PDA

View Full Version : Ebook readers good for textbook?



Nick_Jinn
June 2nd, 2010, 11:51 AM
Which if any of the ebook readers are good for using as a replacement for textbooks? I dont really need a PDA or anything, though I wouldnt mind one. I am just looking for the cheapest option that would work the best for a replacement for chemistry textbooks.....a 5" one probably wont work, and larger than 6 is preferable, though a 6" could worked if it could zoom and had reflow and could also render at least black and white images. Zoom and a touch screen for scrolling would be essential.

Something the size of a Kindle DX would be ideal, but I think an Irex Iliad might work.


What are some other economical options?

Nick_Jinn
June 2nd, 2010, 12:12 PM
I am considering a Kindle, but will they really delete books off your device if you end up 'sharing' an electronic file with a friend for the semester to save on costs?

Do you think an Iliad by Irex is big enough? I would love one of those.

The free 3g with a Nook sounds awesome, but how well would it handle textbook style PDFs with many rows on a single page and large images that need to be zoomed in to see?


A full touch screen would be nice.




Are there open source programs that could zoom in on PDF pages that I could install on a linux based system like this one?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10240799-1.html

Nick_Jinn
June 2nd, 2010, 10:26 PM
Bump.

Anyone want to talk about e-readers in general? What would you pick if you were using it as a textbook replacement? What is the most economical choice for something that would work for that purpose?

markbahnman
June 2nd, 2010, 11:48 PM
I'd LOVE to replace my textbooks with ereaders, but I'm not a fan of the whole electronic ink and the serious lag on the ereaders I've dealt with. I was actually looking forward to Microsoft's Courier Digital Journal before they axed any hope of that. Nice dual screen tablet would work perfectly for ebooks I think.

Something like the entourage eDGe dualbook (http://androidandme.com/2009/12/news/hands-on-the-entourage-edge-dualbook/) is kind of a compromise, part electronic ink part full color tablet. Don't know how well this'd work for textbooks though.

Nick_Jinn
June 4th, 2010, 01:02 AM
I'd LOVE to replace my textbooks with ereaders, but I'm not a fan of the whole electronic ink and the serious lag on the ereaders I've dealt with. I was actually looking forward to Microsoft's Courier Digital Journal before they axed any hope of that. Nice dual screen tablet would work perfectly for ebooks I think.

Something like the entourage eDGe dualbook (http://androidandme.com/2009/12/news/hands-on-the-entourage-edge-dualbook/) is kind of a compromise, part electronic ink part full color tablet. Don't know how well this'd work for textbooks though.


That thing looks awesome.

However, at that size and price it had better be a laptop replacement (as its certainly no desktop replacement). Its more like a glorified PDA with smartphone based technology in the body of a touchscreen laptop with an ebook reader where the keyboard would be.

Its actually pretty awesome exactly ow it is. I am just wondering if I should sell my laptop and Wacom and use this as a replacement, or if I should keep my laptop and just get a Kindle DX for $300. I already have a kickass desktop (not cutting edge, but dual core Athlon-2 and the video card is worth as much as the brain). I dont need the laptop as a desktop replacement. The question is whether this device will work well for word processing and taking care of web-business, photo and video editing, ect.


Its a pretty awesome choice for textboks....maybe the best choice out there.

Nick_Jinn
June 4th, 2010, 01:04 AM
Anyone want to buy an Acer Aspire, 4540, 2.2 ghrz dual core, excellent video card, wifi, 4gb DDR2 ram, DVD burner, 14 inch, warranty still good?

Its like new. Paid $600 for it this year.



I would love to buy a device that isnt microsoft.....'Using' linux, even full time, just isnt good enough if you still bought windows with your PC.