I'm on the move a lot, unable to take my library(ebooks + pdfs) with me. I tried Amazon Kindle, but its pdf rendition is pretty much useless. Also, as much as I'm tempted, LCDs like that of ipad/nexus don't work for me. Any advice/suggestions?
I've got an ebook reader specifically for A4 PDF's<p>It's Onyx BOOX M96 - 9.7" screen, 1600x1200, running on android. The dpi could be better, there is no backlight and only weird stylus-only touchscreen. Build quality is decent, but nothing amazing, the touchscreen is acceptable if you have the damn stylus around (you can actually take notes on that thing though)
It is more or less stock android, with special launcher for ebook part - you can change it though, and it does come with google play. This means you can replace shoddy inbuilt apps with good ones from the store (therefore no issues with supported formats -dvju, epub, fbr, mobi,personalised dictionary,editing doc, excel files (bluetooth keyboard) whatever you want) - it pretty much is an android tablet with eink. However the android comes with no tweaking regarding that - some apps come as black on black - unusable
The sheer screen size lets you browse most technical books without zooming. I routinely use it to study for uni. (Thats mainly why i got it)<p>It is quirky and not that good looking, but it is very usable - the android part works good (if you kill connectivity it will power down after inactivity so battery life is not an issue)<p>Bottom line is: I'm glad i got it. Play store means i can supplant broken pre installed stuff. Missio critical objective - reading B5/A4 pdfs - works better than i hoped.
The isn't pretty or sleek or polished, but it gets the job done and it does it good<p>PS. Previous version got an community ubuntu flavour, dont know about this one.
What issues in particular did you have with PDFs on the Kindle? If it was the low resolution for images and such, the Paperwhite and Voyage have higher DPI displays (212 and 300, respectively, versus the original Kindle's 167).<p>I've had some issues with PDF rendering on my Paperwhite also, but I've usually been able to convert them into a more readable form with Calibre.
errata: The Onyx BOOX M96 - 9.7" has just 1200x825 pixels as written on the box (actually in Polish it has 1280x825). That's indeed VERY low in DPI compared my various Kindles, and yet this is a honestly engineered PDF reader - beating all what Amazon has in the PDF department for 2-column academic papers. Despite its low DPI, which is its major flaw...<p>I love sending HTML pages to my kindles for proper reading, and regret that even with Calibre most tech PDFs are just too small, greyish low contrast for reading.<p>The Sony DPS has 2x the resolution (still insufficient by 10x to compete with paper) and 2.5x the price, while unable to cope with anything else than PDF.<p>Kindles and Kobos HD have nearly 300dpi, though too small and restricted to their own format and a poor WWW experience.<p>It's the 1st time that i praise a reader that's neither high DPI (blame the eInk monopoly for stagnation in this field), nor of highly polished (pun intended) quality, nor cheap (at $350 is 3-4x more than sundry Kindles/Fire), nor easy to use for the common iCrowd.<p>Yet the M96 proves that a generic Android with decent PDF rendering and supporting all the ePub, mobi/azw, MSO files is doable... even in monochrome and lacking video. I'm glad i bought it against all odds and specs, as support of honest engineering and risk taking companies.<p>Its basics are right, it's a device for geeks, students, nerds and pros willing to accept all the compromises enumerated above and in emp_zealoth's post (+1) in return for sparing their eyes from glowing/glaring LCDs and OLEDs.<p>With about 10x the current resolution for a 13" panel with perhaps 3-4 colors, this could become in a few years the ultimate ereader and paper replacement.
> LCDs like that of ipad/nexus don't work for me<p>Why don't they work? Also, do you mean that you are looking for an e-paper solution?
I use an iPad mini + Google Drive for Oreilly/Manning books + Goodreader (app).<p>The iPad was a gift and I just started collecting pdf books. I also use the Amazon app whenever I purchase ebooks from their marketplace. This allows me to stay versatile and automatically sync all my notes, etc. remotely.