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Books VS iBooks

A

Aucun Express

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 30, 2009
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I do not buy CD's anymore, neither do I buy DVD's or Blu-ray's anymore. The iTunes Store is cheaper and you can enjoy immediate purchase!
But I still buy books. I got about 200 books. For those here who read a lot of books, would you even consider leaving the physical books to only read ebooks on the iPad?

I could see so many advantages in ebooks (called iBooks) on the iPad:
- Immediate purchase,
- Cheaper price,
- Being able to have all my books when I travel,
- Not having to transport heavy boxes of books when I move in a new house,
- The instant dictionnary,
- Searching content,
- Bookmars in color!

The biggest complain is, of course, that reading on a screen is not that good compared to reading a real book. And reading outside (at the beach and/or in a sunny environment) should be far better with an actual book.

Then, there is a second part that I think is interesting. For novels, I think that real books are better. But for books about your work (technology/finance/school, etc.), I think that iBooks is definitely the way to go! Because it's really not the same. It's not like a novel where you see the "movie" unfolding in front of your eyes. With the later, you go back and forth, you read a chapter here, then here, you highlight this, etc.

So, both methods have their good and bad points. But since we won't buy all the books we have in real books AND iBooks, which format will you choose in the future?
 
I'm just the opposite. I buy CD's and BD because they ARE cheeper and much, MUCH higher quality that iTunes. Plus it's nice to have a backup. I stooped buying books a few months ago and only use Kindle and will use iBooks when the prices come down (or Kindle's go up) and I can read on my iPhone.
 
I like reading books on the iPad, and find myself reading more. One big downfall for me though: can't read in the tub. I do a lot of reading in the tub, especially in the winter, and I just would not be comfortable doing that with any e-reader.
 
I've got a lot of books, around 4-5 thousand of 'em. I like ebooks both because they're generally cheaper and because I can read it and then decide if I want to devote shelf space to it. We also just got back from a trip and it was nice to not haul my traditional 40 pounds of books, just my iPad. I still prefer books over ebooks because of the dangers of changing tech. I don't want to wind up with a book I adore, but am suddenly unable to read because the file type is no longer supported.
 
czachorski said:
I like reading books on the iPad, and find myself reading more. One big downfall for me though: can't read in the tub. I do a lot of reading in the tub, especially in the winter, and I just would not be comfortable doing that with any e-reader.
Click to expand...

Just put the iPad in a Zip Lock freezer bag!
 
Kindle was the "killer app" that convinced me to buy an iPod touch. I have quite a few books but I prefer to get books from amazon on my kindle software. The iPad only makes it that much better. iBooks does a slightly better job with graphics but kindle has better night reading settings. Kindle also works on windows and os x, and of course on kindle hardware not that I would ever choose kindle over iPad.
 
I'm reading my sixth novel on the iPad (one was in the Kindle app, the rest in iBooks). You know how when you're reading a book, the book itself can seem to disappear as you become engrossed in the story--you become less conscious of the fact that you're actually reading? I find it's even more the case with an ebook, whether it was on my Kindle 2 or on the iPad, but perhaps even more so on the iPad because these's no page-turn delay, and I'm not constantly battling against ambient light (I was never happy with contrast of the e-ink screen, and the book light was a necessary pain in the butt). But yeah, the form factor just disappears, and you're left with nothing but story.
 
I get Netflix discs, and when I see something I really like, I get DVD's (or BluRay when available). iTunes films take too long to download.

Books could go either way: it would depend on the title. Picture-heavy hardcovers will still be on my shelf, but I wouldn't mind replacing with ebooks. As with movies, stuff I really like would still be in a more physical form.
 
For me, I'll probably buy the bestsellers that I want to read immediately on the iPad, whether in iBooks or Kindle. AND it will probably be Kindle, thanks to selection and price.

Picture-heavy books, how-to books, and various subject matter I'll continue to use the library for. Children's picture books and graphic novels will also still be sought out in print form. I'm a big believer in libraries and do see e-books as a threat to access of information. I don't know how our democracy operates without access.
 
I am still waiting to get a cheaper kindle again bc of the screen and weight. I think the iPad is great for interactive books but I still miss selling my ereader...
 
I 'll never buy an ebook in my life unless the publishers cut the bs and allow us to have a free, or at least very reduced price, e-version with the print books they sell. I am being blackmailed into not owning a print copy for my library, or paying double the price to own the privilege to occasionally read the book on my ipad while away from home.

And I think people are big time suckers to be forced in the crappy deal, where no offers are made for bundled p and e books. They can drm the crap out of the ebooks for all I care, as long as they don't try to steal my money by forcing me to pay double. Wtf do they think they are? The new microsoft? It's costing them next to nothing to get the print version into an e-version, and it's costing them next to nothing to "ship" the e version. I could understand some multimedia, interactivity, enhanced version of an ebook, but to be forced to pay twice the amount just for the privilege of having the same book a bit more portable on your idevice is just ridiculous beyond belief.

I know unfortunately most people won't do that, but if enough people boycott the crap out of them, they 'll change their ways, like the music industry did with drm. And although I value intellectual property very much, I sure hope we see a new wave of illegal ebook sharing, because maybe then they will realise that instead of trying to rip a customer off they should offer them options, and they will wise up.
 
I think the biggest problem with publishers, and the reason that they're afraid to lower the prices on ebooks despite the infinitesimal production costs compared to traditional books, is that one day they're going to hit that tipping point where ebooks are outselling paper books and they will have produced millions of products which aren't going to sell. Unless they're making up the production costs on the ebooks, they'll be out millions of dollars.

Someday when paper books are the exception and ebooks are the rule, I believe you'll see the price drop to something a little more reasonable.

In the meantime, I really don't flip out over the ebook prices as long as they're comparable to the book price because I would have had to pay the same price for the book regardless. The convenience of the ebook format along with sating my desire for immediate gratification make it worth it for me.
 
I have almost 3000 books on my Sony eReader and maybe 450 on the iPad - I don't much mind whether the book I'm reading is in electronic or physical form, but the great advantage of ebooks for me is being able to carry a decent sized library around with me. The same reason I have an iPod full of my music - accessibility and choice.
 
I thought that the iBooks were cheaper than real books. How much is a typical new book on iBooks?
 
Never bought a book, 44 years and not 1. I'm a library guy, free. It changed with the ibookstore. It's such a experience to use, so I bought 3 books so far.
 
I like real books because they
1) Are physical
2) no worry about batt life
3) require browsing through a bookstore/library vs on a couch buying an ibook
4) makes great conversation pieces when people come over and see the books in a real book shelf
5) convention, I love the smell of a novel...call me wierd

I am willing to give ibooks a chance but it won't be a 100% replacement. It would be cool if real books gave a ebooks dl with purchase
 
I plan on sticking with ebooks now. Even though I thoroughly enjoy a title, I don't plan on buying it. I already own a digital copy and if I want to consume it again, I'll consume the digital copy again. I like not having to organize physical media and having all of my stuff in one space.
 
dukebound85 said:
I like real books because they
1) Are physical
2) no worry about batt life
3) require browsing through a bookstore/library vs on a couch buying an ibook
4) makes great conversation pieces when people come over and see the books in a real book shelf
5) convention, I love the smell of a novel...call me wierd

I am willing to give ibooks a chance but it won't be a 100% replacement. It would be cool if real books gave a ebooks dl with purchase
Click to expand...

Great points, esp. 4,5 and 3.
 
Audible.com

czachorski said:
I like reading books on the iPad, and find myself reading more. One big downfall for me though: can't read in the tub. I do a lot of reading in the tub, especially in the winter, and I just would not be comfortable doing that with any e-reader.
Click to expand...

For the times when I can't read - I love listening to audio books. Makes my commute a pleasure.
 
I will seriously consider any new book purchases as iBooks, however I don't think I will go replacing the books I already own.
 
To me, the biggest advantage of iBooks over regular books is: no need for an external light source.
 
I buy books. I love the feel and look of them on my shelves and reading them.

I have a kindle too. I love the convenience. I can check out new books and read them (I am a pretty fast reader), and if I really like a book series I will then buy them in physical book form.

I am happy there is Kindle for the iPad/iPhone as I still have a pretty large kindle book collection. So it's no great loss.

I even hope Amazon pumps up the kindle app even more and promotes it more. I liked the kindle, but it was expensive for a single purpose device. The iPad will succeed mainly due to it being more than just an e-reader, and easier to read on than a laptop.
 
drjsway said:
To me, the biggest advantage of iBooks over regular books is: no need for an external light source.
Click to expand...

+1 Yep, it beats the Kindle 2/DX/Nook with the iPad backlight. Love reading at night without a light glaring down at the screen.
 
I think I'll keep buying physical books for the most part. An exception might be if I'm caught in the middle of nowhere and bored. I like books because they are low tech. You don't need a battery or device to read and it just feels more permanent. Will you be able to read your ebooks 20 years from now? Maybe, but there is no guarantee that you will still have working devices from this time period.

Also, they are virtually the same price. It turns out the the physical production of a book accounts for very little of its price--so I'm not thinking you'll see huge price drops for awhile.
 
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