13.3-inch E Ink device vs 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which device is convenient for reading technical books?

What is the right device for reading technical books?

In general, the genre of technical books has some characteristics that are a little different from others in e-books.

First of all, instead of reading the page from the beginning to the end, there are many readings such as reading only the desired chapter or displaying the same part repeatedly. Therefore, it is indispensable to have an interface that makes it easy to skip pages, tags and bookmarks, and the ability to call the target page using keyword search.

It would also be nice to have the ability to write notes with a stylus and enclose where you need it. A general e-book also has a function to draw a marker on an arbitrary character string, but if you can write more notes, the technical book will evolve into something more valuable to you.

However, the genre of technical books itself has a wide variety of book making, and the readers want 10 people and 10 colors, so some people may say that if they can display it, they don't need any extra functions, and they can display it on a PC instead of a tablet. There must be a need to do it. When choosing a device, it is advisable to anticipate these readings in advance.

The table of contents of e-books, which have little presence in other genres, also has the function of displaying thumbnails of each page that is often used in technical books and jumping to any page. It ’s a strength that the book does n’t have.

By the way, unlike other genres, technical books are often characterized by the fact that publishers prepare electronic versions in PDF. There are various specifications such as DRM-free and social DRM with an embedded e-mail address, but there are generally few restrictions on the device because it is not tied to an e-book store and can be kept alone.

However, in either case, the screen is too small because it is dominated by fixed layout content. If there is a certain screen size, it can be used for double-page spread display, and it is also possible to display different books on the left and right. Above all, the fact that a book does not close even if it is not held by hand is an advantage that paper books do not have, and it is useful for technical books that are often referred to while working.

Often, technical books are sold directly in PDF by publishers.