Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The Outside Course!

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
iPad among other devices; sort of spin off
Topic Started: May 20 2011, 01:29 PM (285 Views)
CDE Driver
Member Avatar
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I have so many questions I don't know where to start! :psycho:

Okay, here goes....

*If you have an iPad I take it you have to have some sort of data plan to access the internet. Do you have to have ATT?Is it like your phone, you get internet anywhere there is coverage or do you have to be in some sort of Wi-Fi zone? Since I really don't know anything about them tell me why I should get one.

*I would love to get an E-reader type device. What do you recommend? I have Kindle on my computer and I like that but it would be nice to have something smaller, but not too small for my old people eyes :teehee: . I have noticed all the ebooks for Kindle cost as much or more than regular books. I thought I saw something, maybe here, that you can share them or something. Is there a used book store equivalent for Kindle or other ebooks?

*Do you have to have a specific device to download books from the library?

*Can you do audio books on an ereader device or iPad? I know you can on a ipod. I have an android phone, can I get audio books for it? If so do I have to have regular headphones to listen or can I hear it on my bluetooth ear piece?

That is all the questions I have for now.....but I'm sure your answers will give my more questions! Please forgive my Luddite-ness! :huh:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Won for Me
Is the meadow on fire?
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
CDE, take this for what's worth as I still am doing a lot of research...

You do not have to have AT&T for the iPad. I heard they have an open network.

I do not have any information on any e-readers though see a lot of people using them when I travel. They are much more convenient than traveling with books. I know you can download books to the iPad.

I have no idea about the Android and what is available for it.

I use iTunes for all my downloading and have been very happy with their selections, pricing and choices. I also like their search function.

The reason I want an iPad is for traveling. You can downloard movies or television shows to the iPad. Also, games, music and other things to keep me amused when I am bored on an airplane. IPads will not take place of a conventional computer. I have seen one in person and the picture quality was amazing. Looked like the people were going to fall out of the screen.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Indy
Member Avatar
You're BANNED!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I can speak a bit on the eReader front. Mr. I and I both have Sony Readers, which we love. It's fantastic for traveling because of the convenience factor of being able to have lots of books with you without having to schlep around heavy books. Mr. I has a long public transit commute so it's great for him for that too.

As far as text size, you can adjust the size of the font to make it larger if you wish to (not super blind huge, but definitely bigger than your standard paperback book font).

Price for ebooks tends to be around the same price as a regular paperback, unfortunately, so they're not a money-saver if you like popular books. I've been able to get some decent books for under $10 which isn't too bad if it's a book of decent length. There are a lot of free books available via pdf if you are into classics and such (public domain texts are free via sites like Project Guttenberg). Amazon and Sony also offer a lot of free books, but IMO they're the kind of crap book that you can tell why it's free. Also a lot of libraries have excellent ebook resources for free - you can "check out" a book for an allotted period of time. Our county's library sucks for ebooks but the Milwaukee library is awesome so we get books through my MIL's library card. Most of the library ebooks seem to be either in pdf, which most/all the devices can read, or epub format which I know Nooks and Sony Readers can read (not sure about Kindles on this one).

I believe that some of the newer eReader units allow book sharing within their own kind. Like with the Nook from Amazon, Nook owners can share books with other Nook owners but not with Kindle owners (and there might be a limit to how many times you can pass on a book, I'm not sure). Our Sony Readers do not have a sharing capability. I know the older model Kindles didn't either but the newer ones might. In hindsight I wish we had gone with Nooks because of the sharing capability but we got ours right when the Nooks came out and they were hard to find.

I believe some of the current eReader units have backlights, which is something that would be really useful when reading in low-light situations. My Sony does not and there have been times on trains and planes where having a back-lit screen would have made reading a lot less squinty. That's a feature I would look for if I ever replaced my Reader.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
buryinghill2
Member Avatar
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I have a Nook and I LOVE it. Mine is the newer color one, so it is back lit. That means you can read it in the dark without additional lighting, but it has tons of glare when reading outside in the sun. I miss the fact that my black and white Nook was not back lit, and it was perfect for reading outside. That being said, the color Nook has a good browser, I can check my email, use Facebook and anything else I want to do online. The new software upgrade also mad a bunch of apps available.
The Nook does allow sharing of books between Nook owners. However, it's pretty limited. Only some books can be loaned, and they can only be loaned once.
Overall, I really like the Nook and would highly recommend it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CDE Driver
Member Avatar
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Great information, thank you so much.

So BH2, how do you connect to the internet?

What about audio books?

My dear MIL just mailed me an approximately 50 pound box of books! I think I will ask for a Nook for my birthday! :teehee:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Smiles
Member Avatar
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
No you don't need to have at&t for internet access for the ipad. We have verizon and we got the 4g mifi device for it. Works great! I was playing games and looking at stuff on the internet at the horse show yesturday while waiting for my classes. I don't know how the batteries are on the nooks but the ipad has a battery that last over 10 hours.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kikki
Member Avatar
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I dont have an I pad but I do have the Motorola Xoom. I have an android and I like having the same platform and I like how my phone, tablet, and gmail account t sync everything. I have a data package for it but not a huge one - I am mostly connected via wifi. I do download books on it and love it. I can't do books at the gym but I can read on my tablet. I download audio books on my Droid and you coile on the Xoom too.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · The Hay Loft · Next Topic »
Add Reply