Del Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 My collection of model railway mags is getting bigger and bigger, but as all the main titles now offer a digital edition, for the sake of my bookcases I'm considering changing to these.I have a laptop but it's a bit big to be lugging around to read a magazine on the train or bus.I have an e-reader, but it's a basic one and only black-and-white.I have a smartphone, but don't fancy trying to read a magazine on that small screen.So, I thought a cheap basic tablet might be suitable for the job. That's all it'll need to do, everything else can be done on one of the other devices.Would they be up to the job, or would I need a more advanced device which will have a lot of functions that I'm unlikely to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete 75C Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 My son got a Microsoft Surface (10.6" screen) for Christmas. He subscribes to a couple of online magazines and says it's fine for that. Being a bit technology-phobic, I haven't tried it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I have a digital sub to Model Railroad Craftsman that I read on my iPad and it's excellent. Don't do fancy phones so can't compare. steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CloggyDog Posted January 4, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 4, 2014 Yes - I have digital subs to Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman which I read on my cheap (sub-£70) 7" Android tablet. You can zoom in if required. MR downloaded and read via the Zinio app, RMC via the web browser If I want/need to print off selected pages for reference, I usually do so at work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Cheap tablets tend to mean cheap displays which aren't the best for reading. If you can try before you buy.... For reading on a budget a Nook HD+ probably has the best screen for the money. They have the Google Play store on them now so there's no bother finding apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Personally, for me it has to be iPad or iPad mini. yes more expensive but go and try the screen yourself in PC world or similar against cheaper pads. The Retina display makes individual pixels imperceivable. The magazine store and pocketmags app make it simple to buy and use too. As with most things you get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Some cheap tablets won't let you access app stores where the magazine reading apps are downloaded from, or may be locked into an app store where there's a limited range of magazine apps. Also as 30801 says, poor quality screens are not very good for reading and looking at photos or images, which can be amazingly clear and detailed on the right tablet. Choose carefully. Kal mentions the iPad range. The aspect ratio of these is far better for magazine reading and web browsing and there is more screen real estate available for the actual content. We also have an Android running Nexus 7 and it's really not the best format for such use. Our iPads (full size and mini) are far better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted January 4, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 4, 2014 The Samsung Tab 3, 7" tablet is a fairly good spec although it could do with more internal memory but it's just been reduced to £99 so is one of the better cheap tablets. However I much prefer a larger screen these days so the Samsung Note 10.1 ( which has just had a make over to reduce its size like the ipad etc) or the iPad are probably the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted January 4, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 4, 2014 I have a Samsung galaxy s2 7" tablet (£140 at Argos currently) which is perfectly good for BRM and Hornby Mag digital editions. Have not tried Model Rail as I have a subscription and Railway Modeller because of their dumb attitude in not selling single issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Pretty much everything has already been said, but I have a Samsung Galaxy 7" and it is fine for reading the digital edition of Railway Modeller. The tablet is nice and small too, so it is convenient to carry around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Lots of good info there, and some food for thought. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted January 4, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 4, 2014 I use a tesco hudl to read BRM I find it better than a 24 inch PC screen. The Hudl has had very good reports.if you've got Tesco points you can double them up, so I got mine for £45 in points and £20 in cash. The Q Oh and I'm typing this on it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I'd buy one that is bigger than 7" if you can afford it as I find it a bit awkward reading magazines on my Nexus 7 as I keep having to zoom in to read the text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I'd buy one that is bigger than 7" if you can afford it as I find it a bit awkward reading magazines on my Nexus 7 as I keep having to zoom in to read the text. Same here. It's because the aspect ratio (W x H) is optimised for widescreen video and gaming and not for internet content or magazines, which is most apparent on these smaller 7" tablets. It doesn't help that the default browser wastes a lot of the available screen real estate and doesn't use it all for displaying content. We only bought ours as a cheap extra tablet and while it's OK for quite a few things, it pales alongside the small iPad Mini. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I'm addicted to our iPads and highly recommend them. I use mine for email, going on rmweb, Facebook, etc. However, I'm struggling with digital magazines in general and still strongly prefer print! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted January 5, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'd second the Nook HD+. 9 inch screen makes reading mags easier, plus the screen is 1920 x 1280 pixels which is pretty similar in pixels per inch to an Ipad Air. Runs all Android apps on a heavily skinned version of Android. Storage space upgradeable with a mcro SD slot. All for £129. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted January 5, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'm addicted to our iPads and highly recommend them. I use mine for email, going on rmweb, Facebook, etc. However, I'm struggling with digital magazines in general and still strongly prefer print! I agree. I did have a lot of problems reading a mag on screen rather than on paper, but because of the price difference between the two when ordering from Canada I persevered. Now in happy with either, though paper would still win if I was giving a read in the bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Found a good deal on the 7“ 8GbNook HD at Argos, so think I'll probably go for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I agree. I did have a lot of problems reading a mag on screen rather than on paper, but because of the price difference between the two when ordering from Canada I persevered. Now in happy with either, though paper would still win if I was giving a read in the bath. I still like the tangibility of paper, how you can flip through the issue, etc. I know the digital mags also show you where you are and that you can still flip, but its not the same. I haven't given up on digital mags -- I'll keep trying them -- but I still prefer paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kickstart Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 The Samsung Tab 3, 7" tablet is a fairly good spec although it could do with more internal memory but it's just been reduced to £99 so is one of the better cheap tablets. My better half has one of these and the screen is pretty good. Fine for reading. However it is worth hunting for the best deal. They were £99 just before Christmas at PC World but seem to increase to £119 just after Christmas (might well have dropped by to £99 now). However think Carephone Warehouse were doing them for £79 but now seem to have gone up massively in price. All the best Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Well, I picked up the 7" Nook today, and have downloaded my first issue of BRM via PocketMags. Very impressed and exactly what I was after! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Graff Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Buy a 10" tablet! Btw, if you are ever going to watch movies on it, avoid tablets with strange aspect ratios, which cuts off half the screen.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDiesel Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Does anyone know if you can print off pages from any of the British online magazines? In the past, I've tried to print off pages from (IIRC) Hornby Magazine, BRM and maybe Railway Modeller. I've generally been unsuccessful or, after a lot of experimenting, I was able to print a page off but the type was illegible. I receive the American magazine, Model Railroad Hobbiest, and it's great in that I can print off various articles and read them later -- i.e. at the gym (while working out on a cardio machine), waiting at a doctor's office or anywhere else where I don't want to bring my iPad for fear of losing it or getting it damaged. If I could do this, I think I would be converted to using digital magazines, but not having this feature frustrates me & seems to defeat the purpose/convenience of having a dig. magazine. I obviously would not print off the entire issue but only a few articles that I wanted to read later. Thanks for any feedback. Cheers, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted January 9, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2014 If you use ZInio for magazines then install the PC version which allows you to select and print pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 If you want cheap tablets, Tesco paracetamol are pretty good value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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