Normal books and technical papers (PDFs with annotation support)

NautilusIII · 07-16-2010, 01:41 PM

Hi!

I am searching for an ebook reader satisfying two use cases:

1. Reading normal books
This is the more simple use case I think; just want to be able to have access to a lot of current bestsellers, download them and read them ... easy...

2. Academic/technical papers
Most of these papers are in PDF format, often DIN A4, text often layouted double-column etc.
It must be possible to read this papers comfortably, even if they contain formulas or images.
A very important aspect is that it must be possible to highlight and annotate text fragments, to have easy access to such previously made annotations and to export them to a PC to print them e.g. It should be possible to make handwritten notices (via a stylus) and "printed" annotations via a virtual keyboard.

As indicated, It should be possible to do such annotations with a stylus; I am not the fan of mini-keyboards, I think a virtual keyboard is sufficient.

Searching for text should be supported to.

In General:
The device should be usable outside and visualize ebooks nicely (I like eInk).
Finger touchpad is not soo important, but if the visualization does not suffer it is a plus.
Books should be manageable in folders or so.
Memory must be extensible (SD e.g.).
Battery life time must be really long.

Things like text2speech are less important.

I am generally thinking of a 6" device.

I am interested in the Onyx Boox 60, the BeBook Neo, and the Pocketbook 302 (or its successor). I am not sure whether any Sony device (the 600) does what I am looking for?!?

Any recommendations?

I am living in Germany if that matters :-)

Thanks!

NautilusIII · 07-17-2010, 05:58 PM

Nobody able to provide some insights? :-(

Logseman · 07-17-2010, 08:30 PM

If you're thinking of a 6 inch device, the only one who really offers powerful annotation capabilities is the famed Bebook Neo/Onyx Boox. As much of a Pocketbook fanboy that I may look like sometimes, the machine strikes me as superior to the PB302.

davidspitzer · 07-17-2010, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NautilusIII

Nobody able to provide some insights? :-(

there are a lot of similar threads but Ill give you my perspective - I have owned probaly 6 or 7 different ereaders (e-ink) from 5" to 9.7 and currently an Ipad. No matter how capable the 6" inch reading a graphical pdf on that size is an excercise in compromise. I moved up to a kindle DX and that was sublime comared to my Kindle 2, My Sony 600, my bebook etc. Now I am using an Ipad and I can not even imagine thumbing through my letter size pdf's on my Kindle DX (which i just sold). If it has to be E-ink i reccomend the Kindle DX if you are open the ipad is for the best PDF reader, annotations, quick page refreshes its a great experience and in full color. I can go all day without worries too on one cahrge and have room to spare.

I loaded up 8 gigs of pdf's some of which are over 300 megs each and all I can say is Alles lief wie am Schnürchen

NautilusIII · 07-30-2010, 03:39 PM

Sorry, was traveling...

The Kindle DX is no option I think as it does not support annotating or highlighting in PDFs, which is a hard requirement.

The new Kindle 3 supports it and might be an option, but then I am unable to read books in epub format, right? But it is much cheaper...

SO, Bebook/Boox or another Hanlin derivate OR Kindle 2?
What do you guys think?

Maybe buying a Kindle NOW as it isn't too expensive and going for something really cool next year might be the right thing.

Opionions?

wadcyr8_197 · 07-31-2010, 02:36 AM

I am in a similar situation than NautilusIII.
Apparently, for technical paper (and academic), 6" readers are not a good idea. They are too small. that's why i'm looking for a minimum of 8" but actually there is no good things or only very expensive. I'm actually looking for the iRex DR1000S or the future Pocketbook 901 ...

yashi · 08-02-2010, 05:00 PM

i am expecting pretty much the same as the thread creator does. but i can't find a suitable Reader either...

as i said, my expectations are pretty much the same:

1. lets call it "native" pdf support...presenting a pdf in pictures like the kindle does is imo pretty useless...which brings me to the second expectation
2. text search. text search. text search!

are there any eReader out there, which live up to my expectations?

thanks in advance.

901hw · 08-05-2010, 04:42 AM

doesnt the new kindle offer text search especially on pdfs and different abilities to zoom and pan and scroll in pdfs? From the product pages and the reviews it sounds like the new kindle could be quite ok for reading pdfs if 6" is enough (it is for me).

07-16-2010, 01:41 PM	#1
NautilusIII Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	Normal books and technical papers (PDFs with annotation support) Hi! I am searching for an ebook reader satisfying two use cases: 1. Reading normal books This is the more simple use case I think; just want to be able to have access to a lot of current bestsellers, download them and read them ... easy... 2. Academic/technical papers Most of these papers are in PDF format, often DIN A4, text often layouted double-column etc. It must be possible to read this papers comfortably, even if they contain formulas or images. A very important aspect is that it must be possible to highlight and annotate text fragments, to have easy access to such previously made annotations and to export them to a PC to print them e.g. It should be possible to make handwritten notices (via a stylus) and "printed" annotations via a virtual keyboard. As indicated, It should be possible to do such annotations with a stylus; I am not the fan of mini-keyboards, I think a virtual keyboard is sufficient. Searching for text should be supported to. In General: The device should be usable outside and visualize ebooks nicely (I like eInk). Finger touchpad is not soo important, but if the visualization does not suffer it is a plus. Books should be manageable in folders or so. Memory must be extensible (SD e.g.). Battery life time must be really long. Things like text2speech are less important. I am generally thinking of a 6" device. I am interested in the Onyx Boox 60, the BeBook Neo, and the Pocketbook 302 (or its successor). I am not sure whether any Sony device (the 600) does what I am looking for?!? Any recommendations? I am living in Germany if that matters :-) Thanks! Last edited by NautilusIII; 07-16-2010 at 04:26 PM.

07-30-2010, 03:39 PM	#5
NautilusIII Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	Sorry, was traveling... The Kindle DX is no option I think as it does not support annotating or highlighting in PDFs, which is a hard requirement. The new Kindle 3 supports it and might be an option, but then I am unable to read books in epub format, right? But it is much cheaper... SO, Bebook/Boox or another Hanlin derivate OR Kindle 2? What do you guys think? Maybe buying a Kindle NOW as it isn't too expensive and going for something really cool next year might be the right thing. Opionions? Last edited by NautilusIII; 07-30-2010 at 04:25 PM.

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07-17-2010, 05:58 PM	#2
NautilusIII Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	Nobody able to provide some insights? :-(

07-17-2010, 08:30 PM	#3
Logseman Orisa Posts: 1,999 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	If you're thinking of a 6 inch device, the only one who really offers powerful annotation capabilities is the famed Bebook Neo/Onyx Boox. As much of a Pocketbook fanboy that I may look like sometimes, the machine strikes me as superior to the PB302.

07-31-2010, 02:36 AM	#6
wadcyr8_197 Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: France Device: None	I am in a similar situation than NautilusIII. Apparently, for technical paper (and academic), 6" readers are not a good idea. They are too small. that's why i'm looking for a minimum of 8" but actually there is no good things or only very expensive. I'm actually looking for the iRex DR1000S or the future Pocketbook 901 ...

08-02-2010, 05:00 PM	#7
yashi Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	i am expecting pretty much the same as the thread creator does. but i can't find a suitable Reader either... as i said, my expectations are pretty much the same: 1. lets call it "native" pdf support...presenting a pdf in pictures like the kindle does is imo pretty useless...which brings me to the second expectation 2. text search. text search. text search! are there any eReader out there, which live up to my expectations? thanks in advance.

08-05-2010, 04:42 AM	#8
901hw Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 2178 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: germany Device: Trekstor Pyrus Mini, PB Touch Lux 2, Onxy Boox C67ML (maybe))	doesnt the new kindle offer text search especially on pdfs and different abilities to zoom and pan and scroll in pdfs? From the product pages and the reviews it sounds like the new kindle could be quite ok for reading pdfs if 6" is enough (it is for me).

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