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Old 02-06-2017, 01:04 PM   #1
gponym
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Buying 2 devices: question on the "academic" one here

I want suggestions what to look at for a device primarily meant to read academic journal and magazine articles and textbook-type books: that is, may have complex formatting and not read so easily on a smaller device.

(Separately, I plan to buy a smaller and cheaper more portable device for non-scientific everyday books and articles. Not discussing the smaller device here, but it will be an ereader.)

This larger, "academic" reader "device" might be an ereader or might be a tablet.

* Size? Not sure, have no experience with either tablets or larger ereaders. What has worked for you?

* I won't set a price ceiling here, but I hope to spend 300 USD or less. I am quite willing to buy used or refurbished.

* Not in a hurry--next 6 weeks or so is soon enough.

* Unimportant: Annotating; Placemarkers; mobile network.

* Nice but not essential: Physical buttons; WiFi.
____
I prefer an ereader because

a) I find using them more restful on the eyes than my iMac desktop;

b) I am sure that LCD screens affect my sleep pattern and I am not yet convinced that apps like f.lux make them as good as an ereader in this respect;

c) ereader battery life dwarfs tablet battery life.

I might consider a tablet because

1) a larger screen tablet might cost a lot less (used) than a large screen ereader;

2) expect that PDFs will look better;

3) having color would help in some cases (a small minority of my cases, however, and I am willing to sacrifice color to price and convenience).

Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Old 02-07-2017, 12:32 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gponym View Post
I want suggestions what to look at for a device primarily meant to read academic journal and magazine articles and textbook-type books: that is, may have complex formatting and not read so easily on a smaller device.
If you mostly read typical two-column scientific papers, you might only need to buy one device and:

a) reformat the PDF files with Willus.com's K2pdfopt for devices with lousy pdf apps, e.g. Kindles,

b) buy an eInk reader whose pdf app natively supports automatic PDF reflow,

c) install a third party app with automatic PDF reflow, e.g. KOReader (based on k2pdfopt).

To test whether this would be a feasible alternative simply convert a couple of typical scientific papers with k2pdfopt. If the results are good enough, you might only need to buy one cheap reader or tablet.
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Old 02-07-2017, 02:47 PM   #3
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Reflow is crap on documents that have tables, formulae and code snippets (i.e. technical documents). I don't think you can trust it to work properly on scientific documents. k2pdfopt does work pretty well on them, though.
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:39 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Doitsu View Post
I
a) reformat the PDF files with Willus.com's K2pdfopt for devices with lousy pdf apps, e.g. Kindles,

b) buy an eInk reader whose pdf app natively supports automatic PDF reflow,

c) install a third party app with automatic PDF reflow, e.g. KOReader (based on k2pdfopt).

To test whether this would be a feasible alternative simply convert a couple of typical scientific papers with k2pdfopt. If the results are good enough, you might only need to buy one cheap reader or tablet.
Worth checking out, as a single reader would be cheaper. I'd like to try this. I don't have the cheap ereader yet. I wonder if anyone has out there an ereader emulator I could use to try out how k2pdfopt works?
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Old 02-07-2017, 09:09 PM   #5
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onyx boox make an open android 8" ereader. ebookdroid app works well.

any PDF reader will show kdfopt results.
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Old 02-07-2017, 11:03 PM   #6
gponym
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onyx boox make an open android 8" ereader. ebookdroid app works well.

any PDF reader will show kdfopt results.
Thanks for the Onyx idea. Assume you meant the i86. 8" could work. Price under $300; good. Found just one decent review, from 2015, he did not like it 'cause it was not ready for western market. (http://the-digital-reader.com/2015/0...droid-ereader/).

If you've seen a good account w/more recent experience, please let me know.
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Old 02-07-2017, 11:21 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Doitsu View Post
...
a) reformat the PDF files with Willus.com's K2pdfopt for devices with lousy pdf apps, e.g. Kindles,

b) buy an eInk reader whose pdf app natively supports automatic PDF reflow,
...
Just looked at k2pdfopt, it looks good, and just the kind of tool I like to use: Linux/Mac; GUI/command line.

Maybe I will buy the smaller reader and give it a whirl. (That's a different thread, what smaller reader?)

Do ereader manufacturers buy PDF apps from a third party, or do they roll their own? If the former, seems like it might help to know the name of a good app or two.
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:43 PM   #8
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I'm in a very similar position to you, academic and need something primarily for articles and find MacBook / iPad screen distrusts my sleep.
Which did you buy in the end and are you happy with it?
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:09 PM   #9
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Specifically to read highly formatted PDFs, I am on the hunt for a used Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7in. I chose this based mostly on these factors: relatively tough vs an ereader; easily resaleable if I don't like it; Samsung name; easy to buy a used model; faster than ereader; more adaptable than ereader in a pinch due to the whole app world out there.

It will be an experiment, I'll see if I think it disturbs sleep too much, and if there are apps to cope with sleep needs.

Care to share your thoughts? I'm still coming to grips with how to read technical literature without disrupting sleep.

In the end, my choice Galaxy Tab S2 is not cheaper than some ereaders around the same size. It just sounds better in every way except possibly sleep patterns. I'll find out.

I still mean to buy a cheaper, smaller ereader, mostly for books. Also for less demanding PDF or web content (via a workflow to convert web/PDF for the reader).
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