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cj_berlin
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Germany
3964 Posts
Status: offline |
 Posted - 07/29/2012 : 07:17:46 AM
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Hi Group,
much as I enjoy flipping through the pages of a good book of fiction, I have finally come to the point of starting to look at pocket readers for the technical stuff. So far, I could break down my needs to the following:
- e-Ink (or whatever others call it) is absolutely essential
- unsure about the colour display, might sure enough be handy with some drawings...
- I DO NOT need the ability to order eBooks from the device itself
- I DO need the ability to upload a PDF from my PC to the device, either in its original format or in a converted one, in which case the converter needs to be able to run locally on a Windows 7 machine
- the ability to search within a document is essential; the ability to search globally through any documents stored o the device would be a great improvement
- the ability to bookmark a page or a paragraph is essential
- the abbility to comment on a paragraph is something that looks pretty cool in theory but I'm not sure if I'd end up using it frequently...
So what devices do you guys and girls use? Which features are good and useful, which have been a waste of money? Would you buy those devices again if yours broke?
Any insight and guidance is highly appreciated, as always.
Thanks a lot!
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Evgenij Smirnov
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wobble_wobble
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Ireland
4517 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 09:16:39 AM
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I would highly recommend a Kindle, any of them.
I have a Kindle 3, the little Black+White one with WiFi.
From that I have the kindle software on my desktop, laptop, Dev Server, smart phone and what ever else.
The software synch's where I am on books across all devices!
I use Calibre to manage the ebooks/ pdf's etc and import them into MyKindle account and therefore my other devices on demand.
http://calibre-ebook.com/
I have not had to contact Kindle support, but every account I have heard off has been positive.
To get documents/ pdf's onto my Kindle/ Phone etc, all I have to do is email them to my kindle email account. This email account only accepts email from my nominated addresses, so no spam (well other than my own)
The conversion is not always great, hence the Caliber software, but the formats are html based, so can be edited if necessary.
My wife has taken over my own one. Yes I kinda miss it a bit, but the same info is available to me in many other places.
Buy a case, one that allows you prop it up, for reading. Not so sure on the build in light option, I've kinda said that would be cool twice in 2 years.
The delivery from Amazon is great and a lot of free books on amazon, just fro reading. Plus there tends to be no such thing as a sold out ebook.
- unsure about the colour display, might sure enough be handy with some drawings... Solved by looking at phone/ laptop/ desktop.
- I DO NOT need the ability to order eBooks from the device itself - You'll be surprised.
- I DO need the ability to upload a PDF from my PC to the device, either in its original format or in a converted one, in which case the converter needs to be able to run locally on a Windows 7 machine - Caliber
- the ability to search within a document is essential; the ability to search globally through any documents stored o the device would be a great improvement - Not perfect on converted documents. Better on the PC and Caliber has the ability.
- the ability to bookmark a page or a paragraph is essential - Yes
- the abbility to comment on a paragraph is something that looks pretty cool in theory but I'm not sure if I'd end up using it frequently... - Yes, both private and public comments on public available ebooks.
Edit - adding more information. |
Joe
After everything that has happened during the month of Jan 07, I do believe that pigs fly backwards!
http://whatismyv6.com/ |
Edited by - wobble_wobble on 07/29/2012 09:31:04 AM |
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Mark Minasi
Chief cook and bottle washer
USA
10658 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 10:01:48 AM
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Agreed, but it's not like you'd be far off with a Nook. Of course, if you already use a tablet of some kind that you like there's almost certainly a Kindle client.
The e-ink devices are so sharp and offer such nice battery life. And the Kindle whispernet is pretty amazing sometimes. |
Mark
tweetin' at mminasi |
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cj_berlin
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Germany
3964 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 2:02:04 PM
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Thanks for the info! Do I understand it correctly that I have to upload my eBooks to Amazon (no matter if I convert them locally or have them converted via their service) in order to make them available on my device(s)? If I go with Kindle, that is. I certainly hope to avoid subscribing to another cloud service...
What about the Sony offering? Looks pretty much comparable, only that you are free to manage your stuff yourself... |
Evgenij Smirnov
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wobble_wobble
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Ireland
4517 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 3:13:07 PM
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Evgenij,
You can upload books, docs, pdf's using Caliber.
But the kindle gets an email address(gmail remembers mine and its in my amazon account) and to get something onto the kindle, I email to the address with a subject line of convert.
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Joe
After everything that has happened during the month of Jan 07, I do believe that pigs fly backwards!
http://whatismyv6.com/ |
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Pesos
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
USA
3506 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 9:36:41 PM
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Just picked up a Nook Tablet 16 GB at a pawn shop in New Orleans for $87. Don't think they knew what they had there - they had a Nook Color priced higher lol.
Rooted it and installed CM7 on it for my girlfriend to use while travelling. Nice little machine! |
-Wes |
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JamesNT
Moderator
USA
3150 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/29/2012 : 9:40:24 PM
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I MUST vote for the Kindle DX. I have loved that thing since I got it. I say DX because you'll need the bigger screen for all those screenshots and graphs that authors of 1800 page books on how to Master something love to include in their work.
JamesNT |
James Summerlin
www.jamessummerlin.com |
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Playwell
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Netherlands
4822 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 06:03:52 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by JamesNT
I MUST vote for the Kindle DX. I have loved that thing since I got it. I say DX because you'll need the bigger screen for all those screenshots and graphs that authors of 1800 page books on how to Master something love to include in their work.
JamesNT
hear hear |
'People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. '
Quote by Isaac Asimov
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Xenophane
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Denmark
3070 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 07:25:29 AM
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I have tried to Sony Reader, it seemed very sluggish.
I have a Kindle DX and a Small Kindle Wifi edition, which I use heavily (Mostly for fiction though)
I just wanted to add something about Amazons support, I have had my DX die on me twice, once a software update gone wrong, 2nd time a screen issue)
I called Amazon support told them about my issue. Because I live outside the US I had to purchase a new Kindle with all taxes/customs payed, then they ship a new Kindle (In both cases I have received it within 3 business days from the US)
Then Amazon credits you purchase ( both times they have screwed up their currency conversion, so I have made almost 50€ each time, I called them and they claimed it was supposed to be like that)
So I can recommend the Kindle from a warranty perspective as well |
Microsoft Powershell MVP
SIG> George Bernard Shaw : The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. </SIG>
You can read my blog at www.xipher.dk |
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jadgate
Major Contributor
USA
918 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 12:00:34 PM
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Evgenij-
I've been mulling over getting an e-reader/tablet as well.
My needs:
- something that is as file format agnostic as possible. Joe, are there any common formats besides PDF that the conversion program (Calibre) can't/won't handle? What about DRM protected media? The public libraries now have a good deal of content that is digital, but alot of it is also DRM (and time-limited as well) so I'm wondering if any of the devices have more issues with those vs. others.
- ability to transfer files back and forth from my PC without a lot of hassle..
- ability to read in strong light (or poor light), in a font that's bigger than Arial 6 or whatever they use these days for EULAs  . Since I went bi-focal about 5 years ago, this matters a great deal
- decent battery life. I don't want to have to be hooking this thing up to the charger on a daily basis like I have to with the smart phone now. USB charging would be good. I suspect that Apple products are more problematic in this regard, as I assume they'll require you to buy some proprietary power connector..
Advice/experience would be appreciated.
Jim |
James Adgate, CISSP
IT Auditor and Compliance Specialist
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
IT Security Policy and Risk Mitigation for Enterprises
http://linkedin.com/in/jamesadgatech
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Pesos
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
USA
3506 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 12:03:21 PM
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| I am very happy with all the ipads I've owned, but I would never buy apple's actual ibooks, as you can't read them on non-ios devices. I stick to Kindle books which can be read on any device including os x/windoze... |
-Wes |
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straffin
Seasoned But Casual Onlooker
USA
67 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 07:42:01 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by cj_berlin
Thanks for the info! Do I understand it correctly that I have to upload my eBooks to Amazon (no matter if I convert them locally or have them converted via their service) in order to make them available on my device(s)? If I go with Kindle, that is. I certainly hope to avoid subscribing to another cloud service...
I have loaded several e-books on my wife's kindle without having to e-mail or upload anything to Amazon ... just hook it up to a Windows PC with the included cable (or any other USB-to-MicroUSB cable) and drag-and-drop away. |
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wobble_wobble
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Ireland
4517 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 08:04:30 AM
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Jim,
I'm unsure of the DRM issue, I have not come across an issue bring a PDF, document or book into Calibre.
I know Steve Riley mentioned that he got a Sony ebook as it allowed him get books from the library, whereas a Kindle did not.
40,000 free books and counting available here
http://www.gutenberg.org/
With regard the battery life - the Kindle does about 2 weeks of reading in our house, possibly a month if the kids have their way. The Kindle is one of the small wireless version, not one of the new colour devices.
You can adjust the font size and the orientation on all readable material on a Kindle.
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Joe
After everything that has happened during the month of Jan 07, I do believe that pigs fly backwards!
http://whatismyv6.com/ |
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cj_berlin
Honorable But Hopeless Addict
Germany
3964 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 08:05:52 AM
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Cool,
thanks a lot everybody. I will probably go with a Kindle DX if I think I'm prepared to wait for the shipment as long as it's probably going to take.
Thanks and cheers! |
Evgenij Smirnov
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Rambler
Major Contributor
Czech Republic
949 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 09:14:05 AM
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| Is the bigger display worth the hefty price increase over the regular version for the Kindle DX? |
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Rastor728
Old Timer
USA
736 Posts
Status: offline |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 4:16:41 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by wobble_wobble
Jim,
I'm unsure of the DRM issue, I have not come across an issue bring a PDF, document or book into Calibre.
I know Steve Riley mentioned that he got a Sony ebook as it allowed him get books from the library, whereas a Kindle did not.
The Timberland Regional Library (Western Washington State-Amazon's Home State) has many of their their books available for checkout through a person's Kindle (haven't tried it or looked at the details-just their marketing statement).
So, I imagine the Kindle options are dependent upon where you are located. |
What would Clark Kent do to someone who stole his identity? |
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Which eBook reader?
