best e-reader for sailors

[AntarcticPilot]

The wife was in love with her kindle but once she saw my ipad she had to have one
I suspect a divorce is on the way & me & the kindle get booted for the ipad
Have to admit, far more useful than a kindle
Dunno about side notes. Last time i did something like that was 12 old when i would underline the sexy bits of Mickey Spillain paperbacks so i could swop them for marbles easier

Horses and courses.

The Kindle, and similar e-paper devices, are far more comfortable for reading - it's exactly like reading a paper page. And they have far better battery life; you can read for hours per day and get a month out of a charge (with WiFi off).

Tablet devices - and despite Apple's overwhelming PR machine, there ARE other kinds, which offer a very similar experience at much lower price - provide access to a very wide range of software, can be used in low light levels and are basically general purpose machines. However, if used to the full, their battery life is much shorter, and of course, the illuminated screen is less comfortable for extended reading.

I'd say it isn't either/or, it's both.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I use an iPad every day for several hours.

But, I take a kindle to bed, and on holiday. Hold the sniggers please, this is a public forum.

Using every day for several hours, including the LED built into the cover I only charge it every few weeks.

Awesome machine, awesome value.

Not an iPad replacement. You need both.

 

[sam_uk]

Not an iPad replacement. You need both.

I'm of the school of thought that all that's missing from tablets is a decent qwerty keyboard and built in stand.

AKA A happy netbook user..

As an aside I ordered a daylight readable screen for my netbook the other day. Quite excited about working on the deck in the sun (and 14 hours battery life) http://blog.laptopmag.com/glare-free-browsing-add-a-pixel-qi-to-your-samsung-netbook

 

[BlueChip]

The wife was in love with her kindle but once she saw my ipad she had to have one
I suspect a divorce is on the way & me & the kindle get booted for the ipad
Have to admit, far more useful than a kindle
Dunno about side notes. Last time i did something like that was 12 old when i would underline the sexy bits of Mickey Spillain paperbacks so i could swop them for marbles easier

+1 Forget getting an e-reader and go for an ipad, then you wont need to carry a notebook.
It's a decision I made and never regretted. Once I had the ipad I never used my Kindle again.

 

[nigelmercier]

Not an iPad replacement. You need both.

Yes, and reading on a tablet is not as restful on the eyes, or the batteries.

 

[causeway]

Kobo reader was on offer for 30 quid last week, I saw it on hotukdeals.com

That and calibre and you're good to go with most formats.

 

[agurney]

Kindle 3G.
Hundreds of Kindle books installed
Dozens of large PDFs installed (some several hundreds of pages in length, including music scores, and tide tables)
You can annotate.
Excellent when afloat or travelling abroad as the free wifi lets me browse internet and keep in touch by email as long as there's a mobile phone signal (just disable wifi if not being used).


Just don't overdo the browsing, I've twice been barred by hitting the (IIRC) 50MB/month limit ... but I just borrow SWMBO's

 

[onesea]

Reading on phone/ tablet is allot better if you turn the back ground black and text white. It saves battery and is easier on your eyes takes 5 minutes to get used to but then you never look back (you can also read of night easily)... Saves battery and is easier on your eyes, having never read a kindle for more than 5 minutes I do not know how it compares.

E Reader is E reader a Tablet (Tablet OR IPad) can do both, but as always not as good as dedicated device...

I am not a Apple fan so would recommend a tablet over Ipad, you can pick up a tablet with GPS and capable of doing chart plotting and kindle app for around £100.
It will need charging every few days or daily depending on your usage you can charge most from 12v.

It depends if you want it out the box to do the job just reading buy a E-reader.

If technically minded and battery charging an issue that Sony thing looks interesting if not fussed about charging buy a tablet...

DO not think you will write emails and read forums on the tablet you will, but given a choice as soon as writing is required you will be on a keyboard...

 

[Talbot]

Previous posts talk about large numbers of books on the sd card. As I posted before, I have the Sony Ereader, and the majority of my books are pdf. I have no problem with the embedded adobe mobile reader. I have a large number of books on my SD card, and yes it is convenient in some ways to be able to access my whole library.

However, reading a book on a SD card does demand more power than reading directly from the memory, not enough to be annoying, but enough to be noticed. This is not the difficult bit. The document management system does not lend itself to being able to sort out the library in anything other than an alphabetical system of each book. This is fine if your library is a few hundred, it sucks big time if your library is several thousand.

 

[NornaBiron]

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=123

I have a kobo glo and use calibre for library management. Battery lasts for at least two weeks of heavy reading - several hours a day - with wifi off. Getting and loading books is easy, screen is easily viewable in all light conditions with the built in led front light. Charges from 12 volt in a couple of hours.

Check out the above link for lots of advice on which to buy and even more advice on how to use it when you've got it!

 

[Contest1]

I,m very impressed with my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7in.
Kindle app, works well.
Usual music, video etc.
Internet via wi fi or via bluetooth phone link.
GPS for my Navionics Charts.
I don,t bother with the lap top anymore.
Not sure how robust it is but they are good value.

 

[sam_uk]

The document management system does not lend itself to being able to sort out the library in anything other than an alphabetical system of each book. This is fine if your library is a few hundred, it sucks big time if your library is several thousand.

Again if you root your Sony device (link above) you get several additional options, sort by author, the date last read etc etc.

Reading on phone/ tablet is allot better if you turn the back ground black and text white. It saves battery

Have you got a source for that? I believe that on most LCD screens a black background actually uses _more_ power. Ref: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-black-is

 

[SteveTibbetts]

I own a Kindle and when I got the Ipad donated it to the missus when I found the Kindle app was just as good. When the missus got an ipad as well (the mini) and downloaded the kindle app the original kindle then got relegated to the shelf.

With the ipad I have kindle app, Navionics for planning, tides, etc, Email and web when I can be bothered.

Battery life not an issue, when it does eventually need charging I plug it into the boat. The boat battery has the advantage of charging from the in-board Diesel engine. - something I'm glad I listened to wise man about some time ago. Even if he has now changed his tune

 

[onesea]

Have you got a source for that? I believe that on most LCD screens a black background actually uses _more_ power. Ref: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-black-is

Nope none what so ever, it comes from practical observation.

Having read 1 or 2 books on my phone. In practice might be because you get bugged less by the brightness so turn the screen brightness down so use less battery but either way it works for me. Its an easier read I wish I could do it to these forums, proof enough for me...

 

[lustyd]

I've had 3 Sony readers over the years and would highly recommend the Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Glo despite never using them other than in a shop. Sony used to make premium devices but have lagged behind and will likely disapear before long. The lit screens are amazing and will work in winter inside the boat without the light on, candles (even a Dylan array of tealights...) won't be enough for an ereader.

As an aside, buy a tupperware box and something soft. While sailing put the electronic gubbins inside with the soft items and they will live to fight another day. eInk screens are very fragile so not really small boat friendly but I believe Amazon (and know Sony) replace them FOC if you explain the breakage in the correct light. Mine, for instance, did not break while boating in sub zero temperatures with copious wine but rather sitting on a table overnight in a pet/child-less household.

 

[lustyd]

Have you got a source for that? I believe that on most LCD screens a black background actually uses _more_ power. Ref: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-black-is

Quite right. Although on very modern TV screens the backlight is localised, generally portable LCD devices use a single backlight so black and white are the same from a power perspective. In theory black would need more power to block the light but this is negligable compared to the backlight being on.

 

[alan_d]

+1 however SWMBO is a kindle killer. Don't know how she does it but she's on her fourth one now.......

Does she read it in the bath?

 

[SteveTibbetts]

I've had 3 Sony readers over the years and would highly recommend the Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Glo despite never using them other than in a shop. Sony used to make premium devices but have lagged behind and will likely disapear before long. The lit screens are amazing and will work in winter inside the boat without the light on, candles (even a Dylan array of tealights...) won't be enough for an ereader.

As an aside, buy a tupperware box and something soft. While sailing put the electronic gubbins inside with the soft items and they will live to fight another day. eInk screens are very fragile so not really small boat friendly but I believe Amazon (and know Sony) replace them FOC if you explain the breakage in the correct light. Mine, for instance, did not break while boating in sub zero temperatures with copious wine but rather sitting on a table overnight in a pet/child-less household.

I broke my tesco bought kindle by dragging a pressure point across the screen, totally my fault. I was prepared to pay to have it fixed and told the man at Amazon that I'd damaged an item bought from elsewhere and I'd like to send it for repair. They sent me a new one within 48hrs, collected the old one and sent me a mail confirming nothing to be paid. .. But I still use the Ipatch for reading books, posting this, etc