Tablet for PDFs - Page 2

mobama · 02-09-2018, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Araucaria

Do all these (and particularly the Lenovo ones) do that clever business of automatically turning the screen round when you turn the tablet round?

Lenovo does this a bit smarter than average: When you turn the tablet, the view follows according to the gravitation (this is common in all Android tablets/smartphones), and then you can lock the respective mode (this is not so common, but a really good thing to have, and Lenovo has it).

HarryT · 02-09-2018, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobama

Lenovo does this a bit smarter than average: When you turn the tablet, the view follows according to the gravitation (this is common in all Android tablets/smartphones), and then you can lock the respective mode (this is not so common, but a really good thing to have, and Lenovo has it).

Works the same on an iPad. There's an accelerometer, but also an "orientation lock" that allows you to lock in the current orientation.

GlenBarrington · 02-09-2018, 08:08 AM

My Lenovo auto switches from portrait to landscape, though it can be turned off. There is one caveat, however. I have found some older apps that are programmed specifically for portrait mode. These won't switch, no matter what.

I'm pretty sure all android tablets have this switching feature.

ZodWallop · 02-09-2018, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Araucaria

Thank you all very much: just what I needed to know.

I've only one question, as I've not owned a tablet before.

Do all these (and particularly the Lenovo ones) do that clever business of automatically turning the screen round when you turn the tablet round?

I ask as some of the illustrations of the 10" tablets show it with a landscape rather than portrait display, and for a book-reader I'd want to be sure it would display the book portrait-wise.

Thanks again.

At this point, it would be harder to find a tablet that doesn't support orientation switching. (Though as Glen says, some apps will only support portrait or only support landscape. Those apps tend to be older and are fairly rare anymore.)

Several of the comic reader apps I use allow you to lock orientation so if you decide to shift and hold your tablet in some weird way, the page remains locked in to portrait mode.

dwig · 02-09-2018, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobama

Lenovo does this a bit smarter than average: When you turn the tablet, the view follows according to the gravitation (this is common in all Android tablets/smartphones), and then you can lock the respective mode (this is not so common, but a really good thing to have, and Lenovo has it).

both features are standard on Windows tablets and 2-in-1s.

mobama · 02-09-2018, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

At this point, it would be harder to find a tablet that doesn't support orientation switching. (Though as Glen says, some apps will only support portrait or only support landscape. Those apps tend to be older and are fairly rare anymore.)

Particularly reading apps that I know, both old and new, such as Coolreader, Ebookdroid, and Prestigio app, tend to have orientation options of their own. Not that they don't support orientation switching, but that you can optionally set them to stay put regardless of the OS orientation settings. Good to have options.

mobama · 02-09-2018, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Works the same on an iPad. There's an accelerometer, but also an "orientation lock" that allows you to lock in the current orientation.

Very nice. On Android, commonly the options are:
1. Do the orientation switching (usually on by default)
2. Stay in portrait.

But Lenovo Tab can lock landscape mode too, which is nice.

ZodWallop · 02-09-2018, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobama

Particularly reading apps that I know, both old and new, such as Coolreader, Ebookdroid, and Prestigio app, tend to have orientation options of their own. Not that they don't support orientation switching, but that you can optionally set them to stay put regardless of the OS orientation settings. Good to have options.

I don't read books on my tablet, but Perfect Viewer, ComicRack and Challenger Comic Viewer also have the option to lock the orientation, regardless of O/S settings. What I really like is that you can have single pages default to portrait and double-page spreads default to landscape. So when you are reading it fits the pages the best way possible.

I wish Windows comic readers were as nice as their Android counterparts.

Araucaria · 02-11-2018, 04:55 AM

Thanks very much everyone: the comments were all very helpful.

I've ordered the Lenovo Tab 3, 10.1". Argos in the UK are doing a special offer, £20 off (ie £99.99). And that seemed pretty reasonable to me. I'll be able to add an SD card to expand the memory if I find I need it: with Calibre I might not.

If I have any feedback, I'll share it.

HarryT · 02-11-2018, 04:57 AM

Excellent - I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

One minor point, by the way: an SD card will increase storage space, not memory. Memory (RAM) is what applications run in; storage space is what they (and documents) are stored in.

LiveIt · 02-12-2018, 09:36 AM

FNF iFive Mini is a very cheap alternative to iPad, since it has a great screen.
It's mediocre on other aspects though, so get it only if you care about the screen.

DNSB · 02-12-2018, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveIt

FNF iFive Mini is a very cheap alternative to iPad, since it has a great screen.
It's mediocre on other aspects though, so get it only if you care about the screen.

We did some testing on a cousin of this tablet which I suspect are all being made in the same factory with different nameplates being slapped on since the specs and appearance are pretty much identical. The screen is good, the rest of the hardware is pathetic. Quite a few of the applications we ran were noticeably laggy compared to the same apps running on a better tablet ( K-7 educational apps ). The wifi performance was not very good compared to an iPad Mini or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 which was very noticeable when watching HD videos.

HLS · 02-24-2018, 12:33 AM

I bought a AZUS 8' from Verizon about a year or so ago and its 10$ month. Super cheap full price and it has better video and picture quality than my iPad. I can read ebooks quite well on it.

studiosus · 03-25-2018, 02:09 PM

I would personally go for Samsung S2 8" or 9.7" (or S3), mainly due to the AMOLED screen. While reading white/gray/green text on black background (can be set both for .pdf or .epub files), the eyestrain is minimal.

Araucaria · 03-28-2018, 01:04 PM

I'm STILL very happy with my Lenovo Tab 3. It's just the right size for normal books, and the display is controllable. But I've not tried reading graphic novels.

There's only one problem which is probably just my lack of familiarity with the tablet.

I'm using Moon+ Reader Pro for the PDFs, which works well. My main beef is that I can't seem to be able to get Moon to find the PDFs directly on the SD card. I have to go to the tablet's "Settings" menu, then "Storage & USB", then "Portable Storage - SD Card", after which if I select the book I then get asked which PDF reader I'd like, and I can tell it to use Moon. And it does.

Opening Moon itself will let me find books in the tablet's internal storage, but not on the SD card. It would be nice if someone could tell me what I'm doing wrong.

[edit] It's running Android 6.0.1, and it's the LenovoPad TB-X103F

02-09-2018, 08:08 AM	#18
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	My Lenovo auto switches from portrait to landscape, though it can be turned off. There is one caveat, however. I have found some older apps that are programmed specifically for portrait mode. These won't switch, no matter what. I'm pretty sure all android tablets have this switching feature. Last edited by GlenBarrington; 02-09-2018 at 08:10 AM.

02-12-2018, 09:36 AM	#26
LiveIt Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2018 Device: none	FNF iFive Mini is a very cheap alternative to iPad, since it has a great screen. It's mediocre on other aspects though, so get it only if you care about the screen. Last edited by LiveIt; 02-12-2018 at 09:40 AM.

03-28-2018, 01:04 PM	#30
Araucaria Bibliophile Posts: 166 Karma: 934516 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Cantal in the French Auvergne Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Libra H20, Kindle PW2, Moon Pro on Lenovo tablet	I'm STILL very happy with my Lenovo Tab 3. It's just the right size for normal books, and the display is controllable. But I've not tried reading graphic novels. There's only one problem which is probably just my lack of familiarity with the tablet. I'm using Moon+ Reader Pro for the PDFs, which works well. My main beef is that I can't seem to be able to get Moon to find the PDFs directly on the SD card. I have to go to the tablet's "Settings" menu, then "Storage & USB", then "Portable Storage - SD Card", after which if I select the book I then get asked which PDF reader I'd like, and I can tell it to use Moon. And it does. Opening Moon itself will let me find books in the tablet's internal storage, but not on the SD card. It would be nice if someone could tell me what I'm doing wrong. [edit] It's running Android 6.0.1, and it's the LenovoPad TB-X103F Last edited by Araucaria; 03-28-2018 at 01:13 PM.

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02-11-2018, 04:55 AM	#24
Araucaria Bibliophile Posts: 166 Karma: 934516 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Cantal in the French Auvergne Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Libra H20, Kindle PW2, Moon Pro on Lenovo tablet	Thanks very much everyone: the comments were all very helpful. I've ordered the Lenovo Tab 3, 10.1". Argos in the UK are doing a special offer, £20 off (ie £99.99). And that seemed pretty reasonable to me. I'll be able to add an SD card to expand the memory if I find I need it: with Calibre I might not. If I have any feedback, I'll share it.

02-11-2018, 04:57 AM	#25
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Excellent - I'm sure you'll enjoy it! One minor point, by the way: an SD card will increase storage space, not memory. Memory (RAM) is what applications run in; storage space is what they (and documents) are stored in.

02-24-2018, 12:33 AM	#28
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,027 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	I bought a AZUS 8' from Verizon about a year or so ago and its 10$ month. Super cheap full price and it has better video and picture quality than my iPad. I can read ebooks quite well on it.

03-25-2018, 02:09 PM	#29
studiosus Member Posts: 14 Karma: 136 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: several devices	I would personally go for Samsung S2 8" or 9.7" (or S3), mainly due to the AMOLED screen. While reading white/gray/green text on black background (can be set both for .pdf or .epub files), the eyestrain is minimal.