iPad On using Ipad as a large ereader

[OtinG]

I read most of my eBooks on my iPad Pro 9.7". I own a Kindle Basic (or whatever they call it this year, it has no built in lighting). But I much prefer my iPad for reading with one exception, and that is on the rare occasion when I sit outside during daylight and read, then the Kindle is much better because the iPad screen would be difficult to see in that bright of light. I have never cared for the self lighting Kindles because their screens have a horrible plastic layer for the light which bothers my eyes too much. I also read PDFs on the iPad, surf the web, do a little bit with spreadsheets, run a multitude of apps for my hobbies, etc. Spreadsheets are more read only on the iPad as I find a touchscreen interface not very good for creating them nor entering data. I much prefer a computer for creating spreadsheets.

ETA: I also read quite a bit on my iPad Mini 2. It is probably the best I have for reading eBooks as it is about the right size and weight and has the best resolution. It is old and getting slow for many tasks and apps, but you don't need speed to read eBooks!

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by maximus83

All informative posts, thanks!

Another question I had, is that I see the Apple rumor mill has it that there will be an updated Ipad Mini sometime in 2019. Suppose that actually happens. Is the Ipad Mini a viable size, at about 8", for reading PDF's or larger docs? Or does that not have quite enough screen real estate? It seems like the magical dividing line in terms of "sufficient screen size" for most people on PDFs and more complex docs or graphics is about 10" minimum.

It depends on how good your eyes are. If Apple does come out with an updated iPad Mini, I will be all over it, especially if it's a substantial upgrade with regards to speed and memory. I do use an iPad mini for lunch time reading, but I find it too small for PDF's. In full page PDF mode, the print is too small for me to read. It's fine for regular ebooks though.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

It depends on how good your eyes are. If Apple does come out with an updated iPad Mini, I will be all over it, especially if it's a substantial upgrade with regards to speed and memory. I do use an iPad mini for lunch time reading, but I find it too small for PDF's. In full page PDF mode, the print is too small for me to read. It's fine for regular ebooks though.

Ditto. I like the iPad Mini 2 for eBooks, but PDFs designed to be printed on 8.5 inch x 11 inch paper are usualy not very good to read on the Mini’s 7.9 inch screen.

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

[...] but it was just easier getting content to the iPhone and iPad (no need to get up and connect the device to PC/Calibre via USB, nor deDRM/convert first).

I get what you're saying in the rest of your post. I find the same appeal to be on a single platform (be it Android, Apple, or PC), use devices that are all on that platform for reading purposes, and just cut the clunky e-ink devices out of the equation, saves a lot of hassle.

One thing I didn't follow: How is it with your Apple devices that you have no need to deDRM and convert, etc? Wouldn't you still have to do that step, initially, when you buy ebooks? Or, do you just not bother anymore, you buy Apple's DRM'd books and just leave them that way?

[Ghitulescu]

I read very fast and the small screen of the regular devices (6") fatigues me on flipping pages (I also need a rather big size for fonts to read without glasses).
The iPad Pro 12.9" is ideal for this, in particular with stationary uses, less in bus or other public transportation excepting plane and train, where one has his/her own place to sit and hopefully a table before.

[Lparsons21]

Originally Posted by maximus83

I get what you're saying in the rest of your post. I find the same appeal to be on a single platform (be it Android, Apple, or PC), use devices that are all on that platform for reading purposes, and just cut the clunky e-ink devices out of the equation, saves a lot of hassle.

One thing I didn't follow: How is it with your Apple devices that you have no need to deDRM and convert, etc? Wouldn't you still have to do that step, initially, when you buy ebooks? Or, do you just not bother anymore, you buy Apple's DRM'd books and just leave them that way?

I use an iPad Mini 4 for most of my book reading. To me every reader app is just better than on other platforms.
For books I just use the app that works with whichever source I got the book from if it is a drm’d book.

While I like Apple’s Books app I don’t tend to buy books there since they can only be read on an Apple device.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by maximus83

One thing I didn't follow: How is it with your Apple devices that you have no need to deDRM and convert, etc? Wouldn't you still have to do that step, initially, when you buy ebooks? Or, do you just not bother anymore, you buy Apple's DRM'd books and just leave them that way?

I've never bought from iBooks. I buy from Amazon, Kobo or Nook then read on the official app if the book is something I want to read right away. I just download on PC and deDRM later for posterity.

Granted, for the past 3-4 years, I haven't really bought new books. I've mostly just been reading fanfics in EPUB downloaded directly from AO3. They do offer MOBI downloads as well but

1. navigating AO3's website via the Paperwhite's experimental browser is a major pain, and
2. AO3's MOBI downloads don't have a TOC so it's actually easier to download the EPUB and convert via Calibre to get to the next chapter than trying to navigate the AO3 MOBI on the PW3.

Now that I've jailbroken and have KOReader installed though, I can browse AO3 and download the EPUB to Dropbox on my iPhone/iPad, and then use KOReader on my PW3/4 to download and read the EPUB directly. I can leave the conversion to MOBI/AZW3 for later (prettified with cover and metadata).

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by maximus83

One thing I didn't follow: How is it with your Apple devices that you have no need to deDRM and convert, etc? Wouldn't you still have to do that step, initially, when you buy ebooks? Or, do you just not bother anymore, you buy Apple's DRM'd books and just leave them that way?

I cannot speak for ilovejedd, but personally, I purchase eBooks exclusively through Amazon and read them on my devices, whether iThingies, computers, or Kindles. That way no matter which device I use I can know the book will open to the place where I left off reading regardless of which device I was using last, and all my notes and bookmarks will show up. To deDRM is a pain in more than one way, so I no longer do that. When you deDRM, you sometimes inhibit the ability to pass along bookmarks, notes, page last read, etc. I never liked doing deDRM, but way back when screen resolutions were low and fonts rendered poorly, I found it necessary to modify my eBooks in order to read them without tiring out my eyes too quickly. With today's high resolution displays on phones, tablets, computers, and ereaders, and with the added formatting tweaks we can make within apps like Kindle, I no longer have any need to modify my purchased Kindle books. I do not worry about losing them as we did with some earlier bookstores that went out of business. If Amazon were to ever shut down their bookstore, I would be able to deDRM my Kindle books without issue at that time. But I doubt that will happen anytime soon, if ever...

[Difflugia]

I have a current generation iPad 9.7 that was a longevity gift from my employer. I've been using it for about four months.

Originally Posted by maximus83

1. What are your chief uses for it? As in, what kind of documents/activities do you prefer to do on your Ipad, versus your ereader?

I use it almost exclusively as an ereader and similarly use a 7" Android tablet. I have a laptop for pretty much everything else, including web browsing. I also have a Kindle that I don't use, but I prefer a tablet screen to e-ink.

Originally Posted by maximus83

2. What size do you find to be the minimum size that will effectively render larger/complex documents with good readability? For example, would the original 9.7" Ipad work, or did you try that and find it was a bit too small in screen real estate?

I wear glasses for nearsightedness and recently started wearing bifocals. I read PDF magazines and journal articles on a 9.7" screen without problems, but have to magnify the same items on my 7" tablet so that I can only view a portion at a time. I prefer using the larger tablet for 8.5"x11" PDFs, but prefer the smaller screen for most everything else. If I had to keep just one, it'd be the 7" tablet.

Originally Posted by maximus83

3. Do you find the Ipad to be too heavy for extended reading sessions?

If I'm trying to hold it up, then yes and that's the main reason I prefer the 7" tablet overall. The problem isn't so much simply the weight, but there's no place to properly grip the iPad with both hands without touching the screen. I have one of those trifold magnetic cases and grip the case with my left hand. I can steady it with my right hand, but still have to support most of the weight with my left. I end up setting it down (in my lap or on a table), then picking it back up every few minutes.

Thanks for all the great input, this thread was helpful not just thinking about Apple devices, but how folks USE their readers of different sizes. In the end, I decided to stay on same (Android) platform in my case, and got a Huawei M5 8.4" tablet, it'll do what I need and the screen was large enough to view single pages of code in programming books, which is my main use besides e-reading and browsing the web. It was also at $289 a bit cheaper than most Ipads I could see , although in my case that was not the driving factor.

For myself, I also noted the 8.4" screen was a significant improvement in readability over the 7" Google Nexus tablet I'd been using for several years. That extra 1.4" of real estate made quite a difference.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by maximus83

Thanks for all the great input, this thread was helpful not just thinking about Apple devices, but how folks USE their readers of different sizes. In the end, I decided to stay on same (Android) platform in my case, and got a Huawei M5 8.4" tablet, it'll do what I need and the screen was large enough to view single pages of code in programming books, which is my main use besides e-reading and browsing the web. It was also at $289 a bit cheaper than most Ipads I could see , although in my case that was not the driving factor.

For myself, I also noted the 8.4" screen was a significant improvement in readability over the 7" Google Nexus tablet I'd been using for several years. That extra 1.4" of real estate made quite a difference.

Mind, the basic iPad model frequently goes on sale. The 32GB Wi-Fi iPad 6th gen (2018) is currently $249 at Amazon and Walmart.

Understood, and doesn't surprise, fortunately I had the luxury of not being too worried about price. In the end, the only Apple device that might have been appealing for my uses after thinking it through and seeing all the responses here, was the Ipad Mini. I do think their Ipad Mini if released in 2019 might be worth it, for hardcore Apple fans. On the screen size issue, I decided that I just don't do enough full-size document and PDF browsing like HarryT and other users do here. When I do occasionally do that, I have an extremely light and powerful 12.3" laptop (a Surface Pro) at work that I can use like a large tablet for shorter length reading sessions. I also have a personal HP Spectre x360 that is 13" and super lightweight at home, I can fold that all the way back on itself and use it like a tablet too. I decided that, to complement my phone, I just wanted sort of a tweener 8" Android device that is for reading and recreational web surfing, but large enough to read programming books with a single page of code laid out. The 8" size was JUST barely big enough, and the weight savings are significant over 10+" devices, so that's how I decided on size. This device weighs in about 11 oz (and my current Google Nexus 7 was 10.5, so I won't even feel the difference). But the next jump up in weight to a full-size Ipad or Ipad pro is at least 1 pound or more, so I decided to stick with the 8" size.

As for OS, it's not a big deal, I've used and developed on all kinds of devices, and in reality, iOS is probably the best tablet platform of them all in terms of polished user experience and great app store. But currently I don't have any Apple devices, and it was slightly more convenient to just add another Android device rather (reusing all the apps I've paid and am familiar with) than to add another device, OS, and app store to the mix.

[HarryT]

For me, the "GoodReader" app on the iPad is one of those rare apps that make it worthwhile buying the device simply because the app exists. It's quite simply the best PDF reader on any platform, to my mind. I need to read a lot of PDFs.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For me, the "GoodReader" app on the iPad is one of those rare apps that make it worthwhile buying the device simply because the app exists. It's quite simply the best PDF reader on any platform, to my mind. I need to read a lot of PDFs.

What do you think of the most recent update for GoodReader? I like it myself, but it is a pretty big UI update.

[HarryT]

I like it a lot; particularly the option of displaying two documents side-by-side in landscape mode. That's incredibly useful when I'm working on my ancient Egyptian texts: I can have the text I'm working on and my hieroglyphic dictionary open side by side, just as I would with paper books. It's a paid for option in the app, but one that's well worth the money for me.