e-readers January 13, 2011, 09:05:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119568As usual, I figure somewhere in this group there are folks who have an opinion on e-readers. But first, I am not looking for a book e-reader. I am more of a newspaper and magazine reader. My favorite being the Wall St Journal [WSJ]. I have read various reviews for the Kindle and the Nook and users almost universally dislike both devices for the WSJ. I don't know if that means the WSJ isn't ready for prime time [software issue] or if the devices don't do a good job displaying the WSJ [hardware issue]. Anyone have any experience? Also, what about the Sony Reader? Like I said, books aren't my important item. Also, a Kindle question. Anyone use the text to speech feature to "listen" to books? If so, what do you think?Thanks.John1994 TK Chug
Re: e-readers Reply #1 – January 14, 2011, 01:13:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 119570I have the WIFI-3G Kindle but have not looked at any newspapers on it yet. The text to speech is a joke! It is not like an audio book. It is a very mechanical voice, phonetically pronoucning pre-programmed syllables. Not at all pleasant. I do like the 3G capability as you can download material even when you do not have a wifi connection. Donna Krecklow 2011 TB Therapy
Re: e-readers Reply #2 – January 14, 2011, 04:23:47 am Yahoo Message Number: 119571QuoteAlso, a Kindle question. Anyone use the text to speech feature to "listen" to books? If so, what do you think? John 1994 TK Chug Haven't tried the newspapers on our new Kindle, but have used the text to speech feature: it is useful if you want hands off while you drive, shave or whatever, but it is monotone and mechanical, without nuance or inflection. Also haven't tried the audio book feature, which might be better. Otherwise, love the Kindle and have over 40 free ebook classics lined up to be read! John Boles 1998 TK
Re: e-readers Reply #3 – January 14, 2011, 09:07:28 am Yahoo Message Number: 119577On 1/13/2011 8:05 PM, John wrote: QuoteAnyone have any experience? Also, what about the Sony Reader? . We have Sony Readers that we like very much, although we don't use them to read newspapers, so I can't give an opinion on using it for that. However, if I were going to look for an ereader today, I'd get an iPad. With an iPad, you can read books, magazines, and newspapers in all the popular formats, including the Kindle proprietary format (does take a special ap). Plus, an iPad does so much more than an ereader can do.Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Re: e-readers Reply #4 – January 14, 2011, 09:23:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 119579"I don't know if that means the WSJ isn't ready for prime time [software issue] or if the devices don't do a good job displaying the WSJ [hardware issue]." You're talking about putting a paper publication that is roughly 15" x 22", or 27" diagonal, on a 6"-10" diagonal screen. Obviously, that isn't possible without a complete redesign of the publication. Various newspapers have attempted this, with varying degrees of success; the process is still pretty much in the "fumbling around" stage. Whatever the end result is, it won't look like the broadsheet-format paper you're used to wrestling with on the subway. ;-) The paper will have to adapt, and so will its readers."What about the Sony Reader?" Sony makes half a dozen models, but all of them have the same screen-size issue I just described. Until 27" displays that you can roll up and put in your pocket become available, this issue isn't going to go away.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: e-readers Reply #5 – January 14, 2011, 09:35:19 am Yahoo Message Number: 119580Quote"I don't know if that means the WSJ isn't ready for prime time [software issue] or if the devices don't do a good job displaying the WSJ [hardware issue]. We subscribe to WSJ on-line version and read it on our laptops when we travel. http://online.wsj.com/itp We would not be without it.No e-reader, no-toastation, no-worries.
Re: e-readers Reply #6 – January 14, 2011, 12:21:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119582Text to speech is very automated and machine like. You can hear it by searching youtube for some example videos. As some have pointed out, the print WSJ is huge and an e-reader screen is small. You have to change the way you read the paper by focusing on articles and not the paper as a whole. You can't skim as fast or mentally sort what's interesting and what isn't. I find myself missing things on the e-reader that my eye would have caught in a traditional paper. I read 4-5hrs a week on a kindle, but don't prefer reading a paper like the wsj on it. I would prefer a laptop or maybe an iPad. There is a large version Kindle, the DX, which is very spacious compared to the traditional version. I've only seen 1 in person, but it was impressive. The downside is the price. Smaller e-readers start around $140 and the DX is $380 - close to base model iPad range. A final thing to consider is content delivery (ie. how you get the paper on an e-reader). If you have your own internet and wi-fi, no problems. If you have to rely on the cell networks, than you get into all of the network coverage issues that RVers are used to dealing with.Rich
Re: e-readers Reply #7 – January 14, 2011, 12:31:47 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119583A quick addendum - There are a few more uses for an e-reader that RVers can appreciate. 1 - download the pdf versions of the owners manual for things like the refrigerator, hot water heater, and generator, load them on the e-reader, You have a valuable source of information (that you can search) without taking up any physical space. 2 - same for pdf's of campground maps or lists such as locations for overnight stops. Between the e-reader and all-stays app on the iphone/droid, the number of books we carry (next exit, campground books, etc...) has really dropped. We hardly use the few we still carry anymore and probably wouldn't miss them if they were gone.
Re: e-readers Reply #8 – January 14, 2011, 01:10:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119585Too bad we cannot convince SteveN that a pdf of the LD owners manual would be a good thing.-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: e-readers Reply #9 – January 14, 2011, 06:26:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119593"download the pdf versions of the owners manual for things like the refrigerator... same for pdf's of campground maps or lists such as locations for overnight stops." This is an attractive idea, but I have to inject a note of caution: in my experience, it generally doesn't work well. The majority of PDFs are formatted for an 8.5" x 11" page. In display screen terms, that's 14" diagonal. When you put that document on a 6" diagonal screen (the majority of ereaders), it's almost impossible to read it without a magnifying glass. Sure, you can magnify the document... but then the text runs off the sides of the display, so you have to scroll back and forth horizontally to read each sentence. And with a one-second refresh time for E-ink screens (again, the majority of ereaders), scrolling of any kind is agonizingly slow. The problem is that unlike a web page or an ebook, a PDF can't reformat and reflow its content to fit the screen when you increase the text size. It's pretty much dependent on a large display... but there's no affordable ereader with a 14" screen that would display PDFs at the size they were intended for. Amazon's Kindle DX or Apple's iPad, with their 10" diagonal screens, are acceptable for PDFs, but not great. (And as Rich pointed out, the Kindle makes no sense in today's market--why spend $400 for a b&w one-trick pony when for another hundred or two you can have an iPad that runs any of 300,000 applications in full color, with animation and all the other goodies imaginable?) So the bottom line is this: reading most PDFs is painful on a Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook or similar small ereader. It's possible on a Kindle DX or iPad, but they cost a lot more than the ereaders most of us have.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: e-readers Reply #10 – January 14, 2011, 08:38:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119595I agree that 'reading' pdf's on an e-reader is painful. I also find myself choosing the pdf on an e-reader over a physical paper version when I'm just looking for a bit of information. I'm not reading, but looking for quick access to something like a spec or diagram or part number. Firing up the kindle is more convenient than digging out the paper manual, faster than starting up a laptop for an larger screen, and plenty adequate when you just need a spec, diagram, or point of reference.Perhaps there's some analogy to newspapers
Re: e-readers Reply #11 – January 14, 2011, 08:54:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119596"Firing up the kindle is more convenient than digging out the paper manual, faster than starting up a laptop for an larger screen, and plenty adequate when you just need a spec, diagram, or point of reference... Would I read long form content via pdf on my kindle? No. Have I taken my kindle with me into the parts store? Guilty as charged " Rich, you make a good point. Reading a long technical document on a Kindle (or similar 6" ereader) would not be pleasant. But if it's a question of being able to show the guy at the counter an exploded diagram in a service manual, and say "I need *this* part," I can see that as a practical use. I just wanted to make sure that people understand the limitations these devices impose when reading typical PDFs. But you're right--that doesn't mean they're useless in that role, as my post implied.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: e-readers Reply #12 – January 15, 2011, 05:44:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 119613"if I were going to look for an ereader today, I'd get an iPad. With an iPad, you can read books, magazines, and newspapers in all the popular formats, including the Kindle proprietary format..." True. The iPad is more expensive than a Kindle-type ereader (and of course larger), but it's infinitely more versatile. And that brings up a point I should have made in my original reply to John's query about reading the Wall Street Journal--the paper offers a free WSJ app for the iPad: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-wall-street-journal/id364387007?mt=8It presents the WSJ content in a format especially designed for the iPad's 10" screen. The app is free, but you must be a WSJ subscriber to use it.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: e-readers Reply #13 – January 18, 2011, 07:22:10 am Yahoo Message Number: 119639When I'm on the road I often spend the night with no phone or internet service. I don't feel completely cut off, because my phone will have collected email as I pass through service areas during the day. My replies stay in the phone until the next time I pass thru a service area. I got a flyer from Amazon pushing newspaper and magazine subscriptions for the Kindle. I have android versions of Kindle on my tablet and phone. Will Kindle do like the email program and have the latest copy automatically downloaded when I stop? ...any opinions about a newspaper that is Kindle friendly? __ GP Registered antique LD driver.....not all who wander are lost.__ My favorite being the Wall St Journal [WSJ]. I have read various reviews for the Kindle and the Nook and users almost universally dislike both devices for the WSJ. I don't know if that means the WSJ isn't ready for prime time [software issue] or if the devices don't do a good job displaying the WSJ [hardware issue].[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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