Android How's your experience of reading pdf ebooks on a tablet?

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cool_dude

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I love to read books and hence I am thinking of buying a tablet. I mostly read magazines which are in pdf format. I hardly read any ebooks in epub format. I currently read them on my phone and on my desktop PC. But this has its own set of problems. When reading on phone, if I go ahead with the default size of the page, I can't read the text and can't see the details of an image. If I zoom in, I can see just a small part of the page at a time. If I read them on my computer, I have to sit in front of my PC on a chair and read them, which can get uncomfortable pretty quickly. Also, the monitor orientation is horizontal while the page orientation is vertical - this again is a problem.

Hence, I am thinking of buying a tablet. People who are using a tablet to read ebooks

1) Can you see a pdf page clearly on a 7" tablet? Are you able to read the text?
2) Are you comfortable holding the tablet in your hand and reading?
3) Does tablet screen resolution play a role? Should I get a 1280 x 800p laptop or 1024 x 600 will suffice?

Thanks for reading,
Abhi.
 
I hate using 7" tablet for any text related work. I own nexus 7 for the sole purpose of watching videos. But I prefer to use iPad for documents and such.
I would any day suggest you to go for iPad (not mini) or some other android 10" tab.
 
Have you tried actually buying hard copies of magazines?

And when you are done reading them, you can either keep them, or give them off to poor people like me. You also get free samples and posters with hard copies. :P
 
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. 1280X800 minimum resolution you should be looking at

I wouldnt recommend 10" tabs as they are difficult to hold IMO.
 
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I don't prefer reading magazines on a 7 inch tablets. There is not much difference when compared to say.. a Galaxy Note. You still have to zoom in to read content. Tried a Nexus 7 and wasn't happy reading Magazines on it.

I have a Xperia Tablet Z and a HP Omni 10, Both are Full HD tablets, but I prefer the XTZ more as it's super slim and super light.

Even on a 10 inch tab, sometimes the text is too small for portrait mode, and in landscape, you can't have a single page view obviously. But overall I'd suggest a 10" tablet if reading magazines is your primary purpose.
 
A 10.1 allows to read A4 in the same size that it is in real life. But it is a landscape reader. So you can read from the same distance as with real paper.

What size is the page for magazines ? in width its close to A4 but shorter in length. If its in single page format then you can read it easily, if its in two page format then you will have to adjust the size so that it display one page in landscape.

Since i read with the case on the tab is like 800gms, this is not for hand holding, it needs to be rested on something.

You can try using a cardboard cutout of different size on your laptop and then reduce font size to fit. This will give you an idea of what it will be like. Force yourself to read like that for some time.

The ideal tab will be is 9.7-10.1 and weigh not more than 250gms, we're not there yet.

My note 10 weighs 600gms, z2 is around 439gm, ipad air is 469 gms, even the latest nexus 7 is 290 gms. Samsung, Dell & Acer have come out with 8 inch tabs that are just under 300 gms.

an 8 inch tab is not a 10 inch tab.
 
I have an 8 incher tab. And it works pretty good as an e-reader. However after a while it does get heavy holding it in one hand.
 
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I read the entire A Song Of Ice And Fire series on my Transformer tab. It wasn't too bad, it was nice to have everything on your tablet but overtime reading from the tab, my eyes would dry up and go red if I read for too long without taking breaks(3-5hours). Weight was another big issue I had, my tab being made of metal meant holding it for too long would make your arm ache however because it was 10", I could always leave it on a desk/table and read from a distance due to the larger screen. All in all good experience, but I prefer paper books for the feels.
 
yeah , I have a nexus 2012 and its quite good to read ebooks on it and its quite useful :) .Magazines I didn't try but eBooks with the proper setting on adobe was a bliss :) .
 
I read pdf files on my 9.7" tablet. This has a 2048x resolution, about 95% of the reading involves technical documents - datasheets, lab notes, etc which have a combination of small graphics and lots of detail.

It works well for medium to long and is super handy for quick reference. I use the tablet for about 90% of the time, only turning on my machine once a day for a few hours for gaming or application use.
 
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I have read a lot of books on my 7" tablet. The experience is good as its just like holding the book and 10" is too big to hold and gets uncomfortable if you wanna read for a longer period.

1. Yes the page is clearly visible. There is a 'Text Reflow' option with many readers which arranges the text so that it fits in the screen with any font. You just have to scroll Up-down and not left-right. The amount of text that fits a page varies with the font size you choose. So font size is not a problem . I recommend Quickoffice Pro.
2. I'm comfortable with holding a 7" tablet but not a 10" one for a longer period of time.
3. 1024X600 will suffice.
 
I have used my BB Playbook primarily for reading and used to carry that during travelling. The resolution was 1024x600 and most of the time it was good enough for me. However, sometimes (for some specific ebooks) I felt 8/9 inch would have been nicer, but felt 10 inch was an overkill and a bit uncomfortable to hold in public places. So get something which fits in your budget and check out different sizes before your purchase.
 
Would agree with cranky,i also prefer reading journals and other articles that are in pdf on m ipad. Its easy for me . PS - I have the 9.7 inch ipad and not the mini .
 
Shubham1401 said:
I have read a lot of books on my 7" tablet. The experience is good as its just like holding the book and 10" is too big to hold and gets uncomfortable if you wanna read for a longer period.

1. Yes the page is clearly visible. There is a 'Text Reflow' option with many readers which arranges the text so that it fits in the screen with any font. You just have to scroll Up-down and not left-right. The amount of text that fits a page varies with the font size you choose. So font size is not a problem . I recommend Quickoffice Pro.
2. I'm comfortable with holding a 7" tablet but not a 10" one for a longer period of time.
3. 1024X600 will suffice.
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What is the page size of the books you read ? novels or similar will work, but A4 is harder.
 
You don't need to hold a 10 inch tablet. The screen is large and bright enough to be read from a couple feet away. It can be kept on your lap, a bed or table, the keyboard can be used with both hands. A smaller unit suffers from the double whammy of needing to be used in the hand because of the smaller screen, and being large and requiring a large span to hold it. I even find my 5.5" Optimus Pro a little large for handheld use, let alone a 7".

And for the times you need it, there are techniques allowing you to manipulate the screen using both hands while still holding the tablet. Ergonomics has nothing to do with size, but with design. A well-done 10 inch tablet will be more comfortable to use than a badly done 7" unit. The most successful tablet in world is a 10 incher.
 
I used to own iPad 1st gen for reading documents on the go. Reading experience is most comfortable. However weight would kill the deal if you hold it for long. As said many time in above post, it can be rested in multiple ways, to solve the weight issue, when you are not moving/commuting.
 
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