Okay, this is a bit selfish.  

I'm interested in acquiring a tablet to store my gaming books electronically and saving my back from lugging my backpack around when I go to demos or gaming groups.

I've been looking at the Kindle Fire.  Amazon is running various deals before the holidays.

But, Kindle isn't the only thing out there and saving $20 is meaningless in a marketplace where the product is obsolete by the time it arrives at your door...

So, I wondered what your experiences with using tablets and PDF versions of gaming books has been.

Do you have any recommendations?

I have the first generation Kindle Fire.

It's easy to read PDFs--however, since most RPG books are outside Amazon's chain you have to move them to the folders by linking your Kindle to a USB cable to your computer.

RPG books I've read in PDF format include Numenera, Fate Core, the Paizo core books, etc.  PDF use--it acts as a PDF reader, however, unlike e-books PDF has fixed graphics, so reading will be a lot of zooming and pan-and-scanning.  It can be a bit slow just like a regular PDF might be a bit slow at times--it all depends on how much embedded graphics are used--you can expect battery life to be used more with a PDF than the e-book format (Kindle mobi or KF8 format).

Then again, I'm using the first generation one, things may have improved.  Ideally, more RPG publishers need to be aware of the ebook formats and adapt to that rather than just using PDF.

For a separate discussion, I need to learn how to layout for mobile devices in addition to PDF.

What size Kindle Fire do you have?  And how is it in a bright room?  I remember a couple years ago seeing some RPG books on an iPad that must've had the "glare co-efficient" ramped up to "blinding". The iPad had to be angled in such a way that the glare was reduced and even then it wasn't easy to read.

The best I found is the programmer Goodreader on the iPad.

My experience has been excellent both for straight out reading and using the table as a reference.

For a full discussion on the pros and cons of various devices and gaming PDfs I suggest this thread on the SJ Games Forum.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=53559

For Android I would look at the recommendations on the thread above. I have a Nexus 7 which my oldest son uses. It seems OK but Goodreader is so much better than anything I have used so far on the Android.

The amount of RPGs Utilities are pitiful on both platforms. The only two that made be go wow are the Diconomicon on the iPad and the Crawler Companion on just about everything tabletwise and webwise (iPad, Android). The Crawler Companion is so good I want to play the DCC RPG just so I can use it. It is the shining example of what a tablet RPG utility should be.

http://purplesorcerer.com/tools.htm

As for your own stuff a PDF without background graphic on the page is a must. If your book has few graphics then you may want to put the work in the two major e-book formats (mobi and epub)

As for the glare issue, you are not going to be using an iPad, a Nexus, or any other type of active display in the sun. It just plain sucks. E-book in contrast are reflective like a normal book page. However the e-ink screen technology is not very responsive so drawing pages is slow. It this makes e-books best for books that are mostly text.

I bought the first Kindle and kept up to the present e-ink model. I enjoy it greatly for reading regular book. But it is my iPad that gets the heavy use as a gaming reference.

For those on a budget I recommend a 10" Nexus 10. If you have to run Windows software then I would look at a 7" bay trail tablet running Windows 8. If you have the money an iPad is the best experience.

One thing to remember that unlike a desktop or laptop computer a tablet is primarily a consumption device. You are reading or watching stuff rather trying to make stuff.

I use an iPad (first generation, running GoodReader) and a Nexus 7 (second generation, running Adobe). The former has a 10" display, the latter a 7" display. Both work well for PDFs, but both have their tradeoffs. For example, the iPad has a much bigger display and is thus easier to read than the Nexus (though, don't get me wrong, the Nexus has an absolutely phenomenal display quality-wise). The Nexus, on the other hand, is ridiculously light and easy to manipulate with one hand.

Although I love Kindles in general (I've bought the Kindle 3g, Kindle Touch, Kindle Paperwhite and the first generation Kindle Fire), I wouldn't recommend getting a Fire. I simply haven't been impressed with the hardware Amazon packs into the devices, nor do I think that the OS (a re-skinned and in-house manipulated version of Android) is up to snuff. Unless you're absolutely married to the Amazon ecosystem (which, frankly, can be easily and officially installed on any other Android device), I'd recommend avoiding the Fire. Get a Nexus instead (either the current N7 or, if it ever releases, the N10 2).

However... And it pains me to say this... I don't particularly like using my tablets for gaming books. I will, since the ones I use tend to be cheaper, but I've found that I vastly prefer using physical books for gaming. It's simply easier, less time intensive (particularly in terms of referencing a particular rule or chart), and all-around better. This applies to most PDFs in general, actually; I tend to use physical copies far more often than I use my tablets to read, say, textbooks or academic papers. I still read on my tablets - mostly comics and the odd novel - and I read books non-stop on my Kindle Touch (since I lost my Paperwhite on a night of whiskey-fueled furniture construction), but I only read gaming books on them when I don't have another option.

Take that as you will. Hope it helps, and if you have any specific questions about the Kindle family, Kindle Fires, Nexus *, or iPads I will be happy to answer them.

I find pdfs more useful during prep on my (gasp!) desktop computer. (yes they still make those

For table use I generally use print copies or just print out the pdf pages I will need to reference the most. I also find that having electronic gadgets at the table generally distracting so I don't use them.

Whatever you do, I wouldn't compromise on a solution that requires you to hook up a cable to a computer to xfer your PDFs.

I can't say if there are equal or better solutions for Android, but with iOS I can dl a PDF in Safari and I'm prompted whether I want to save it in iBooks. (Wouldn't be surprised if Goodreader works as well or better, just haven't played with it much.)

I print the pages I'll need at the table - statblocks, handouts, maps. The tablet is nice mostly as a backup for anything I didn't expect to need, without having to lug around 30 pounds of books.

Ebookdroid is my favorite pdf reader on android, and I tried a lot of them. It manages bookmarks much better than most. It lets you set a per book manual crop to trim the margins to what you actually read. It auto-imports books from configurable directories and sets up bookshelves based on your directory structure. In a good pdf (such as the lite version of the pathfinder rules) I can look things up faster than someone with a physical book.

I've been "all PDF, all the time" since the iPad 1 and I currently have an iPad Air.

People talk about finding things being easier with a real book, but once you adopt new strategies PDF is king. With GoodReader you can add custom bookmarks for regularly referenced items, quality PDFs have hyperlinks from rules mentions back to the description of it, and text search is great for finding a rules-needle in the book-haystack. I regularly beat my paper-based friends when looking for a rule at the table.

Unless you are in direct sunlight, any tablet should be fine to read. eInk is needed if you are reading outdoors in strong light conditions so more important for a novel by the pool than for the typical RPG session.

I use an MS Surface Pro for reading my RPG books, and the Adobe reader touch does an admirable job.

That said, I haven't needed custom bookmarks, annotations, etc, so beyond simple reading it may not be as good as an android (kindle, nexus, etc) device.

I've got a 1st run Ipad and I've got a number of game pdfs on it.
Those mostly see use as reading in bed or various places where I get stuck waiting.
For actual use at the table... I'd still take an actual book every time and for game prep those same pdfs on my desk top machine see a lot more use... since I can have multiple programs up and running and easily jump between windows (and a full size keyboard to write with).
So I might end up doing my first read through of a rulebook or adventure on the tablet... but probably won't revisit it much beyond that.

I've been using tablets exclusively for my gaming for the past few years. In that time I have used:
* 1st generation iPad
* 1st generation Kindle Fire
* 1st generation iPad Mini
* 1st generation Nexus 7 (my current tablet)

The larger screen of a 10 inch tablet was nice for maps and things, but the 7 inch tablets were fine for text. And they take up a lot less room and are cheaper.

I loathe iTunes and prefer transferring files seamlessly using a USB cord, which is the primary reason I prefer Android over Apple. You can also just use Skydrive or whatever too if you are offended by USB for some reason.

I create my docs on the computer then save to pdf and transfer. Content creation on a tablet sucks. That said, I do love using an audio recording app on the tablet while I play so I don't have to stop and take notes about what happens during the session.

Never have had any issues with glare. Outside of direct, outdoor sunlight I've never seen glare on tablets at all (I did plenty of outdoor reading this summer on my nexus).

I've got an iPad (4), I use it at game tables, it works fine. But I also usually play systems that don't revolve around mechanical rubbish, and tend to own the hardcopies of games anyway anyway because I like them.

So yeah, it's better tech, but I'll stick to paper for emotional reasons.

For the RPG stuff I have in PDF format, I use an old 10.1 inch 4.3 ratio tablet.
It works fine and I can read an A4 PDF showing the full page without having to shift a little window about.

A 7 inch tablet would be too small for me and I don't want a widescreen tablet, as that would mess up the aspect ratio for reading A4 PDFs.

I've got an original Kindle--with e-ink, and most PDF's it can display, they just aren't pretty. On the other hand, I use my  Nexus (both of them gifts from the past with my ex..) all the time for PDF's and in fact its become my method of choice for reading them.