Kindle or tablet

[maxi77]

Or get an ebook reader that reads epub format and get electronic library books for free!
Mike

You can get plenty of Kindle books for free too, I am just waiting to get back to the UK where there is a disk with thousands of books for my Kindle just waiting for me.

 

[Roberto]

additional question

An additional question: apart from reading e-books, what devices (kindle? e-reader ?)are capable of displaying pdf files, and images like jpg, bmp.. in a readable form ?

If I have an image or pdf which is in A4 format, how is it displayed ? Is it de-zoomed and shown in full in the display format (which might make images too small to be readable) ? or does the display keep the original full size and shows the images like through a rectangular magnifying glass ?

thanks

 

[Skysail]

You can email A4 pdf files to a Kindle, and they display quite well with some scrolling if necessary, you can zoom in too.

 

[ianj99]

What about 'talking books'?

Apart from limited titles, is being read to not the way to go!

http://www.audible.co.uk

You can even use your 'mind's eye' to visualize rather than having to use your 'real eyes' to read..

I'm tempted to give it ago with Tom Cunliffe's Sailing, Yachts & Yarns, narrated by Tom himself.

Has anyone tried it?

 

[l'escargot]

An additional question: apart from reading e-books, what devices (kindle? e-reader ?)are capable of displaying pdf files, and images like jpg, bmp.. in a readable form ?

If I have an image or pdf which is in A4 format, how is it displayed ? Is it de-zoomed and shown in full in the display format (which might make images too small to be readable) ? or does the display keep the original full size and shows the images like through a rectangular magnifying glass ?

thanks

I read pdfs on my Kindle, most of my technical manual are on it. Not sure about picture files as I have never needed to try but you could always convert them to pdf on the computer first and then view them on the kindle.

As others have said e-readers and tablets are for different things, get the one that meets your specific needs most of the time - if you mostly want to read books get a Kindle although you can internet, email etc, as well, if you mostly want to view pictures, internet, email etc get a tablet although you can read books as well.

Or ideally get both - I have a Kindle and an iPad and would never view one as a replacement for the other.

 

[Roberto]

thank you Skysail and Escargot, I'll buy one reader. Likewise, I have loads of documents as pdf, user manuals etc and a lot of scans of paper charts, starting the PC just for reading a couple of pages is nonsense.

regards

 

[billmacfarlane]

I must be the only person on this forum who doesn't like the Kindle Paperwhite. I have a Kindle which I love but due to needing more light to read because of growing cataracts, thought the Paperwhite would be the business. Tried one but couldn't' get on with the way it changed pages. I read fairly fast and the page transition got on my nerves. I bought Kindle Fire HD primarily as an e- reader and the fact that I'm writing this on the Kindle speaks for the versatility of a small tablet. Battery charging isn't a big issue as I have a charger on the bedside table both at home and also on the boat. If you' 're interested in a Paperwhite try before you buy.

 

[pagoda]

thank you Skysail and Escargot, I'll buy one reader. Likewise, I have loads of documents as pdf, user manuals etc and a lot of scans of paper charts, starting the PC just for reading a couple of pages is nonsense.

regards

I have a lot of boat equipment manuals on PDF, as opposed to paper. I put them on the Kindle.
I've found grovelling around in the vicinity of the engine - with the Kindle near at hand is quite useful. It's a 3g Kindle, but while the Wifi is switched off - the battery lasts for ages ( like 2- 3 weeks reading every evening)

Graeme

 

[wotayottie]

Or get an ebook reader that reads epub format and get electronic library books for free!
Mike

So where can you download the latest paperback for free? Leaving aside the pirate systems of course.

 

[maxi77]

What about 'talking books'?

Apart from limited titles, is being read to not the way to go!

http://www.audible.co.uk

You can even use your 'mind's eye' to visualize rather than having to use your 'real eyes' to read..

I'm tempted to give it ago with Tom Cunliffe's Sailing, Yachts & Yarns, narrated by Tom himself.

Has anyone tried it?

Yes audible is good used to use them on long night watches, and being an Amazon system they will transfer to any device registered to your Amazon account like kindle books. Mrs Maxi has all her audible books on her kindle as well as her MP3

 

[HoratioHB]

Another vote for Kindle - especially one with 3g. Not only can you get the next book in the series when you've finished the one you enjoyed - literally within less than a minute but the web browser can be made to work. last year all the way down to the Canaries I could check my email for free as Amazon pay for the connection. Oh and there are some really good books to read - have I mentioned on this forum anywhere, that five of them are mine?

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

No it isn't. It's a slightly worse tablet which is still **** for reading books. Being smaller won't somehow make it better at books and therefore a better compromise than the proper iPad. As has been said numerous times on the thread, if you want books, buy books or an eReader. If you want internet, video, email etc then get a tablet. If you plan to do both then buy both. If you want to do both buy can't afford both then you'll have a crappy user experience at least some of the time.

As probably the only person on this forum that has an iPad, iPad mini, kindle and kindle fire I can tell you that the iPad mini is, as I said a good compromise.

It's not as good for books as a kindle. It's not as good for web stuff as an iPad, but it does both jobs reasonably well.

That's what a "compromise"is !

 

[agurney]

My wife and I took Kindle 3Gs on holiday a few weeks ago:

- in addition to eBooks, the Kindles were used for music or audio books on the plane with noise reduction headphones, very relaxing
- the 3G kindle gave free internet access anywhere there was a phone signal, so we could pick up emails and news around the middle east without having to buy SIMs for phones, or rack up roaming charges.
- PDF versions of travel guides were kept on the Kindles for reference
- Long battery life so didn't have to constantly look for somewhere to charge them
- take up little space, and fit in a pocket

 

[lustyd]

As probably the only person on this forum that has an iPad, iPad mini, kindle and kindle fire I can tell you that the iPad mini is, as I said a good compromise.

It's not as good for books as a kindle. It's not as good for web stuff as an iPad, but it does both jobs reasonably well.

That's what a "compromise"is !

I have all of those and more, and a compromise is only a compromise (as I've repeatedly said) if you have any intention of doing the other things. If you want to read books and only read books then the iPad mini is a terrible device. As I also said in my post, it's not a better compromise than the full iPad, it's just smaller with a worse screen. As I said, if you can't afford both and absolutely must have all features then you'll spend at least some of your life annoyed. More often than not this results in not using the device. The Tube and trains are good places to research this, you'll see lots of people browsing the web! Watching video etc. on iPads, reading books on eReaders, and listening to music on their phones. You hardly ever see people reading books on iPad, and almost never see Android tablets at all. Sales and marketing info suggest that sales are strong for Android tablets, and that iPads can do books so I'd suggest that the reason is down to user experience and people choosing not to use their devices in those ways.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I have all of those and more, and a compromise is only a compromise (as I've repeatedly said) if you have any intention of doing the other things. If you want to read books and only read books then the iPad mini is a terrible device.

OMG. Do you not understand the word?

A compromise is "Something that combines qualities or elements of different things".

Do you really have an iPad, an iPad mini, a Kindle, a Kindle fire and several other devices? I doubt it.

 

[oldharry]

Tablet vs Kindle/ Reader. The big difference is generally (not always), battery life.

The average tablet does between 8 and 15 hours. Most readers can achgeive three or four times that: If you se it fro readinga lot, then you need to be near some means pof charging a tablet most days. Readers can go for weeks.

As others have said: if you want to read, buy a reader. If you want everything else buy a Tablet (with a few exceptions!).

I have a Kobo ereader from W H Smith £10 cheaper than the basic Kindle, and prefer it to my wifes Kindle. better screen IMHO. But both of them are just readers. They will get other stuff like email, but not very easily.

A tablet does all that, but the screens not so good fro a reader as others have said.

My lovely other half gave a me one of the new Lenovo Idea Pads for Christmas. £150 at PC World. Screen not quite so good as the Nexus or Galaxy, rather more directional, but has 3G and Wi Fi, and so far very impressed with it. Makes quitea good reader too, particularly if you switch it to night reading, black screen with white lettering, so no glare. Nice! I think most reader Apps on tablets will do this, a point in favour of going down the tablet route.

In addition to the Kobo desk top, I use the free Calibre programme to organise my books. Download anything in almost any format (except copyright protected kindle) and Calibre will convert it instantly to the whichever format works best for you on whatever reader you have. Well worth it, specially as its free!

 

[chubby]

Any comments on alternaivers to the kindle if you want an e reader? The kindle seems the market leader but are you tied to amazon/kindle? I might be better disposed if they paid their share of taxes? The Nook seems a good piece of kit but I am told the software is clunky, do established high street booksellars like WH Smioth, Blackwells and Waterstones do e books and what format/hardware is needed?

 

[Fantasie 19]

So where can you download the latest paperback for free? Leaving aside the pirate systems of course.

Some public libraries do Kindle book loans.. not all of them, but some do... no idea how...

 

[Houleaux]

So where can you download the latest paperback for free? Leaving aside the pirate systems of course.

If you search the Kindle store on Amazon for books within a particular genre and then sort the results by Price: Low to high, you get a huge selection of free books and books costing just a few pence to choose from. If you're looking for a particular book, of course, you'll have to pay whatever the going rate is, but it's usually less than the paperback version.

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow "over 200,000 popular Kindle books" free of charge - not that this is sufficient to justify membership in my opinion!

 

[Fantasie 19]

Any comments on alternaivers to the kindle if you want an e reader? The kindle seems the market leader but are you tied to amazon/kindle?

No - use the aforementioned Calibre application to manage your ebooks and you can just change the format to be able to read it on your Kindle...

I might be better disposed if they paid their share of taxes?

Name me a large corporation, US or otherwise, that does...

The Nook seems a good piece of kit but I am told the software is clunky, do established high street booksellars like WH Smioth, Blackwells and Waterstones do e books and what format/hardware is needed?

Waterstone's sells Kindles...