E-Reader-Surface 2 RT or Fire HD or other?????

[BENNIEV]

I'm thinking of getting my son a device for Christmas. He would like to have a Kindle Fire to read books on. I would rather get him a Surface 2 RT or another Windows Tablet so he can use it for other things such as low end gaming (Minecraft,etc...) and other general use.

With a Kindle, he can check books out of our local library. My questions are: With the Kindle or Nook app for Windows 8 (x86 and ARM), can you check books out of your local library? Do these (or any other) apps provide a good experience for reading books? Should I just get him an "El Cheapo" Kindle for reading books then get him a device to play on?

Does anyone use their Windows Tablet for reading books?

Thanks for your input!
Ben

 

[aximtreo]

I tried to use my Surface RT but it was larger than I felt necessary for an ereader. It does have the upside of being able to run other productive things on it.

I would recommend a cheapie white page ereader and the RT 2. It would only add a $100 or so to the overall cost but will offer the best functionality possible.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Kindle if he really want to just read books. Both Surfaces are meh in portrait.

Productivity-wise, however, the Surfaces beat the Kindle up.

If you can, get both, so you can benefit as well.

 

[crash1989]

My thinking is that iPad mini will be good. You don't have to buy two devices, it works well as a ebook reader and to do other stuff. For productivity and a lot more control over your device surface 2 is the best.

 

[jasqid]

I use my kindle app/account on my surface rt. You are not able to check out books (I'm a prime member too). That feature is only available on a kindle at this time.

That said, I would still purchase the rt again and again. It is very useful for me with my business and personally.

 

[Doctor Pork]

What kind of books are we talking about? If it is regular books with just text, an eBook reader runs circles around any kind of regular tablet due to their ridiculous battery life, more convenient format and no glare at all. My kindle paperwhite is way better for this purpose. If we are talking mostly PDF files and documents, in that case it is usually better to get a tablet due to faster zooming and being able to display colour. 10 inch tablets are a bit too big for eBooks. The Kindle fire is regular tablet so if that is the alternative, you might just as well get. Nexus 7 or 8 inch windows tablet and get a richer ecosystem, at least in my opinion,

An eBook reader is so much better for reading that I am certainly willing to bring a second device if I am going to be reading eBooks,.

 

[11B1P]

My thinking is that iPad mini will be good.

cough, cough, a what? :devil:

 

[HyperChrisX]

I use my kindle app/account on my surface rt. You are not able to check out books (I'm a prime member too). That feature is only available on a kindle

I've been able to check out books and send them to my Windows Phone and Windows 8 laptop...

 

[HeyCori]

I would recommend a Kindle Fire 7/8.9 over a Surface (or any 10 inch tablet). The Kindle is already a great size, great price, great for e-reading and you also get to rent one free book a month if you're a Prime member.

 

[BENNIEV]

what app do you use to check out books?

 

[1jaxstate1]

Kindle would be the best option for eBook reading.

I'm thinking of getting my son a device for Christmas. He would like to have a Kindle Fire to read books on. I would rather get him a Surface 2 RT or another Windows Tablet so he can use it for other things such as low end gaming (Minecraft,etc...) and other general use.

With a Kindle, he can check books out of our local library. My questions are: With the Kindle or Nook app for Windows 8 (x86 and ARM), can you check books out of your local library? Do these (or any other) apps provide a good experience for reading books? Should I just get him an "El Cheapo" Kindle for reading books then get him a device to play on?

Does anyone use their Windows Tablet for reading books?

Thanks for your input!
Ben

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I would recommend a Kindle Fire 7/8.9 over a Surface (or any 10 inch tablet). The Kindle is already a great size, great price, great for e-reading and you also get to rent one free book a month if you're a Prime member.

I agree, but I'd suggest the Kindle Fire HD over the HDX. Even though the specs on the HDX are better, there are quality control issues with the HDX screen (blue borders) and it is much more expensive.

 

[11B1P]

there are quality control issues with the HDX screen (blue borders)...

I don't know if you're saying that is bad, but the blue borders are supposed to be there. It is due to the type of screen they use. I don't think it will be noticeable with regular use. You can read about it on the Amazon website.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I don't know if you're saying that is bad, but the blue borders are supposed to be there. It is due to the type of screen they use. I don't think it will be noticeable with regular use. You can read about it on the Amazon website.

Yes, I'm saying it's bad. Over on MobileRead forums (where ereader folks hang out) there are quite a few complaints about the blue... It is distracting. Amazon's discussion groups are carefully moderated so what is read there isn't necessarily what everyone is saying. There are other build-quality issues and software issues that make it less than desirable. I have an HD and it's perfect.

 

[Cindy_H]

+1 for the Kindle Paperwhite for ereading. But as others have said, you need the Prime account for library books.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I use my surface for all my reading. I use nook and kindle apps. The reading experience isn't bad at all and I enjoy it.

 

[ohgood]

I'm thinking of getting my son a device for Christmas. He would like to have a Kindle Fire to read books on. I would rather get him a Surface 2 RT or another Windows Tablet so he can use it for other things such as low end gaming (Minecraft,etc...) and other general use.

With a Kindle, he can check books out of our local library. My questions are: With the Kindle or Nook app for Windows 8 (x86 and ARM), can you check books out of your local library? Do these (or any other) apps provide a good experience for reading books? Should I just get him an "El Cheapo" Kindle for reading books then get him a device to play on?

Does anyone use their Windows Tablet for reading books?

Thanks for your input!
Ben

After look at the kindle/nook/nexus versions of tablets, and dismissing the surface as too big, and too limited I bought:


Hisense Sero 7 Pro, (at walmart, yuck). It's $129, quad core tegra, microsd, bluetooth, gps, wifi b/g/n, NFC, front/rear camera, 720p video recording, great speakers, long lasting battery (we've had two of these for 5 months now), STANDARD MICRO USB CHARGING PORT, and $10 more means it's replaced if shattered.

Low end gaming is nothing. Intensive applications like Google Earth, Body Explorer, and all the websites kids use run flawlessly, without a hiccup.

Kindle apps, Google Books, PDF's, and all the office document types via Polaris Office work great on this device.

Yes, checking out books from -our- local library works, I believe they're in ePub format or something. Audio books are great too.

If you get a splitter for the earphone jack, two kids can easily watch a movie, or read a book on tape (this is GREAT for youngsters just starting to read) on car trips, with no need for worry about battery life.

We tried the surface (too big, too limited), the ipad (too expensive and restricted like the surface), the Galaxy Tab 1, 2 and 3 (non standard charging UGH!), the nook/kindles (slow CPU and no cameras, along with missing nfc etc) and then looked at the Nabi.

The Nabi is a very close second. It's cheap, extremely good specs, and extremely tough. It lacks a standard charging port (i don't remember honestly) or there was some issue with charging vs the usb port, as it needs another connector instead of charging via usb.

If the surface was x86 and smaller, it would have been a good fit. Relying on -one- limited market for apps doesn't cut it, for us.
If the ipad was less restrictive (see surface) and not $500, it would have been in the running.
If the kindle/nook/fire weren't so expensive and missing things like standard usb charging, microsd, ffc/rfc, NFC, etc they would have been fine.

There is a product called "EARL" (no joke on the name) that should be out sometime spring 2014 that will be hardened, e-ink, offline gps, wifi, bluetooth, and a few other things aimed mostly at adventure motorcycling. It should make a -great- kids friendly tablet for READING along with it's real intended purpose: navigation.



If you find another high end + cheap tablet, please post up !