Best Netbook as ebook reader

[Irishred]

I am an avid reader. Got tons of paperback and hardbooks cluttering my house. I decided to look into ebook readers but am not happy with price or limited pdf files. Also many of these do not allow my own ebooks I have now in my computer. I have been reading on articles using netbook as ebook reader.I heard some netbooks get warmed from bottom. I would like to sometimes read it like a book.
Will anyone please advise me which is the best netbook to use.

Thanks!

Well, they all work but then again IMO none of them work well.

I read a lot of paperbacks. Carry one most of the time. When I finish I leave it.

If you turn the netbook like a book to read, the controls still orient to netbook style. I can't adapt to left is down, scroll this way or that. Open and read like a netbook works okay on trains or in a hotel bed.

I make sure the vents stay open and don't give the heat any other thought.

My wife just came in the room and offered the opinion that she likes paper for her books.

[ThisIsNot]

Instead of getting a netbook, I recommend that you get a tablet netbook. You can hold them like a book without having to keep the keyboard and mouse free while also allowing you to touch the screens (likely with a stylus) for controlling your reading experience. I think that would be better than purchasing a traditional netbook which is not meant to be used (nor is it comfortable) while holding it on its side.

The main drawback of these table netbooks (or netvertables) is that they aren't very powerful. They often run hardware that is either really old or just not that powerful. The hardware is more than capable of being used for opening a PDF reader along with other e-book applications but don't expect stellar performance.

Either that or you can wait for the Apple iPad. The iPad will likely offer a better e-book experience than anything out there but it carries a high price and is in Apple's closed universe.

Edit: FYI - I deleted your other two posts in the introduction area. Don't cross-post. Only post a thread/topic once in the appropriate area.

[ericinboston]

Originally Posted by Irishred

I am an avid reader. Got tons of paperback and hardbooks cluttering my house. I decided to look into ebook readers but am not happy with price or limited pdf files. Also many of these do not allow my own ebooks I have now in my computer. I have been reading on articles using netbook as ebook reader.I heard some netbooks get warmed from bottom. I would like to sometimes read it like a book.
Will anyone please advise me which is the best netbook to use.

Thanks!

1)Computers, even tablets, aren't designed to be gentle on your eyes. Be warned.

2)What about trying the Amazon Kindle? It's gotten rave reviews. If you don't like it, please tell us why.

3)You can try the iPad when it comes out in 29 days...although it is a tablet, it has been designed to be gentle on the eyes. But, you will be the first person to use the iPad so you won't have any feedback...and it's a version 1.0 product unlike the Kindle.


If it were me, I would try the Kindle...you probably have a 30day window to try it out. Apple, on the other hand, gives you a 0 day window to try anything out.

-Eric

[Irishred]

I would have like to try kindle but i have ebooks in lit, pdf files. None of them were brought from stores. These are very old books or brought them from ebay. I read the kindle charges 50 cents per pdf file and has a protection from downloading my own ebooks.

[JesterEric]

Yes, with the Kindle Amazon has taken a page from Steve Jobs and Co. and gone the proprietary route. The most "open" e-reader is Sony's. Their E-Reader Touch and Pocket editions handle pdfs, pubs and most other formats (though not the Kindle format, obviously). As others have noted, the problem with any netbook isn't size or even handling, but the screen. The E-ink display of e-readers is softer on the eyes, very much like paper.

I passed on the Kindle for the proprietary issues. The Sony E-reader Pocket is the handiest (and most affordable at $199), but it lacks an SD reader, so you're stuck with the 500MB internal. (Yes, that's still a LOT of books, but I am a professor, and a half a Gig isn't going to cut it). Hopefully the next gen E-Pocket will have expansion capability, since Sony handles pdfs without conversion, unlike Kindle.

The newest on the market is Barnes and Noble's "Nook." Seriously tempting, color and touch screen. Wireless connect, like the Kindle, and about the same price ($259).

But this is about netbooks: Yes, they can be used, but not optimal. ASUS has a capability that can orient the screen to allow the reader to hold it like a book, but I have found the warmth of the machine to be a problem for long reading sessions when I have tried it (hence, my quest for the perfect e-reader).

[dm9]

A trick to make reading from an LCD screen easier on your eyes - use light yellow sun/shooter glasses. I got some in the gun dept at Walmart for under $6 and they work fine. It's so helpful that it seems like they are magnifying the text. An unexpected bonus is that many pictures of people look better because skin tone is more natural with a slight yellow cast.

Hey dm9, that is a cool tip. I have some yellow driving glasses for low contrast days. They made the screen jump out at me. I could even turn the screen brightness down to save the battery. It doesn't make me want to use the netbook as a reader but I'll try them for a while to do my class work to see how it goes. Thanks man.

[ThisIsNot]

Originally Posted by ericinboston

1)Computers, even tablets, aren't designed to be gentle on your eyes. Be warned.

I am not going to debatethis point as I haven't had much experience with e-ink displays. That being said, has there been any eye strain studies regarding this that weren't from the manufacturers of e-ink displays, e-readers, or someone sponsored by said companies? I have seen some of the studies but they were all from manufacturers of e-readers, e-ink displays, or were sponsored by those manufacturers.

[safetyobc]

I am on my computers for hours per day. I read thousands and thousands of words per day on my computer and don't have a problem with eye strain. I don't get head aches, etc.

I actually like reading on the computer. But that's just me.