Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

All iPads Do you read on your iPad?

This is a good topic. Thx OP for bringing it up. Used to read all my books in paperback and never thought I needed a E reader. Then a family member bought me the kindle paper lite and I never looked back It can hold up to 1000 books and is very light and easy to keep close by.

Now, my IPP 12.9 is waiting for me at home, and what I am looking forward to is reading magazines on it. National Geographic, Science magazine, Discover Magazine. I bet those will be great on a 12.9 inch screen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MyopicPaideia, Geekbabe and gameboy213
Medz1 said:
Can those responding in this thread please state which iPad you have and what if any case you use? I'm assuming the iPad mini is the best for reading on the go. I'm also intersted in what cases people go for or, if they use caseless? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I use a Hardback case for the iPad mini by Portenzo. I've used these cases for years and absolutely love them. They're a but expensive, but they really do feel like a real, old-style hardcover book. I especially like that these cases don't have the wooden frame that many book style cases use to secure the iPad. The grippy adhesive they use is really strong and I've never had an issue with my iPad falling out, but it also is easy to remove whenever you want to take your iPad out. I had my iPad mini 2 in one of these cases for 2 years, and when I removed it, there wasn't any residue on the iPad, but the stuff was still sticky. Pretty cool.

Night Spring said:
See, I could never read eink, they seem too dim. I think the dimness factor is much improved with the Paperwhite, but I'm happy reading on my iPad, so haven't gone out of my way to try it. I'm also not happy that Kindle insists on full-justifying the text instead of letting me left-justify. I'm not sure why the backlight from LCD screens don't bother me, but they don't.

You're probably the first poster I've encountered who also doesn't prefer eink/doesn't mind LCD screens! I totally agree. Something about eink makes me feel like I'm reading in a poorly lit room. Guess we're a small minority.

Japanese comic books.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AVBeatMan
MacFinnley said:
I'm just curious. Do you read on your iPad? And if so, do you have an iPad Mini, Regular or even Pro? Do you read in Bus/Train/Plane as well or just at home in bed and on couch? :)

I have an old Kindle for reading when I'm on the way to work/home but I consider buying an iPad Pro 9.7. Is it too big to read on it?
Click to expand...

Yes, I read with an iPad mini 2 and first gen Nook. It's not a bad experiences and has it's positives.
 
I have been reading novels on my iPads since I first got iPad 2. I read the whole Wheel of Time series on iPad Mini. It was great. I am constantly reading on the train/bus commute, at home on the couch, in the bed, etc. Having your entire library of books always with you is so great!

The size of the Mini for convenience can't be beat, and if you like to read in portrait mode it is probably the ideal size. I swore by it for a long time, and have owned every iPad Mini Apple released. However, I've now started to rely on iPad as an equal to to my MB for professional accounting and finance work as well, and for office productivity, the Mini is just too small, and it seems really silly to have one just to use as a reader. We already have 4 iPads in the house!

To my pleasant surprise, though, going back to the 9.7" iPad with the new Pro has been an unexpected improvement! Since I prefer reading novels in Landscape mode, (because I like to have two pages facing me at once, just like a real book) the 9.7" size feels even more natural, and seems to best approximate the size and weight of a real 1,000+ page Tor Books Fantasy or Sci-fi paperback. (My fiction reading is almost exlusively within these genres) ;)

I also briefly tried the 12.9" Pro, but it was less portable than even my MB (needed a bigger bag to carry it than my laptop!?) and unwieldy to take out, use, and put away on the commute, so it was inherently bad as an approximation for a good paperback book. It was like hauling around a special edition hard cover with you everywhere! Like a big hardcover, that iPad is better off staying at home, and as such doesn't meet my needs at all, unfortunately.

I've also always used the Sepia filter for novels, to get even more of that physical book feel. With the True Tone display of the new 9.7" Pro, it really is an even better experience!

Love reading on iPad!

PS, have always only had the Apple Smart Covers as cases for all of my iPads, and now with the 9.7" Pro, I have gone to the Smart Keyboard. Keeps everything nice a compact. :apple:
 
  • Like
Reactions: rui no onna
MyopicPaideia said:
I have been reading novels on my iPads since I first got iPad 2. I read the whole Wheel of Time series on iPad Mini. It was great. I am constantly reading on the train/bus commute, at home on the couch, in the bed, etc. Having your entire library of books always with you is so great!
Click to expand...
Kudos to you. I think I stopped at book 4 back when I was in high school. Maybe I'll pick it up again once I'm retired (in about 30 years :rolleyes:) and have lots and lots and lots of free time to read the series. Definitely agree on the library part. Back when I commuted by train/bus, I'd carry like 2-3 paperbacks in my backpack. Honestly, the reason I got an iPhone in the first place was for reading (still have fond memories of Stanza). :p

MyopicPaideia said:
To my pleasant surprise, though, going back to the 9.7" iPad with the new Pro has been an unexpected improvement! Since I prefer reading novels in Landscape mode, (because I like to have two pages facing me at once, just like a real book) the 9.7" size feels even more natural

I've also always used the Sepia filter for novels, to get even more of that physical book feel. With the True Tone display of the new 9.7" Pro, it really is an even better experience!
Click to expand...
Same. When reading on 9.7" iPads, I always use two-page landscape mode. That said, when I have the beginnings of a migraine, I can continue to read on paper and e-ink (even the Paperwhite with front-lit display) but need to steer clear of LCDs.
 
I much prefer kindle compared to iPad or iPhone. My eyes got sores after reading in iDevices for > 40 minutes. This is not happened in Kindle. I used iBooks most of the time when I read in iDevice.

MacFinnley said:
Thanks for all your answers, guys. Do you use the Kindle App or iBooks for reading? :)
Click to expand...
 
Night Spring said:
Yes! That's exactly how I feel, too!

I've seen a few posts here and there from people saying they preferred LCD over eink, but we do seem to be in the minority. It's always good to hear from a fellow non-eink person! ;)
Click to expand...

I have the original Kindle and a Kindle Voyager (edit - Paperwhite) and prefer reading on my Air 2 but my wife is exactly the opposite. The only place I prefer the Voyager is outside in sunlight. Kindle is probably the most used app (time-wise) on my Air 2.
 
Last edited:
rui no onna said:
Kudos to you. I think I stopped at book 4 back when I was in high school. Maybe I'll pick it up again once I'm retired (in about 30 years :rolleyes:) and have lots and lots and lots of free time to read the series. Definitely agree on the library part. Back when I commuted by train/bus, I'd carry like 2-3 paperbacks in my backpack. Honestly, the reason I got an iPhone in the first place was for reading (still have fond memories of Stanza). :p


Same. When reading on 9.7" iPads, I always use two-page landscape mode. That said, when I have the beginnings of a migraine, I can continue to read on paper and e-ink (even the Paperwhite with front-lit display) but need to steer clear of LCDs.
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha! OK off topic warning!

I first started reading The Wheel of Time as a freshman in highschool. I must have restarted it 5-6 times over the years, and when the final book came out a few years ago, I started from the beginning again. It took me almost 3 years (4 different iPads!) to finish it basically during my commute, and before bed. (2 small kids and a jealous wife competing gloriously for my every free moment :D) Those books had been part of my life for so long that it was a kind of a let down, leaving an emptiness that I didn't feel like filling for awhile, took almost a year before I picked up a novel to read again!

Back on topic

I've been lucky that LCD screens haven't been a cause of discomfort or eye fatigue for me, although as an anecdote, the most jarring thing for me screen-wise that I've experienced was going from having the the new Retina screen of the iPad 3/4 for several months, to the original Mini. That was not nice, I think I had just started the 2nd or 3rd book of TWoT and remember thinking to myself, "How am I going to get through the rest of these books on this thing?" I almost returned it, but didn't, thinking I was being silly. I had done just fine with the iPad 2 screen, after all, right?! Looking back I now know I was NOT being silly. :)
[doublepost=1460569389][/doublepost]
Night Spring said:
Yes! That's exactly how I feel, too!

I've seen a few posts here and there from people saying they preferred LCD over eink, but we do seem to be in the minority. It's always good to hear from a fellow non-eink person! ;)
Click to expand...
Count me as another one of those. E-ink and similar actually seem to cause me to experience more eye fatigue than a good quality, high resolution LCD. I also typically don't read sitting out in the sun/on the beach, probably the only places where I could possibly appreciate E-ink.
[doublepost=1460569562][/doublepost]
MacFinnley said:
Thanks for all your answers, guys. Do you use the Kindle App or iBooks for reading? :)
Click to expand...
Pretty much iBooks exclusively for me. Probably because I've never owned a Kindle and was never invested in that platform/ecosystem. Never even downloaded the Kindle app before...probably in a big minority there!
 
  • Like
Reactions: boston04and07
MacFinnley said:
I'm just curious. Do you read on your iPad? And if so, do you have an iPad Mini, Regular or even Pro? Do you read in Bus/Train/Plane as well or just at home in bed and on couch? :)

I have an old Kindle for reading when I'm on the way to work/home but I consider buying an iPad Pro 9.7. Is it too big to read on it?
Click to expand...

I use an iPad Air 2 64GB LTE, yes I read on it. I drive myself to work and back, but I do use it when chilling at home, in meetings to take notes, and to read whenever I have time.

The Pro9.7 much like the Air 2 is super lite and thin so using it to read is very easy, not at all uncomfortable. :)
 
I used to read on my iPad. But since I got kindle paperwhite, I almost forgot where I keep my iPad ha..ha..
 
Isamilis said:
I used to read on my iPad. But since I got kindle paperwhite, I almost forgot where I keep my iPad ha..ha..
Click to expand...


I'm kind of the opposite. Since getting my 12.9" Pro I've not touched my Kobo H2O, everything is awesome on that big screen :)

I'll still be keeping the Kobo though, I prefer an eReader for when I'm lazing about poolside. Plus it's waterproof in case of accidents, or if I fancy some scuba reading :D
 
Haven't read any novels yet ( just bought) on the 12.9 but this thing has brought a whole new life to my cbr comics...great stuff!
 
Last edited:
I got the original iPad mini primarily for reading, and have used it, and then the mini 2, and then the mini4 since then for that purpose. Much of what I read is technical documents or books in pdf format, otherwise I might have been satisfied with a kindle eink device. The mini has been great for this purpose. A 9.7" device would be better in some ways, but I really like the portability of the mini. I recently got the 12.7 pro, not for reading but for writing on, though since I have it of course I use it for reading too, when portability is not such a concern.
 
My main reading device is my Kindle Voyage. Nothing beats a dedicated e-reader. I'm pretty serious about it and have an Oasis on back-order.

However, I do use my IPP 9.7 for color magazines and the WSJ (unfortunately you can't share your mobile subscription on the Kindle). Sometimes when I travel, and I want to go super-light, I'll leave the Kindle at home and read on the iPad.

Oh yes, and Flipboard, which is one of the best tablet apps of all!
 
I have a Kindle Paperwhite 2 but find I use my iPad Air 2 more & more for reading. I prefer it because I can switch over to check social media & email quickly,,the screen quality isn't too shabby
 
Isamilis said:
I used to read on my iPad. But since I got kindle paperwhite, I almost forgot where I keep my iPad ha..ha..
Click to expand...


i agree.

i use the ipad its great for reading but just not as convenient as an e-ink reader.

i keep my reader by my bed and take it to places with me i would not want my ipad.



ill forever use the ipad pro + kobo combo.
 
I read on my iPad Mini 3 all the time. I save a lot of articles from Twitter into Instapaper and read them that way. Plus I also read books on the Kindle app as well.
 
I just dumped my Kindle and used Calibre to get all my ePubs in iBooks. No, reading isn't as nice on the iPad as on the Kindle, but now I have one less device to carry around, and since 70% of my books are paper anyway, it's a more than acceptable tradeoff.
 
I enjoyed surfing and doing light reading on the iPad Mini 4. Now that funds and time have freed up again, I am waiting on the next sale for an iPP and picking another one up whenever that happens.

I am trying not to read too much on my 6s - my peepers need a bigger screen and yet I find myself doing that and watching subtitled movies on it. I need to get something bigger pronto.
 
  • Like
Reactions: S.B.G
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back