This morning I was listening to the idiots on the radio who get just about everything wrong, and they were saying that the iPad will kill the Kindle. Their reasoning was since both machines cost about the same, why not go ahead and get the machine that does so much more?
I think not, simply because of the unfriendliness of the iTunes interface. I just got an iPod Touch in November (as an attaboy from my employer), my first, and I have to admit, it is a fantastic little machine. But I really hate iTunes, since my years of mp3 experience were all with a cheapy little Sanyo that was so easy to drag and drop podcasts onto with my pc. I still haven’t figured out how to put my own music onto the Touch. One of the problems is I can’t use iTunes at work, and I am loathe to turn on a computer at home after sitting in front of one for 11 hours (although I do admit I will surf on the Touch any time). It has made the hours I spend in waiting rooms a lot more pleasant.
So, those of you interested in the iPad or owning a Kindle - what’s your take?
They’re two different beasts.
The Kindle (I have one) is a one-trick pony, but it does that one trick pretty well. The screen is beautiful, easy on they eyes, and the controls are very handy for turning pages and all those other things that have to do with reading a book. It’s also small & light.
The iPad is a much more versatile machine, but as far as reading goes, I can’t imagine doing much serious reading on a backlit screen. It’s just too hard on the eyes. Plus, at 1.5 pounds, it’s too heavy for long-term reading. When you’re lying in bed holding a book above your head for 2 hours, weight matters!
For me, I want them both. I’d rarely use the iPad for reading, but I can think of a hundred other things I’d use it all the time for. If it had Flash, I’d’ve bought one already.
I think the iPad will KILL the Kindle. The Kindle just does too little.
The one advantage that the Kindle has - no backlit screen - is just not enough to keep up with the iPad.
There are many advantages to the the iPad, but a big one for me is that electronic devices shouldn’t mimic reading, they should improve on it. ebooks should come with video, links, photos, author’s notes, etc. With it’s black and white screen, the Kindle will never be able to include all those extras.
Plus, the iPad has all that other cool stuff - movies, music, games, thousands of apps, the Internet. It’s no contest. I will buy a second generation iPad the day it comes out.
I think the Kindle is a neat device, but I don’t really understand the distaste people have for reading on a backlit screen. I mean, that’s what the Dope is - and the rest of the Internet, for that matter. I spend all day at work reading on LCD screens, and I use my desktop computer at home as well. Reading a backlit screen doesn’t bother me - the slow refresh rate on the e-ink display, however, I find tremendously irritating.
I agree with you in general, but if you want to read outside, which is one of the great joys of reading, a backlit screen SUCKS.
One of the factors in this discussion is the source of the content available. Does the iPad ereader software read multiple formats or is it proprietary? As I understand it the Kindle is tied to the proprietary format from Amazon for the most part. (i have heard that the Kindle will also read PDF files)
iTunes is far from perfect, but at least the interface allows me to load my CD’s onto my iPod. I checked out the Kindle and ended up with a Sony reader. My Sony uses Epub as a format which is readily available from many sources on the net. I do not want to be dependent on either Apple or Amazon for content.
Not wanting to let this devolve into “iTunes sucks!”, I just have to say that getting your podcasts and songs onto your touch is as easy as dragging and dropping as well - but just within iTunes (not in the file folder structure of your drive).
Nook > Kindle > iPad
Thanks! I didn’t know that. I’ll have to look into it a bit further and get acquainted with iTunes, I guess. I’m just so amused with everything that I’ve got loaded on it that I haven’t really missed the other stuff.
Agreed. I don’t think we have a really good solution for outdoor ebook-reading yet. LCDs aren’t great outdoors - though I found the display on my iPad to be acceptable. E-ink, on the other hand, is painful both indoors and out.
This is something I think the iPad does really well. iBooks connects to Apple’s own store, which is pretty anemic at the moment. But it also supports DRM-free epub files - you can sync them over itunes just like music files, and there are a number of easy-to-use programs that’ll convert PDF to epub.
If you’re willing to shell out ten bucks, you can also install Air Sharing HD, which lets you send PDFs directly to your iPad over wifi. That’s something of a killer app for me, because I have a large PDF collection.
In fact, I think this is one of the strengths of the iPad as an ebook reader - Apple may have its apps in a “walled garden”, but the device is open enough that you can get support for pretty much any e-book format you might want.
Also - the Kindle app is out for the iPad, so you can access your Kindle library.
Yeah - adding media is easy. There’ll be plenty of other things with iTunes that will have you ripping your hair out, though…
As for the iPad v. Kindle debate, I think it’s really hard to compare them. For people who see a need for an ereader, I think you still have to go with the Kindle. It’s much lighter (10 oz. v. 24 oz.), has an amazing battery life, etc. I think for people who read a ton, its perfect. I’m not one of those people. I’d much rather have an ipad - its multi-functionality is ideal.
Well, I’m the opposite. I definitely get eye fatigue after looking at a screen all day. I can look at the e-Ink on the Kindle for hours and never get fatigued.
Also, the weight is a huge deal. I like to read on my back or my side or whatever, and I’ve experienced wrist fatigue with larger books. The iPad is heavy enough that I’d expect the same from it.
Overall, I think the iPad is going to sell a gazillion more units that the Kindle; it’s designed for a larger audience. But I don’t think it will kill the Kindle because the Kindle truly is better for heavy-duty readers. At least I think it is. If someone wants to send me an iPad so I can do an in-depth analysis that’d be great.
One area that the iPad absolutely trounces any current e-ink display at: comics. You just can’t read comics (with some exceptions, like Walking Dead) without color. The iPad isn’t quite large enough to display a page in its entirety, but it’s large enough that scrolling down isn’t painful at all, and the display is nice and bright - perfect for comics.
I have to go with the Kindle when considering soley for reading e-books.
Kindle + Vast library of titles available on Amazon.com.
Kindle + Supports .pdf files.
Kindle + Contrary to comments made here, the Kindle is not proprietary to Amazon only. You can download and drag/drop other supported formats onto your computer and sync them to the device. (See Project Gutenberg)
Kindle + e-Ink and non-backlit display is HUGE difference for me in terms of eye strain. Yes, I am on a computer all day long and my eyes do get tired. I can also ready my Kindle in daylight or other light conditions where a shiny glass and LCD screen are going to make it difficult.
Kindle + Battery life. I’ve had my Kindle for a month now and I’m a daily reader. I’ve YET to have to re-charge my Kindle.
Kindle + Weight. Aside from the already mentioned weight differences and how that translates to laying in bed, holding the device in your hand, etc. I also travel for business a lot and my goal is to always minimize the weight in my laptop bag I have to lug around from one end of the country to the other.
iPad + Comics which I don’t read.
iPad + Immersive multi-media magazines. I saw the demo that Wired put together and although “neat” it is hardly a compelling argument for me. I read books. The magazine stuff, for now at least, is still vapor-ware until major magazine publishers begin offering these type of offerings on the iPad in a subscription model. Even then, since I really don’t read magazines I don’t have a desire to dump a Kindle’s benefits just so I can get multi-media advertising shouting at me when trying to ready a magazine article (really, I do read the articles and not just look at the pictures of nekkid women!)
iPad + All the other stuff that the Kindle does not do but are relatively irrelevant when comparing the merits of an e-Book reader.
Yes, I read the internet on a backlit screen, but that is a type of reading different than I do with a book. I don’t spend 40 minutes doing nothing but looking at my computer monitors with little movement. And when I do, by the end I’m pretty sick of it.
iPad may kill the Kindle but for me, for reading books or other long form texts I have no interest in the iPad.
For me there are three things that my Kindle provides that an iPad won’t and I consider them entirely necessary for me to consider switching to another device (I’m not a Kindle fanatic, it has significant flaws but it is best for me so far):
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eInk - I’ve tried reading eBooks in pretty much every form before from my old Handspring to the carious computers. No go, always got fed up with getting tired out.
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Free wireless access to a bookstore. Yes, the iPad has this if you are in range of WiFi. About a third of my Kindle book purchases happen when I’m not and it probably wouldn’t be a huge hardship if I just had to wait until I next was in range. But I don’t want to.
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Extremely long battery life. I like going on a two-week vacation and not worrying about having to charge my device in order to read. Yes, the iPad’s battery life is extremely impressive but I guarantee that at least once a week I’d want to read but be unable to do so because I’d forgotten to charge it.
3.5 Big enough to read a fair amount between page turns but small enough I can ask my wife to carry it in her purse since I rarely carry any kind of bag with me. Not sure how pursable the iPad is.
But most people aren’t so picky and if reading on a lit screen isn’t an issue and you have nearly constant access to WiFi (or are going to pay for the 3G anyway) then iPad is probably the better eReading device.
Thanks for posting this. I don’t own either yet, but have been itching to do so.
Interesting to see what others are saying.
So - do you think it will ever be possible to create an iPad or similar device that might have a B&W eInk screen that you could switch to from the color version; easier on the eyes and able to read in the sun, and suck up less battery? Sort of the best of both worlds in one device?
Further advantage to the Kindle: it reads a variety of formats, so you aren’t limited to Amazon in any way. In fact, of the 70-some odd books on mine, a good half of them are from non-Amazon sources. You can find .mobi files freaking everywhere!
eta: Battery life alone makes the Kindle the winner. I had mine over a month before I put it on the charger, and even then it wasn’t that low.
That’s no different than the ipad though, so it’s not an advantage.
This is one of those bogus comparison arguments like “Who is better: The Beatles or Rolling Stones?” The two are nothing alike and both have their high points and low points. You’re allowed to like both for different reasons. It’s like saying “Why should I buy a KitchenAid mixer with the chopping attachments when I can buy a Cuisinart food processor?” Because though they share similar characteristics for some things, there are things each will not do, but the other does very well. Some people gasp have BOTH!
Example: I have the Kindle and a netbook and a desktop computer. I don’t expect them to all the same things and why would I? They all have their plusses and minuses. The Kindle has rudimentary internet access, but I can’t watch YouTube on it. The desktop has all the internet capability of my webbook but I can’t pick it up on the couch and check movie times on a whim, or stick it in a tote bag for a weekend trip. The netbook isn’t hooked up to my printer so I can’t do word processing on it, or print photos. (Though you could easily do this, but the small keyboard doesn’t lend itself to typing long documents.)
To someone like me the iPad looks like a big, clunky thing that you can’t put in a purse or pocket, will be easily damaged, is heavy and basically a big iPhone. If you love the iPhone it’s probably a good fit for your lifestyle but I’ve used my brother’s iPhone a couple times and deemed it “not my cup of tea.” They are marketed to different demographics entirely. I’m 40 years old and don’t need to be constantly twitting and yelping about where I am and what I’m doing.
And for the record the Kindle and iPad are not “similarily priced.” The Kindle is half as much.
As MeanJoe and others have stated, this is simply not true. The Kindle supports many formats. Hell I even have some of my recipes on it which are just text files. You can read all the Project Gutenberg as well as many other sources’ books.
For me there is no question. I love my Kindle. I can read for hours and hours and hours on it, and it fits nicely in my purse and only needs to be charged every couple of weeks.
I have no desire for an iPad. For one thing, it’s Apple, which I can’t stand. For another… I have a Droid phone if I want really small, and a laptop if I just want a portable computer. I see no niche for the iPad that I am currently lacking a device for. And as voguevixen said: they’re nowhere near the same price.