Hi all

Just wondering if anyone uses an ebook reader in the course of their studies - specifically to read and annotate PDFs of journal articles? I love the idea in theory, obviously reading on a computer screen strains your eyes after a while, and printing out stacks of paper to read and then file is a pain (and environmentally unsound!) Plus I like the idea of being able to take notes on articles neatly and in an organised way without having to work on a computer screen. But I don't know how practical it is, in reality, to read (typically A4) PDFs on a 6" screen. Anyone have any first-hand experience? Is it easy enough to read PDFs by 'zooming in' and/or using a landscape screen orientation?

Maybe I should just wait and see what the Que proReader costs when it comes out next year - that actually has an A4 screen and looks generally nifty! But I thought I'd see if anyone has any thoughts on the readers that are currently available - e.g. the Sony Touch model.

Thanks!

hummmm..stupid question I'm sure, but what exactly is an ebook reader?! Is it like a computer screen only not as harsh?! Sounds great! Sorry I'm not actually helping here!

As I understand it, they use a completely different technology from computer screens - "e ink" - which is far easier on the eyes. (By all accounts they really do look like ink on paper!)

I've had a look at some e-readers (but don't own one), and they are very easy on the eyes, but I would doubt they are a good substitute for making notes on a PC (the tiny querty keyboard alone puts me off). There is also 'e-paper' which looks like a piece of A4 paper but has a USB connection (I don't know if that's commercially available).

Kindle does a large screen version (DX) which doesn't look much smaller than A4 and has landscape orientation (I'd like to put that on my Xmas list!).

As a cheaper option, I bough a large LCD screen that comfortably displays two A4 pages. It has a document setting (which basically dims the screen).

Or otherwise, wouldn't a tablet PC do the job?

Yeah, obviously PCs are better in some ways, but I just don't think reading on them for several hours a day is the best idea. I've messed around with screen brightness and even tinted glasses, but I still get headaches. (I have an eye condition that's known to make sufferers extra sensitive to light, and I'm due to have a corneal tranplant next year which is likely to make matters worse - especially during the recovery period, which can be a year or more.)

What I'm doing at the minute is reading on paper and typing up notes on my laptop, which is probably the best way to read and the best way to take notes if you look at those activities in isolation... but I like the idea of an 'all-in-one' solution, something lighter than a laptop I can put all my PDFs on and which I can at least use to highlight passages, add 'bookmarks', write little notes to myself etc. - which in some ways might be better, and less time-consuming, than writing notes separate from the articles. (I could just write on the articles on paper, of course, but the thought of mountains of printouts held together with paperclips and covered in my indecipherable scrawl fills me with dread!)

Hi, I have just purchased the Kindle book reader from amazon for my husband, I did some research and this was supposed to be the best one on the market, had to ship from america though, not available here yet.  The next generation model 'kindle dx' is, as pointed out, bigger and more suited to academic needs. The screen is much easier on the eyes than a computer screen, and you can store 1000's of books etc; I think maybe the draw backs are that notes you make seem to all go into a main page for storage rather than on the document, although you can highlight the area on the page, so all your notes will be in one place - I would prefer to have my notes on the document, or at least at the end of it - but perhaps this will be an updated feature for the dx model.  Also I dont find the keys very responsive to touch, and quite small, so you wouldnt want to be making copious notes this way. But overall, what a great device, you can instantly purchase books etc, can send all your pdf's over, it bookmarks your last page, its light, can take it anywhere, one touch to go to next page, can change the font and size of text to suit - but will always love books, just maybe purchase those must have books for my collection, then buy the cheaper ebooks.