What's good for a Ebook

medicnick83

medicnick83

Paramedic
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Hi all,

So I want to get something to view Ebooks (PDFS)

I was always looking at the Samsung Tablet but now that I'm even more keen than ever, I was wondering what you guys think.
I want to be able to read them and not strain my eyes.
I have an S4 but it's not big enough for me.

Thoughts?
 
For extended reading...e-ink ftw. Have you consisted getting something like a kindle paperwhite?
 
gdiza said:
Is things in colour and such with a Kindle paperwhite?
Click to expand...
No, not yet. Amazon does have plans for a color e-ink display, but it's probably still some time away. For now it's just black ink. If you can stare at a regular screen for a long time - by all means go for it. E-ink devices have the advantage of being lighter (easy to read lying on your back holding it) and also the display - which is literally ink (so it's like reading a book) with some back-lighting (as of the paperwhite versions).

For someone wanting to read novels - the e-ink devices are the way to go imo. There's as much eye strain as there is reading a regular book. So I guess you need to decide on

a.) How much content you're going to be reading & whether you're happy to read it on a regular display for extended periods,
b.) How important is a color display
 
I want to read medical pdf's - thus why I originally thought of the Samsung 10" tablet - I'd only use it for that to be honest.
Reading it on my phone I have to zoom in, slide left, slide right etc. very irritating.
 
Oh ok. Yeah - I'm still rocking an ipad 2 and it's great. Do a lot of PDF and comic reading on it :). If I saw a used one in good condition I'd happily pick it up if this one broke down.
 
gdiza said:
I want to read medical pdf's - thus why I originally thought of the Samsung 10" tablet - I'd only use it for that to be honest.
Reading it on my phone I have to zoom in, slide left, slide right etc. very irritating.
Click to expand...

My "e-reader" note 10.1 2014 is great, pricy however. However... I was thinking getting some sort of reader for my parents to read their mags on. Not sure which one though.
 
Necuno said:
My "e-reader" note 10.1 2014 is great, pricy however. However... I was thinking getting some sort of reader for my parents to read their mags on. Not sure which one though.
Click to expand...

I was looking at getting it on a Vodacom contract - but looking for a good deal or contract.
 
gdiza said:
I was looking at getting it on a Vodacom contract - but looking for a good deal or contract.
Click to expand...

I took the LTE version of the 10.1 2014... Better cpu and more ram AFAIK. However there might be other options if you just want to read PDFs.

I took the note because because I wanted to have something to draw on, take notes, study and read my ebooks.

If you have not played with a few in-store I would suggest go and try out the options before committing.
 
Necuno said:
I took the LTE version of the 10.1 2014... Better cpu and more ram AFAIK. However there might be other options if you just want to read PDFs.

I took the note because because I wanted to have something to draw on, take notes, study and read my ebooks.

If you have not played with a few in-store I would suggest go and try out the options before committing.
Click to expand...


When you refer to other options (just to read PDFs) what are YOU referring to... suggest stuff please.
 
Any tablet will do, but the better the screen, the better the reading experience. A 3rd gen iPad (up to iPad Air/Mini2), or a Kindle Fire HDX, or a Nexus 7 2013 would be ideal.
 
Find access from a friend or go to Incredible connection or Games or some store that allows you to play around with the tablets and send a sample file by bluetooth. The standard 1280x800 resolution is not great ( for me anyway) as it needs a bit of zooming and panning to view comfortably. The more recent Note and Pro range will be much better (and dearer) than the standard Samsung Galaxy Tabs.

I took a plunge and bought a Ramos i9 from a Chinese site (banggood.com) and loaded it with PDF magazines and books. My old 7" Samsung is now very unloved, I have hardly used it since. Spent R2500 with shipping and customs on this device... and although not perfect (features missing like GPS, Google Apps) it does a great job as a PDF viewer with SmartQ Reader app. I am not bothering customizing or rooting it, nor waiting for updates or custom roms - it's job is to be a PDF viewer. I told myself if I was to regret the purchase in 4-6 months time I could be buying a brand name tablet that could be R2000 cheaper.

The other great deal was the LG Gpad 8.3" that was going for R2700 a couple of weeks ago - although I don't find them locally right now at the usual suspects.

Those that have the courage to gamble on a Chinese tablet should check out this blog http://mikecanex.wordpress.com/ where the author is on a similar mission to find a tablet for reading PDFs.
 
Use samsung tablet 10.1 inch. Prefer aldiko as ereader app of choice. Read a lot of novels on it especially in bed and no hassle so far.
 
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