e readers - advice please

[cmr_for3]

All,

I'm a big reader but really only of physical books. I've acquired one or two pdf's of journal articles that acquaintances have written and want to know the best way to read them long term without eye strain. Does a dedicated e reader have a far superior screen than a tablet?

Are there are any e readers that just allow one to drag and drop files on?

Google is giving me a wide range of answers. I thought folks here would know their stuff - that is usually the case!

Thanks

[Cockney Sparrow]

On our kindle paperwhite, I can send a PDF to read on it, but it doesn't expand the font size. It will expand the page, but then you move the screen to one side and another for every line so its too tedious. I read a service engineer praise the kindle for holding the many manuals he needs- perhaps he took a magnifying glass.

For a book properly formatted for kindle the light is good for night time reading, and the black text is better to see in day/sun light. But it no doubt depends how much use you'd get out of it.

[Bella Kemp]

I highly recommend the kindle paperwhite for downloading books and for ease of reading - especially hefty tomes in bed! You can also send docs from your e mail, but I don't know about drag and drop I'm afraid.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I bought a Kobo e-reader, as public libraries used the e-book format. Kindle is just another attempt by Amazon to corner the market. Mine is quite old now, so I’ll probably buy a replacement shortly.

[Dave2002]

All,

I'm a big reader but really only of physical books. I've acquired one or two pdf's of journal articles that acquaintances have written and want to know the best way to read them long term without eye strain. Does a dedicated e reader have a far superior screen than a tablet?

Are there are any e readers that just allow one to drag and drop files on?

Google is giving me a wide range of answers. I thought folks here would know their stuff - that is usually the case!

Thanks

If you want to read out of doors, then there are few models which will work satisfacorily. The original Kindles were OK - and I have used those in very hot and bright countries, such as India and parts of Africa. Other Kindles except the ones which specifically claim they'll work out of doors, are hopeless in an outdoors setting - even in the UK. I think there are a few other models from other suppliers which are effective out of doors. Most aren't.

If you only want to read indoors, then the size of the tablet or e-reader might be a more important factor. I use iPad Pros for indoor use, but they wouldn't endear me to others if I tried to use them while standing on a tube train - though that's not something many of us do right now. iPad Pros are great for serious mobile work at meetings - though I have to say that I tended to use those as well as a Macbook laptop if I went to meetings. However, I've not needed to work in that way for a couple of years now.

[cmr_for3]

I bought a Kobo e-reader, as public libraries used the e-book format. Kindle is just another attempt by Amazon to corner the market. Mine is quite old now, so I’ll probably buy a replacement shortly.

I have been looking at Kobos. Can I ask what software you use to organise your titles?

[Dave2002]

You mentioned pdfs in msg 1. They may not format well into small screen devices. Indeed, I'm not quite sure how they would map to a small e-reader - maybe someone else will know. Otherwise I think you'd need at least an iPad or similar. If, however, the pdfs can be reformatted, then I guess that most e-readers could be made to work. Sorry to hurl that into the mix.

[cmr_for3]

You mentioned pdfs in msg 1. They may not format well into small screen devices. Indeed, I'm not quite sure how they would map to a small e-reader - maybe someone else will know. Otherwise I think you'd need at least an iPad or similar. If, however, the pdfs can be reformatted, then I guess that most e-readers could be made to work. Sorry to hurl that into the mix.

Hi Dave

Just noted this and your earlier message. I've decided to see if my Neuxs 7 tablet still holds charge and see if that is good enough. You make a good point about screen size.