E-book Reader Vs Physcial Text book

StussyNz

Hey guys,

Just wondering on your views on using E-books on E-readers against physical text books.
I realise that you could save quite a lot of $ by purchasing an E-Reader and then downloading E-books. Could anyone reccomend a good E-Reader which they are using at the moment?

Also, for you that are fans of the physical text books could anyone recommend any good places within New Zealand which sell Cert text books cheap?

Cheers.

NetworkVeteran

StussyNz wrote: »

I realise that you could save quite a lot of $ by purchasing an E-Reader and then downloading E-books. Could anyone reccomend a good E-Reader which they are using at the moment?

I'm using a Kindle and my girlfriend has a Nook. Both are fine products. I was initially attracted to the cheaper books, but the biggest benefit to me has been having a technical library at my fingertips whenever and wherever I am. It makes getting in a bit of extra studying much easier and more convenient. I chunked most of my paper library a couple years back; almost everything was so out-of-date as to be useless.

StussyNz

Tottally understand where you are coming from, and have looked over actually investing in a kindle. I know of someone who actually has one but has experienced formating issues within PDF documents, do you experience the same problem?

nel

StussyNz wrote: »

Tottally understand where you are coming from, and have looked over actually investing in a kindle. I know of someone who actually has one but has experienced formating issues within PDF documents, do you experience the same problem?

I have a kindle and found it to be excellent for novels but poor for technical documents. Main issues were poor formatting and the screen being way too small for my eyes. I much prefer the functionality you get with tech books on an ipad etc but the screens usually hurt my eyes if i use it too much...hence, i am still purchasing paper based books.

JayTheCracker

Waiting for 10inch or 9inch kindle paperwhite...
bigger screen means better... cos,,, i can't even read well on my 7 inch tablet... 6-inch readers? No, thanks!

i don't wanna buy a DX which is an old device ><

pumbaa_g

Call me traditional but I just like the feel of a new book makes me want to study but depends on budget, sometimes E-Reader/Mobi format is plain cheaper so no option. Try for second hand books you may catch a lucky break

nel

JayTheCracker wrote: »

Waiting for 10inch or 9inch kindle paperwhite...
bigger screen means better... cos,,, i can't even read well on my 7 inch tablet... 6-inch readers? No, thanks!

i don't wanna buy a DX which is an old device ><

I agree, an e-ink 10 inch device would be better for reading imo. The DX is years old now. I am not sure if they will be updating it. However, when i was in the UK, it cost just as much as an ipad nearly due to shipping and taxes from the US. Not sure if that has changed.

StussyNz

The only problem with purchasing Physical text books is the added costs and the hastle of selling them after using or finding a place to store them!

nel

StussyNz wrote: »

The only problem with purchasing Physical text books is the added costs and the hastle of selling them after using or finding a place to store them!

I totally agree. If your eyes can handle the glare of a LCD screen then i would go the 10 inch screen route with something like an ipad etc.

jibbajabba

It's a weird one .. I got a Kindle and get bored when reading, while I am fine with physical books - no idea why ...

MrXpert

of late I have been reading pdf books using my PC rather than physical ones but this is because it is easier especially when trying to configure stuff and read at same time. Text books generally tend to be big and bulky affairs.

For novels having a real book is by far the better option in my opinion. The way I see it if I buy a novel then it is one I want to keep forever on my book shelf.

dales

jibbajabba wrote: »

It's a weird one .. I got a Kindle and get bored when reading, while I am fine with physical books - no idea why ...

I'm in kinda the same boat, I've got a kindle dx and the kindle app on my xoom both are really good. but the one downside to them is you can't flick through them like you might a book, which when I have a spare few minutes is what I tend to do and stop on a chapter that perks my interest on that day at that point in time (fickle me).

So I have noticed that I tend to take my kindle or xoom to work for reading but also if I'm studying something buy the physical as well so I can flick when I'm at home.

VAHokie56

jibbajabba wrote: »

It's a weird one .. I got a Kindle and get bored when reading, while I am fine with physical books - no idea why ...

Agree with this as well. I have the Kindle Fire and I am trash trying to read on that but when I have a book in my lap I have buddhist monk style focus. Also the cursed kindle fire has way to much other crap on it that can distract you...now a days it lives in my throne room and I only use it for draw me something lol

dave330i

StussyNz wrote: »

The only problem with purchasing Physical text books is the added costs and the hastle of selling them after using or finding a place to store them!

Why sell them? They're a great source of reference. I keep all mine at work.

As others have mentioned. I found formatting problems with e-book. My order of preference is physical, e-book, pdf.

Bokeh

I have both Kindle DX and Ipad2. Both are good for reading. The IPad gets more use as I can look up items on the web quickly. Another issue is with dab (dead tree book) you usually get some sort of additional software to use, where the ebook versions you do not.

Moe 0101

I have an ipad and a nook color. Both are great products, but it seems as when I am reading on a tablet or e-reader I just get bored and distracted. For myself, studying from a physical book I have better results. I do take the pdf which normally comes with my books are put them on my devices and "re-read"/ "re-fresh" the material on them.

If you are looking to buy books you can also do Amazon used, very cheap and they normally have everything. The e-ink is great but the response time is just to slow for me. A 10inch would be great also.

ajs1976

I prefer physical books, but the benifits of the kindle fire are starting to win.

VAHokie56

Moe 0101 wrote: »

I have an ipad and a nook color. Both are great products, but it seems as when I am reading on a tablet or e-reader I just get bored and distracted. For myself, studying from a physical book I have better results. I do take the pdf which normally comes with my books are put them on my devices and "re-read"/ "re-fresh" the material on them.

If you are looking to buy books you can also do Amazon used, very cheap and they normally have everything. The e-ink is great but the response time is just to slow for me. A 10inch would be great also.

+1 I never pay full price I just ordered a Cisco press book off amazon yesterday that was new for $63 (hardback) but I got it used for $23 [h=1][/h]

cyberguypr

After trying a few devices I settled with an iPad. I have a 45 min train ride each way so this helps me maximize study time. Having said that, I also tend to float towards physical books. I usually get my main resource as a hard copy an supplemental ones as digital.

And +1 on buying used. I try to do this most of the time but sometimes nothing beats the feeling of a brand new, unadulterated and untouched publication.

ptilsen

I'm only in my second semester at this school, but I haven't yet seen any real savings with ebooks. Many of my books were not available as ebooks, and others were significantly more expensive than a used textbook. I ended up going with a digital rental for one class even though it was more expensive than the physical rental. The only advantage is that I can carry my iPad instead of an enormous textbook, and that I obviously can't damage the digital rental and lose money returning it.

There are some quirks with the CafeScribe app, but overall I would say I would greatly prefer ebooks to physical textbooks if they were actually cheaper.

tpatt100

I would not think of replacing tradition university books with an e-reader. Mostly because it seems like you cannot get them in Kindle format, I can for WGU but that school uses a lot of traditional IT books.

The one big reason I "prefer" Kindle is mostly the service and the application. I make notes/highlights and it syncs across all my devices. If I forget a book at work I can still access the material plus notes I made anywhere else if I need to.

Qord

I love my Kindle, but it has its limitations. Tech manual PDF's render not-good, but regular books are great. I prefer real textbooks (new or used), but for classes that use non-traditional "texts" like novels and non-fiction, the Kindle wins.

But beyond all that, there's something very refreshing (not the best word choice?) about the smell of book-binding glue. That "new book" scent is unbeatable!!!

Sirbloody

I travel a lot so I love reading all my eBooks on my iPad. I would rather not have the extra weight of all my books with me if I am doing a small commute for the day.

Patel128

Right now I normally like to have the paper book, but I have been on the fence on getting a kindle and doing eBooks. The only thing that is holding me back is that everyone says technical books look terrible.

Carl_S_901

I use Kindle App for iPad 2 and have purchased all my certification books and read them on this platform.

Also, I get intimidated by big technical books in print format as I talk about in this blog post.

Regarding textbooks:

In the last few semesters of college I have managed to get eBook versions for 8/15 of my classes. It would have been 9/15 but the Accounting book was just so bad in eBook format that I had to swap it out for the printed version in a binder. Sadly, the college textbook market is a total racket and you have to spend big money for bad books.

Carl_S_901

On another note ...

I'm sure I am the only one, but I think an iPad with and 8.5" x 11" screen would be an awesome eReader.

DevilWAH

If i have a desk to hand, real book and a pad of paper and pen are best.

sitting on a train or 20min at lunch. Ebook is great

I general find for a subject I will have 3 or 4 physical books and a copy of one or two on my kindle.

DevilWAH

Patel128 wrote: »

Right now I normally like to have the paper book, but I have been on the fence on getting a kindle and doing eBooks. The only thing that is holding me back is that everyone says technical books look terrible.

They do, and often there are more pages in an ebook so text relating to a digram that in the printed version is on the same page, is on seperate pages in ebooks. espicaly with the small format ereaders such as the kindle

Hypntick

A mix of physical books and a Nook Color with Cyanogen 7 on there. Haven't run into any issues with formatting myself so far.

MickQ

Physical books for pretty much everywhere. People tend to leave me alone when they see a nice thick text.
I like to carry pdfs of the technical books on a mobile device for handy reference, if required.

SteveLord

As with any other digital distributions, you don't really own eBooks. Bought my wife a Kindle in Feb for her birthday and she has barely touched it. Oh well, I was hero of the day for about 15 minutes.