e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:00 am  

as a big reader i have been thinking about getting an e reader/tablet but don't want to spend a fortune on a kindle fire if it doesn't suit me.
there are loads of these touchscreen tablet/readers on ebay but i'm not sure which are any good so was wondering if anyone had bought a mid range one they could recommend

many thanks

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:49 am  

As always when this issue comes up I'll ask the question - do you live within the Leeds Council boundary and if so can you or do you have a Leeds Libraries card ?

If the answer is yes then your decision may be swayed towards buying a reader with ePub compatibility, I've read hundreds of books on my eReader now and haven't paid for one of them.

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:53 am  

To answer the main point of your question though, the issue of whether or not a tablet pc can act as efficiently as an eReader for the sole purpose of reading ebooks - its debatable, the whole point of eReaders when they were first launched was the "paper-like" reading surface and its minimal battery use due to not having a back-lit screen, the argument being that this was much less tiring on the eyes and more like reading the page of a real book than reading from a computer screen.

Will a tablet offer you that, I don't know the answer and I'm intruiged.

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 8:37 am  

There is a sub £70 Kindle around, buy that.

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:30 am  

JerryChicken wrote:

To answer the main point of your question though, the issue of whether or not a tablet pc can act as efficiently as an eReader for the sole purpose of reading ebooks - its debatable, the whole point of eReaders when they were first launched was the "paper-like" reading surface and its minimal battery use due to not having a back-lit screen, the argument being that this was much less tiring on the eyes and more like reading the page of a real book than reading from a computer screen.

Will a tablet offer you that, I don't know the answer and I'm intruiged.

True. Do not confuse a tablet such as the Kindle Fire or Ipad with an E-Reader such as a Kindle or Nook. They are entirely different products.

If you want to buy stuff, get an Amazon Kindle (any that isn't really a tablet) and if you want to use the library get something that uses e-pub format.

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:33 am  

Big Graeme wrote:

There is a sub £70 Kindle around, buy that.

Yep, I've got that. If all you're going to do is read on it then that fits the bill. I have the Amazon app on my tablet but I rarely ever read on it, they're just too heavy and cumbersome.

My local council don't do ebook libary lending but if they did then Mr. Chicken's advice would be worth following. Loads of free books on Amazon now though.

[Pemps]

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:26 am  

Big Graeme wrote:

There is a sub £70 Kindle around, buy that.

This

My wife has one and it's fantastic. Before I bought it I looked on Amazon and Waterstones to see if the books she reads we're available. Waterstones fell short so it had to be a kindle. Battery life is amazing too.

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 1:14 pm  

Thanks for the advice.kindle it is

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 3:35 pm  

Anyone got a Nexus7 and what are they like for reading from? eyes wise

Re: e readers : Fri Jan 11, 2013 4:55 pm  

JACK DETH wrote:

Anyone got a Nexus7 and what are they like for reading from? eyes wise

All tablets are pretty much the same, the backlight gets you in the end, you can turn down the brightness to give yourself some relief but it isn't the same as a proper ereader.