What is a good e-Book reader, for reading programming e-books?

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+9 Q:

What is a good e-Book reader, for reading programming e-books?

I'm interested in purchasing an e-book reader, mainly for reading programming related e-books.

Up until now, e-book readers seemed to have a pretty bad reputation. I wonder if this situation has changed and anyone had any good experience with any of them and might provide some helpful advice in selecting one.

Thanks

+4 A:

Don't buy a dedicated e-book reader. Instead look at any of the netbook type laptop PCs avaialable at the moment. Reasons:

A netbook can run a full OS such as XP.
All formats supported on a normal OS can therefore be viewed on your netbook.
Price of a netbook is very competitive compared with dedicated e-book readers.
Common netbook screen resolution of 1024 x 600 is good for comfortable reading.
I own a netbook and have been using it for exactly this purpose.

Ash 2009-01-20 12:00:11

hmmm, interesting, guess the reputation following e-book readers hasn't changed much in the past year.Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely consider this.

Pop Catalin 2009-01-20 12:02:56

I've gotta disagree. I spend so much time in front of a screen, that I want to give my eyes a chance to rest. Readers that use e-ink are SO much easier on the eyes its not even funny, not to mention battery life is much better. Personally, I have an Amazon Kindle, and I love it.

jvenema 2009-03-25 21:37:34

How much do anyone actually read about programming in one go without actually doing some experimentations in a compiler, a netbook is more than capable of running a programming enviroment so you can cut'n paste. Altough I agree e-book readers are excellent devices, they're mostly awesome for consumption of written material, not active learning.

tovare 2010-08-01 00:32:09

@jvenema, I wear glasses and have never had any issues with the LCD screen on my netbook. I sometimes find the text in Windows can be on the small side but this is nothing to do with the LCD screen itself. I am very impressed with e-ink technology but until I can buy a reader that supports CHM, PDF, HTML, TXT, DOC, XLS, XML, PS, etc I will not be getting one. Oh and good luck trying to run Visual Studio on an ebook reader. @tovare's comment is absolutely correct.

Ash 2010-08-01 03:51:16

I stuck a large SSD in my Samsung N110 and, as well as improving performance, it means you can treat your netbook as a casual e-reader on the move (or the sofa) without worrying that one nasty bump is going to wipe out all your data

Joe 2010-08-16 13:14:29

+5 A:

I have the Sony PRS505 and wouldn't be without it.

I also have the Asus Eee PC but wouldn't want to try to use this for reading an eBook while standing up on a crwded train during my daily commute.

Paul Mitchell 2009-01-20 12:39:25

Paul I have PRS505 too, what e-book format do you use? Since all my e-books are pdf/chm I can't read them in Sony reader. Also there is a problem with scaling - html/pdf layouts are hard to downscale to fit reader's screen

aku 2009-01-20 12:52:51

I read PDFs quite well on my PRS505. I just completed a course with the Open University and the reading materials were supplied in PDF format as well as on paper. I did my studying for the course almost exclusively using my PRS505 during my commute to work.

Paul Mitchell 2009-01-20 13:34:47

I believe (but could be wrong) that you can use this tool http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/ to reformat PDFs to suit the PRS505 screen. I haven't found this to be necessary yet but maybe I've just been lucky that the files I've had have already fitted it quite well.

Paul Mitchell 2009-01-20 13:35:41

thanks you, I'll take a look at this tool.

aku 2009-01-20 14:17:47

+4 A:

I bought a Sony PRS505 for the same reason, and had the same doubts. But reading from an e-book is much easier / comfortable than reading from a screen, or printing the documents (that you maybe only read once).

It is true that some pdf's are not rendered correctly, but in that case I play a little bit with the zoom level. There are also a lot of tools to make the device even more useful (reading blogs...)

Sony has now a newer model with touchscreen. I you want to take notes or search in PDF's, you'll need this model. Otherwise take the PRS505, cheaper and a clearer screen. The overlay for the touchscreen causes sometimes some reflection and makes it less clear.

Conclusion: very happy PRS505 owner...

bob 2009-03-04 13:05:56

+3 A:

I really love my Amazon Kindle but I have to admit that it handles code formatting and illustrations pretty poorly.

Update: I recently picked up a Kindle DX and it is far better for technical books than the original Kindle. It also handles PDF files without a problem. At this point, I have to revise my original response to say that, while the smaller Kindle isn't really suitable for technical works, I do recommend the Kindle DX. The only drawback is the price.

Mark Brittingham 2009-03-04 13:16:27

+1 A:

One thing to consider is whether your local public library or university library has a paid subscription to Safari Books Online. Many do and the subscriptions are under-used. They're often happy to set you up with an unlimited account to the entire Safari library. And, there's a Safari iPhone app for reading.

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/

Clifton Burt 2009-03-25 21:32:51

ansaurus

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What is a good e-Book reader, for reading programming e-books?

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