how is the reading of a book on a Ipad or digital screen?

[smetvid]

Does anybody have any experience with reading a lot of content such as books online? What I am looking for are the long term affects and strain on eyes. I do read a lot online everyday but I'm curious to know how book reading may be on the Ipad. I have a lot of technical manuals and design books that I use all the time at work and it would be nice to have all of them in an Ipad.

Books and note taking are well worth the $500.00 for me in terms of increasing my work production. I also hate bending and creasing my real books and it would be nice in the future to never have to worry about that ever again. If I think about how much money I have spent on nice leather bound paper notebooks for meetings with clients I'm sure it wouldn't take long to equal $500.00 over the last few years. Not to mention a central location for all of my project notes for all of the projects I am working on. Sure I could do that on my Mac but I usually like to look at my notes while I work on a design and bringing this with my like a fancy paper notebook means being able to take notes even on the go if I get a phone call from a client.

One other question I have which somebody may or may not be able to answer but how does somebody share a book with the Ipad? At work we may share a design book with the entire company but on the Ipad I could see that being a bit tough.

 

[CylonGlitch]

The ebook implementation is about as close as you can get to reading without a stack of bound paper in your hand. The visual stuff really helps flesh out the experience. It may be just for show, but it counts here.

The ebook implementation is about as close as you can get to reading without a stack of bound paper in your hand. The visual stuff really helps flesh out the experience. It may be just for show, but it counts here.

Says a lot to me, sounds like a nice eBook reader. . . so far. I'm sure some people will prefer the eInk Kindle, and some the iPad, so each consumer must decide for themselves.

 

[ditzy]

Many people claim that backlit screens cause eyestrain, and displays similar to the iPad eventually become uncomfortable to read off.
I personally have not had this problem. I actually tend to get eyestrain far more from actual books than displays. I suspect it's one of those everyone is different type of things.

 

[samcraig]

Says a lot to me, sounds like a nice eBook reader. . . so far. I'm sure some people will prefer the eInk Kindle, and some the iPad, so each consumer must decide for themselves.

Well said. There are several "arguments" going on e-ink vs. ipad/iphone/screen reading. And the bottom line is - everyone is different. It all comes down to how YOUR eyes feel and preferences you have. No one will be able to make that decision/tell you that. It would be like trying to ask someone whether you'd like one wine over another.

 

[smetvid]

So if I am cool to read for 10+ hours a day on my 22" Imac screen would the Ipad screen be cool? I guess none of us will really know until we can see one in person.

One other question is on note taking becuase this would be a huge thing for me. I realize I can type notes on the virtual keyboard but will there be a decent option to hand write notes? I hear talk of a stylus which would be really nice (although I think I would loose them all the time.) Character recognition as I write would be very awesome.

 

[samcraig]

So if I am cool to read for 10+ hours a day on my 22" Imac screen would the Ipad screen be cool? I guess none of us will really know until we can see one in person.

One other question is on note taking becuase this would be a huge thing for me. I realize I can type notes on the virtual keyboard but will there be a decent option to hand write notes? I hear talk of a stylus which would be really nice (although I think I would loose them all the time.) Character recognition as I write would be very awesome.

I can only respond to the first question. Again - depends. Do you read on your iMac for 10 hours. In the same light conditions and at the same distance you would your iPad? Do you USE the computer for 10 hours or do you actually READ for 10 hours. It's very different using a computer screen - surfing the net, watching videos, etc for a long time vs straight READING for several hours on a screen. Reading is a discipline and repetitive eye movement vs scanning pages with your eyes/watching a movie.

 

[thejakill]

this is another one of those specs vs. reality issues.

are people really sitting around reading for 10 hours a day? i find it hard to read a book for more than an hour at a time. i'm sure most people who read are somewhere in that time frame, as well.

 

[CylonGlitch]

From my personal experience, and thus your experiences may vary. I READ 10+ hours a day on my computer. Always reading / writing specifications and other research information. Along with browsing every once in a while and other distractions, I spend a ton of time reading. It doesn't bother me all that much (more likely the content to put me to sleep then getting tired from eye strain).

BUT; I did try the Stanza app for OSX and reading a book with it on my laptop. It DID NOT go well. It didn't give me any problems, it just didn't FEEL right. I then put Stanza on my iPhone and had NO problems reading it while holding it in my hands. Thus to me, reading a book is more then just the media, it is the way I hold it, the way I sit, my comfort. The laptop was just not conducive to "curling up with a good book," but the iPhone is. I would think, that the iPad would give me a similar experience. I don't doubt the Kindle would as well.

Since the two are close enough in price that I could go either way. I will wait and play with an iPad and see how things go before jumping into either. I haven't decided yet, but I am really leaning toward the iPad because for the price, it can do more things then the Kindle. BUT we'll see, I might pick up a Kindle instead; maybe one used if I can find it.

 

[smetvid]

Thank you for the response CylonGlitch that was actually very helpful.

I also read in front of a computer all day. I'm either reading an email from a client, reading something on the web be it a tutorial, blog or news site or reading the code that I am creating for a website or kiosk. Of course a lot of what I do is graphics based and not coding all day long but there are days when I read information for many hours straight.

I also agree about computer reading. I'm still the kind of person that likes to hold in my hand what I am reading. I'm really hoping the Ipad can fit this mold of personal experience.

One other question, sorry about all the questions, Lets say I did take a bunch of notes in a meeting or wrote some samples of code on the Ipad. Will there be any way for me to copy sections of text and paste them to my actual computer? Will the USB connection basically allow me to open up the text documents on my Mac or will I actually be able to browse my notes on the Ipad and send them to my Mac? That would be the ultimate experience for me.