iPad

[beats me]

Are any of the other kindle readers or other anti-glare readers able to read PDFs?

I'm not sure how they work or if it's a special format for something like the kindle touch, but I wouldn't mind a non-glossy simple reader. I have so many books in PDF format though that I'd like to use.

cheers

The Touch reads PDFs but I don't know how it translates. If it's just books with standard format text then it should be fine. I think when you get into customized formatting with pictures it starts getting weird.

[LoopStationZebra]

@glitch

I think from the Kindle2 on can all handle native PDFs. But PDFs are dodgy. Often they will import and be really fucked up looking.

When you're at that point, check out Calibre - a nice desktop app for converting PDFs in readable formats so that you can actually control font sizes and whatnot.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-PDF-Files/ ... B002AJ7X2C

[glitchrock-buddha]

Thanks Loops, looks cool.

So then, what's the advantage of the Kindle Touch over the regular Kindle (I don't if it has a name). Touchscreen I pressume. Didn't see that in the description.

Or, more generally, what do you guys suggest for a non glare reader? Kindle Touch?

[Ryanmf]

Also, Amazon runs a free web service for Kindle owners (described in the linked thread) where you can email a PDF and they'll reformat it to work properly on the Kindle. Works best with PDFs that are mostly text, though some people in that thread (and elsewhere) have noted that it hasn't worked especially well for them. I've seen examples of their converted PDFs on friends' Kindles and they're not universally terrible.

I'm looking for an e-ink reader for PDFs and other mostly text content (Instapaper, etc.) as well. Perpetually staring at backlit displays for work (design, web development) and fun (music, reading, additional software hackery) is killing my eyes. Given how low Amazon has dropped the prices on all Kindles, it's hard to imagine another decent one being available at a better price on the secondary market, but if anyone has any recommendations on other eReaders I'd love to hear them.

And yes, the Kindle touch has a touch display, which means less arrowing around for stuff (also means worse battery life, but it should still be great, eInk uses next to no juice), although I'm still considering one of the keyboard versions for notes.

[beats me]

I’m just going to go ahead and say now that just like the iPad is THE tablet to own, the Kindle e-ink readers are THE ebook reader to own. But for both there will always be people saying “No. Recommend something else.” just because they want to be different.

[glitchrock-buddha]

And what about the Kobo Touch? Apparently it loads PDFs directly. I imagine that might be annoying though since you'd have to scroll. I guess the best way to go would be using that program mentioned above to convert to a native text format in the Kindle. Then would you have font resizing and such?

[glitchrock-buddha]

Just found out about the Kindle DX. Looks pretty good.

[Ryanmf]

DX is taller than my iPad and almost as wide, I like the idea of it for some things, but the rational part of me that doesn't unconditionally require the coolest toy knows I can just use my iPad for those things. The 6"s are nice one-hand devices, which makes a nice alternative for me.

I don't like this "pay us an extra $50 and we'll remove the ads" pricing, though.

[Tarekith]

The ads aren't that bad though. My wife has one with the ads, they're basically just screensavers that pop up when you're not even using the kindle. Put it face down when you're done and you'd never know they were there.

[Ryanmf]

And after a bit of research apparently there's a jailbreak for Kindle (funny that an ereader has a jailbreak) that allows disabling the ads, replacing them with custom images (which I'd seen on a friend's Kindle before, maybe that's just possible on a non-subsidized Kindle in general?), installing custom fonts, etc.

[H20nly]

i've been looking at Kindles for the reader only aspect. i don't want screen glare. e-ink looks great on the matte background, but when you start getting into the touch screens like the Kindle Fire and such you start leaning towards more bells and whistles, less battery and the screen isn't e-ink it's u-squint just like the iPad.

at some point you might as well go for the gold and get an iPad and save your self the annoyance of not having it all or decide to stay in the low price point, "do one thing and do it well" that the more basic Kindles lend themselves to.

[starving student]

so lemme ask , can you run animoog, imaschine, and most music apps off of a one them new fangled $199 ipod touch's?

[Tarekith]

Animoog is iPad only. Imaschine should work though.

[scrondle]

iMaschine does work, indeed. It's a bit pointless/featureless on the old iPod Touch, due to not having an onboard mic for recording live and mashing your bleats and gurgles together, but it should be fantastic on the 4G.

Not sure if this has been covered yet, but seeing all this Kindle talk, how about the Kindle Fire for a cheap TouchOSC controller? Selling at cost-price, it's already been rooted... I feel like it'll just be a stop-gap buy though, because the iPad's gonna have all those extra music-making feature apps for the foreseeable future.
But the iPad costs so much...!
And... But... So...

[Ryanmf]

Kindle Fire reviews re: performance have been pretty unfavorable. I doubt it would be the Android tablet I'd choose for that sort application.

If you want a really cheap OSC controller that's bigger than an iPod Touch, buy an HP Touchpad, and root/install CyanogenMod. I haven't done this yet myself, but it's one of the more interesting options I've seen.