My wife has a Kindle and loves it.
If her reaction to the iPad is any indication, the Kindle will get CRUSHED.
If her reaction to the iPad is any indication, the Kindle will get CRUSHED.
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Kindle still has an advantage over the iPad
- Thread starter maflynn
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My wife is an avid Kindle owner/reader. I have one too, although I'm not that avid a reader of books.
- The price didn't matter to her (since I bought it for her), and so the price of a Wifi ipad won't either.
- She hates monthly fees for anything. I do too. So no 3G+monthly charge version of an ipad.
- She likes lightweight. Her Kindle in it's case weighs 10.6 ounces. A bare iPad weighs 24 ounces according to Apple.
- She likes long duration between charges. 2 weeks of reading with her 3G turned off vs 10 hours of ipad.
- She likes the WhisperSync which keeps track of where she is in every book she's reading no matter which device she uses. She'll use the iPhone Kindle app to read while out and about without her Kindle, the desktop Kindle app during breaks at work, and the Kindle itself at home or while traveling. It fits nicely in her purse and will go with her any time her purse does and she knows she'll have some down time to read. No matter which device she uses, they all know where she is in whatever book she opens up.
- Will there be an iBook app for PCs and iPhones? Will it keep track of your position in the books you are reading, no matter which device?
- She likes buying books directly on the Kindle, or on the iPhone app, or on the PC app and having them automatically uploaded to her Kindle and all devices with a Kindle app. She likes that there are more than 420,000 books to choose from.
- She likes that any content on her Kindle that the Author permits can be read aloud to her (by the Kindle) when she's not interested in reading the text.
- She won't give up her Kindle, despite me offering to buy her an ipad too. Why? Because Color alone isn't enough of an advantage to offset everything else the Kindle bookstore and apps bring to her table. She may read Kindle books on the ipad though, but has determined it's "too heavy" to be something she wants to lug around in her purse (even if it fits).
- The price didn't matter to her (since I bought it for her), and so the price of a Wifi ipad won't either.
- She hates monthly fees for anything. I do too. So no 3G+monthly charge version of an ipad.
- She likes lightweight. Her Kindle in it's case weighs 10.6 ounces. A bare iPad weighs 24 ounces according to Apple.
- She likes long duration between charges. 2 weeks of reading with her 3G turned off vs 10 hours of ipad.
- She likes the WhisperSync which keeps track of where she is in every book she's reading no matter which device she uses. She'll use the iPhone Kindle app to read while out and about without her Kindle, the desktop Kindle app during breaks at work, and the Kindle itself at home or while traveling. It fits nicely in her purse and will go with her any time her purse does and she knows she'll have some down time to read. No matter which device she uses, they all know where she is in whatever book she opens up.
- Will there be an iBook app for PCs and iPhones? Will it keep track of your position in the books you are reading, no matter which device?
- She likes buying books directly on the Kindle, or on the iPhone app, or on the PC app and having them automatically uploaded to her Kindle and all devices with a Kindle app. She likes that there are more than 420,000 books to choose from.
- She likes that any content on her Kindle that the Author permits can be read aloud to her (by the Kindle) when she's not interested in reading the text.
- She won't give up her Kindle, despite me offering to buy her an ipad too. Why? Because Color alone isn't enough of an advantage to offset everything else the Kindle bookstore and apps bring to her table. She may read Kindle books on the ipad though, but has determined it's "too heavy" to be something she wants to lug around in her purse (even if it fits).
Does anyone know the state of ereader software on iPHone/Touch? How about in comparison to Android?
Since I am thinking about an iPad primarily as an ereader and I am new to Apple, I don't know about reader software.
I have been looking at the appstore, but it doesn't seem that well organized.
I want to be able to read as many open formats as possible. .PDF/.CBR/.CBZ/.txt/.chm/.pdb/.prc/.epub
For comics I only found panelfly, but it doesn't look like you can load .cbz/.cbr.
I read a bit about Stanza, but a little concerned that it was bought by Amazon. Will they do an iPad version?
Anyone know the capabilities on Android devices?
Since I am thinking about an iPad primarily as an ereader and I am new to Apple, I don't know about reader software.
I have been looking at the appstore, but it doesn't seem that well organized.
I want to be able to read as many open formats as possible. .PDF/.CBR/.CBZ/.txt/.chm/.pdb/.prc/.epub
For comics I only found panelfly, but it doesn't look like you can load .cbz/.cbr.
I read a bit about Stanza, but a little concerned that it was bought by Amazon. Will they do an iPad version?
Anyone know the capabilities on Android devices?
I like light weight too! that's why I like my Touch for reading. It is 3-7/8 oz. I can hold that a long time, when reading kindle books on it, or doing whatever else I do on it like surfing the web. I think a 1.5 lb iPad isn't going to be suitable for me. At that weight, and with it's limitations, I'd opt for something else.
In comparing devices, the 10.6 oz quoted by 4DThinker is for the small Kindle with a 6" diagonal screen (10.2 oz without case). The Kindle DX has a 9.7" screen (same as iPad) and weighs 18.9 oz. The iPod Touch has a 3.5" screen, and the current generation weighs 4.05 oz.
- 4.05 oz / 3.50" / iPod Touch
- 7.76 oz / 5.00" / Sony Reader Pocket Edition
- 10.2 oz / 6.00" / Kindle
- 18.9 oz / 9.70" / Kindle DX
- 24.0 oz / 9.70" / iPad
- 25.7 oz / 9.70" / iPad with 3G
- 44.8 oz / 10.1" / Asus EEE 1005PE netbook
- 48.0 oz / 13.3" / MacBook Air
- 72.0 oz / 13.3" / MacBook Pro 13"
- 84.8 oz / 13.3" / Axiotron ModBook
{Edit: Added Sony model for comparison.)
{Re-Edit: Added iPad 3G as per MikhailT's post below, plus other comparators including a popular netbook, the two smallest Mac portables, and the ModBook tablet.)
I love amazon for books. their prices rock. if apple can rival their prices i would be impressed.
btw kindle can take their 1984 ipaq looking screen and sit on it. e-ink is the most overhyped crap i have ever seen. oooooo a color screen hurts my eyes. please. a billion users were looking at a color screen surfing the web yesterday. they manage reading just fine. and yes, ive read full books in color. some of them tombs.
ill skip the "real paper experience".
btw kindle can take their 1984 ipaq looking screen and sit on it. e-ink is the most overhyped crap i have ever seen. oooooo a color screen hurts my eyes. please. a billion users were looking at a color screen surfing the web yesterday. they manage reading just fine. and yes, ive read full books in color. some of them tombs.
ill skip the "real paper experience".
+1
I have been a SW dev working 8-12 hour days for 15 years. All of it on CRT which everyone says is so much worse than LCD and I have never had my eyes get damaged/strained etc... No issue with my LCDs at home either.
Now all of sudden we need slow, low contrast B&W screens to prevent eye strain? Talk about a triumph of marketing.
I read with Stanza on the iphone every day and have hundreds of novels in multiple formats that I can read with that software. Ereader.com has an app as well. I have bought at least a hundred titles from them since the late 1990's long, long before Amazon even heard of ebooks. Also read with the Kindle app for the iphone and have bought a couple of dozen books. Interestingly though, the ebook reading app that is by far the least full featured is the Kindle app. Maybe that is why Amazon bought Stanza.
My wife has the Sony e-ink reader but strangely enough prefers reading her ebooks books on the iphone and has started buying books from Amazon to read with the iphone Kindle app. This surprised me and her also. I sometimes read for hours a day on the iphone and will not be using the iPad for that purpose. It is too big and non portable just like the kindle. Won't fit in my pocket.. She and I don't get eye strain reading on the iphone. She wears reading glasses, I don't.
Maybe I might read on the iPad at night in bed but it will never take the place of my handy iphone for books. Lots and lots of ebooks sold to the iphone base of user. Now Kindle reader is available for Blackberry and Android phones.
If Kindle weren't so ugly, I would've bought one a long time ago. To me, the design is its biggest weakness.
I want something small and lightweight to read with. If they're trying to replicate the experience of reading a book, here's a newsflash: physical books do not have a giant keyboard and all those buttons on the sides.
I want something small and lightweight to read with. If they're trying to replicate the experience of reading a book, here's a newsflash: physical books do not have a giant keyboard and all those buttons on the sides.
Thanks for the info.
Touch/iPhone is a bit smaller than I would like even in a portable. I would like to see a 5" screen ipad for portable use, I think that is a good upper limit for a portable, that can still fit in a jacket pocket and give you more screen.
The iPad is a home machine, and doesn't have to fit in a pocket, so more screen is nice.
e-ink isn't about saving your eyes. It is about not needing a backlight and lasting two weeks on a single battery charge. Most text is black on white anyway, so it was a reasonable technology to use for the first generation of e-readers. Yes, the first Kindle was butt-ugly. It worked though. The second, third and fourth are 3/8" thin, light, and look suspitiously like big iPods with keyboards. That 4th edition works wirelessly world-wide BTW.
Almost everyone spends hours each day in front of LCDs or CRTs these days. Reasonable people have been past that eye-strain myth for years now. A good e-book has the ability to "disappear" as you get into the book. Kindle owners claim their Kindle allows that. It's about the form and the weight and the font and the story. I find that is true of my Kindle. Although I can read Kindle books on my Touch and my PC, I have yet to feel those devices disappear behind the book. The iPad's only failing property may be that it weighs more than a book.
Almost everyone spends hours each day in front of LCDs or CRTs these days. Reasonable people have been past that eye-strain myth for years now. A good e-book has the ability to "disappear" as you get into the book. Kindle owners claim their Kindle allows that. It's about the form and the weight and the font and the story. I find that is true of my Kindle. Although I can read Kindle books on my Touch and my PC, I have yet to feel those devices disappear behind the book. The iPad's only failing property may be that it weighs more than a book.
I bet it weighs less than a Harry Potter hardcover and I have seen kids reading those.
The ipad is the Hard Cover equivalent. The 6" e-Readers are the paperback equivalent.
For just about anything, I do not hold for a long duration. If I did, I would use my knee to prop or whatever. 1.5 lbs vs. 19 oz is not significantly different. The iPad and iphone are significantly different in weight, but the iPad has a fuller view. The benefits outweigh the weight issue. The question should be: do I want a dedicated device for the price of a versatile device? For 10 dollar more, you can get an iPad!! Kindle is dull, boring!! Who wanna read black and white magazine?
I'm curious which case she has for her Kindle. The "bare" Kindle weighs 10.2 oz, so her case weighs 0.4 oz. Can you tell us the name of the case manufacturer - - at that amazingly light weight, I want to find out if they're going to be making one for the iPad. Thank-you in advance.
The orginal Amazon Kindle case. It has a metal tag on the lower right. Sold as a lightweight addition to the Kindle. I doubt they'll make one for the iPad, but someone may steal their idea. Kindle has two slots in the left edge to engage clips in cases made for them.
To me, one of the biggest issues is realistic battery life. I want it long enough that I don't really have to think about it. My iPhone, for example, I have to think about it by the end of the day if I've done any web browsing. And, with an iPad, I would want to do that too.
As I've got older, the iPhone size is just a little on the small size for extended reading.
As I've got older, the iPhone size is just a little on the small size for extended reading.