ipad for reading (not just golden-age) comics

[Poztron]

This topic hasn't gotten a post in the last seven months, so I thought I'd share some of my conclusions after living with my iPad since last July (2013).

Regarding loading comic book scans onto the iPad, I eventually realized (in a real 'duh' moment) that it was way easier to just access the Preview feature at DCM for any comic in the archive and read it that way. No need to load scan files into my iPad's flash drive via Dropbox, iTunes, or any other route. Now, that does mean that I have to have wifi access, so if I am on a plane flight and they don't have wifi or do have it but charge $ for it which I don't care to shell out, I'm stuck with just what I have on my iPad. But I take maybe two or three flights a year, and I can always read the free ebooks/pdfs I have loaded on it (Complete Sherlock Holmes is a good one).

So, for me the whole uploading scans thing has become a non-issue.

I will say as a footnote, that I've been fairly underwhelmed by my iPad. I don't play video games or watch movies or update Facebook or most of that stuff, so I keep asking myself "exactly, why did I need this?"  It is good for checking out sports stats and facts while watching a game on TV, I will grant you that. But once this iPad has crept into obsolescence, I don't really see myself replacing it with a newer one, unless they totally revolutionize it in some manner.

[Geo (RIP)]

I'm sorry you feel that way Poz. I'll try to make it easier to use it for loading comics on the iPad (what ever model you have). I'm working on a "How-to".

Geo

[Yoc]

Hi Poz,
Thanks for the post.  But when you do read comics would you say you are happy with the iPad?  More so than say reading on your computer?

-Yoc

[Poztron]

Hi Poz,
Thanks for the post.  But when you do read comics would you say you are happy with the iPad?  More so than say reading on your computer?

-Yoc

Comic scans do look great on the iPad, I will certainly give it that.  I don't mean to denigrate the iPad, really, I just haven't found it to be a great fit for how I prefer to go online or read. I download most DCM scans onto a big hard drive archive, and it is actually easiest (to me) to use FFView to flip through a book on my Mac's monitor (which is actually a Samsung monitor) in order to ID the artists.  So, go figure.

[Yoc]

Thanks Poz.
I've been thinking of getting a tablet for years... but there are things I just don't like about it - mainly the lack of a USB or SD card slot.  If they were there I'd have bought the first one when it came out.

-Yoc

[narfstar]

Those are just one reason why I refer to it all as Apple Crap. They have done their best to make everything their way. They have whipped their followers into the belief that their way is the best even if it does not make sense. Go with a droid or Windows tablet and enjoy the normal way of doing things. I guess you can tell I do not like the Mac way of business.

[Yoc]

Thanks Narf.  Right now I'm still leaning towards an iPad because of their light weight.  One thing I now consider maybe most vital about a tablet is light weight.  An iPad is half the average weight of other tablets.  It might be enough to make me break down and buy an iPad even if I agree it's stupid as hell not to have any ports on them.

[John C]

even if I agree it's stupid as hell not to have any ports on them.

But the ports ruin the all-important sleekness, Yoc!  You need a sleek computer, otherwise what's the point?  Did you learn nothing from those Jeff Goldblum commercials making fun of the color beige?

...Jony Ive!

Yeah, it's stupid.  At the beginning, it was standard Apple:  A new computer product requires every developer rethink how to use a computer.  Now, because they're so thin, it actually makes a certain amount of engineering sense.  But between the two...?

[rksharma]

I simply use Kindle Reader app on my iPad Pro which works pretty good for me.

Ronny Sharma
Appvalley Tutuapp Tweakbox

[ramblindawg]

On the other hand, the Apple/iTunes route isn't the only one possible.  The Android people don't have the marketshare (or the tools or discipline to produce consistently-good software), but they have the same basic structure as the iPod approach wthout the need to bottleneck everybody.

I agree: Android tablets work great for reading digital comics, and they have a real file system; On my Samsung (Android) tablet I can easily download comics I stored on Google Drive, or I can just transfer them from my hard drives via removeable SD card or by using WiFi/FTP transfer.

Downloading comics on iPad is incredibly frustrating, but fortunately the Chunky comic app on iPad lets you download them directly from cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox. Now that I’ve gotten used to iPad’s bizarre approach to file storage it’s almost as good as my previous Android experience.

[Yoc]

Thanks for sharing RD!

I've been using the free Perfect Viewer on an Android tablet for years.  Other than occasional crashes it's been the best of the apps I've tried.

[kusunoki]

I've been using a Microsoft Surface for a few months now, and it is great. Comics look as good on it as they did on the Ipad, and the USB port and standard Windows operating system makes it a million times easier to load books onto it. Sizewise, it's just as light and portable as the Ipad was, too, and it fully integrates with the computers I use for work in the office and at home. Plus, I don't have to deal with any of the Mac nonsense.

Kusunoki