I am referring specifically to the iPad 4, not any of the earlier
versions. I waited for the higher resolution screen before buying any
of these because I did not think I would be satisfied with a lower
resolution screen. Even then, I first tried the Kindle Fire, but found
the screen size too small for me.
I sympathize with your dislike of the closed platform, but, for me, the
extensive app availability for the Apple was decisive.
As to Owen's latest: I can only hope (though I doubt it). I buy all of
my books through Amazon (or through Amazon marketplace).
As to Bruce's comments:
on weight: I agree. that is why I am looking for the next iteration
of the iPad.
on flipping: I think my iPad is faster than the e-ink readers. That
might even get better in the next generation with a faster processor.
(which might also be true for future generation Kindles..) I have tried
using bookmarks, et cetera in iAnnotate. This works when I want to go to
the index. For visual recognition, only fast flipping would work.
Nothing is completely satisfactory, but it is not so bad..
Joe
On 2/9/13 1:48 PM, Gary Schiltz wrote:
Thanks for your input, everyone. It sounds like I would be happy with
an iPad. I haven't been able to try an iPad 3 or 4 yet - believe it or
not, the newest iPad for sale here in Ecuador is the iPad 2, and it
runs about $700 for a 16GB wireless model. So, stores aren't too big
on letting you play with them. I have tried a few books on a friend's
iPad 2, and was a bit bothered by the lower resolution (as compared
with the 3 and 4) at typical book reading distance.
Echoing Roger's experience of reading on a phone, I do have an iPhone
4S, and find it surprisingly usable for re-formattable text. I've read
around 20-30 novels on it, and with +3 reading glasses, I can read
tech book sized PDFs in landscape mode (not that comfortably, though).
Now, I guess my big decision is iOS vs Android. I used to be nearly an
Apple fanboy, but am starting to view them as the new 800 pound
gorilla. It just seems wrong to support a platform that only supports
software sold and approved by a single vendor, that can only be
developed in one language. Has anyone had a chance to see the Nexus 7
or 10?
;; Gary
On Feb 9, 2013, at 1:30 PM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Nearly all my tech books are on my iPad. Its a bit heavy,
especially compared to the kindle. But the battery life is fine and
I find it great to use. But all the others are good too, I'm sure.
But one huge piece of advice: make sure whatever you do end up with
has a reader for *all* the formats. OReilly for example gives you
pdf, epub, mobi, and sometimes the apk format. And it does make
quite a difference.
I hope the ebook format madness stops in the near future, Tom may be
able to update us, but you should not get a device that will not read
all the big three: pdf, mobi, epub (mobi is the kindle version and
kindle reads it.) IIRC, the iPad book reader handles more than one
format. And I think all devices have a pdf reader, either built in
or as an app.
I would try whatever you are considering, especially the various file
formats. I'd beware of the kindle books themselves, at least for
tech books, they do not come in the multiple formats and have many
silly errors that are slowly being fixed. The kindle app is
available everywhere, even as a webapp.
-- Owen
On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 4:59 PM, Gary Schiltz
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
To me, it's debatable whether switching from hardcopy books to
ebooks is a net environmental plus. However, living down here in
Ecuador makes it a real pain in the butt to get hardcopies of
technical books, especially in English. So far, I've been reading
PDFs on my laptop, but the screen is too far from my face to
really take advantage of its resolution. So, I'm considering
either an iPad or some sort of Android tablet. A smaller form
factor like Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 would be fine for material
that can be reformatted on the fly, but I really prefer
pre-formatted PDF ebooks. I'm afraid that a seven inch screen
would be too small for most PDF ebooks. Does anyone here use a
tablet to read PDFs? I'd appreciate hearing of your experiences.
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"Sunlight is the best disinfectant."
-- Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, 1913.
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