Hardware E-Book Reader

[Doraku]

I am not sure if this device is widely used to warrant its own thread, but I don't think (or at least I hope so) I am the only one around who loves reading his e-book in an e-ink reader such as Kindle or Nook or Kobo rather than tablets or PC. It's a pretty much a gadget that I use extensively on a daily basis, since I am not really a fan of carrying physical books when I am commuting or need to read several books in one sitting.

I have been using Kindle Paperwhite 2 since mid-2014, while before that I used Kindle Keyboard. I think Paperwhite 2 gives the most bang for your buck compared to other kinds of e-book reader. I am curious about Kobo though, since it supports ePub format as well, but it's pricier than Paperwhite and from some reviews that I read, Paperwhite is still superior in terms of quality as well.


Do you have an ebook reader? What kind of ebook reader do you have?

 

[z.5]

I am a huge Kindle fan - before the Kindle, I barely read.
Now, I read most days.
It is really convinient to be able to carry round 1000 books in your back pocket. It is even more awesome to also be able to obtain new books whenever and wherever you are (with free 3G connection).

 

[kkck]

I have one though I haven't used it recently. It's an excellent tool though unfortunately it would seem still needs to be improved considering there is some real science out there that suggests retention from reading from an eBook is inferior to retention from an actual book(and the world is an objectively worst place when pretentious douchebags and hipsters are right). The eBook won't be replacing books until that little thing is solved or at least it shouldn't.

 

[z.5]

Dunno if you are talking about the same research that I think you are (Anne Mangen's research), but if so, I would suggest taking her findings with a grain of salt.
For example, it doesn't help that out of her 50 participants in her study, only 2 were used to reading on a digital e-book reader...

There used to be the same belief with people reading on screens, but later studies have found a far reduced (if significant) effect - probably do to the younger generation being more 'used' to reading on screens...

I am not sure I buy that the tactility of a book is so essential in helping to retain position in a story/text.

 

[Doraku]

In my own experience, it depends on what kind of "reading" that you're doing. If you're doing a superficial reading i.e., skimming or reading for fun, using an e-Reader makes reading simpler and more enjoyable because you can carry more than multiple books in one device. On the other hand, when I am doing analytical or syntopical reading, I find reading physical papers to be more comfortable, maybe because I'm more used to it but another reason is I like to put notes and scribbles in physical paper when I am doing reading for academic/research stuff. It is still possible in e-Reader, sure, but it's just not something that I used to.

 

[z.5]

Yeah... Pdf on Kindle is death...

I wouldn't try to read papers on anything that isn't, well, paper...

 

[kkck]

Dunno if you are talking about the same research that I think you are (Anne Mangen's research), but if so, I would suggest taking her findings with a grain of salt.
For example, it doesn't help that out of her 50 participants in her study, only 2 were used to reading on a digital e-book reader...

There used to be the same belief with people reading on screens, but later studies have found a far reduced (if significant) effect - probably do to the younger generation being more 'used' to reading on screens...

I am not sure I buy that the tactility of a book is so essential in helping to retain position in a story/text.

I don't recall the specific research. Back when I investigated this some time ago I went to a number of sites and sources and they all seemed to agree that there was a difference. What there wasn't any agreement on was on the cause of the difference. Maybe I got this wrong? In which case should already be cutting down on books as obsolete things of the past.

As far as screens go what I understand is that screens are more tiring because of all the light they are emitting. In turn kindles emit little to not light, kinda like with books. I am not sure if retention is different between screen types but if the tiring is true then it would have an effect after some time of reading. I guess I need to read up on all of this again and see what has changed.

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:40 PM ----------

Yeah... Pdf on Kindle is death...

I wouldn't try to read papers on anything that isn't, well, paper...

I never had trouble with PDFs and kindle... I would have thought that by now the kinks of it would be solved. Back when I needed this what I did was simply make the text bigger on my computer so that when I viewed the paper on my kindle I wouldn't have to zoom in or anything to read. I guess the problem is when you can't edit a text....

 

[z.5]

I have had no trouble with PDF books, but most of the pdf's I have to read are scientific literatures.
Even with a kindle paperwhite, navigating the pdf to compare figures with text/whatever is a complete nightmare.

And skipping around to check references and other things...

Also, annotating is far, far, easier with a good old biro.

 

[SharkBait]

I use a Kindle Fire HD that Ive had for three years now. I love reading stuff on it. I may upgrade end of the year to a newer one though sinces its outdated and slow internet browsing etc. Manga I buy looks gret on it too.

 

[kkck]

Well, the kindle fire is not really an ebook... its a pretty respectable tablet if you are willing to tolerate the limited apps though.