Ask HN: What is the best device for reading technical e-books?
I love the way how iPad works with PDFs,epubs etc. It is a glorified reader but works perfectly. I wish something like kindle would match the experience.
They have hidden internal MicroSD cards. A few screws and you can upgrade your device pretty easily.
I disliked the "activation" process of setting up an account stuff and needing to connect to the Internet, but there are workarounds for that. http://uscoffings.net/clc/tech/embedded/kobo-touch/
Pros: 1. Native pdf reader. It is not an epub reader, but epubs can be converted to pdfs easily (the difference between epub and pdf is that the latter is formatted to a particular page size)
2. A-4/Letter sized documents can be read as is. I don't want to scroll.
3. The advantages of an e-ink display. (i) Good contrast. My eyes don't hurt the way they do when I stare at a lit screen. (ii) I don't use the built-in wifi, and I think I charge it once a month.
4. Supports handwritten annotations. The stylus is responsive, the resolution is high, the lag is small, and the friction is just right ... it feels like writing on paper. I use the device to write lengthy notes (tens of pages).
5. Multiple tabs openable on the same document. I keep separate tabs open on the bibliography and on important figures to be referenced.
6. Touch screen - standard gestures for zooming, scrolling and panning.
7. Extensible memory (SDCard) - I have tons of documents, but haven't come anywhere close to filling up the internal 4G mem.
Cons:
1. Price. $850 could buy a whole lotta other things.
2. The disadvantages of an e-ink display: While it is snappier than the kindle, there's plenty of room for improvement. I was beside myself with excitement when I had first heard of Mirasol. where are they now?
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And if anyone from Sony's reading this, I'd like to be able to select pieces of a drawing and drag them around. I'd like to be able to reorganize my notes. It would be so trivial for you to add this feature.
Where and how are the annotations saved? Can you bring them back out of the device and see them on the PDF still?
Thanks
The annotations are saved on the pdf file itself. I write all my notes that way.
I would still be worried about battery life (as it requires much more effort to keep an eye on than on an e-ink reader).
And do not forget about the screen differences. It's still more pleasant to look at an e-ink than on the traditional display.
Previously I used the original Nexus 7 but found it to be too slow and too small.