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I am a long-time proponent of books printed on paper. My wife, however, is concerned with how full the bookcase is getting, and frequently offers me gentle reminders that it might be time to get rid of some books. She has even gone so far as to say that I can get an e-reader or tablet. Score!

Even better, now that so many companies are publishing their rules in PDF format as well as print, I could potentially save some space on the tabletop and in my bag on those sadly infrequent occasions that I am able to actually throw some dice around. Double score!

However, I have no real idea of what device would suit my needs best. I know that I neither want nor need the functionality of tablet, but I also know that a basic e-reader is probably not enough. So, I ask the forum: what sort of device should I buy? Ideally, it should be PDF-compatible and have a color display, and enough battery life to get through a full night's gaming. Any recommendations?

If you're wanting it to be a fully functioning computer, the new Windows 8 tablets are going to be coming in 10.1" soon enough.

If you want the whole app store thing, then it's a toss up between an iPad and an Android device. Both will serve your purposes. GW doesn't do PDFs, they do these iPad only locked down things for a lot of money. So if you're willing to pay what GW is charging for their electronic offerings, you'll have to buy an iPad for the honour of giving GW more money.

I only use rules that are available as actual PDFs, so it's not a concern for me.

 frozenwastes wrote:
GW doesn't do PDFs, they do these iPad only locked down things for a lot of money.

Otherwise known as iBooks using the iBooks Author tool. But yeah, it pretty much means their stuff won't be going to Android, at least until there's an equivalent tool and they want to put in the effort. There's a huge difference between their iBooks offerings and PDF's, however. You could almost class them as separate Apps theres so much functionality in them.

I've been after an iPad for years, but could never justify the price (they're absoltuely horrendously expensive in Australia), and since I don't like the Android interfaces I've seen at all, I've been stumped. My fiancee is grabbing me an iPad mini for Christmas however. I'm still not a convert on it replacing novels, but I'll give it a go.

I have a Kobo, which I keep PDFs of rules and FAQs and the like on to take gaming.

I bought the e-reader rather than a tablet specifically for the battery life. When I flew to the US fo Adepticon, it lasted the entire trip there and back to Oz without needing a charge, which included a fair bit of reading on the plane.

The screen's a little smaller than a tablet, but it's still perfectly functional for what I need.

i'm an iPad fan...
it does everything my 17" Sony laptop does, except download the photos from my camera...

i'm a huge book and magazine collector, but ebooks has been a huge boon for me...
living in a small Mexican village makes it hard to get stuff in a timely manner, and without paying an arm and a leg with courier service (just to be sure stuff actuallu arrives)...

ebooks are slightly cheaper than the print version from BL, same with the new digital White Dwarf...
the Codex and Army Books are fully interactive, as is the magazine...

for everything else, such as games and internet, the iPad rocks, as well...
i watch videos, play loads of free games, browse Dakka, send email, keep track of my businesses, use the square card reader for credit card purchases at my surf shop, show off my photos, all on top of reading my books and magazines...

not to mention, i'm still giddy about the touch screen, after almost three years...
it's really cool, like a real 40K dataslate...

that said, whenever i have friends coming down from Portland, Oregon, i have them bring me books from Powells...
they do nice discounts on BL books...

cheers
jah

My wife and I went through a similar thing a couple of years ago, as our house was being overrun by our book collections. I started off with a 2nd gen Kindle, but then swapped over to a tablet after getting back into (digital) comics.

There really is no right answer. If you're only looking to read on it, I would go with a Kindle (with e-ink display, not the Fire). They have a ridiculously good battery life and are easy on the eyes when reading for long periods. They're also cheaper, but now that there are several good tablets for $200 or less, the price gap isn't as big as it used to be.

If you want a pseudo-laptop with internet capabilities, apps, etc. then go with a tablet. The color screen can be a little bothersome after reading for long stretches, but adjustable brightness helps quite a bit. The battery certainly doesn't last as long as a Kindle, but my tablet will last through most of a 12-hour shift at work with the wireless on and Hulu/Netflix/Pandora streaming.

As for which tablet, I like the features and price of the new Google Nexus, but if you're um...finding your PDFs on the side of the road , you might want to consider something with a larger screen since the text quality isn't always that great with scans. I use the Battlescribe app on my tablet for list building, and the War Room app from PP is really nice, but I really prefer using print copies for gaming. In my experience, it's just easier to flip through a hard copy and find what you're looking for than trying to find it in a PDF.

As a confirmed book horder I can say that an electronic device will never compare to them

but,

For reading basic novels an ebook (my preference is the Amazon Kindle) is a pretty good choice, however they are no good for pdf files or anything with colour or diagrams

If you need to look at those you'll need a tablet. The downside is much worse battery life and a screen that is much more likely to give you eyestrain.

The price is a real turn off but an iPad does feel nicer to use to me than any of the Andriod offerings, and if you might buy the GW codexes etc their ibook format is light years ahead of a pdf in terms of ease of use

(if your computer is an Apple the iPad makes even more sense)

If you're not planning on buying any of the GW ibooks have a look at some of Andriod powered stuff before making a choice, they make impress you more than they do me (but avoid the 'cheap' tablets out of China, they're generally junk)

If you're wanting to be able to read PDFs, then get an tablet. I have a cheap Asus Iconia A200 that is great for pdfs, and it only runs you about $200 if you can get a refurb. Not bad for a 10" screen. The Nexus is pretty sharp also, and also relatively cheap, but it's got a smaller screen. iPads are hot right now, but too expensive in my mind to be worth it.

If you're wanting to actually read books, like, at extended periods of time, and keep as much of the feel as possible? Get a basic Kindle with the black and white e-ink screen. No black-lights, no LCD panels, none of the stuff that causes eye strain. I have one of those also, and I've read 300+ page books on it. By comparison, I felt like my eyes were going to bleed reading 10 pages of a book on a tablet.

Just get some sort of small table or reader. Steer clear of an ipad, as compatibility issues between your PC and it will cause nightmares.

I bought a cheap Android tablet for this exact reason. I looked for one with a high-definition screen. 7", 1240x600 screen is pretty good for PDFs. Being 5 times cheaper than iPad or Samsung tablets, it displays PDFs and shows movies without any special converting, and I don't need anything else from it.

I also own a eInk device, but I wouldn't read PDFs on it. The nature of the screen means you don't have a good zooming and scrolling capabilities. So, if PDF is not formatted for this screen, you are in trouble. In all other cases, I prefer the eInk to LCD, it's much easier on the eyes.

My Kobo Touch handles PDFs just fine. As do the last couple generations of Kindles. Are you refering to some other e-Ink device?

I have an old Kobo (pre touch) - it does not do well with pdfs. However for actual ebooks it is really really good. I really like it and the Calibre software.

I also own an Android Tablet (Asus E-Transformer) - it is good with pdfs, but no where near the battery life. However, it isn't that great as a laptop - I tried to use it it to take notes and it could not keep up with my typing speed. Word processing on it was balls-tastic. It's a neat gadget, but doesn't replace my computer and weighs a ton.

If I was going to repurchase today I would test the Kobo touch and the kindle to see how they handle pdfs. If they could hack it, I'd get a cheap e-reader. I'd ditch the tablet and upgrade my smart phone instead.

I got a Android tablet for just this purpose. It's a Archos Arnova 10 G2 and it uses a microSD card for memory in addition to what is onboard so it's easy. It was cheap enough I don't mind throwing it in my battle bag or letting my kids bang on it with various apps. I think it was about 100 bucks and has never let me down on the limited things I ask it to do (pdfs, music, netflix, simple apps, etc).

 BladeWalker wrote:
I got a Android tablet for just this purpose. It's a Archos Arnova 10 G2 and it uses a microSD card for memory in addition to what is onboard so it's easy. It was cheap enough I don't mind throwing it in my battle bag or letting my kids bang on it with various apps. I think it was about 100 bucks and has never let me down on the limited things I ask it to do (pdfs, music, netflix, simple apps, etc).

Hell, if you can get an android tablet for 100 bucks now, go for that.

I have both a B&W kindle and a Toshiba android tablet.

The tablet is by far the more versitile one and can download kindle software. But it eats power like a laptop and needs feeding every 2-3 days. It's also heavy, like HC rule book heavy.

Typing on a flat screen is a pain in the butt, I got a USB port keyboard for when I need to use my tablet as a word processor.

The kindle weighs as much as a PB book and keeps a charge for weeks at a time. Definitely the better reader. But it sucks with PDFs (a larger screen would take care of that). Uploaded word docs however work fine.

I love both, I use both.

I have an original Kindle Fire .. my company bought them as xmas presents for everyone last year. Was fun for the first couple days, now all I do is play solitaire on it if I'm in a waiting room.

I'm hoping to invest in a new iPad soon though, not even considering other types even though Android ain't so bad.. but it's GW's fault, I want their electrodexes. And I also plan to build my own interactive rulebook and gang builder app for my game as well.

So I think if GW's stuff is something you really want too, then I think iPad is really the only option right now anyway.

I love my Nexus 7, a little on the high end of the prices being discussed ($240) but I use it way more than I thought I would. Interesting possibility I saw was the Kindle Fire HD, if you have Amazon Prime you can stream HD movies straight from it to your HDTV. It's the only tablet I've seen with an HDMI output. Also, not terribly priced at $159 or so.

The title is especially funny as your kindle probably has what, a 5-10 years life expectation? While in best conditions your books will survive well into the 22nd century...

Hell, amiante paper makes books with a 5 millenium life expectation...

A well furnished bookcases dresses up the room like nothing else.

I like the kindle. It feels solid, and I like the display. I don't have much occasion to read "on the go", but if I did, aside from a paper book, the kindle would be my first choice.

I didn't like the nook, also. Something about it was just.. eh. Might have been the power button.

 Kovnik Obama wrote:

A well furnished bookcases dresses up the room like nothing else.

Chalk it up to cultural differences. It's taken me years to get her to tolerate my gaming and to get her to stop just throwing away books when she finishes them. Having a kid seems to have settled her down somewhat, as our son loves reading and being read to, and I'm trying to encourage that as much as possible before he discovers video games or whatever it is that young people do these days.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, thanks for all the advice, everyone. At this point, I'm leaning towards a Kindle or Kobo, depending on how they handle PDFs. My laptop can handle anything else I need.

I have an HTC Flyer, I got it for a steal and it's completely replaced my laptop when I'm traveling short term. Whatever you get I strongly suggest it work with the Amazon system. Their ebook store is second to none and the sheer number of FREE books is incredible

I love my books....I still have the original Battletech novels...robotech novels...Dragonlance Novels...STILL WAITING ON THAT DAMN MOVIE!!!

JoshInJapan wrote:

Chalk it up to cultural differences. It's taken me years to get her to tolerate my gaming and to get her to stop just throwing away books when she finishes them. Having a kid seems to have settled her down somewhat, as our son loves reading and being read to, and I'm trying to encourage that as much as possible before he discovers video games or whatever it is that young people do these days.

I still have the first book I ever read, The Hobbit. I usually can't bring myself to throw a book out, last year I did, but simply because it's hard to sell Vampire the Mascarade Clan books at the local used books store.

I still regret getting rid of my old Star Trek books, and I spent a significant chunk of change reacquiring my favorite star wars books. I still have the copies of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit my grandfather gave me when I was in the fifth grade. My personal library is presently at over two hundred volumes... and I really need more shelves.

I decided to pick up a Kobo Glo. I toyed with the idea of a tablet, but I spend too much time screwing around online as it is. The Kindle looked nice as well, but the Kobo is compatible with comic book readers, which pushed it over the top.

Thanks for all your advice, everyone!