Reading e-books on S4?

[ThisTechBoi]

I'm planning on getting the S4 as soon as it releases in a few weeks, but I was wondering, what would it be like reading on the S4?
I have a truck-load of mainly PDF files on my computer, and I would like to read them on my phone as reading on a PC is uncomfortable and inconvenient.

I was considering the Note 2/Note 3, but the size of the phablet really intimidates me.

What do you think, will the S4 be a great device of e-Reading?
Also a heads up to to the S3 owners, is e-Reading on the S3 comfortable?

Thanks

 

[MikeLip]

I use both the S3 and Note 2 for reading. I use the Kindle app, which handles PDFs nicely. The N2 is a bit better than the S3 because of the screen size, but the S3 is actually fine for reading. I don't think you will have any problems with the S4 at all

 

[TheOtherBill]

As MikeLip said. I use the Kindle app on my Note 2 and it's great. The S4 screen is only a little bit smaller but it won't matter at all because you have a lot of control in the app over the font size and spacing (for regular ebooks, I can't say about PDFs).

 

[badbrad17]

I find .mobi files to look better on the Kindle app than pdf if you have the option.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[So Cold]

I have the note 2 and love it but I carry a Kindle with me for reading and will never give that up. There's no substitute for reading on the e ink screen

Sent from my Note 2

 

[ThisTechBoi]

Yes, reading on a Note 2 was one of the main reasons why I was planning on buying the device, but as I've said before, it's a bit big and uncomfortable for me. I cannot use it comfortable without cradling it in one hand, which is why I won't be buying the device overall. Maybe if the Note 3 is better, that'll be my next buy but for now, S4 will have to do.

Anyways, back on topic;

I have the note 2 and love it but I carry a Kindle with me for reading and will never give that up. There's no substitute for reading on the e ink screen

I actually considered a Kindle, but I found that I do not have many .mobi's, maybe 20, but definitely over a couple hundred PDFS, all I would like to read.

Would the Adobe Reader app be suitable for a comfortable PDF e-reading experience?

 

[xtn]

Totally depends on the pdf files you have. Electronic book formats are text and images in sequential order without any formatting data. So the Kindle app can reflow, and you can choose font size. So it can be readable no matter the size of your screen. PDF files are layed out in the creating software, including font size, column placement, page size, etc. So on your devize they cannot be reflowed or otherwise made easier to read. Basically all you can do with them is zoom and scroll.

Now if somebody had the foresight to create a long, skinny page size, and only one column, so that all you had to do was scroll down as you read, that would work well on a cell phone. Is somebody out there making such pdf files?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kytydad]

Another alternative is to convert your PDFs to a different format. There is a great free program called calibre that works great. I've done that with PDF Ebooks that I have to read on my iPhone. Off subject, I'm dumping my iphone 5 for a s4 when it comes out.

 

[LoganK]

I currently use the S3 to read PDFs and ePub files. For novels, the phone is fine. I think most people could get by with it (and the AMOLED display is really nice for bedtime reading).

For PDFs, buy a (Android) program called ezPDF and then crop the huge white margins out. It works fairly well if you have good vision (not great, just good). Even technical material with diagrams referenced on the page aren't a problem. The display is sharp enough and large enough, and the phone is responsive enough, that you'll probably forget you're reading on a phone.

The only reason I want a Note 2 is because the S-Pen allows for easier tapping of small links.

 

[ThisTechBoi]

Thanks for the answers, guys
I8've decided, I'll go with the S4 and find some ways to deal w/ PDFS.

Thanks again

 

[meyerweb#CB]

I think it really depends on what you're reading. If it's all text, the S4 will be fine. But if it's technical documentation, with images or graphics designed for 8.5x11 pages, those may be difficult to read on any phone screen, and even on the Note 2's screen.

 

[ThisTechBoi]

I think it really depends on what you're reading. If it's all text, the S4 will be fine. But if it's technical documentation, with images or graphics designed for 8.5x11 pages, those may be difficult to read on any phone screen, and even on the Note 2's screen.

I'll mostly be reading books that are mostly text, and a few magazines here and there. It should be fine, right?

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Yes, I would think so. I usually use my tablet for ebooks, but on occasion use my S3 and have no problem at all.

 

[MikeLip]

I use the Note 2 and S3 for reading both Kindle books and Underwriters Laboratory standards - a dozen 400 page PDFs, loaded with line drawings and illustrations. The Kindle app handles the PDFs like they were designed for it. Just download the freebie Kindle, email your PDFs to the address Amazon supplies you - for free - with your app, and they get put on your device in the background, and flowed beautifully. All for not a thin dime. I love it. I don't have to carry 10 pounds of paper around with me and I can bookmark and highlight areas I need to make note of - and even better, UNhighlight them when I'm done. Beats the heck out of highlighters and Postit notes. I have the standard on paper, but I don't even know where those are anymore.

 

[ThisTechBoi]

Yes, I would think so. I usually use my tablet for ebooks, but on occasion use my S3 and have no problem at all.

Cheers, boss!

I use the Note 2 and S3 for reading both Kindle books and Underwriters Laboratory standards - a dozen 400 page PDFs, loaded with line drawings and illustrations. The Kindle app handles the PDFs like they were designed for it. Just download the freebie Kindle, email your PDFs to the address Amazon supplies you - for free - with your app, and they get put on your device in the background, and flowed beautifully. All for not a thin dime. I love it. I don't have to carry 10 pounds of paper around with me and I can bookmark and highlight areas I need to make note of - and even better, UNhighlight them when I'm done. Beats the heck out of highlighters and Postit notes. I have the standard on paper, but I don't even know where those are anymore.

Will do But wait, how long does it take for the pdfs to be added "in the background"?

You know, there are some schools where they've started using tablets and laptops and ditched the textbooks. See; 25 Ways To Use Tablets In The Classroom - Edudemic

 

[MikeLip]

Cheers, boss!



Will do But wait, how long does it take for the pdfs to be added "in the background"?

You know, there are some schools where they've started using tablets and laptops and ditched the textbooks. See; 25 Ways To Use Tablets In The Classroom - Edudemic

I've never seen it take more than a couple of hours. I don't know what Amazons process is, but it seems pretty fast.

 

[Joelist]

RepliGo Reader reflows PDFs and does an extremely good job of it in my experience.

 

[ABBIE SHEFFIELD]

Hello

I have the samsung galaxy s4 and I can't read books on my google books app. Everytime it tries to download my library is just keeps saying that I have connection error but I have tried every way and it is still not working.

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

If you mostly read books which contain mostly text , ePub is the best format imho.

Apply black theme + use a black device + AMOLED display = awesome for reading at nights and very pleasing to eyes because the display just fades into the bezels.

It looks incredible in the real world because of 1080p/very sharp display , but here's quick snap I took :



edit : wtf it is uploaded sideways , its normal pic.

 

[GrooveRite]

If you mostly read books which contain mostly text , ePub is the best format imho.

Apply black theme + use a black device + AMOLED display = awesome for reading at nights and very pleasing to eyes because the display just fades into the bezels.

It looks incredible in the real world because of 1080p/very sharp display , but here's quick snap I took :

View attachment 107821

edit : wtf it is uploaded sideways , its normal pic.

This is the way I do my reading as well. Black background, white lettering....easy on my eyes, day or night. I use Cool Reader though.