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It's no eBook reader

steve-p

steve-p

macrumors 68000
Oct 14, 2008
1,740
42
Newbury, UK
alansmallen said:
But like it's been said, the Kindle is good at one thing, and one thing only. The iPad can do it all and costs the same.
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If the full size Kindle app is not allowed on the iPad and eBooks are cheaper from Amazon, the Kindle is effectively much cheaper as well as potentially a lot better at it - it works well for reading both outside and inside, and I need to see iPad outside before even considering it. As of now, iBook and the bookstore are not even guaranteed for the UK, which would make it entirely moot. Amazon already has a huge international eBook store.
 
A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
steve-p said:
If the full size Kindle app is not allowed on the iPad and eBooks are cheaper from Amazon, the Kindle is effectively much cheaper as well as potentially a lot better at it - it works well for reading both outside and inside, and I need to see iPad outside before even considering it. As of now, iBook and the bookstore are not even guaranteed for the UK, which would make it entirely moot. Amazon already has a huge international eBook store.
Click to expand...

Woah woah woah. Where does it say that the Kindle app is not allowed on the iPad??
 
N

nioted

macrumors regular
Sep 14, 2007
110
5
marksman said:
The thing has 10 hour life when watching videos for 10 hours.

Reading a book for 10 hours will be much less taxing. Considering it has a standby of 30 days, I suspect you can read a lot without doing much damage to the battery.

I think amazon should be pretty nervous. E-Ink is interesting. We will see how it pans out in reality though. I read text off computer screens all day long every day, so this idea that people can't read text off a computer screen seems a bit overdone.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I think the iPad is where e-readers are headed in the future. They are already developing e-readers that have color and can run videos, but not at the same level in refresh rate and resolution. As far as Amazon goes, this might be a win-win situation for them. They are in the market to sell books and e-books. The created the Kindle to sell e-books. The Kindle app for the iphone works great and I've been using it for a while now. The prices are cheaper than the iBook store so I might as well stick with it for now, but I will be getting the iPad to read books with the kindle app. The main advantage the kindle app has over the ibook app is you can change the background to black which helps a lot with eye strain.
 
C

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,973
Hey, you can't zoom PDFs in the Kindles!!

Only somewhat by reading in landscape.
 
D

demiurgical

macrumors member
Jun 29, 2007
76
0
NYC
dave1812dave said:
I use my touch (mostly in bed, with the lights out) to read. I detest reading "real books" now. Too heavy to hold, compared to my touch which is roughly 3-3/4 oz. And try reading a real book in the dark--not gonna happen. I LOVE reading books on my touch. I put on reading glasses and change the Kindle app font to the minimum and enjoy the hell out of reading books. I've seen e-ink and think it blows--contrast is too low and it's not backlit.
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/agree +1

I also love reading on my iPhone with the Kindle app. I've never read so much prior. I have real books laying around I don't even open, I rather read it on my iPhone. I find reading long articles or ebooks on a desktop or laptop annoying/uncomfortable. I don't really get eyestrain from staring at a screen too long, guess I'm used to it since being exposed to it since childhood. The iPad with the bigger screen is going to make me even read more. Can't wait! :D
 
SnowLeopard2008

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
18
Silicon Valley
I'm not paying $250 to see only black and white when I can pay $0 to see color. E-Ink displays have too many sacrifices compared to a conventional LCD. Plus, the iPad has an IPS display.

The iPad does the one thing the Kindle and other eBook readers do, and much much more. It runs any iPhone app without modification for starters. The Kindle, Nook, etc. only reads eBooks. It's very limited and single function whereas the iPad is multifunction.
 
3N16MA

3N16MA

macrumors 65816
Jul 23, 2009
1,011
177
Space
steve-p said:
If the full size Kindle app is not allowed on the iPad and eBooks are cheaper from Amazon, the Kindle is effectively much cheaper as well as potentially a lot better at it - it works well for reading both outside and inside, and I need to see iPad outside before even considering it. As of now, iBook and the bookstore are not even guaranteed for the UK, which would make it entirely moot. Amazon already has a huge international eBook store.
Click to expand...

Steve Jobs has said that books in the ibooks store will be priced the same as the Kindle marketplace.
 
D

dave1812dave

macrumors 6502a
May 15, 2009
858
0
steve-p said:
If you think reading 9 paperbacks in four weeks is excessive, including 30 hours on planes, I guess an eBook reader is not aimed at you.
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30 hours on planes?? Yikes, I was so miserable on my trips to and from Viet Nam and the Philippines--I HATE being on a plane for more than about an hour and a half. :) Oh, and I almost forgot, flights to Europe weren't much fun either...flying is a drag for me.
 
steve-p

steve-p

macrumors 68000
Oct 14, 2008
1,740
42
Newbury, UK
dave1812dave said:
30 hours on planes?? Yikes, I was so miserable on my trips to and from Viet Nam and the Philippines--I HATE being on a plane for more than about an hour and a half. :) Oh, and I almost forgot, flights to Europe weren't much fun either...flying is a drag for me.
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You and me both - it's a necessary evil but I hate it nowadays. What someone needs to invent is the teleport - now that would be magic and revolutionary :)
 
steve-p

steve-p

macrumors 68000
Oct 14, 2008
1,740
42
Newbury, UK
Ramius said:
How come e-ink is so much better for the eyes to read then? Than a led-screen?
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It doesn't require a backlight, so looks more like paper than a screen. It reads just as easily in bright light as dim light - just like paper. Conventional screens look fairly dim in bright light, and bright in dim light. Also e ink displays consume no power to display an image, only to change it.

It has disadvantages too, such as lack of colour and slow refresh rate when you change the image, but screens have already been demonstrated recently that combine a full colour backlit LCD screen for normal use, and an e-paper display for reading, and you can switch between them. Such a screen would be the best of both worlds - maybe the iPad will get a hybrid screen at some point.
 
Yr Blues

Yr Blues

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2008
2,687
889
I was holding out on getting a Kindle, but now I'll wait for Kindle 3. I've read a Stephen King novel on my MacBook, and my eyes have never forgiven me since :(
 
bobob

bobob

macrumors 68040
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
steve-p said:
[E-ink]... reads just as easily in bright light as dim light - just like paper.
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bobob said:
I disagree with your statement that paper "reads just as easily in bright light as dim light".
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steve-p said:
Don't your eyes adjust to ambient light like everyone else's then :confused:
Click to expand...

My disagreement is with your use of the phrase "just as easily". Dim light, depending on the degree, may be readable, but it causes much more eye strain than reading in a reasonably bright light.
 
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