Best tablet device for reading comic books under £100?

February 19, 2022 5:27 AM

I want to replace my partner's very old Amazon Fire for his birthday and am in search of a the best tablet for reading comics. I'm not even sure where to start. Ideally it would be under £100 and wouldn't be an Amazon product (I avoid them). If you read comic books on a tablet device, which would you recommend, and what should I know about this that I probably haven't thought of? Thanks!

He doesn't read books or audiobooks on the tablet, but wouldn't be opposed to it. It's really about comics.

posted by iamkimiam to Technology (11 answers total)

I would look for a used iPad. I expect there's an old model that you could get for less than £100, and it is likely to be more reliable and have a better screen than a bargain basement Android device. Just make sure in advance that the apps you'll need run on it.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 8:21 AM on February 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

I use a hand-me-down iPad and it works well for comics.
posted by latkes at 8:40 AM on February 19, 2022

Best answer: The possible answers to your question are going to depend on how your partner actually reads comics now and what his digital collection is like.

Does he currently read comics on his Fire? Does he read comics (on the Fire or on another device) that are his personal DRM-free files in CBR or CBZ format? Does he read comics via an all-you-can-eat subscription service like Marvel Unlimited, DC Universe Infinite, or comiXology Unlimited? Does he buy individual digital issues from Amazon/comiXology?

Honestly the easiest answer is going to be a used iPad -- mine is about five years old now and it runs Marvel Unlimited just fine, which is where I do most of my reading. I have an iPad with a 9.7" screen which is big enough to read comics at something close to their original size; the weight tradeoff for anything larger would be too much for me. I might be okay with a smaller tablet if I knew I was reading on a service like comiXology or Marvel Unlimited that offered a smart-panel feature so I could read individual panels -- I would probably not be as happy with a smaller tablet if all I had were CBR/CBZ files since AFAIK no one's come up with a way to make those support smart-paneling.

If he does want to sideload his own CBR/CBZ files I have heard good things about the Chunky app on iPad.

I would specifically anti-rec an Amazon Fire, anyway. Unless they've changed something since the last time I checked, the Fire doesn't support either Marvel Unlimited or its DC equivalent. So you have fewer options if you buy one of those.

However...

Right now is actually a very, very weird time to be into digital comics. comiXology, which is basically the only game in town for buying single digital issues or collections, has been owned by Amazon for a while but a couple days ago they finally forced the last of us holdouts to merge our comiXology and Amazon accounts.

So now buying and reading digital comics (unless you're using a subscription service like Marvel Unlimited, which is a different thing entirely) is basically Amazon or nothing, and your comics are now folded into your Kindle account. The reading experience in a web brower is now terrible, I am told the app version is terrible, it is impossible to find anything because you are at the mercy of Amazon's search function, you can no longer make DRM-free backups and no one outside the US can subscribe to a digital comic and get the issues as they come out.

So, basically, it is currently a mess out there.

You probably still want an iPad because you can definitely at least sideload DRM-free files you have onto it and an iPad does run the subscription-service apps and will probably (if your iPad is new enough) run whatever version of the app of the remnants of comiXology everyone eventually settles on, but since everything is changing so fast I can't swear that any used iPad or other tablet you buy will continue to be able to access digital comics purchases because who even knows what the OS requirements will continue to be.

In conclusion, now it is a very bad time to be a person who wants to pay money for digital comics and I personally wouldn't make any major tablet purchases solely for comics buying and reading right now just because everything is in flux.
posted by sineala at 11:53 AM on February 19, 2022 [3 favorites]

Nthing that a used/refurb iPad is probably what you want. If you're looking on the Android side of the fence I can really only recommend looking at Samsung's lower-cost offerings or refurbs, as most Android tablets are crap. Even then, unless the iPad is really old, it's somewhat more likely you'll get supported OS updates longer on the Apple devices.
posted by Aleyn at 11:58 AM on February 19, 2022

Best answer: My brother uses a Samsung (A10? I forget) specifically for reading digital comics. It looks great on it from what I can tell. Though he will use it to watch Netflix too and play some games, which it excels at also. He got it for the bigger screen as I recall. The battery life is good and he manages to read in the sun even if it isn't ideal.

My family uses ipads (or used to) and tablets and personally I wouldn't go back to Apple, as a few our iPads have had issues, usually with wifi and also Apple account shenanigans. The cost isn't worth it imo, when Samsung is just as good. YMMV. I've switched and haven't looked back. I have a super old sm-t530 I was given which is perfect for reading even though it's getting old, the screen is fantastic, and I bet a second hand Samsung could work great if you're only using it for comics, depending on how intensive the app is. I also have a newer Samsung tab (A7) for playing I got for Xmas two years ago. It is not the top line tablet, it was like 200 USD? Its pretty amazing though, screen colours are fantastic. Only downside is it doesn't take great pics especially compared to the galaxy phones, but oh well.

Between our big family we now have 5 Samsung tabs and we still use all of them so far and all work. Maybe I'm just extremely lucky but I did not have the same luck with Apple.
posted by Dimes at 2:08 PM on February 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Keep in mind that Amazon acquired Comixology back in 2014. And it seems they are really going to integrate ComiXology into Amazon's eco system with their latest app update.

Used iPad is probably your best bet, agree on that.

If you prefer Android, Samsung or Lenovo.
posted by kschang at 5:16 PM on February 19, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks for all the help, everyone! He currently uses Comicat to read CBR/CBZ files that he transfers from his PC. If anyone has suggestions for Samsung or iPad models that have long battery life and are a good value, I would love to hear.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:13 PM on February 20, 2022

Oh, it's pretty much "largest that one can afford", taking into account refurb / used market, such as Swappa, Gazelle, and such places.

Though some Lenovo models can be had with a speaker-dock which also makes them convenient to use as an Alexa device...
posted by kschang at 3:04 PM on February 21, 2022

Response by poster: Looks like there are quite a few 2012-2015 models that are large and very cheap with a year warranty, what’s not to love about that? Thanks for all the help!
posted by iamkimiam at 3:28 PM on February 21, 2022

Do keep in mind that MOST devices, the battery is expected to last 3 years. Older iPads, unless they've had a battery replacement, may have very short battery life (i.e. charge, and you can only use it for an hour or two). Just beware of that.
posted by kschang at 5:36 PM on February 21, 2022

If you are getting a used device, you should also check to see whether it is still getting OS and security updates.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:19 PM on February 21, 2022