Printing out all of these manuals is just going to be too much, expense, paper, ink, time.... whatever.

What would you guys recommend for a PDF reader that so I can read pdf manuals in the john and/or in the sack??? No, my current laptop is just too big and bulky to be the cheapest pragmatic alternative.

I saw something on Amazon for less than $100 ($88 IIRC) but thought maybe someone here would know of something cheaper/better. I'll try to find the link for the thing I saw at Amazon.

I know nothing about tablets, androids, ipads, whatever.... NOTHING. I don't own a cell phone, nor want one. I just want something to read my pdf manuals in the reading room and lying down at night for bed.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0093XTHI6/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p147_d3_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0HZ5SF2D6TWP8BAJ9ZKM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

Here's the thing I saw at amazon. $92. Could've sworn it was $88 the other day, but my memory sucks so who knows.

From experience I can tell you the cheapest samsung galaxy (android) models are pretty decent - plus you have the bonus of web etc and all the free apps too.

It has 7" display with WVGA (800x480) resolution. It would be terrible for PDFs, very blurry, you need higher ppi.

Most of the ebook readers don't go well with PDFs. You should always export PDFs to your reader format before reading (but it may interfere with PDF layout). It's even worse if PDF is not text but photos of pages.

They have an 8 and 9 and 10 inch one, so I'll check those for what they're resolutions are. What's the minimum they should be at??

Ugh, the 9 inch one is 1280X800 but adds another almost $100. Crap, I really didn't want to add dollars, in fact was hoping someone would know of some cheaper alternatives.

I just can't justify spending almost $200 for something that I will ONLY use for reading pdf manuals, guess I'm stuck with the printing. Which, in the long run, will probably go over that amount anyway.

LOL, it's hard and expensive being a gamer!!

If you get an Android device, also get Moon Reader Pro. It's amazing for PDFs. Incredibly fast engine.

I just bought Moon+ Reader Pro for this... prior i tried Kindle, default jelly bean, QuickOffice Pro, OfficeSuite pro, and Adobes reader on android... Moon+ is the best and it works great!

on a side note ive converted to epub and all that rot, no need with Moon+ and i have 100's of PDF's

Umm, you almost can't beat a used older model netbook off of craigslist, probably run you around 30-40 bucks max, just leave it plugged in if the power cord will reach. Dell Mini 9 (or Vostro A90s) will for sure run Linux if you prefer that to the cruddy version of XP some of them ship with.

I can't see spending close to 100 bucks to have a handy PDF reading tablet. Hell, if you don't need color a used Kindle keyboard will do as well and those are super cheap, 40 bucks tops on craigslist.

If you have another use case for the item then you might argue for the more pricey item, but with what you've presented so far... yeah, overkill.

You have two possibilities here:

LCD with cute colours, retro illuminated, with tons of other stuff to do with it. Take a iPad2 for that. They're pretty cheap now, and it's a good tablet. The problem? Two hours of battery. And not very good for your eyes.

eINK, just b/w slooooow as hell, no retro illuminated, just for read, and rather expensive comparing with a tablet. Why then I mention it? A month of battery, amazing contrast, is very kind with your eyes just as reading ink over paper...
If you like it, you need a Kindle DX.
Sadly Amazon discontinued it, so you'll need to search in second hand webs, as ebay or craigslist.

Thoughts:

Display size and resolution matter. For most manuals a 7" screen may be enough, but an 8.9" one like on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" would probably be really great for this. Then again, that's $300. Hmmm, the Nook HD+ is $269, so that's a little cheaper.

The $200 price point is good one if you go for 7". It hosts the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD and Nook HD (which has the highest res of the three).

Under $200 you're going into cheap tablet land, which would usually mean a lesser quality screen and lesser resolution. The original Kindle Fire is at $160 but possible to find 1024x600 for under $100, especially on Chinese sites. For example Ainol Novo 7 Mars for $85. The Novo 7 Crystal for $120, which has an MVA screen (much better angles than the TN on the Mars) and dual core. These Chinese deals are a bit more tricky to get right but for the limited planned use they may be good enough.

Edit: for full disclosure, I own a Nexus 7 and don't have personal experience with the others.

i've been looking at tablets recently. Still don't know enough about them. But have been reading that a variety of $99 tablets will be released early 2013.

That's a good point. Acer and Asus have been rumoured to release $99 soon (though the Asus may end up $149). These are expected to have a 1024x600 resolution, and they would probably be a better choice than the Chinese ones in terms of warranty and out of the box usability. If you can wait then it may be worth doing that (well, it always is with technology). Still, they probably won't have screens are good as the $200 range, so if you can afford that, go for it.

Or go tablet. I've ditched all the ebook formats for good pdfs. Heck, reading the daily paper on the crapper was never easier. On my tabler (Acer Iconia 510) the Acrobat reader is the best and fastest format for pdfs. Not the most fancy, but especially reading big pages (like newspaper) is a breeze with that.

Yup, after countless year, Adobes Acrobat reader is finally something useful.

I use my Android devices and Moon Reader too - combined with DropBox Moon Reader syncs your reading progress (you need the purchased version but it's only a few $/€).

With regards to the devices - you may purchase a cheap china tablet if you're ok with a few weeks for the delivery and you don't need the best/highest quality device.

I usually read on my Nexus 7 which is just great but I'll probably buy a cheap tablet to use less carefully (f.i. for recipies in the kitchen etc.).

Some site's I've found (so far I don't have experience buying on these but I've found them in a German Android forum and it seems as if they're valid stores).

http://www.in4dealz.com/
http://www.geekbuying.com/

I like this idea. You'll get the multitasking you're used to using with a PC (so you can have a walkthrough open along with the manual), plus you can do a bajillion other PC-things for which a tablet won't suffice - for those times when you aren't gaming. Anyway, seems like a good way to go for the lowest outlay.