Is the new Nexus 7 good for reading PDFs?

September 30, 2013 10:46 AM

I have an old Kindle that works fine for novels, but I'd like a tablet to read PDFs of reference books. Nexus 7 has a snazzy looking 1200x1980 screen. Is the new Nexus 7 good for reading PDFs or should I be looking for tablets with a bigger screen?
posted by ersatz to Technology (12 answers total)

I read textbooks on the Nexus 7 with no problem, but I have good reading vision. The text is rather small. If you want to be able to read it comfortably at arm's length in 12-point font or whatever... well, then obviously you'd need something approximately the size of the original pdf. The screen is excellent though, and for the stuff I read even small letters stay sharp, but it is small.
posted by brainmouse at 10:48 AM on September 30, 2013

Generally, you're shrinking a PDF designed for a US letter/A4 to a page the size of a paperback book. It's about a 3/4 size view. Personally, I prefer a bigger screen, but I'm also reading things like journal articles. For regular text, the smaller screen is workable.
posted by bonehead at 10:51 AM on September 30, 2013

If you are used to the electronic paper that the older kindles use, the biggest issue with readability I've ever had with our Nexus 7 is the sunlight. The screen is crisp enough I've never had a readability issue from display, only from ambient light and glare. This holds for almost all Fire/Nook/iPad/Android/Win tablets. I actually really like reading on tablets over laptops/desktops; whereas I would prefer to cut off my hand when I have to type or swipe on a tablet.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:59 AM on September 30, 2013

If you don't mind reading slightly small text it will be fantastic, it's the best screen for the price point. I can read PDFs just fine on my original, lower-resolution Nexus 7.

If you're nearsighted or otherwise have any issues with small text, I would go to a Best Buy or someplace where you can try before you buy.
posted by mindsound at 11:32 AM on September 30, 2013

Nth-ing everyone else: text is a bit small, but crisp. I use mine often for both PDFs and eBooks.
posted by raihan_ at 12:34 PM on September 30, 2013

I think my Nexus 7 is great, but it's a headache for reading PDFs. Sometimes PDFs use multiple columns or big diagrams, which you're just not going to fit on the screen without a lot of pinching, zooming and scrolling. If PDFs are your primary use, buy something with a bigger screen.
posted by cnc at 1:42 PM on September 30, 2013

Reading PDFs of academic articles was one of the things I bought my nexus 7 for. I would nor say its brilliant due to the scale issues but I find it reasonable and continue to use it for that purpose. I prefer ezpdf as a reader as this seems to allow easier note taking and movement within a document than the other options I tried.
posted by biffa at 1:57 PM on September 30, 2013

For what it is worth. I have an retina iPad. It is great for reading PDF's formatted for standard sized paper. The older iPad, with 1/4 as many pixels, was kind of marginal for the same PDFs. The main downside is that it is a little too heavy. The current Nexus 7 screen is basically the size of half the retina iPad's screen, albeit at a somewhat higher pixel density (but still with fewer pixels overall than the iPad), lower weight and lower cost.
posted by Good Brain at 2:14 PM on September 30, 2013

My father prefers reading in the Kindle app on his Nexus 7 to reading on his actual Kindle, for what it's worth.
posted by regularfry at 9:58 PM on September 30, 2013

I have never had a problem reading anything on mine. YMMV
posted by trogdole at 12:27 AM on October 1, 2013

I think it's great and read PDFs on it every day. I have poor eyesight but I've not had any issues with it. I use Moon Reader Pro app.
posted by Danila at 10:47 AM on October 1, 2013

Thanks for the advice! Looking on youtube was more fruitful than googling and it looks like landscape view would mostly suit my needs. I'll wait a couple of weeks to see the price point of the new Nexus 10, as well, before deciding for good.

All your answers helped me, thanks!
posted by ersatz at 11:07 AM on October 1, 2013