which is currently the best device to read on the go?

user · 04-23-2012, 04:01 PM

hello!

which is currently the best device to read on the go?
not in black'n'white only, but in color

there are many factors to consider, battery life, screen visibility under sunlight, screen resolution, other features as connectivity, translation, web, interaction via pen or touch, etc

thanks!

PS: if you know an announced future release that it's worth to wait, please share!

susan_cassidy · 04-23-2012, 04:24 PM

No color screen is going to be readable in sunlight. You didn't mention what size you were thinking of. There are smartphones and the iPod in the smaller sizes, and 7" tablets. If they are Android, the app availability for reading is all pretty much the same. Battery life of a color screen is not going to be nearly as good as an e-ink reader.

Were you interested in paying for 3G connectivity, or is wi-fi enough for you?

user · 04-23-2012, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

No color screen is going to be readable in sunlight. You didn't mention what size you were thinking of. There are smartphones and the iPod in the smaller sizes, and 7" tablets. If they are Android, the app availability for reading is all pretty much the same. Battery life of a color screen is not going to be nearly as good as an e-ink reader.

Were you interested in paying for 3G connectivity, or is wi-fi enough for you?

readability is a must, I can ignore all the others, since I am looking mainly for a reader, not a device that can do what my smartphone or laptop etc does

other features as connectivity, battery life, etc are just welcomed

so, as for readability, I may go for grayscale, what how do colored pages display there? are they readable?

I also consider its size as a readability factor, not a portability, or whatever factor, so I guess the bigger the better (or the bigger resolution, the better)

SmokeAndMirrors · 04-23-2012, 06:21 PM

You've basically got two options: e-ink ereaders, which are grayscale only, or a tablet of some kind (whether it's a regular tablet or an LCD ereader - same thing).

Tablets will not be very readable in sunlight. It's just how they are.

So if you want daylight readability, you have to go with an e-ink reader, which will not do color.

Most e-ink ereaders are 6-inch, which is plenty for reading novels, which is their intended use. There are some bigger ones around the 9-inch range, but they're disappearing quickly due to lack of demand.

E-ink is not fantastic with displaying images. If that's what you want, an e-ink reader is not for you. And while many e-ink readers do have internet connectivity and web browsers, they are not very fun to navigate because the refresh rate is slow. You won't want to do any significant amount browsing on an e-ink device

What exactly are you looking to use it for?

user · 04-23-2012, 06:26 PM

reading scientific textbooks and research papers on the go is my intention

user · 04-23-2012, 06:44 PM

Neither Triton does the work?

charmian · 04-23-2012, 07:43 PM

Shouldn't this thread be moved to "which ereader should I get" subforum?

Anyway, there is the Jetbook Color, by Etaco. People have said the software has issues, however. You can see some videos on youtube. The price is pretty darn high.

There is also the Kyobo Reader, which you need to import from Korea. People have not praised it that highly either, though.

dreams · 04-24-2012, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmian

Shouldn't this thread be moved to "which ereader should I get" subforum?<snip>

Now moved to the "Which one should I buy?" forum.

user · 04-24-2012, 12:05 PM

how about Hanvon color eReader?

fafaforza · 05-02-2012, 05:04 PM

I've read in the iPad 3 outside without too much trouble and the brightness was about halfway. If you can buy it and afford it, it would give you good resale when you want to sell it a year from now or something.

semioticwafture · 05-02-2012, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by user

reading scientific textbooks and research papers on the go is my intention

I've been using my Kindle (4, non-touch) for reading PDF files - including a few-hundred page thesis with diagrams. I've been very pleased with it for that.

I use it in landscape mode. It seems to auto-crop so the whole screen is used without too much white space at the edges - at least, I found I haven't needed to crop before loading PDFs onto it.

Some PDFs end up with fairly small font size, and that font size is not easy to alter due to the nature of PDF -- fine if your eyesight is good like me, maybe not otherwise. You can zoom, but I haven't seen any evidence of usable scrolling behaviour when zoomed (i.e. scrolling that isn't highly labour-intensive). Kindle DX is bigger and I believe designed for this very purpose, but I think not available in UK? Personally I prefer the small size of Kindle 4 non-touch.

Kindle touch used to be poor on PDF. I hear it has got better at that, but have no personal experience with it to share.

ProfCrash · 05-03-2012, 10:41 AM

The DX is saddled with the K2 firmware and PDF functionality. It is larger so that it is easy to use and you get more on the page. You can hack it to add the K3 firmware which does a better job with PDFs.

04-23-2012, 04:01 PM	#1
user Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Benq P51	which is currently the best device to read on the go? hello! which is currently the best device to read on the go? not in black'n'white only, but in color there are many factors to consider, battery life, screen visibility under sunlight, screen resolution, other features as connectivity, translation, web, interaction via pen or touch, etc thanks! PS: if you know an announced future release that it's worth to wait, please share! Last edited by user; 04-23-2012 at 04:19 PM.

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04-23-2012, 04:24 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	No color screen is going to be readable in sunlight. You didn't mention what size you were thinking of. There are smartphones and the iPod in the smaller sizes, and 7" tablets. If they are Android, the app availability for reading is all pretty much the same. Battery life of a color screen is not going to be nearly as good as an e-ink reader. Were you interested in paying for 3G connectivity, or is wi-fi enough for you?

04-23-2012, 06:21 PM	#4
SmokeAndMirrors Addict Posts: 280 Karma: 2064388 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: MN, US Device: Kobo Touch, Asus Eee Pad Slider	You've basically got two options: e-ink ereaders, which are grayscale only, or a tablet of some kind (whether it's a regular tablet or an LCD ereader - same thing). Tablets will not be very readable in sunlight. It's just how they are. So if you want daylight readability, you have to go with an e-ink reader, which will not do color. Most e-ink ereaders are 6-inch, which is plenty for reading novels, which is their intended use. There are some bigger ones around the 9-inch range, but they're disappearing quickly due to lack of demand. E-ink is not fantastic with displaying images. If that's what you want, an e-ink reader is not for you. And while many e-ink readers do have internet connectivity and web browsers, they are not very fun to navigate because the refresh rate is slow. You won't want to do any significant amount browsing on an e-ink device What exactly are you looking to use it for?

04-23-2012, 06:26 PM	#5
user Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Benq P51	reading scientific textbooks and research papers on the go is my intention

04-23-2012, 06:44 PM	#6
user Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Benq P51	Neither Triton does the work?

04-23-2012, 07:43 PM	#7
charmian Addict Posts: 386 Karma: 1814548 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2	Shouldn't this thread be moved to "which ereader should I get" subforum? Anyway, there is the Jetbook Color, by Etaco. People have said the software has issues, however. You can see some videos on youtube. The price is pretty darn high. There is also the Kyobo Reader, which you need to import from Korea. People have not praised it that highly either, though.

04-24-2012, 12:05 PM	#9
user Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Benq P51	how about Hanvon color eReader?

05-02-2012, 05:04 PM	#10
fafaforza Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 26780 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Device: Aura ONE	I've read in the iPad 3 outside without too much trouble and the brightness was about halfway. If you can buy it and afford it, it would give you good resale when you want to sell it a year from now or something.

05-03-2012, 10:41 AM	#12
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	The DX is saddled with the K2 firmware and PDF functionality. It is larger so that it is easy to use and you get more on the page. You can hack it to add the K3 firmware which does a better job with PDFs.

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