Tablets driving out ebook readers?

[blackcatw81]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Well, if you take a cheap tablet and replace the (horrible, I agree) screen with a decent e-ink screen, the battery life should improve...

Anyone tryed this?

Seriously, there's even a cover for Samsung S4/IPhone with a eink screen, it was announced and showed at the MWC in Barcelona last year o in 2013, I can't remember

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

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?

You could always buy the BoyueT62/+ which is Android. If I had the money I would surely buy it, freeing me from the Amazon tight-closed fw and the pdf conversion problem (for some full-of-imgs books it's really a pain, even with ktopdf!) :3

As for the tablet vs. ereader battle, it depends on personal tastes and choices; I used to read ebooks on my 4.5" phone or notebook, but I always had sore eyes and a huge headache after few hours. With my Kindle I can read for hours on end, enjoying it especially now that is summer and I can rest to the shade and breeze of a vineyards or woods :3 And when in my room I turn on this

@conan50: the reason behind ereader's high prices is that there's not much competition and availability (due to logistics and market policying) all around.

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by KevinBurke

Whatever, although a tablet can do many more things than an e-reader-- reading books on tablets is just stupid :

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/bu...tractions.html

People who want tablets instead of e-readers were never avid book readers to begin with. You illiterate people don't seem to get that an e-reader is a dedicated niche reading device for book readers and it does its job extremely well unlike a tablet which is a jack of all trades but master of none. You dumb illiterate tablet people should stop trying to ruin it for the more erudite intellectual people who actually read more than you do.

Lol... this is an attitude of "it works for me so it is the one true way!"

I much prefer a tablet for reading. I don't read outside or in full sunlight except for very rare occasions... in fact I generally read with the lights low or off.

Your statement about people like me never being "avid book readers to begin with" chaffs. I read somewhere between 200 and 400 books a year (yes, I'm retired) so don't know how much more reading it would take to be "avid".

Just because it works best for you does not make it right for everyone. I could never use an eink device because my preference for reading is in the dark.

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I do laugh. It's like people who buy an expensive big-screen television and only watch the news. Sure. And I don't believe readers buy a tablet to read. Tablet buyers play games, watch movies, surf the net, listen to music, oh, and read something once.

I almost always have an ereader with me but if I don't my phone with a Kindle app will suffice but I don't have the phone for reading. I don't even have it for phone calls. I'm deaf. I text, I use my dictionaries, I check the current exchange rate, I use Google Keep for my grocery list and Google Calendar for my schedule. If I'm expecting a package via UPS I can use the phone to track it. And, when caught short, I'll read my current book on the phone.

I'm amused by people who know how long the ereader battery will last when the ereader isn't turned on. There hasn't been a day in the last five years when I didn't read on my ereader.

Funny but I guess I'm one of those who has a tablet primarily for ebook reading.

I will not say I have never played a game on it but less than .1% of the time I've used it.

I actually purchased a second Samsung 7" as it was on sale and I wanted to be prepared for my Tab2's failure.

It may be due to my first ereader was my old ipaq pda devices. I used them for almost 10 years before getting a tablet. It did get me used to reading in the dark or with the lights very low and that is what I want for a good reading experience.

Not everyone watches the same thing on tv (there are news junkies who use their big screen tvs only for news) but more to the point there are readers who use their tablets for reading. One thing I like is being able to use different reader programs for some formats (pdf for one)

I don't even keep my wifi on except when I want to update a program or get a new book.

[Thomas_AR]

Well i never had a pure eBook device. From the moment i started reading eBooks i always used a tablet. Right now a Samsung Note 10.1 The reason is commodity, i have all together. Internet, emails, eBooks, my office applications etc.
Also the applications for reading eBooks on Android are so advanced that it is fun to read them on my Android.
So why to devices? For me not necessary.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Thomas_AR

Well i never had a pure eBook device. From the moment i started reading eBooks i always used a tablet. Right now a Samsung Note 10.1 The reason is commodity, i have all together. Internet, emails, eBooks, my office applications etc.
Also the applications for reading eBooks on Android are so advanced that it is fun to read them on my Android.
So why to devices? For me not necessary.

The reason for having two (not "to"!) devices is that eInk screens are much easier to read in bright sunshine than LCD screens. Much as I like using my iPad, it's hopeless in direct sunlight. Many people also want a reader that they don't need to recharge every day - an eInk device can go weeks between charges.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The reason for having two (not "to"!) devices is that eInk screens are much easier to read in bright sunshine than LCD screens. Much as I like using my iPad, it's hopeless in direct sunlight. Many people also want a reader that they don't need to recharge every day - an eInk device can go weeks between charges.

These are good reasons for eInk, but a tablet or smart phone has benefits as well.

1. Not having to carry a second device
2. Reading in the dark so as not to disturb your partner
3. Ability to get ebooks from any source rather than a single walled garden or having to be a techie and convert ebook files.

If battery life and reading outside are important, eInk is stronger. (reading outdoors is not important to me)

If being able to work with all formats without converting, reading in the dark, and not having to carry a second device is important, tablets and smart phones are stronger.

People's needs and preferences are all different, but there are a huge number of SERIOUS readers that choose tablets over eInk.

[ottdmk]

Most current e-ink readers have built-in front lighting, so your point about reading in the dark doesn't really apply any more. I know I can read on my Kobo Aura H2O while throwing off less light then my wife does with her cell phone when we're both in bed with the lights off.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by ottdmk

Most current e-ink readers have built-in front lighting, so your point about reading in the dark doesn't really apply any more. I know I can read on my Kobo Aura H2O while throwing off less light then my wife does with her cell phone when we're both in bed with the lights off.

Hmm, that would be a good test, me using my tablet in night time reading mode and my husband using his Kindle PW. Check who throws out the most light.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

These are good reasons for eInk, but a tablet or smart phone has benefits as well.

1. Not having to carry a second device
2. Reading in the dark so as not to disturb your partner
3. Ability to get ebooks from any source rather than a single walled garden or having to be a techie and convert ebook files.

If battery life and reading outside are important, eInk is stronger. (reading outdoors is not important to me)

If being able to work with all formats without converting, reading in the dark, and not having to carry a second device is important, tablets and smart phones are stronger.

People's needs and preferences are all different, but there are a huge number of SERIOUS readers that choose tablets over eInk.

Absolutely, but it doesn't have to be an "either/or" decision. I, like many people, have and use both an iPad and a Kindle.

[Josieb1]

While tablets can't be read properly in sunlight I think (and hope) ereaders will be around. I need both.

I do all my web surfing on a tablet and only turn on my PC for banking, iTunes and calibre (for some reason I don't like to do my banking on a tablet even though I could) and I read on both my Fires and my Voyage. I like reading on my Fires and do that a lot but that's a choice, I NEED an e-ink ereader to read in the sun.

[Jozawun]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

While tablets can't be read properly in sunlight I think (and hope) ereaders will be around. I need both.

I do all my web surfing on a tablet and only turn on my PC for banking, iTunes and calibre (for some reason I don't like to do my banking on a tablet even though I could) and I read on both my Fires and my Voyage. I like reading on my Fires and do that a lot but that's a choice, I NEED an e-ink ereader to read in the sun.

I have been watching The Ashes live on TV from the UK to Australia for more than 40 years.
I will check it out again tomorrow night, but I have yet to see "the sun" on these telecasts.

[spindlegirl]

I actually went with a tablet for a while (2013 Nexus 7) and enjoyed using all the android apps and reading on it as well. That was the bulk of what I did on the tablet. My husband had an old clunky Samsung Galaxy 2 (He rooted it to Cyanogenmod), and he said he wished he had a better one. (My Nexus 7 was way better, also rooted to Cyanogenmod).

I seized the opportunity to just buy my Kindle and give him my Nexus 7. I already had my phone which is essentially a "tablet" with a sim card inserted for phoning and texting. (It is what I used most of my android apps on)

So me getting my Kindle for $79 cdn was a cheaper expenditure than buying him a new tablet AND knowing I'd still eventually want a Kindle.

The nexus 7 is now with our 17 year old who has never owned a tablet. She enjoys it.

But I do hope e-ink stays around for e-readers. I love it. Should the e-ink technology die off in popularity I'd likely get another tablet to read on, or just use my phone/computer, but that would be sad for me.

[cvkemp]

I have both the Nexus 7 2013 and a PW2. I use the Nexus for most of my social media stuff, and some internet use. But I do all of my ebook reading on the PW2. I have even removed Kindle for android off of my Nexus and the IPhone. Reading is now so much less stressing on my eyes.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by Jozawun

I have been watching The Ashes live on TV from the UK to Australia for more than 40 years.
I will check it out again tomorrow night, but I have yet to see "the sun" on these telecasts.

I don't understand what you are implying? I was simply saying you can't read on a tablet in the sun, not properly that is, you can struggle yes but it's not a good experience.

[soulfuldog]

I think Jozawun was just trying to be funny about the British weather and our lack of sun