
Ask HN: What is the best device for reading technical e-books? - honest_joe
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.
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MegaLeon
If you don't mind shelling $$$ there's the Sony Digital Paper:
[http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-
digitalpaper/resource.solu...](http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-
digitalpaper/resource.solutions.bbsccms-assets-show-digitalpaper-
digitalpaper.shtml?PID=I:digitalpaper:digitalpaper)

~~~
johnsocs
Just so people have a idea what 'shelling $$$' means, pricing available here:
[https://goo.gl/GYeMsH](https://goo.gl/GYeMsH)

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7erb
I have both the new Kindle Paperwhite and the old Kobo mini e-reader, and I
like the Kobo much better. Kobo's UI is far superior, and it connects with
Pocket, so you can catch up on your articles too.

~~~
DanBC
I also love the Kobo.

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/](http://uscoffings.net/clc/tech/embedded/kobo-touch/)

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sriram_malhar
I have the Sony Digital Paper and I can't say enough good things about it. It
has been a gamechanger. I have thousands of papers/books on it, and I find
myself reading more papers and making notes on them where ever I am.

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?

\-------

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.

~~~
alok-g
How easy/quick is it to transfer files to it (without going through the
Internet)?

Where and how are the annotations saved? Can you bring them back out of the
device and see them on the PDF still?

Thanks

~~~
sriram_malhar
It comes with a micro-usb connection, and looks like a regular flash drive to
the computer, and just as fast.

The annotations are saved on the pdf file itself. I write all my notes that
way.

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dylanjermiah
Thinking of buying an iPad just for this use case. Most of my technical books
are in PDF form, converting them to any other format ruins the readability,
and the PDF on the kindle is terrible to navigate.

~~~
honest_joe
Yes. Thousand times yes. If i could just justify spending so much money on
ipad to use it just for reading.And anyway i would want the latest device
which has not been released yet (october?).

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.

~~~
dylanjermiah
I've managed to read on my iPhone and my Mac, I've found it easier on the
phone due to portability and the touch screen. But the i've found I can't
sustain long periods on either.

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sunstone
I recently got a Samsung S 8.4" tablet primarily for reading and I'm very
happy. Super fast, good battery life and with an excellent screen but a little
pricey.

Previously I used the original Nexus 7 but found it to be too slow and too
small.

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junkblocker
I have a 1st gen Google Nexus 7, 32GB RAM. For technical books requiring
scaling, color and illustrations it is pretty good with Manatano Reader.

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Larx-3
I just ordered a Kobo Aura H20, on which I intend to install KOReader
(Kindle/Kobo Open Reader) for an improved PDF reading experience.

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collyw
Desktop with a big monitor. Unless it needs to be portable.

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cntx
Kindle DX

~~~
5bolts
i have a DX, its a wonderful device... except for PDFs. just to slow to flip
back and forth. Especially for technical information.

