teach with instead of needing to print PDFs off quite so much but it's hard to say. So I'm tempted to stick it out for as long as possible until the 12" devices come right down in price.

Chinese 10" carta now available for $220 but I think the Onyx is probably the safest bet - because of the the software and I really appreciate that insight thanks Pajamaman and everyone

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

Thanks for everyone's opinions. This has been really useful.

Seems like my ipad could just be that much better if it had 10" rather than 8".

I think you mentioned you had the very first iPad mini?

Newer iPads have significantly higher resolution which helps legibility. I know the 1.8-2.6" difference doesn't sound like much but it is.

7.9": 4.7" x 6.3" = 29.6 sq. in.

9.7": 5.8" x 7.8" = 45 sq. in.

10.5": 6.3" x 8.4" = 53 sq. in.

The 10.5" in landscape is almost like having two 7.9" iPad mini in portrait side by side.

[jago25_98]

Well, I got the cheapest 12" Chinese tablet I could find, just as an experiment.

To my amazement it works pretty well!

The only thing now I'm wondering is where are all these pdf's I was going to use it for?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

Well, I got the cheapest 12" Chinese tablet I could find, just as an experiment.

Can you post an Amazon link to that tablet?

I read comics on a Surface, which works beautifully. But it is a bit heavy to carry around all the time. I've looked at the Samsung 12.2" tablet, but they are years old now and still run between $300-400.

[barryem]

I mostly read novels and I do most of my reading on a 5" phone, which I think is just the right size for me. It's always in my pocket. It's simple to hold in my hand. It's line width is just slightly wider than the text column in a newspaper. It's perfect. For me!

I do have a Paperwhite and I like it just fine. But I do nearly all of my reading on my phone. And to save it's battery I have a second phone about the same size but with no service that I keep synced. That way I don't use up my main phone's battery. But my main phone is always with me ready to read wherever I am.

I do think it's a mistake to say that nothing else makes sense. I didn't start reading on my phone till a year or two ago and before that I was perfectly happy reading on my Paperwhite.

A reading device should be something we're comfortable with, not necessarily something that makes sense. That makes sense to me.

Barry

[Apache]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Can you post an Amazon link to that tablet?

I read comics on a Surface, which works beautifully. But it is a bit heavy to carry around all the time. I've looked at the Samsung 12.2" tablet, but they are years old now and still run between $300-400.

Originally Posted by barryem

I mostly read novels and I do most of my reading on a 5" phone, which I think is just the right size for me. It's always in my pocket. It's simple to hold in my hand. It's line width is just slightly wider than the text column in a newspaper. It's perfect. For me!

I do have a Paperwhite and I like it just fine. But I do nearly all of my reading on my phone. And to save it's battery I have a second phone about the same size but with no service that I keep synced. That way I don't use up my main phone's battery. But my main phone is always with me ready to read wherever I am.

I do think it's a mistake to say that nothing else makes sense. I didn't start reading on my phone till a year or two ago and before that I was perfectly happy reading on my Paperwhite.

A reading device should be something we're comfortable with, not necessarily something that makes sense. That makes sense to me.

Barry

I use my Surface Pro to read everything on. I have Calibre installed on it and use both Calibre's viewer and Freda+. Neither the weight or the size bother me. It may be because, if I was reading a hard bound book, I would carry it with me. And yes I know I am different.
I do not understand how anyone can read on their phone, but I do not consider it wrong. It's just not right for me. Variety is what makes the world interesting and fun.
Apache

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Apache

I use my Surface Pro to read everything on. I have Calibre installed on it and use both Calibre's viewer and Freda+. Neither the weight or the size bother me. It may be because, if I was reading a hard bound book, I would carry it with me. And yes I know I am different.
I do not understand how anyone can read on their phone, but I do not consider it wrong. It's just not right for me. Variety is what makes the world interesting and fun.
Apache

Same here, except I use the big iPad Pro. I will read on other platforms (iPad mini, iPhone 8 plus, kindle paperwhite and Kobo Aura) depending on the situation, but the big iPad is my preferred platform.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Apache

I use my Surface Pro to read everything on. I have Calibre installed on it and use both Calibre's viewer and Freda+. Neither the weight or the size bother me.

I also have Calibre on my Surface Pro, but I never read ebooks on it. I do read comics on the Surface and love it for that. But my 10" Lenovo tablet feels so much lighter (and less powerful, of course) and I do like the Android comic reader apps more than the Windows ones.

I'd like to check out a 12" Android tablet, just to see how it feels in hand.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

I also don't really get why there isn't a Chinese devices with a screen bigger than 7".
Is there some kind of non compete thing from Amazon in the same way as Google have non competes with manufacturers?

Hmmm.... niche device in a shrinking market? Market is dominated by sellers who can supply both the hardware and the content?

In the USA, Amazon at ~84% and Kobo at ~13% leaves little of the market for other eInk hardware vendors (those numbers actually surprised me with the implication that B&N's hardware market share is miniscule). You want a screen larger than 6" in North America? You are likely going to check out the Kobo Forma (8" Mobius (plastic) substrate). Want a 7" screen, check out the Kindle Oasis or Kobo Libra H2O. Other ereader vendors? Unless you have a need for a large screen device for reading PDFs with the battery life of an eInk screen, for those specialized uses, you are more likely to go for a tablet (iPadOS or Android) instead of an eInk device

The last numbers I remember reading claimed there were ~94 million ereaders sold in the English language segment of North America through the Q4 2018. The projection was that there would be about ~97 million by the end of 2020. So ~3 million ereaders shipped in 2 years. In the same two years (2019 and 2020) global smartphone shipments are projected to be ~3.5 billion. The current big 3 (Apple, Huawei and Samsong) sold 169.5 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2019 alone.

As for waiting for the prices to drop? Economy of scale is not working in your favour.