What can I read me some comics on? eink or non.

[branchedout]

K. A few weeks ago, I was three clicks short of preordering a Kindle3. But, I didn't have funds.

Now, funds are coming up, but I may get something other than a Kindle!


I mainly want something portable to read these Japanese comics. I like 'em. And there's lots of freebies out there.


But, I'm not restricted to e-ink. I'm only 20, so my eyes haven't started rebelling against me yet. And I'm going into computers, so I'll be looking at LCD for a very long time.

And, I read myself a comic on my LCD screen (turned verticle) at my desk for 5 hours straight, and had no ill effects. So, LCD screens aren't too bad for me.

But, what DOES turn me off to LCD screen devices... Is the battery life! The screen on an LCD on for 5 hours wipes out probably 75-90% of the battery life of a GOOD device.

Also, I'd like a larger screen than 4.3 inches. I had a Nokia N800. I liked readin' the comics on it.. Ish. The screen was small and semi-hard to read. I was hoping to find a device at least 6 inches like the kindle, or possibly bigger due to LCD screens not costing as much as e-ink.


I know that there's the Archos Home tablet 7. It's on my list of possibilities, but for $185 I do expect a bit more (I'm mainly pointing fingers at Android 1.5)

And, I'd like to know what's out now. There's always something coming next year. I'd like to see my immediate possibilities.


Thank you all for reading all this!


Edit: I'd reckon that saying my budget is $200 USD would be helpful!

[abigsmurf]

a 6" screen is almost exactly the same size as a volume of manga it's really the size you should be aiming at for comfortable reading.

The biggest issue for reading manga is resolution. 800x600 means you lose detail. This isn't an issue for the artwork but it can make small text harder to read. Thankfully Calibre and other converters have functions that really help for this, sharpening filters and increasing the contrast works wonders.

I've read the entirity of One Piece on a PRS-505 with no issue whatsoever (except for the inconsistent file structures in zips making conversion a pain sometimes)

Given 95% of manga is purely black and white, lack of colour isn't an issue. You do want 8 levels of grey as an absolute minimum though.

As for LCD vs E-ink. Low Battery life and eye strain are an issue, plus the fact that you're probably going to be dealing with a lowish quality screen are things to factor in.

[Logseman]

Kindle is the best choice. The screen is quite fine and rich in contrast, and it has loads and loads of manga converters, of which you can see some running around in the Kindle zone of this subforum.

[acidburn517]

Given budget limits, the new kindle wouldn't be so bad for Manga. There are a couple of programs for converting your manga scans to a good format ideal for manga. (i.e. Mangle). A used Sony Prs 600 or prs 900 could also be a pretty good alternative and calibre works great to convert scanned manga into epubs. I tend to lean towards the epub format readers since converting the manga to epub allows you to bookmark and navigate through the comics much easier than in the kindle where you essentially use the image viewer as the comic reader.

Regular comics don't work so well on both and for those i would recommend something with an LCD and bigger screen like an ipad.

[branchedout]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I was able to convert a comic of mine to Mobi, and it turned out very well! Such as mall file size, too!

So, I just ordered a Kindle. Should be in tomorrow. I love Prime's "I'm impatient, so here's $4" deal!