Ipod touch 4 or Ipad for reading pdfs?

[redryder]

Hi guys,

I’m looking for an e-reader, and can’t decide between getting a ipod touch 4, an ipad, or wait for the next gen ipad. I currently have an ipod touch 3rd gen, and the battery life is quite bad when it comes to reading in ibooks. 2 hours of reading (spread out over a day) caused my battery to dip to 25%.

I’ve heard good things about the retina display in the latest ipod touch. There are also rumors that the next Ipad would have a retina display. The latest ipod touch costs about half that of an ipad, so I’m in a dilemma if I should just get an ipad or even wait till the next ipad.

I read a lot of PDFs and comics. Would the ipad still be superior to the ipod touch 4?

[halljames]

I would personaly say that the iPad is better than the iPod touch for reading pdf's and comics. Although the retina display is nice, its still a small screen, and a pdf or comic will looked cramped. On an iPad, you effectively dont have to zoom in or scroll around. Its all about size, 3.5 inches as opposed to 10 inches. What would you rather have

[acidburn517]

Also the rumors about a retina display are just that, rumors. It will unlikely that the 2nd gen will have that because it would make the cost of the ipad to prohibitive.

I suggest an ipad. You clearly have a use for it now and the next one isn't projected to come out until April 2011. You will at least get 6 months of use out of it and if you take care of it, you may be able to get a good price selling it used if you really want to upgrade to the 2nd gen.

[Stngray]

I use my iPad for technical PDFs at work and magazine PDFs at home. It is in my opinion the best PDF reader currently available. I use iBooks for the mags, and iannotate PDF for the work stuff. I have an iphone4, and never use it for PDFs because the screen is just too small.

[tyche]

The iPad would be a superior choice for that type of use. 9+ hours battery and a large and gorgeous IPS screen is to view PDF & comics.

The Touch is very handy for toting around due to its size but for non reflow documents like PDF and comics it isn't very useful.

[cleanskin]

While, I don't own the iPad, I have tried it out a couple times at the store. Just by using it briefly, I know the screen would give me eyestrain from reading text on it because I can see the grid pattern between the pixels. It feels like it has a lower pixel density than a typical LCD monitor, with a relatively low resolution (1024x768).

The iPod Touch would be good for any e-book reading. But PDFs would be a bit tiring. If I was in your situation, I would buy an iPod Touch to hold me over until the new iPad with a higher res arrives.

[300com]

Originally Posted by cleanskin

If I was in your situation, I would buy an iPod Touch to hold me over until the new iPad with a higher res arrives.

This. I'll be doing this until iPad 2.

[David Munch]

Originally Posted by cleanskin

. It feels like it has a lower pixel density than a typical LCD monitor, with a relatively low resolution (1024x768).

That *is* the ipads resolution. But on a smaller screen of course, compared to your standard 15" screen.

I would also say iPad over iPod any day for PDFs and similar. Thats why i bought mine.

[David Munch]

Originally Posted by 300com

This. I'll be doing this until iPad 2.

You will be dissapointed.

[Mike_73]

+1 for iPad. I've read pdfs on 6" sony readers. Besides the hiccups with eInk and pdfs, I found the 6" just much too small. One of the reasons I went with the iPad. As long as there aren't specs out for the next gen iPad, I would rather go with the current model as with the iPod. It's just way more convenient. And if pages are formatted properly, there's not even a need to zoom in.

[Rob_E]

I've only seen the retina display in the Apple store. I can tell it's a much nice screen than my current iPod Touch, but that in no way makes up for it's small size. I wouldn't count the screen as a positive because it will be easier to read on a larger screen, even if it has a lower resolution. What the iPod Touch has going for it is portability and price. If those are driving factors for you, then I'd go with the iPad. I've read plenty of pdfs on my 1st Gen iPod touch, and it works, but there's lots of pinching and scrolling and moving each page around. The iPad is much better.

And of course you can always wait and see what the next iPad brings, but we don't really know what that will be or even when. One rumour is a smaller iPad with a retina display. Hard to say if that would be the best of both worlds or still a compromise.

[Mike_73]

I wouldn't buy a smaller iPad. The 9.7" was exactly the reason I bought it (pdfs just work better on big screens). With the current prices of the new iPod touch, I doubt that apple could stick with the prices for the iPad if they were to make a 9.7" retina display. And shelling out a whopping $XX00 for an iPad just seems overkill for me. I guess the 2nd. gen iPad will more be like incremental improvements.

[cleanskin]

Well, I can speak from experience of owning an iPod Touch 2G and a 4G that the retina screen makes a huge difference in reading comfort. Small fonts that were almost impossible to discern on the 2G are quite legible on the 4. Not only that, but your eyes pick up the grid of pixels on the lower res screen. Sometimes, it looks like the screen sparkles. Even when this happens subconsciously, it still gives you eye strain. The retina screen on the other hand tires my eyes no more than printed paper. In fact, many times it is a superior experience if I have to read in dim lighting conditions. The only disadvantage of reading on the iPod Touch 4G is the screen size. My hope is that the reason Apple is reducing the iPad screen to 7" is so can they can produce a retina screen for it. Sure, a 10" retina screen would be even nicer, but I know that is certainly too cost prohibitive to mass produce at this time.

[clockworkzombie]

I now use an iPad exclusively, since I stopped using my BeBook I gave it to my mother.
The iPad is excellent for PDFs as others have mentioned. The larger screen size is better for my eyes & I have had no problems with extended reading. I do have corrective glasses and this may help. Certainly if the 6" Bebook screen is too small for PDFs in my opinion the iPod touch will be too.

[David Munch]

if ane of you read technical PDFs, I'd recommend taking a look at Papers for Mac and iPad.