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0 pointsarohner15y ago0 comments

I use my iPad nearly every day. It's a better experience than my laptop (which I do use literally every day) in several areas:

* reading in bed

* reading long PDFs. This is my primary "work purpose". I read a lot of machine learning books and journal articles in PDF form.

* quick checking of email, when you don't want to sit down for a while

* looking up recipes while cooking

* social media sharing: when friends are over, showing them a new video on youtube, etc

0 comments

8 comments · 3 top-level

zzleeper15y ago· 5 in thread

Would you prefer reading the articles in paper or in the ipad? (I'm considering switching from paper to ipad)

Thanks!

joeyo15y ago

I'm watching this space very, very closely (i.e. tablets specifically for reading PDFs of articles). There are a lot of options but none are quite perfect:

  * iPad
    Pros:
    - Color screen
    - Can zoom to exact size desired
    - Multi-touch
    - Papers.app (easy sync/organization for PDFs)
    Cons: 
    - Not e-ink
    - Battery life
    - Not as light/thin as Kindle

  * Kindle 3
    Pros:
    - E-ink
    - Amazing battery life
    Cons: 
    - Zoom is limited to a couple sizes
    - No touch screen
    - No expansion card & limited to ~3GB internal
    - No real way to organize large number of PDFs

  * Kindle DX
    Pros: 
    - Larger screen means PDFs are sized just about right without zoom
    - Same pros as K3
    Cons: 
    - Larger screen means it's a bit too awkward to hold with one hand
    - A bit on the heavy side
    - Same cons as K3

In my opinion the perfect PDF reader tablet would have a (color) e-ink display with multi-touch for scrolling and an arbitrary zoom. Kindle 4 maybe?

gamble15y ago

I'm not sure e-ink is an asset in a PDF reader. I use my iPad for a lot of technical papers and books. It's much faster than an e-ink display would be, and the page turning lag is still annoying. E-ink would be insufferable.

1 more reply

arohnerOP15y ago

Battery life is not an issue with my iPad. When using it for only reading (i.e. not streaming video), it can easily go for a week without charging. Even with video, on a full charge, it can easily play 8 hours without recharging.

SammoJ15y ago

A major selling point for me is not only organising papers but the ability to annotate papers with full text search for your notes - something available with the mendeley app on the iPad. If no other reader includes this ability soon I know a lot of academics planning on getting an iPad v1 once v2 is launched.

yesbabyyes15y ago

Check Adam from Notion Ink. Next pre-order round starts soon, next week I think (note: I haven't received mine yet, from the first pre-order. Others have, though).

arethuza15y ago

That list is pretty close to my list with the addition that I find the iPad to be an excellent device for video content (mostly BBC iPlayer but also stuff through iTunes).

If I want to watch with more than one person I use our 50" plasma - but if its just me I'm more likely to just sit on a comfy chair and get comfortable with the iPad. Watching extended videos (i.e. more than short YouTube clips) on a laptop or desktop just feels wrong to me.

saw-lau15y ago

It's not all content consumption, either. My wife's studying for an MBA at the moment and as well as using GoodReader extensively for the course material (in PDF), also finds it really easy to create mind maps while working.

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