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Old 01-16-2011, 12:15 AM   #1
nerys
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Color ereader to read full page PDF magazines?

suggestions?

I am looking for a sub $200 device that has a color screen to read PDF Magazines (think make or popular science or new scientist or model airplane news etc.. ie normal magazines)

I don't want to scroll. I want one full page on the screen large enough and high enough resolution to read.

I know I can use a netbook but I would prefer a tablet form factor (tablet atom processor machines are too expensive)

I am thinking something like the Pandigital Novel but larger. I don't think either the 7" size or the 800x600 resolution is enough. I am thinking XGA and 9" range minimum

it does not HAVE to do anything else but needs to have full PDF support and would prefer a memory card (MSD or SD) replaceable battery would be nice but not a deal killer

does such a beast exist? maybe an android tablet with a large screen?

the only device thats not an option is an apple device. ie no ipads. (and they are too expensive anyway)

any help would be greatly appreciated.

I love my kindle DX but its just no good for mags. its large enough its got enough pixels but they just look like crap on the greyscale screen and some text is too low contrast in mag format to read.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:31 AM   #2
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at $200....no. BTW, I want one too so not to feel alone out in the cold. I genuinely expected we would see a color device with about an 11"-12" diagonal measure (measure a sheet of 8.5"x11" paper but only the text area and rather than the full 14"ish diagonal of the full page you will see the text/content area measures in that range sans the margins.

Right now you are going to have to spend in the $450-$700 range just to get a 9.7" diagonal screen device in color. Later this year, as in much later, I expect there to be some price cutting but so far the only announced 14" device was/is the Kno and it seems the same engineering sample just keeps making the trade show circuit. Even so they are talking serious cash for them.

One device to watch for is the new Eee tablet which I believe they announced a 12.1" version and that might well get you into the ballpark. Still the price mentioned in the article was pretty pricey when compared to other options.

Pretty much the various brands don't seem in the mood to really challenge Apple, other than Notion Ink and the Adam. I figure once they have that model selling all over the globe larger versions, probably capping out at 12" will show up. But again $200 as a price point is currently not realistic if you want/need a color screen. Even if you are OK with a grayscale EPD (think eink brand screen) you are looking at $329-$400ish for only a 9.7" pretty limited reading device.

Wish I had better answers for ya, mostly because it would make me happy as could be. But the market is what it is.

For reference, and I am too tired to go find it, I opened a thread in the NEWS section with a summary of the tablets announced and/or on display at CES 2011...it's a nice list that could help you see where the state of the art is now and for at least the coming 18-months or so...

I am with ya but we are SOL in the large format reader market for a while yet.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:36 AM   #3
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It's not an answer you want to hear, but the iPad really is by far the best answer to this at the moment. How much do 2nd-hand 16GB iPads sell for these days?
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:36 AM   #4
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oh, also pay attention to the aspect ratio for the screen of whatever device you are looking at. Find something as close to 4:3 as possible or it is not the same as a sheet of 8.5"x11" paper. Beware the "widescreen" devices as it just feels wrong when reading. It feels as if a 1/3, vertically, of the page is just gone.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:39 AM   #5
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oh, also pay attention to the aspect ratio for the screen of whatever device you are looking at. Find something as close to 4:3 as possible or it is not the same as a sheet of 8.5"x11" paper. Beware the "widescreen" devices as it just feels wrong when reading. It feels as if a 1/3, vertically, of the page is just gone.
I agree. 16:9 widescreen devices are great for video, but 4:3 is a lot better for reading documents.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:43 AM   #6
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I have to agree with Harry. As much as i don't like Apple the company, the iPad is not a horrible device. I played with one for an extended period the other day and it's OK, actually it was very nice, indoors under reasonable lighting but the glossy display is distracting to me and is likely a far more obvious villian in the whole eye-strain argument compared to the backlight on the device.

But the colors are crisp and vibrant. In short it is nice. However, the fonts can be horrible small. But to be fair so can the fonts on any device unless you can set them to your own comfort zone.

That said I am waiting on the Adam, it has more potential upside over time than the iPad. A young and innovative company vs. an old and dead on it's feet anachronistic company akin to the IBM of the 80s that simply collapsed under it's own bureaucracy when trying to innovate. Apple will be around a long time, well until Jobs croaks anyway.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:50 AM   #7
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I'm absolutely not an Apple "fan" by any stretch of the imagination, but I bought an iPad simply because it's the best product of its type on the market, and one which, although it's hosted a whole legion of imitators, has not yet been surpassed.
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Old 01-16-2011, 12:52 AM   #8
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I can not buy an apple device. it has no user replaceable battery it has NO sd card slot and its about as "locked down and perverted" a device as you can get. When you buy an ipad your not buying property your licensing hardware and thats just not an option for me.

and even used its about $300 too much.

$200 price point was because I can get a 1024x600 epad for $150 and a Core2Duo Slate computer for under $300 (12" 1024x768 screen) either a motion computing LE1600 or a Fujitsu ST5x series slate.

I was just hoping to find something simpler and lighter :-)
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Old 01-16-2011, 01:00 AM   #9
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Your choice, of course. All we can do is try and give you the benefit of our experience. I hope that you're able to find a device that meets your requirements.
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Old 01-16-2011, 01:02 AM   #10
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even if I was not anti apple the ipad meets NONE of my requirements besides resolution.

its a small screen (9") no external memory No mass storage access no battery replacement and no control.

its 1024x768 resolution is the ONLY positive thing it has.

oh and its $600 can't forget that really important little bit :-)
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Old 01-16-2011, 01:11 AM   #11
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As I say, if it doesn't meet your needs then fair enough. I can speak from personal experience, though, in saying that it's a superb device for reading and annotating PDFs.
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Old 01-16-2011, 01:20 AM   #12
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I'm absolutely not an Apple "fan" by any stretch of the imagination, but I bought an iPad simply because it's the best product of its type on the market, and one which, although it's hosted a whole legion of imitators, has not yet been surpassed.
Harry is right here. I haven't posted much over the past year but I have followed his journey after his decision to buy an iPad and trust me, he is not even close to an Apple zealot. He is, however, a very exactly person in evaluating a device. His comments are not motivated by anything other than the right tool for the right job.

So, when reading his observations one a device, it really is not from a POV of trying to sell someone on a device, rather to offer an objective and honest opinion.

Now I need to go take a shower because I feel somehow, dirty for defnding and Apple device!!

Harry does not need me or anyone to speak for him, I am only offering my observations on his journey through the morass of reading devices. And after spending time with one I can agree even if I too would never buy one. But that argument has been done to death here so if ya wanna search for it the threads and posts are out there.

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Originally Posted by nerys View Post
I can not buy an apple device. it has no user replaceable battery it has NO sd card slot and its about as "locked down and perverted" a device as you can get. When you buy an ipad your not buying property your licensing hardware and thats just not an option for me.

and even used its about $300 too much.

$200 price point was because I can get a 1024x600 epad for $150 and a Core2Duo Slate computer for under $300 (12" 1024x768 screen) either a motion computing LE1600 or a Fujitsu ST5x series slate.

I was just hoping to find something simpler and lighter :-)
Nobody is disagreeing with you but reading devices and tablets are a totally different animal than a full PC device. There are many reasons for the differences in price. And remember price is NOT everything. Also the base iPad is "only" $499 at WallyWorld, zoikes!! But the Adam is going to be in the same price range though it is going to be a far more fully featured device that is going to put a lot of pressure on Apple as well as the so far very quiet HP and their upcoming WebOS slate devices. We have yet to hear from that quiet-giant and they have been doing far more than napping at the switch.

For now you are going to have to swallow hard and live with either higher weight with lower battery runtime or a device with lower weight and a higher price at this point in time with a moderate battery runtime. And the price for the more ereader-like device is going to be $400-$1000 depnding on the screen type, size and other intangibles. Oh and also the type of digitizer, you want a Wacom or Wacom-like device. FYI, last year Amazon bought a small but promising company which had developed a Wacom-like touch technology. We have yet to hear squat from them. Part of me suspects it is the tech used in the new Hanvon device and why we may not see the Hanvon color device outside Asia for a while, if ever. Of course that is pure conjecture on my part but the timing somehow feels right. It is a beta run for Amazon.
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Old 01-16-2011, 02:43 AM   #13
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you could try a pocketbook IQ, they are in the price range, use apps but arent as nice as an expensive tablet (it's only 7" though)
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Old 01-16-2011, 04:10 AM   #14
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is a full page legible on a 7" screen? I am trying to find someone with one of those pandigitals.

I have a tablet with an 800x600 pixel display gonna dig it out tommorrow and see if its legible (its 8" screen though not 7")
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Old 01-16-2011, 01:25 PM   #15
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is a full page legible on a 7" screen? I am trying to find someone with one of those pandigitals.

I have a tablet with an 800x600 pixel display gonna dig it out tommorrow and see if its legible (its 8" screen though not 7")
take a look over in the pocketbook forum, there are tons of threads on it and pictures/videos.
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