It's no eBook reader

[Clix Pix]

I have never gotten caught up in the ebook craze. I much prefer to borrow fiction books from my local library, bring them home and read them wherever and however I want, and when I'm done, return them. Free of cost, free of hassles. Many of the books that I do choose to purchase are on subjects such as photography, which really look best in a printed format. The local library does offer an ebook service but it's geared only to Windows machines so I have not even bothered finding out just how it works, since this is an all-Mac household.

While in some ways the idea of an e-reader has some appeal, whether it be a Kindle or an iPad, I still have to stop and think: would I take an expensive electronic device to the beach or to the pool and have it sitting out in the hot sun for hours, subjected to splashes of water or sprinkles of sand? I think not.

Would I dare to read an e-book in the bathtub? I think not.

For the most part I'd say for a long time to come I'll be sticking to books printed on paper......

Even if I did get excited about the advantages of an e-book, and of course there are some, I know that I would not purchase a Kindle, since it's a one-trick pony; I would much prefer to put the money into an iPad so that I could use the device for so many other things, not just reading books.....

 

[cube]

I know that I would not purchase a Kindle, since it's a one-trick pony;

Did you watch the video ads for the Kindles? They do look neat.

 

[steve-p]

For the most part I'd say for a long time to come I'll be sticking to books printed on paper......

I'm guessing you don't travel much then... on my last long trip to Asia I took 10 paperbacks, and read 9 of them. That's a lot of weight and space taken up. I prefer real books anyday, but a good eBook reader has a certain practical appeal.

 

[blairh]

Clix Pix you bring up some very valid points.

Reading on the beach is a wonderful pass time. MAYBE you could bring a Kindle on the beach with you, but never an iPad. Ditto with a tub reading, if that is your thing. I wouldn't want an electronic device near me while I'm in there.

Another knock against e-books is that you can hand someone a paper book and say "I got this for you. I loved this book and you will too." Let us also not forget coffee table books and really anything with large pictures that is clearly better in your hand vs in an electronic format.

I'm intrigued by e-books simply because I hate how my books pile up on the shelves. Yes, some people like having that look in their home or bedroom, I do not. But I don't see e-books going the way of the Ipod. Most people were thrilled to ditch the cd's and rip everything onto their Ipod. Purchasing music via Itunes was deemed a fun thing to do. With books, I think it won't be such a strong push in that direction. Sure, e-books will continue to grow in popularity, there is certainly a huge market for them. The iBookstore looks awesome. But I really don't see paper books going away anytime soon. Or perhaps ever.

 

[8CoreWhore]

It was unconfirmed that Apple wanted a higher price than Amazon gets for eBooks, but Jobs tells Mossberg on this video that the prices will be the same.
http://www.9to5mac.com/mossberg-jobs-tablet-3459364
So far, the main criticism Vs the e-ink is that LCD's are too bright. I wonder if it would be fine if the reader simply adjusts the brightness to his liking??
Also - 10 hours is a lot. People will simply plug it in every night. Who reads for 10 hours? And, for this to appeal as an ereader, it doesn't have to appeal to everyone.

 

[bobob]

I'm guessing you don't travel much then... on my last long trip to Asia I took 10 paperbacks, and read 9 of them. That's a lot of weight and space taken up. I prefer real books anyday, but a good eBook reader has a certain practical appeal.

In my travels, I have ended up reading some great books I might never otherwise have found, by looking in little bookstores and roadside stands. The ones I've read, I passed on to other travellers or left them in hostel bookshelves. One things for sure, I would certainly never be lugging around 10 books in my pack. When I reflect back on it, this book trading strategy was one of the great peripheral joys of travelling!

 

[mkrishnan]

To add to the eBook drama, Amazon has temporarily pulled MacMillan books from its Kindle store, apparently in a row over pricing, with MacMillan wanting to raise most of their eBook prices to $15.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/...lan-books-over-e-book-price-disagreement/?hpw

It seems they're a large US publisher conglomerate -- I'd heard the name but didn't know exactly who they published. I looked at their top seller list...

http://us.macmillan.com/macmillansite/categories/General/Macmillan/TopSellers

They publish a number of high sellers, including Wolf Hall, which I recently read on my Kindle (which, I think, was actually more like $8.80, because it had some kind of bestseller discount or something), and Sarah's Key and Love the One You're With. In their children's section, they apparently also sell a series called The Immortals, which I think I've heard of (but had no intention of reading). Orson Scott Card's perennial Ender's Game series is also one of their properties.

Sigh. I don't find $15 for an eBook compelling at all.

 

[cube]

And Amazon bought last year Stanza, the iPhone app supporting the eReader DRM format used by Powells and other booksellers.

And Stanza was supposed to add support for Adobe DRM, but then nothing happened.

I don't know about that Powells thing, their site says they use Adobe DRM.

 

[PIX]

With content residing on the iBook store how do publishers submit potential content? In fact what how do large publishers go about getting their epub content in there?

 

[cube]

What happens to the ebooks with the different readers if you lose the device or it stops working??

 

[mkrishnan]

What happens to the ebooks with the different readers if you lose the device or it stops working??

In Amazon's case, nothing -- one can view all one's Kindle purchases on their website, or from any device or application that is registered to one's account, so one would just re-download it to the new device and it will resume at the last reading position.

I'm not sure how Sony or B&N handle this, but I'd assume it's pretty much the same.

 

[cube]

In Amazon's case, nothing -- one can view all one's Kindle purchases on their website, or from any device or application that is registered to one's account, so one would just re-download it to the new device and it will resume at the last reading position.

I'm not sure how Sony or B&N handle this, but I'd assume it's pretty much the same.

Amazon has a limit of 6 authorizations, so it seems to me that you're losing 1 life.

Adobe I think it only has 1 authorization.

 

[alansmallen]

This certainly won't compete with the eBook reader market:

1. No eink - the main selling point of most eReaders
2. Battery life - 10 hours isn't a lot when you are reading War and Peace
3. Price - No competitive pricing on eBooks from Apple

Is anyone actually purchasing the iPad for the purpose of reading eBooks?

Remember that the iPad can run the Kindle app which has access to all of the Kindle books. While it may not have the cool fonts and animations, it has a bigger selection of books and runs on the device.

 

[mkrishnan]

Amazon has a limit of 6 authorizations, so it seems to me that you're losing 1 life.

Adobe I think it only has 1 authorization.

Amazon handles this really nicely... you can actually deregister a device at any time directly from their website; you don't need to have possession of the device (or for it to be working) in order to deregister it.

 

[cube]

Adobe I think it only has 1 authorization.

No. From the Digital Editions FAQ:

"You can activate up to six computers and devices. If you reach the limit, contact Customer Service to increase your allowable activations."

 

[donster28]

iBook Experience on iPhone/iPod Touch

Came across this app in the App Store called 'Classics'. It greatly mimics the iBook and weird enough, it was developed way before the iPad was introduced.

Although limited, you gotta see the page turns on this thing, including the bookshelf which looks a whole lot like the iBook on the iPad (whoa, that's a lot of "i's").

 

[cube]

page turns = eye candy

electronic ink = real deal

 

[cube]

I looked at a couple of titles and they seem quite cheaper for Kindle than from other bookstores.

I also have the impression that Kindle provides a better total experience.

 

[alansmallen]

I looked at a couple of titles and they seem quite cheaper for Kindle than from other bookstores.

I also have the impression that Kindle provides a better total experience.

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.

 

[cube]

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.

The iPad is bulky and it doesn't use electronic ink. The 3G access is included forever in the Kindle prices.

The iPod was always good at one thing, too.

 

[dave1812dave]

I'm guessing you don't travel much then... on my last long trip to Asia I took 10 paperbacks, and read 9 of them. That's a lot of weight and space taken up. I prefer real books anyday, but a good eBook reader has a certain practical appeal.

What's the point in traveling abroad, if you have your nose stuck in a book much of the time? Why not save the money and hassle of traveling, and stay home to read??

 

[alansmallen]

The iPad is bulky and it doesn't use electronic ink. The 3G access is included forever in the Kindle prices.

The iPod was always good at one thing, too.

Ok but the Kindle can only buy small 1.5mb books, not download 2gb movies. That's why they charge. Sure in can do some mediocre WAP browsing but that doesn't count.

This isn't trying to be an iPod. This is between an iPod and a computer.

 

[cube]

I don't want a huge iPod. Thread: "it's not an ebook reader"

 

[Stormtrooper]

It's no eBook reader

You are right... it's so much more.

 

[steve-p]

What's the point in traveling abroad, if you have your nose stuck in a book much of the time? Why not save the money and hassle of traveling, and stay home to read??

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.