My Search For The Best PDF Ebook Reader Is Over
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BREAKING NEWS:
Check Out The Best Reader – JUST RELEASED – CLICK HERE
Finally, you get everything you want and need in an e-reader, including E-Ink so your eyes do not get strained and the ability to read your PDF library. Super light weight, and amazing battery life
It’s smaller, lighter, faster and has 50% better contrast with built in WiFi
LOWEST PRICE EVER
It is the BRAND NEW KINDLE – See It in Action Here
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When I began searching for a good ebook reader I was shocked by what I found. Not all ebook readers are created equal, as you will soon see… and just because it is more expensive, doesn’t mean that it is better.
The Amazon Kindle was my first choice for an ebook reader.
I have heard a lot of praise about the Amazon Kindle, from friends, readers of this site and even Oprah. In fact, I had heard so much hype about this device, I expected to purchase one without a second thought.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, the Kindle is an amazing product. It can download ebooks, magazines and newspapers in minutes, and it doesn’t rely on wifi “hot spots” to do it. It uses a technology similar to a cell phone, only without the monthly fees and service agreements.
The display is the closest thing to paper to hit the market. Once the words appear, it does not take any juice for them to remain on teh sreen until the page is turned, so the battery life is incredible.
It feels good in your hands. It’s the size of a thin book and very light weight. The page turning on the right and left is intuitive and similar to flipping forward and backward in a real book. I really like the way it bookmarks a page by making a “dog ear” in it, like we all have done to a paper book at one time.
You can check out this video for an excellent overview of the Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader.
Discover More About The Kindle on Amazon
But the Kindle is NOT the ebook reader for me for one HUGE reason and a couple of smaller ones too.
The main reason I am not buying a Kindle for my ebook reader is because 90% of all the ebooks that I already own, and I own hundreds of them, are in PDF format, and the Kindle does not read PDF ebooks.
I just couldn’t believe that! An ebook reader that does not read the vast majority of ebook’s on the market!
I can forgive the lack of color… Yes, I would expect to see full color for the price of the unit, but I could learn to live without it. After all, the screen is supposed to be eye-strain free and resemble ink on paper, but I guess they have not mastered color ink yet.
I read that Amazon will convert word documents so they can be read on the kindle, and that you have to email the .doc to your kindle. They charge you a small fee for this, which I also find unacceptable.
#1 The Kindle Ebook Reader should have a port of some kind (USB?) that allows me to connect my PC directly to it and download all of the ebooks that I already own.
#2 It would take a long time to email each ebook I own, one at a time, to be “converted”.
#3 I should not have to pay to be able to read an ebook that I already bought on a device that I already paid for.
So, despite the incredible technology I had to rule the Kindle out.
I took a quick look at Sony’s ebook reader, which had a lot in common with the Kindle, and even though it did have a lower price, it still had the same problems as the Kindle.
Still in shock that these “ebook readers” could not read my ebooks, I moved on to a most unusual device. Most people would not consider a PSP (Play Station Portable)
There are several options for viewing ebooks on a PSP, and yes there are converters for PDF ebooks. I tested a few of them but in the end I found it very unreliable. The load times could be very long (like 15 seconds per page) and some books did not display correctly while others simply would not work at all.
My son was very excited at the idea of using the PSP to view ebooks, because he knew I would then buy one for myself and he hoped that we could play games together. Unfortunately the PSP would not work for me.
So at this point I was beginning to think that I was out of luck. I just want to be able to view my ebooks away from my computer. I don’t want to print out every single book I purchase.
I do own a laptop, and I could use that for reading ebooks, but it is a bit bulky even though it is fairly new. It has a 15.8″ wide-screen, making it too bulky to carry around in one hand and certainly too large to hold like a book.
That’s when I finally hit on what I needed. The perfect Ebook reader, which can also play MP3 audio books and even play videos. With a large enough screen to view an ebook comfortably and yet small enough to hold in one hand. Best of all, it has 100% compatibility.
It is called a “NETBOOK”.
Finally I have found the the perfect ebook reader!
I have done a good deal of research online and I can not find anything but praise for this device. I can’t believe I had never heard of it before.
The unit is about the size of a mousepad, and yet has all the power of a complete PC with a 1 gig of ram (upgradable to 2 gigs). I never have to worry about compatibility because it runs windows XP and is upgradable to Vista. It comes with a 160GB hard drive, which can be easily upgraded as well.
You can watch movies on it too, which is handy for any video courses you may have. I can load that hard drive up with my MP3 audio books too! I don’t need the webcam built in or the build in microphone, but since it does have WIFI Internet built in, I could use it to make free Skype calls around the world with video.
With the USB ports you can plug anything up to it that you could your home PC. It has a 5 hour battery time (estimated 3 – 4 hours of video playing) which is more than enough for my needs, but you can buy stronger 6 cell batteries I am told which can last 8 hours or more.
I just wanted an ebook reader, but I can see myself doing so much more with this mini computer. Because it has a memory reader built in, I can foresee using this on our next family vacation and unloading the pictures from our cameras onto this net-book. Then you can shoot as many photos as you want because you’ll have a 160GB device you can move them onto. Much less bulky than a laptop.
I can’t believe I can get all the power of a PC into a little mini-PC NetBook for less than the price of the one color Ebook reader Amazon Kindle.
I should point out that there are even cheaper netbooks without hard drives inside, which you can see here. I think it is worth it to get the large storage space for a few dollars more.
There are all sorts of these Netbooks on Amazon
My research has led me to choose between Acer and Asus, and I think I am going to go with the ASUS listed here. I am going to see if I can find it locally tomorrow and if not I will order it online.
I also found free software for this Asus netbook called EeeRotate (eee is the product line for ASUS’s netbooks). It makes it more easy to read E-books on the Asus netbook by rotating your screen so you can hold it in your hand like an open book. It also rotates the touch pad also, so it will scroll correctly while rotated.
I am pretty excited to get my hands on this.
I sure wish I could find the 900ha in white though. Asus says they make it in black, white and grey, but so far everywhere I look I can only find it in black.
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As always, I love to hear what you think, so if you have any ideas or comments… leave a comment below this post!
– John Derrick
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Update
Since the writing of this article Apple has released their Ipad. (Best Prices On Ipad’s Here)
Granted, the Ipad is a sexy machine, but it still has some drawbacks that keep it from being perfect.
What I like About The Ipad: I love the touch screen. Apple makes the best touchscreens period. I like the design, and the software that runs it. I can use Apples ebook store and install the Kindle software all on one device. and Yes, I can view most PDF files too! (Hooray)
But the list of what I do NOT like, is much longer.
#1 – No expandability. A simple SD card slot would allow for unlimited storage, but Apple locks you out of this so they can charge you hundreds more for a “higher model” with 16GB more storage.
#2 PRICE. A 64GB Ipad is going to set you back over $800. Every expert will agree that this is ridiculously over priced, but hey if people are willing to pay that much why lower the price?
#3 No user serviceable or removable battery. This means you can’t swap it out and have a few spares like a netbook can.
#4 No upgrade path. You can’t add a hard drive or add more ram. You are stuck with exactly what you bought. The only upgrade route is to buy a newer (even more expensive) model.
#5 Itunes. I’m sorry but Itunes is bloatware, which means it will slow your computer down just be installing it. You have to have Itunes installed on your PC or MAC just to get things on and off from your Ipad.
#6 No Flash. It’s such a shame that if you want to browse the web with your $800 3G device you can’t see most of the webpages correctly because the only browser for the device does not support FLASH support.
#7 I just don’t like the way that Apple locks everything down and makes all software for the device be sold through their store. They recently turned away Sony’s e-book reading software because they want all the books to be sold through their store. I like choices and an open and free market.
#8 No E-ink. This is the same problem that netbooks have, if you consider this a problem. In the traditional sense the Ipad is not a true ebook reader because the screen does not use E-ink or a similar technology. This means glare in the sun and possible eye strain. If you read a lot of books this may or may not be a problem for you. It is NOT a problem for me, any more than reading on my LCD monitors in my home office.
So there you have it. The Kindle is a true E-reader with E-ink, but it doesn’t have much else it can do. It is a truly dedicated device. Sony has a slew of new E-readers just released and they are very impressive. (See Here) The Ipad is sexy and fun to use, but expensive and is locked tight by Apple. The Netbook that I bought years ago is still working very good for my PDF reading, and video watching, and occasional net surfing. For everything work related I use my Laptop when away and desktop computer with dual monitors when I am at home.
I love reading all your comments, so please continue to let me know what you think by leaving your comment below.
– John Derrick
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SUPER UPDATE: 4 – 21 – 2011
The Newest Kindle is in pre-release on Amazon, and it looks amazing.
If you think the Ipad 2 is thin, you haven’t seen anything! The new Kindle is thinner than an Ipad, Ipad 2… heck it is even thinner than an Iphone. No kidding.
It looks like Amazon finally listened to what people wanted and they improved in the Kindle in the following ways:
#1 – Lower Price. The price is a LOT LOWER now.
#2 – 50% better contrast with the latest E-Ink Pearl technology.
#3 – The never really had glare, but the new screens are completely reflective and can be read in ANY lighting, included bright direct sunlight (Do that with an Ipad 2 and you’ll go blind!)
#4 – New & Improved Fonts are crisper and darker. They look to be more smooth too.
#5 – SMALLER! Yes, the new design is 21% smaller without shrinking the screen (where you read the books)
#6 LIGHTER – Now it is only 8.5 Ounces in weight! An Ipad 2 is a whopping 1.3 pounds (more than twice the weight)
#7 Double the Storage? I am not able to verify how much storage this new model has, but it now holds up to 3,500 books. That’s a lot!
#8 BETTER BATTERY! – A single charge lasts for a full month, unless of course you use the wireless often.
#9 20% Faster Page Turns – Ummm…. I didn’t know it even needed this, but okay. That’s good I suppose.
#10 PDF READER! Yeah baby! An enhanced PDF Reader, with dictionary lookups, ability to make notes, and highlight text.
#11 – Web Browser? – I didn’t expect that, but I applaud Amazon for putting it in. Why not, you have WI-FI, so why not browse the web. Of course keep in the mind that the fabulous E-ink may be better than sliced bread for reading books, it still means you have to surf the web in black and white.
Check out the new Kindle for yourself – Click Here
They even have a new version with “special offers” which is $25 less than the already super-low price. (See It Here)
Conclusion: I still have my Netbook and still love it for everything it can do, but I think the Kindle is finally to a point where I am going to purchase one to be my exclusive e-book reader. I can take it anywhere and read it indoors or outdoors, it is small enough to fit in my jacket and the price is so low that it is pretty much a no-brainer for me.
Like my netbook, The Ipad 2 and the Xoom are both great devices and have a much wider range of usefulness, but if you are looking for a dedicated device solely to read ebooks, then you need to take a serious look at the new Kindle.
The Audio Now!
And what do you think about new BeBook Neo? Is it gonna be any better…? you can see it and read about it here:
http://mybebook.com/6-inch-ereaders/c14/p25/bebook-neo-ereader/product_info.html
They say there it “Supports the most popular eBook formats such as: EPUB*, PDF*, TXT, HTML, RTF, MOBI, CHM, PDB, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF (*including Adobe DRM, compatible with Adobe Digital Editions)”
I think the eSlick is out now for $259! It seems great from the videos demos! The draw back I see is its screen size which is 6″
Hi John,
It is of comfort to see that there are many of us in this boat. I was waiting for the release of the Que Pro Reader (http://que.com), it is a bit costly for the size of storage. The unit is the size of a legal pad and it is able to flex w/shatter proof display. My wife has a netbook from HP and if it were just the “top”/display then it would be of a format that is more desirable for reading like a book. I’ll keep checking back to see what you find. Check out the Que and let me know your thoughts on it. The Ipad size is good but then we are back to eye strain again. I have a technical library that I wish to have at my finger tips on the go.
Regards,
JCB
I think you forgot about something very, very important about the ebook. The ebook won’t hurt your eyes like LCD of the laptops or netbook does!! Thats (at least for me) THE most important feature of an ebook, the ability to use it to read anytime, anywhere as if it was a book without hurting my eyes. I work with computers all the time and reading technical ebooks on the laptop get’s my eyes fatigue and all red after many hours looking at the screen.
Cesar, you said you work with computers and read technical ebooks all the time, tell me one ebook reader which can read your PDF files, I tried the Sony PRS 900 and PRS 600 they were pathetic in reading PDF, it was so uncomfortable.
Kindle is good for people who wants to buy books all the time from Amazon, what about those people who have lot of technical PDF ebooks. I did checked the IPAD, it was amazing in reading PDF files, only issue is to transfer pdfs into it and also it will effect your eye if you read on it for a long time.
Have you looked at the Jetbook, or Aluratek Libre? Both do PDF and a lot more for a reasonable price.
Well John, from the replies above you would have now realized that net books are not the answer to reading books in the PDF format. The simple truth is that none of the ebook readers out there can handle pdf files as we would like it,and the companies making them are in no hurry to produce such a device, as most of the revenue of these companies come from the sale of their ebooks.
An opportunity exists therefore,for an enterprising individual to produce such a device and rake in the dough !
I am testing a Kindle DX, which I borrowed from the Institute library for several days. It does read PDF, although with some limitations: one cannot zoom in and out, highlight text or make notes like in e-books.
As I understand, the reader is a computer, but with a low-power-consuming monitor. According Wikipedia, Kindle DX runs under Linux-2.6.22.19. I guess, the full PDF support can be implemented. It’s just a question of time.
The Foxit eReaders have native PDF support and are reasonably priced at $199
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ebook/gallery.html
RE: Foxit PDF Reader – Reflow is a feature that automatically reorganizes text to fit the screen size when you are viewing a PDF file. It makes reading on mobile devices much easier, and you do not have to scroll from left to right to read.
Best pure PDF reader out there. Only Cons are no WiFi or 3G so you’ll need to plug the USB in to a PC to transfer content.
Oh one more Con – only 4 shades of greyscale, so no good for illustrations or pictures, this is a PURE text reading device (Kindle has 16)
My netbook is still going strong here, however I am upgrading to the Exopc Slate. It is just like a netbook with windows 7 on a ipad like device with touch screen.
The battery life is just over 5 hours, I expect it to make a great ebook reader since you can now download Kindle and nook software for windows 7. Also runs office.
As for ebooks, they have really taken off.
My Acer Netbook has been the best for me. Reading on my netbook allows me to have access to all books, not just those from a particular site. I just download the specific ereader application from the site selling the book I want! I can read books in the Kindle format, Microsoft Reader format, Mobipocket format, Adobe Reader (pdf files) and Adobe Digital Reader (to check out DRM’d library books), Barnes & Noble format, Borders format, the list goes on and on. My favorite ereader software comes from ereader.com. Their ereader app for PC is much more flexible than most of the others, with a huge choice of fonts, themes, background color and text color, single or double page viewing, and it remembers the page I was on. My eyes never hurt after reading, since I can adjust the brightness and colors if I need a change. No headaches. Yes, it’s a little heavier, but it sits on my lap or a table very easily. I tried turning it 90 degrees, for the “real reading experience”, but found that it’s easier for me to just sit it on my tummy while laying in bed! I only find time for reading at bedtime, so even though my battery lasts about 7 hours if I turn off the web connection, I just plug it in if it gets low. And it is a very real reading experience for me…most times I still find myself reaching to turn the page of a very engrossing book, and then remember that I don’t have a page to turn! I haven’t made a choice between real books and ebooks, I read both, and enjoy them both. For me, there is always room for more books! My wish is for one really good reader program that will read all formats, protected or not. Of course, I want it to look like ereader. It could “talk” to the other software on my computer so it knows that I have the rights to read each book, and then let me read them all in one place. Hope the ebook wizards are reading this….
With a little technical know-how, nothing can beat the PSP for versatility and number of applications. Using custom firmware and a little homebrew (bookr), you could use the PSP as an ebook reader. It can read pdf, txt, html and a couple of other formats, complete with features you find in a typical ebook reader. Add in the ability to play music, videos, display pictures, browse the internet, take pictures (with a camera add-on), what else do you need? Oh, and it can also run games….
I’ve used my 900ha like a book before, it’s kind of awkward and I feel that people will look at me funny, but it served its purpose at the time. Ipad is probably the best thing now if you want to read pdf’s, but it’s also 2-5x more expensive than an ebook reader (depending on specs).
Hmm.. my search for a cheap ebook reader (<150$ and more than a 6" screen) looks far from over. Net-books are ok, but I need something even lighter.
If anyone can see what a simple ipod touch 1G 8GB can do with the most complex pdf pages (using good readers like AJI reader), it is inconceivable that we do not have better pdf book-readers yet (big screen, one function devices)
I think the iPad is the best PDF reader on the market. If you use it in conjunction with Dropbox, you can just drag and drop onto your iPad. Then, from Dropbox, I open up into iBooks, and it’s just great. As a grad student, I have a lot of articles to read, and it’s hard to keep track of them all in paper form. Now, during meetings, people start talking about a graph or some research, and I already have it cued up to show before they have finished their thought. When I visit friends and family on the weekend, I just bring my iPad, because all my reading is done on there.
If anyone is concerned with eye strain, I found that by having appropriate screen brightness, this is no problem. I realized after my first few days that I had been setting it to be too bright in dim lighting, and too dark in bright lighting. A good heuristic is “dim in the dark” and “bright in the light.” For example, in a bright office setting, you should make it so bright that you can no longer see your own reflection. This reduces eye strain.
For just straight up books, a kindle might be better, but the iPad is fantastic for PDF’s, and way better than a netbook. It feels like I am just holding my documents, rather than reading on a computer. I get quick bits of reading done with my iPad that I would never get in with a netbook. I take it out for a minute or two while waiting to get in a quick page–on the bus, at dinner, while waiting in line. The iPad may not be for everyone, but for heavy PDF readers, it is a must.
Well, size is one factor, but another is screen itself – I just wanted a good PDF ebook reader with EInk screen. I have done similar research and found nothing…
John great article, I’m wondering about what you would recommend today for those of us who have mostly books PDF format and would like to read them?
A netbook is NOT a reader. It is a small laptop computer. It doesn’t have a battery that lasts weeks and it certainly doesn’t have an e-ink screen.
Agree to disagree.
It is my reader, and I read on it all the time. 🙂
All I want is an ebook reader that renders PDFs appropriately, includes a stylus for annotation and note-taking, can be used outside just as well as inside, and is pretty much the equivalent of a digital book. It needs nothing else. Optional Internet on a particular model might be good down the line but is not a necessity.
The downloading services provided by the manufacturers, which seem to be a big deal to many, I would not even use. I have hundreds of my own PDFs and that is all I want it for.
I am considering purchasing the Sony Reader Touch Edition, but I don’t know if it renders the PDFs as well as I would like.
Yes, I think the Sony readers may be your best bet at the moment.
Please check back with me and let us all know what you decided on and how it went for you.
Great info, I am currently looking for an affordable e book reader that reads PDFs and this really helps! So thanks 🙂
Bloody hell, so much reading for this!
I cannot believe you consider this minilaptop as an ebook. What about the paper-like screen? To me this is the most important thing.
Having said this, yes, I agree the pdf problem needs to be solved. Also the graphics in pdf are a big problem, apparently (for technical documents). My perfect ebook would be paper like screen, perfect pdf reader, usb, at least 12 inches screen. no need of colour.
See the update to this post. There are some new great options (like Sony’s new readers) which are linked in this post now.
The best idea of all is to get a tablet notebook pc. you can find some cheap old models from ebay cost less than $200, which will do all netbook can do, but has a tablet screen that can rotate and read vertically as ebook readers. Moreover, you can use stylus pen write notes on its screen like real paper.
Anyway, I got my IBM X41t and I love it…
That is another idea. Thanks for sharing.
I hate to spend that much on old technology though, that may or may not be reliable. Once I load up my device with the hundreds of ebooks I have, I certainly do not want used hardware dying on me. Besides, netbooks have come waaaay down in price now. Why buy used when you can buy new with a warranty?
I am browsing through my bookmarks and found the link to this page that I recorded more than 1 year ago. I have an Ipad since May 28th, 2010. Problem solved now.
[…] My Search For The Best PDF Ebook Reader Is Over | John Derrick – When I began searching for a good ebook reader I was shocked by what I found. Not all ebook readers are created equal, as you will soon see… and just. […]
You know, I think that you missed the point of an E-book reader. I understand that they are not handling PDF well right now. But the fact t is that along with terrible battery life and a glossy screen and cannot be read under the sunlight as well as backlit display a netbook is the same or worse than an ipad or other tablet. Spending money on a netbook that is just not worth it, a machine that is not upgradable is really is a waste of money, use your laptop there is a lot more real estate for PDF and other things that a netbook will never be able to handle. Unfortunately, yes there is nothing very useful out there yet for reading pdf’s. But I am sure someone soon will come with one. PDF’s are a big market.
Tanks for this article it made me choose better!
(SPAM REMOVED)
I have an Eee netbook, after finding this i downloaded the eeerotate
software and it is great. I have loads of ham radio magazines going back to the 1960’s and using eeerotate and the netbook i can now read them just great, Thanks
Sony came out with 3 New Line of Sony Readers that are an upgrades to all three of their ebook readers – PRS-650, PRS-350, and PRS-950. They are good for PDF ebook reader with E Ink screen. Each new Sony Reader comes with a clear touchscreen and the latest high-contrast Pearl displays from E Ink. Check them out.
Sony E- Readers – Check Them Out