Reader?

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twe90kid

Senior Member
Jan 20, 2008
2,188
649
What do you owners think about using the tab as a reader?
I'm thinking about investing in either the 8.4 or the 10.1 as the reader. Simply for things like news articles, blogs, and maybe even using the Amazon Kindle app to read books. How much stress would it put on the eyes?
 

mattskr

Member
Jul 24, 2008
14
0
It's not stress on the eyes I would worry about...it's the weight of the device. The screens are mostly the same on these devices but the extra weight of a full size tablet might making extended reading sessions difficult. I would suggest getting the 8.4. I just upgraded to one from an LG G Pad and use it mostly for reading Kindle, Feedly, and Play Magazines.
 

highaltitude

Senior Member
Nov 4, 2010
2,040
255
NC
I'm pretty sure there was a setting I saw that said Reading mode or something to that effect.


Sent from my GT-I9505 converted SGH-i337 w/XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

Beowulf_pt

Senior Member
Jul 29, 2010
303
25
Lisbon
It's not stress on the eyes I would worry about...it's the weight of the device.

I second this. The NotePro 12.2 is amazing for reading, I really like the sharpness of the text. Been using the Newsweek app a lot, read some magazines, comics, etc. View angles are good and you can adjust brighness easily.
There is the "reading mode" indeed but so far I don't see any difference when I turn it on and off.. not all apps support it.

The weight is indeed the problem, don't expect to be holding it up for long, as you would with a very light e-reader or a paper magazine. It will have to rest on your lap (even that way it can tire wrists a bit) or a stand.
 

RobilarOCN

Senior Member
Dec 12, 2013
149
19
Toronto
I've tried all of the current 8" tablets for extended periods of time for reading. I own (or owned) the mini, the mini retina, the LG G Pad, the Samsung Tab 3 8", the Samsung Note 8", thus Asus Memo HD 8" and currently have the Tab Pro 8.4 on order.

I also had other slightly smaller tablets like the 7.7" Toshiba AT270 and the Samsung 7.7"

They all work fine for reading. Weight with a thin 8" tablet is negligble. In fact if you compare any of these to the top end reader available, the Kobo Aura HD, they only weigh on average about 100 grams more. That is not a big weight delta.

The Samsung tablets (the tab 3 8") and the new Tab Pro all have a reading mode. I used the Tab 3 8" for about 6 months and left it on by default. Wasn't really sure how it helped (or if it did at all).

Two things are important for reading under various conditions, max brightness/dimness and DPI. Max brightness is important if you are reading outside (one of the main reasons I got rid of the LG G Pad), max dimness is handy if you are reading in bed in the dark and don't want to wake up the wife with an 8" flashlight...

DPI, the higher the better as it increases the sharpness of text. As a reference, the Kobo Aura HD is 1440x1080 (6.8") with a DPI of 259. The Tab Pro has a 359 DPI....
 

djroese33

Senior Member
Feb 22, 2014
167
72
Twin Cities, MN
I think 10.1 is the best size now that they're so light. I had an iPad 3 (retina) and then went for the first mini. Loved it for reading books, but not so much for Zino magazines, various PDFs that I needed, even web pages. Oh, heck, the occasional comic too. Just too small. I went to the iPad Air to get the size back after it hit 1lb. Two weeks ago i decided I was sick of iPhones and their size (I have big hands) and got a Nexus 5. Loved it so much I just sold the air and got the Tab Pro 10.1. I think the sharpness of current screens nullifies some of the 'lcd' tired eyes syndrome, and I've preferred the ability to turn to night mode in books to something like a paperwhite when it gets dark out.
 

RobilarOCN

Senior Member
Dec 12, 2013
149
19
Toronto
If you are reading primarily books (as I do), there is no real benefit to a 10" tablet. It has more surface area than a page in a hard cover book.

If as mentioned above you read comics or magazines, the bigger surface area is handy.

The benefit of an 8" tablet is that it is extremely portable. I can fit mine into a pocket inside my coat. Try doing that with a 10" tablet...
 

raptir

Senior Member
May 4, 2010
1,271
270
I've tried all of the current 8" tablets for extended periods of time for reading. I own (or owned) the mini, the mini retina, the LG G Pad, the Samsung Tab 3 8", the Samsung Note 8", thus Asus Memo HD 8" and currently have the Tab Pro 8.4 on order.

I also had other slightly smaller tablets like the 7.7" Toshiba AT270 and the Samsung 7.7"

They all work fine for reading. Weight with a thin 8" tablet is negligble. In fact if you compare any of these to the top end reader available, the Kobo Aura HD, they only weigh on average about 100 grams more. That is not a big weight delta.

The Samsung tablets (the tab 3 8") and the new Tab Pro all have a reading mode. I used the Tab 3 8" for about 6 months and left it on by default. Wasn't really sure how it helped (or if it did at all).

Two things are important for reading under various conditions, max brightness/dimness and DPI. Max brightness is important if you are reading outside (one of the main reasons I got rid of the LG G Pad), max dimness is handy if you are reading in bed in the dark and don't want to wake up the wife with an 8" flashlight...

DPI, the higher the better as it increases the sharpness of text. As a reference, the Kobo Aura HD is 1440x1080 (6.8") with a DPI of 259. The Tab Pro has a 359 DPI....

I like using a tablet for reading but I think you've made some unfair comparisons. First, the Aura HD is a "premium" ereader but if you look at the mainstream model, the Aura, you drop the weight from 240g to 174g. That puts the Tab Pro 8.4 at nearly double the weight (174g vs 331g). I use a 2012 Nexus 7 (340g, only slightly heavier than the Tab Pro 8.4)) and a Kindle Paperwhite (206g) for reading. The Nexus 7 is fine, but I will say that for long periods of use the lighter weight of the Paperwhite is much more comfortable. I often find myself leaning the Nexus 7 on something while I never have to do that with the Kindle. And comparing the DPI of an eInk screen vs an LCD doesn't give you a good benchmark of the text quality since they're using two vastly different rendering methods. For text alone I would take the eInk screen at the lower PPI over the LCD at the higher PPI.

That said, a tablet is much more versatile and can even be better for reading if you're not talking about eBooks but various web content as well.I would say the ideal tablet for reading depends a lot on what you plan on reading. If you read a lot of magazines, I might have to recommend something like the iPad Air as the size and aspect ratio make it great for magazines. If it's mostly web content a 10" Android tablet like the Tab Pro would be good since it most closely mimics a laptop display. If it's primarily eBooks the 7" tablets like the 2013 Nexus 7 are great for the lighter weight. Lastly, if you view more of a mix of the above, 8.4" is a great compromise.