Tablets

Zodiac_sl said:

I don't understand the reading on tablet thing. My iPad is great and all, but if I'm sitting down to read a book I'd rather it look as close to paper as possible. eInk devices are super fucking cheap, if you enjoy reading for pleasure you should have one.

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Basically what Braen posted. In terms of tablet vs. physical book, the tablet wins out for some people because of the convenience factor - the weight argument against using a tablet does not necessarily apply to the iPad mini or other 7"ish devices, in my opinion.

As far as getting an e-Ink device over the mentioned tablets goes, I see your point, but due to personal preference and wanting to use it for activities other than reading, the iPad mini hits several birds with one stone, so to speak.

I think e-ink readers are far superior for reading than lcd screened tablets. The e-ink screen is soothing to the eyes and text looks fantastic on it.

Not everyone needs an e-ink reader, though.

I bought one because I spend an hour a day reading books. My brother, on the other hand, is fine with his iPad mini because he only spends an hour a week reading books.

If you're a heavy reader, buy an e-ink reader. If not, a tablet will do fine.

I have both the retina iPad and a Kindle... and there's no way I would want to read a book on an iPad. E-ink is just so much easier on the eyes, not to mention staring at a bright screen if you chose the iPad likely wouldn't help you fall to sleep if you were doing reading before bed.

Braen_sl said:

I borrowed Stephen King's 11/22/63 from the local library. The thing is like 3 inches thick. So I got the epub and am now reading it in comfort on my Nexus 7 at my desk, my bed or wherever I want to read it. I can turn the lights off and read while my wife sleeps.

And sometimes I might want to change gears and read another book. Having them all in my tablet is so much more convenient then carrying around multiple books and I usually have my tablet with me.

For example, I will be reading one of the Song of Ice and Fire novels and remember something from a previous book. Instead of looking for the big book at home, I just load the e-book and find the piece of information I was looking for.

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I think you misunderstood my post. I could never go back to physical books - E Ink all the way. Looks as close to paper as you can get, perfect form factor (size + weight), and lasts for weeks between charges. Now that they have the glow-light models the main disadvantage is gone.

I have tried to read on my iPad and my GFs kindle fire but it always seems just like reading PDFs on my computer and that shit sucks.

Alkorin_sl said:

Maybe I just don't read enough to care.

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I think this must be the thing with people who read on tablets. I normally get in a couple hours each day and if I'm engrossed in a good book I can spend all day reading. I'd guess maybe tablet readers don't do that.

Anyone have or has used an ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity? What's your opinion if you do?

I find that as long as I put my tablet e-reader app(I usually use nook) into "night time mode" where the background is black/grey and the text is white, much like this forum, it's just as easy on the eyes as e-ink. For the love of god, don't read a book that is black text on a white background in your e-reader app, you'll go blind.

Yeah, we are gonna have to agree to disagree about that. No LCD can reproduce eink technology by using different colors.

He didn't say it reproduces e-ink, just that it's "as easy on the eyes".

Yeah, and I can't agree with that, maybe poor choice of words on my part.

So forgetting about the iPad mini for a moment, does anyone have firsthand experience with the Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet?

E-ink is nice. I have the Nook touch and I like it. However I haven't used it at all since I got the tablets / phablets. While I like the E-ink and it is easier on the eyes the versatility of the other devices far outweigh that benefit. Once I put it in the cabinet I haven't taken it out since and likely won't use it again. I can read more or less as easily on the tablet and in the dark to boot.

Kedwyn_sl said:

E-ink is nice. I have the Nook touch and I like it. However I haven't used it at all since I got the tablets / phablets. While I like the E-ink and it is easier on the eyes the versatility of the other devices far outweigh that benefit. Once I put it in the cabinet I haven't taken it out since and likely won't use it again. I can read more or less as easily on the tablet and in the dark to boot.

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Personally, I love the fact that the Kindle isn't good for anything but reading books.

I get so distracted doing millions of things at once when using my laptop or my ipad and it can be difficult to concentrate on a single task at times.

With my Kindle, all I can do is read. So I read. It's nice.

I love the fact that the battery lasts weeks too. I never have to worry about charging it.

I'm still in love with my Nexus 7 after a month of use. The best unexpected thing about it is that it really cut down on the amount of time I spend at my PC.

For anyone that has one, but hasn't gotten around to getting a case for it yet, I highly recommend one ofBluerex's Ultra-Slim casesCheap, well made, has a handy strap you can slip your hand in to keep it secure when handling, doubles as a stand, and provides pretty decent protection while not adding too much extra weight/size.

Haven't had a chance to play around with my Nexus 10 yet. Installed a couple apps, browsed the nets a bit, and that's it really. I don't think I'm going to get a lot of use out of it, outside of traveling. I know on the previous two boards there were posts/threads that listed "must have" Android apps, but I don't think that's been done here. If anyone feels like listing their favorite apps and/or widgets, customizations and the like that would be great. And actually, is there a how-to guide or FAQ for the most common features, options/settings and tasks floating around somewhere? This is my first foray in to Android. So far everything seems pretty intuitive, but a head start can't hurt.

I am fairly annoyed that the Economist app crashes pretty much continually when you flip pages. What the fuck is up with that?

The app I use by far the most isPocket(formerly known as "ReadItLater"). I go quickly though my RSS feeds on google reader and send all interesting-looking articles to pocket. That downloads it onto my tablet (and phone), so when I have a few minutes downtime, I can read an article real quick. Most awesome app ever.

There's alsoRepliGo Readerfor PDFs. Second to none... the annotation options are pure awesome. I do most of my reading on the tablet with that app.

Then there'sDropSync, which works together with the Dropbox app to do 2-way syncing of folders you select. That's how I keep the PDFs synced and organized.

Evernoteis also an obvious choice. I already use the desktop version on both my PC and Mac, and I have the app installed on the tablet and the phone. Works very well and keeps everything in sync.

Windows Surface tablets are now at Best Buy if anyone was wanting to mess around with one.