Kindle or other e-book reader?

I am starting at WGU on Nov. 1st, and I have noticed that some of the posters in the WGU threads have mentioned getting study materials, books, etc. for their kindle/e-readers.

My question is this...is this a worthwhile investment? Has anyone with an e-reader used it for schooling? Was it a useful tool?

I am considering getting one since I could load multiple books on it and take it to work with me, since my job has some quiet slow time everyday, and it would make it easier to study some while at work.

Is the kindle the best option? Or is their another brand that is better or is a better value.

Thanks for the input and suggestions!

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demonfurbie

mikej412 wrote: »

I'm not sure of the total run time or quality/life of the battery.

The longest I've gone is 2 hours reading on Safari (with the 10.1" tablet) -- and then I plug it back in. I've also watched movies for over 2 hour, but again I plug it back in when I'm done. Never saw a low battery pop up.

ive been looking for a 7in droid tab what one ya got

all the ones i can find seam to be a little on the crap side of the reviews

mikej412

demonfurbie wrote: »

ive been looking for a 7in droid tab what one ya got

The 7" is actually a Pandigital Novel eBook reader (Kohl's sells them). It's rooted and running Android 2.1 with access to the Android Market.

DevilWAH

mikej412 wrote: »

The 7" is actually a Pandigital Novel eBook reader (Kohl's sells them). It's rooted and running Android 2.1 with access to the Android Market.

What model of 10" are you using if you dont mind me asking? I seen a few around now, some look like cheap plastic others look quite impressive, but do you have any sugested websits or makes ?

Cheers

mikej412

DevilWAH wrote: »

What model of 10" are you using

I got the Zenithink ZT-180 for $225

myedjo24

I bought my wife a kindle, but I did not even want the damn thing. I was more than willing to buy her an Ipad but she was like no I want to read outside without a glare. No matter how much I explained to her that she will more than likely spend more time reading in the dark (which you can't read on a kindle with out a light) than she will be sitting outside reading. Of course, I was right as usual because I have yet to see her go outside to specifically read. If apple comes out with a new ipad in April which I've heard they may, I'll probably buy one then.

DevilWAH

any one know a good place to buy android tablits in the uk? seems amazon not in stock. not sure i like ebay as i dont want a cheap knock off. I did fing one on thecheaplaptops.com but they seem to have closed for a few days. the zt 180 seems a good bet but i thinking i have to order from US. any one used zenithink.us?

Amco

I'm using the Kindle Dx and loving it. I used the Kindle 3 for awhile but it was just too small for me to read technical books.

DevilWAH

again the DX is a pain to get in uk have to order it in!

Also I want to be able to watch videos on the train on way to work (CBT nuggets and such)

varelg

Thxlbx wrote: »

I am starting at WGU on Nov. 1st, and I have noticed that some of the posters in the WGU threads have mentioned getting study materials, books, etc. for their kindle/e-readers.

My question is this...is this a worthwhile investment? Has anyone with an e-reader used it for schooling? Was it a useful tool?

I am considering getting one since I could load multiple books on it and take it to work with me, since my job has some quiet slow time everyday, and it would make it easier to study some while at work.

Is the kindle the best option? Or is their another brand that is better or is a better value.

Thanks for the input and suggestions!

You will very likely be forced to load PDF's with lots of tables, bullet points and formated text in various fonts that will have different meaning depending on the font. Almost all e-readers that sport non-glare screens will fail at correctly displaying such PDF's. Sony PRS 950 looks promising in this retrospect but I may be wrong and also out of patience to spend more time looking for That One Ereader that will display my text as it was intended instead of actually spending more time reading.
I own nook Classic and prefer eInk reader over a back lit screen. Regularly, pdf's are presented dismantled whenever they contain more than plain text. This somewhat improves when I choose below-any-usability small fonts. But then the purpose is beaten. Mind though that, if B&N offers the same title as an ebook that you can buy, formatting stops being an issue and everything displays correctly. So, I guess there is a magic pdf-to-epub transformation engine out there...
I haven't tried other non-backlit eReaders but word is that the rest of that bunch isn't any better either when it comes to PDF's.
But if you're OK with glare, tablets make perfect sense for you...

DevilWAH

mt idea now is a large tablet for pdf and short tec docs. plus a kindle for rreading fiction books. as having played with a kindle i like the eink screen for long stints of reading. pity they dont support the epub format direct and you have to convert.

sthompson86

I used the PC reader, and the iPhone app, But I just like a real book too much to get into E-Book reading.

Hypntick

Looking at a nook color actually. It's more than I want to spend on a device just for PDF files but it appears to handle them pretty well. If I can land a job soonish that'll be my Christmas present to myself.

badboyeee

Been using Kindle on PC (netbook) and Kindle on Andriod app as my "E-Readers".

Hypntick

Posting from my Nook Color. This thing is Amazing! Well worth the money and pdfs are perfectly sized. Typing is taking a little getting used to.

it_consultant

I have a Kindle and love it because it was inexpensive and it is exceedingly easy to read. I think you need about six kindles to equal the weight of one iPad. There is a reason it lacks a backlight, it is much harder on the eyes. For USD $20 I got a clip on light which fixes that problem. My wife will probably get the nook color because she likes the graphics on magazines and such. I might have gotten a nook color, I think I am just too cheap.

demonfurbie

yall may find this article interesting on tab type pcs

The Android Sysadmin: Remote Administration in the Smartphone Age | ZDNet

def something to look into if you do alot of remote work like me

Hypntick

it_consultant wrote: »

I have a Kindle and love it because it was inexpensive and it is exceedingly easy to read. I think you need about six kindles to equal the weight of one iPad. There is a reason it lacks a backlight, it is much harder on the eyes. For USD $20 I got a clip on light which fixes that problem. My wife will probably get the nook color because she likes the graphics on magazines and such. I might have gotten a nook color, I think I am just too cheap.

If you're of the mind to "play" with your devices like I am, you can actually get android 2.2 running on the nook color as of right now. Need to know a bit about linux, which I unfortunately do not, but i'm rapidly learning.

I considered investing in one of those Chinese tablets but I figure with this nook, if it breaks I can return it, if I need support, it's probably in English. Sure it cost more than I cared to spend, but if I look at the savings over time just in ebooks alone it's well worth the investment. I just want to get the newer OS on it so I can load up flash 10 and pretty much have all my tablet needs met.