I download the stories in TXT form so I can have Cool reader app read it to me while I'm driving down the road. Yes, I drive truck for a living.
I download the stories in TXT form so I can have Cool reader app read it to me while I'm driving down the road. Yes, I drive truck for a living.
Don't have the answer your looking for but just had to say thanks for making the economy go round and my your day be free of fools and idiots on the road before you.
I read the stories on my computer or the 7 inch tablet I use when away from my desk. Most are read as HTML, but some are read as e-pubs or PDFs.
I can not read while I'm out driving, that is why I listen to it.
I can relate to that, however, I use the tablet so I can read when I stop for a meal while on the road.
I used to get into trouble at school because I used to talk about having 'heard' a book the teacher was talking about. My mother was blind and she had a talking book machine, so from when I was old enough to be of use I helped her out by turning the cartridge over and restarting the machine. Those old 25 track cartridges were big and heavy, about 4 pounds each, and each track was only about 20 minutes, so when mom was listening to a book I usually just stayed in the room and listened to it as well. Thus, when I started school I had heard a hell of a lot of books, especially the classics mom liked.
Typically, I read the html on my phone or copy and paste into @Voice Aloud Reader if I want to listen (again, on my phone).
I download the epubs on my phone. Small screen but I have it with me so can't beat its connivence.
Which opens a related topic: I've been tempted for years to get some kind of book tablet, ideally one that has WiFi and enough of a browser to browse this and my other sources like fanfiction etc. Hopefully with a good-for-reading screen that is great both day and night. Great battery. Size of a big tablet etc. Good ePub reader. Would be fun if it has a good text-to-speech. Not tethered to some book store. And no ads!
I've never wanted one of those kindle thingies because I'm not big on Amazon the company. But I have never actually seen one - they don't seem big in my part of the world.
Anyway, recommendations?
Anyway, recommendations?
I'd go with a droid. You can get droids in anything from an 8 to a 12.5 inch (20-32 cm) screen.
There are at least a dozen different choices in the Google Play store for ebook readers and most (other than Kindle for Android) will handle epubs.
You do need to be careful, in some cases the same basic model is available in both wifi only and with it's own cellular modem, and that makes a huge difference in the price.
Price will vary depending on how much on board storage and RAM memory.
I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (10.1 inch) on line from Best Buy. 32GB of storage and 3GB of ram.
Best Buy currently has Samsung droid tablets on sale around $100 off list price.
Best part was free next day shipping.
Anyway, recommendations?
It depends on what you want to do with the device. If it's exclusively for reading I would go for an e-reader but you have to be careful in choosing which one. If you like to do more (whatsapp, ugh) a tablet like Dominions Son suggested would be a better choice.
E-readers have some advantages over a tablet since they are specifically build for reading. They have a different screen (e-paper) which is easier for your eyes and this type of screen makes the battery last way longer than the screens you find on 'normal' tablets. The battery will last even longer if you read off-line, i.e. disconnect wifi.
Pay attention to the types of ebooks that are supported and if books from outside the connected store are allowed (most but not all are connected to a store, the way they allow 'outside' books differ). Calibre should solve most problems if a specific format is not supported, IF you can load books without a store. Most e-readers have sufficient storage space but check it anyway if you want to carry along a lot of books on your e-reader. Check the reviews for remarks about the software, some e-readers have really crappy software where others have excellent software. If you like to read illustrated comic books you're better of with a tablet.
If it's exclusively for reading I would go for an e-reader but you have to be careful in choosing which one.
Except Jason Samson specifically said he also wanted to use it as an internet browser (for SOL and other things), so a dedicated e-reader won't cut it.
Except Jason Samson specifically said he also wanted to use it as an internet browser (for SOL and other things), so a dedicated e-reader won't cut it.
Yeah, read that after my post. Some e-readers do support browsing, but of course it's an e-paper screen so no colors.
From reading both replies, I'm thinking I'd want an ereader with a basic browser. Does their screens work well in daylight? Are they white text black background backlit at night? I have never actually seen one.
No dedicated e-reader with an e-paper display is going to have a decent internet browser.
There are two issues:
1. An e-paper display is strictly black/white/grey scale.
2. An e-paper display can't handle even the simplest animation.
This is because the way the display works it can hold a static image with no power consumption. power is only used to refresh the image. But the drawback is a relatively long screen refresh cycle as it has to actively erase the current image before rendering the new image.
No, an e-paper display is not backlit it is designed to as closely as possible replicate a sheet of paper visually.
If you don't want the e-paper display, you might as well get a proper tablet.
From reading both replies, I'm thinking I'd want an ereader with a basic browser. Does their screens work well in daylight? Are they white text black background backlit at night? I have never actually seen one.
Be aware that the browser is very limited, mainly because of the screen but also because the included browser is very basic. It depends on what you expect from the browser so read up up on what it is capable off before buying. Don't expect to be viewing youtube video's :)
Outside with full daylight the screen is usually better than what you could get with a tablet, one of the reasons why e-readers are so popular for reading. Back light depends on the e-reader, some have light, some don't. On most you can adjust the back- and letter gray scale, how differs per e-reader.
Investigate carefully because sometimes the differences are subtle but it can be very annoying if you miss a specific little thing you thought it could do. For example: some readers have physical buttons for previous/next page and others don't.
Yeah, read that after my post. Some e-readers do support browsing, but of course it's an e-paper screen so no colors.
No animation either, strictly static images.
I download the epubs on my phone. Small screen but I have it with me so can't beat its connivence.
I agree, downloading the ePub is your best choice, as most devices' e-readers rely on their browser code to display ePubs, so if you have a smart phone, it should have no problems reading them.
However, if you're trying to read individual chapters as they're served up on SOL, than you're a much braver man than I. ;)
That said, I know how to get the ePubs to read aloud on Apple devices (Option-Esc), though I'm not sure how to trigger it on PCs or Linux devices (are there still such things?).