Tablet Reader - Flame war begins here

[cody.wms]

Fits in jersey pocket. Barely. Not too heavy.

FWIW, and this is getting beyond e-reader and tablet land, but I've been real pleased with my Note II (except for the cracked screen). For me, it beats carrying a tablet and phone. My iPad went to the gf and haven't missed it one bit.

[jitahs]

As others noted, the access and syncing to your kindle library from a variety of devices is very nice. so where exactly do you need to use this reader? work? bed? airport? lazy boy? places where you won't have internet? that might shape your decision of what you need (not what you want).



yeah, but I already carry a work phone, personal phone, lunch, wallet, and sometimes clothing layers. I don't need to schlep a mini tablet to work too.

Mostly my comment is addressed to anyone of us bike gear heads it may help who're on the fence about such a device.

For you to carry all that in your jersey pockets is impressive.

[jitahs]

FWIW, and this is getting beyond e-reader and tablet land, but I've been real pleased with my Note II (except for the cracked screen). For me, it beats carrying a tablet and phone. My iPad went to the gf and haven't missed it one bit.

I like that thing. Since I never talk on the phone and Wi Fi is seemingly every 14 feet here (responses to this thread have been types from Safeway and Rei), the tab/Kindle thing is viable.

That said the fewer of e- devices the better.

[robin3mj]

The e-book situation can be both awesome and mind boggingly frustrating. This book costs $5 more than the paperback version. They actually want more for the version that has a marginal cost of near zero. I also know that the book is gonna be pretty awful, but I'm invested in the series at this point.

But do check out the e-collection at your local library (libraries). For me, both Fairfax County and Alexandria have good stuff. I need to renew my Arlington County card, and explore what I can get from the Baltimore ones. That's a lot of DC specific info, but it's worth checking out what's around you/your best friend/siblings, etc. if you live near a major library network.

Does Arlington Library support the Kindle format yet? When I left, it was "coming soon" and they had Sony/e-pub only.

OT- Arlington's online catalog and book reserving system was 2nd to none. Search book, choose pickup branch, place hold, and you had 5 days to pick it up once they emailed you. Chicago tries to do the same, but availability (even of non new releases) and actual fulfillment and accuracy hovers below the 70% level.

[cody.wms]

That said the fewer of e- devices the better.

That's what it comes down to with me. I went pre-paid a little while ago (cheepnis alert - I save almost $60 a month with this vs. a post paid plan). When I travel I try to do it as lightly as possible, my last two trips have been out of this bag, more or less, so only one device helps. Leaves more room for camera stuff. This might be the most first world problem thing I've ever typed.

Does Arlington Library support the Kindle format yet? When I left, it was "coming soon" and they had Sony/e-pub only.

OT- Arlington's online catalog and book reserving system was 2nd to none. Search book, choose pickup branch, place hold, and you had 5 days to pick it up once they emailed you. Chicago tries to do the same, but availability (even of non new releases) and actual fulfillment and accuracy hovers below the 70% level.

Arlington is pretty much incredible. I've always used libraries, but Arlington (and FFX and Alexandria to a touch lesser extent) are really great. But yes, Arlington FINALLY got Kindle stuff figured out. Ok, now I gotta go by there next week and renew my card.


Also, going back a bit, Amazon Prime is pretty awesome. I order a ton of stuff through it, since you can get about anything two day or next day. BUT the big thing is that if you use lots of online video, like Netflix, you can get most, but not all, thorough the service. Being able to drop netflix is a way for me to save around $100 a year. Now I can burn that $100 on other stupid crap.

[Too Tall]

Excellent discussion gents. I'm catching up this morning, sucking coffee and thinking my instinct to get the latest e-reader from Kindle might be the ticket. Nexus does look great, I very much enjoy my Samsung Galaxy. Shame that Nexus 10 is WiFi only...I'd be tempted.

[znfdl]

Late to the discussion, I have an original kindle (which I really like), bought the wofe a Kindle Fire (she never uses it) and she has a Ipad 3rd gen. The easiest to read is the Kindle. I wish that my Kindle would die so that I can get a paperwhite.

[Matthew J]

As others noted, the access and syncing to your kindle library from a variety of devices is very nice. so where exactly do you need to use this reader? work? bed? airport? lazy boy? places where you won't have internet? that might shape your decision of what you need (not what you want).

Don't want to beat this horse to death, but for many readers, tablet screens hurt the eyes if reading for an extended period of time. E-ink Kindles are the same as a book or good newsprint.

The new Kindles and small tablets are small and light enough that it is not to big a deal to carry both while riding.

As others mention above, tablets may well obviate the need for a dedicated cell phone. When the next smaller tablets come out, I am seriously considering getting rid of my full size tablet and cell phone in favor of whichever small tablet I like best. The plan is to port my cell number over to google talk and use that for the few times I actually make telephone calls. Saving money is not all that big a concern for me, but it helps that even a max tablet data plan is less than many phone plans.

[davids]

Excellent discussion gents. I'm catching up this morning, sucking coffee and thinking my instinct to get the latest e-reader from Kindle might be the ticket. Nexus does look great, I very much enjoy my Samsung Galaxy. Shame that Nexus 10 is WiFi only...I'd be tempted.

TT,

You & the Queen can demo my Nexus 7 next week, if you can wait that long.

I got the wifi only ($200 and meets my needs), but for $100 more you get full connectivity and more memory. Even with my middle-aged vision I can live w/the smaller screen.

[XJBaylor]

...thinking my instinct to get the latest e-reader from Kindle might be the ticket...

As long as you are ok with the limitations (best for books read front to back with little referencing between chapters) the kindle e-ink is the way to go. My tech loving father has given my wife and I an iPad and kindle fire in the last couple of years. Both are rarely used. Our e-ink Kindle's on the other hand are used on a daily basis.

That said, I have used an iPad Mini a lot in the last few weeks, and it is, to me, the best in class right now. I realize that it is kind of a neutered version of the ipad (lower res, slower, etc.) but the form factor is just so nice. It could not replace my kindle...but it could pretty much relegate my laptop to desktop duties. If they update it this year and offer the current model at a lower price I would seriously consider buying one and giving away our other tablets.

[robin3mj]

Just remembered another positive for the Kindle.
If you get the 3G + Wifi version, you can browse the web via 3G pretty much worldwide.
It's slow, and the browser is clunky, but you don't have to pay for data.

This is nice (for me) in SW France, to be able to check Gmail and baseball scores without forking over big bucks for int'l data plans.

[rec head]

Okay I skipped a bunch of posts because I already know the answer. PAPERWHITE for reading. I got one for Xmas after using an older Kindle for a few years. An accessory light built into a cover costs way too much and doesn't work as well as the back lit screen. Plus back light is less annoying to whoever you are sharing a dark room with.

I'm writing this from a nexus 7 which is nice too but if you're invested in the ios ecosystem then you may want to stay there.

[theflashunc]

The Nexus 7 I have is probably my favorite piece of electronic geekery. Really can't beat it for the money.

I've read for extended periods on it with no issues.

[jitahs]

Excellent discussion gents. I'm catching up this morning, sucking coffee and thinking my instinct to get the latest e-reader from Kindle might be the ticket. Nexus does look great, I very much enjoy my Samsung Galaxy. Shame that Nexus 10 is WiFi only...I'd be tempted.

The nexus fam exists only to capture your data. Giving them away, cutting costs by omission, gets them that. Can't see much of a demand for an hpsa 10.

Incidentally Google Now is amazing. Was a skeptic, but after receiving multiple push notifications of stuff I actually need (flight status, a to b then b to a travel time, weather at destination, events at each location) with a simple swipe up makes you think how much time you waste looking these things up separately. And how much anxiety it can cause.

[Too Tall]

Finally found a store that had all three tablets for side by side reading comparison. There is no comparison, the paperwhite is the device you want to read "like a book". The display is soothing, natural and it has no ADD tempting features ;)

I'm 3% into reading Truman.

Nexus is looking good for the rest of the story.

[davids]

Finally found a store that had all three tablets for side by side reading comparison. There is no comparison, the paperwhite is the device you want to read "like a book". The display is soothing, natural and it has no ADD tempting features ;)

I'm 3% into reading Truman.

Nexus is looking good for the rest of the story.

Copycat.

2013-02-10 08.41.32.jpg

[Too Tall]

Where do you think I got the title???

[davids]

Where do you think I got the title???

OK. As long as your grocery list isn't the same, too...

[sine]

Just picked up an Apple 4 for my wife. The mini is too mini.

Now, we use our apple's (taping here on a 3) for more than just reading so....

Oh, both wireless only. Verizon already gets a decent car payment each month......

[jitahs]

A couple of semi-relevant but random asides:

The new OS is out for Nexuses; know how you wish you had more battery life but are stuck with what you got? They just gave us 2 more hours on the 7, just like that.

Further shilling Google products, this illustrates what Google Now does: