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iPad and eBooks (convincing parents:D)

A

AJ.G

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
99
0
Beijing.
Hello Macrumors! LOng time no post....

The family wants to get an iPad for this summer. Well an ebook ereader to read books on the plane and everything. I researched into the kindle amd everything, and whilst it has a nice screen and endless battery (?), it still remains a pretty shoddy device in terms of usability.
I explained this to my parents like this:
The kindle costs 900 kuai, amd for that u get two features, the shop, and reading interface. But you still needa pay for the books and everything
The iPad costs 4000 kuai (which at first seems like a lot more) but then wjen you realise how many features you get it comes down to almost half a mao per feature.

My parents understood my argument and said "okay, but how good of an ereader is it?"

So i came here to gather opinions, experiences, and hopefully answers.
Excuse the long introduxtion and any typos (on iPod).
**FYI kuai is slang for RMB- 1USD=roughly 6.8RMB, and one mao is a tenth of an RMB (u do the math:D) ** and yes, the ipad is more expensive in china.

So the questions:

1. Is the iPad a good ereader? Most of the reading will be done on the plane so glare isnt am issue? And if it is we'll get a protector...
2. What are some of the best ways to get books onto the ipad?
3. For the above, how big (in size, mb...?) is each book, how much would it cost, and do you find it to be a practical way.

Those are my main questions for now.
A few pointers,
*most of the reading will be done by my 8 year old brother, so kids books...
*we aiming to come to a decision by next week as we leave in two weeks for the holidays
*feel free to share any experiences, pointers, or whatnot about ereading experiences on the ipad, kindle, or any other devices you may enjoy ereading on
*and lastly, again, sorry about any typos/txt language, im on my ipod touch so im not really paying attention.

Thanks for all amd any help, all the best,

AJ--
 
miles01110 said:
If you want an e-reader, the Kindle is just fine. I don't know where you're getting these "usability" issues. It's just as usable as the iPad.
Click to expand...

Well many of the reviews ad such said the interface wasnt very good, some even called it "awkward." that what i meant...
 
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I bought the iPad just for books. I haven't received it yet but I love reading on my iPhone. And the kids books also have interactive things sometimes. Color pictures and things of that sort are also nice.
 
a couple of personal experiences with both devices,
use calibre to edit and transfer to either device (directly to kindle and through iTunes)
as a read only device the kindle is easier on the eyes and lighter and i find i can read longer with it vs the iPad
that being said i use the iPad on business trips, at work, for relaxing, etc, as it is more versatile with the iBook, kindle, nook, and other book reading apps
if all you want is a ebook reader than get the kindle or other ebook reader, if you want a versatile tool, toy, gizmo then get the iPad, either way you will generally still have to pay for your books on both devices
 
The thing I do most on my iPad is read iBooks, and that's mostly what I bought it for. It's the same old story--a standalone device for a specific use is better at that specific use than a "do it all" type of device. For example, a standalone camera is usually going to be better for taking pictures than a phone camera, but who wants to carry around a camera all the time?

For me, the iPad's screen is great for reading and doesn't bother my eyes at all. I used to read all the time on my iPhone but I started getting a sore neck from it because there's no real comfortable way for me to do that on the train. Plus, kids books and magazines are absolutely FANTASTIC on the iPad. My son's face just lights up when he sees me getting out the iPad to read him a story. He just loves it.
 
I tried my boss' kindle once, and I was very irritated by having to use the arrow keys to navigate the menu system. After being used to iOS' "just tap the screen" system, arrow buttons just felt so slow and clumsy, it felt downright barbaric. :D

Also, kindle is only black and white. If you are interested in children's books, they are generally better on the iPad, because you get color.

BTW, not sure how buying ebooks from Amazon or iBooks store works in China. Do you have an US iTunes/Amazon account, or are you going to be just using a Chinese account? If you have access to the US ebook stores, then there's a huge variety of ebooks avaiable, but if you are just buying what's avaiable in China, I have no idea how big a selection you'll have access to.

Oh, and if you get an iPad, you can download the Kindle app, and buy and read ebooks from Amazon. That's another reason to go with the iPad, you are not just tied to books from one ebook seller.
 
spiderman0616 said:
The thing I do most on my iPad is read iBooks, and that's mostly what I bought it for. It's the same old story--a standalone device for a specific use is better at that specific use than a "do it all" type of device. For example, a standalone camera is usually going to be better for taking pictures than a phone camera, but who wants to carry around a camera all the time?

For me, the iPad's screen is great for reading and doesn't bother my eyes at all. I used to read all the time on my iPhone but I started getting a sore neck from it because there's no real comfortable way for me to do that on the train. Plus, kids books and magazines are absolutely FANTASTIC on the iPad. My son's face just lights up when he sees me getting out the iPad to read him a story. He just loves it.
Click to expand...

I agree with all spiderman0616 says here! My subway commute is almost two hours a day and I read books on my iPad the entire time. I do not find that I get tired from it or glare being an issue. (I used to read paper books for my commute and found the iPad is soooo much easier!) All the issues of purchasing and such are there, but lately my local library has begun to allow us to check out e-books for the iPad and that's been great on my wallet. In addition, when I travel, I load up movies and such to watch on the plane, games to play when I am bored, etc. I was initally torn between an e-reader device and the iPad, price being a big issue, but am now so very glad I elected to get the iPad!
 
I have now read over 200 novels on my iPad using iBooks, and it's a great, great experience. I have given an iPad to both of my parents, and each say they love reading in iBooks too. That said, there are folks who say they prefer the look of the Kindle for reading, and there are other folks who feel the opposite. How will your parents react to the screen? It's hard to predict.

But the 8-year-old will love, love, love the iPad beyond reason. So my suggestion is to get the iPad, let your parents read on it and see if their eyes like the process. If not, return it and try the Kindle. But do NOT let the 8-year-old see the iPad or else you're never going to return it :)
 
I have both and honestly prefer to read books on the Kindle. I don't find the user interface awkward or annoying whatsoever. I can read books on the iPad, certainly, but I don't find it as easy on my eyes as the Kindle is, by a long shot.

That said, it also depends on what kind of books your brother is reading. Is he going to want to read interactive stuff, or is he more into regular books, like, say "Harry Potter"?
 
spiderman0616 said:
The thing I do most on my iPad is read iBooks, and that's mostly what I bought it for. It's the same old story--a standalone device for a specific use is better at that specific use than a "do it all" type of device. For example, a standalone camera is usually going to be better for taking pictures than a phone camera, but who wants to carry around a camera all the time?

For me, the iPad's screen is great for reading and doesn't bother my eyes at all. I used to read all the time on my iPhone but I started getting a sore neck from it because there's no real comfortable way for me to do that on the train. Plus, kids books and magazines are absolutely FANTASTIC on the iPad. My son's face just lights up when he sees me getting out the iPad to read him a story. He just loves it.
Click to expand...

This. My use mirrors this and my son loves to use the interactive books on it.
 
Sanveann said:
Is he going to want to read interactive stuff, or is he more into regular books, like, say "Harry Potter"?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the bad news, none of the "Harry Potter" novels are yet available on any legitimate/legal e-book store. I wish they were. Even though I own hardback versions of all seven, I'd still buy them again from the iBook Store.

By any measument, I read a lot. I absolutely love reading on my iPad 2. I haven't read a printed on paper book since getting my iPad last March. I've used a friends Kindle and wasn't that impressed. With all those little buttons, it's just too fiddly for my taste. Plus, you can do so very much more with an iPad.

Frankly, since getting the iPad, I've only started up my old Windows laptop twice and that was only to sync my iPad. The iPad has sort of been a life altering gadget for me. I've discovered that I no longer really need a traditional "computer" or paper books.
 
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For reading, both the kindle and nook are better...but not by much. Reading on the iPad is still great and what makes it even better is the variety. You can read kindle books, nook books, iBooks, library books via the Overdrive apps, plus all the fee formats like pdf, epub, etc.

I evaluated kindle and nook when shopping for my wife. She only wanted to read. Most of the book prices I checked where cheaper with nook so that's what I got her. Since she likes to read in bed at night, the lack of a back light annoyed her. It seemed no matter how she positioned her book light, there was always glare so I sold the nook and got a nook color. It's very nice and much better than the original.

Compared to my iPad2, however, it's crap. While the text is a little crisper (because the screen is smaller), the interface is choppy and it hangs often. The few apps in the nook store are overpriced.

If you can afford the iPad, it's a much better value. Especially if you get an original iPad 1 instead of the newer model. There isn't a ton of difference between them.
 
If they will use it for only reading, I would get a dedicated e-reader such as the Kindle or nook. I feel this build quality is great on those.

If they want to do anything else: internet, games, much. The iPad is a better choice.
 
If you can only get one I would say get the iPad. It does so much more than the Kindle and the eye-strain argument only affects a few people. I have read over 10 books on the iPad and have had no issues.

That said I would recommend the Kindle app over iBooks. Kindle has a better selection and can be used on many many devices so if you ever get a Kindle device or an Android tablet you don't lose access to your books.
 
Personally I feel that if you want an eReader (and just an eReader) then the Kindle is the better choice. If you want a multi-purpose device that you might want to use for reading a book occasionally, then an iPad is fine.
The perfect solution is to get both ;)
 
If you're only going to read books on it, a pure e-reader is preferable. E-ink, light weight, and generally smaller size make it a more enjoyable experience. Of course for anything but reading plain text an iPad is better, but a million features they don't want won't make it more attractive.

One major factor is whether you have a stock of ebooks already and whether they are compatible with the Kindle. I have heard that the Kindle can read pdf's but the experience is not as good as on an LCD screen because you can't resize and reflow text like you would from other formats.
 
asdfx3 said:
If you're only going to read books on it, a pure e-reader is preferable. E-ink, light weight, and generally smaller size make it a more enjoyable experience. Of course for anything but reading plain text an iPad is better, but a million features they don't want won't make it more attractive.

One major factor is whether you have a stock of ebooks already and whether they are compatible with the Kindle. I have heard that the Kindle can read pdf's but the experience is not as good as on an LCD screen because you can't resize and reflow text like you would from other formats.
Click to expand...

The problem with reading PDFs on the Kindle has nothing to do with the type of screen. It's the size if the screen. An iPad screen is just better suited to the shape and size of most PDF documents. Even my Kindle DX wasn't as good for PDFs as the iPad.

Also, if you're going to be reading books with a lot of images, you might find the iPad better. But those reviews of the Kindle were probably comparing the Kindle to an iPad. They really are entirely different things whose possible uses happen to cross paths. If you can determine your personal needs (and can't buy or don't need both), that will be the best way to decide.
 
TheWheelMan said:
The problem with reading PDFs on the Kindle has nothing to do with the type of screen. It's the size if the screen. An iPad screen is just better suited to the shape and size of most PDF documents. Even my Kindle DX wasn't as good for PDFs as the iPad.
Click to expand...
Well, with an eink screen zooming in isn't a great solution because scrolling side to side as well as up and down is more painful because of the slow refresh rates. Plus depending on what you're reading the PDF might be split into columns making navigation even more annoying. If the refresh were as fast as LCD screens it wouldn't be any worse than reading on a phone.

Also, isn't the DX screen as big as the iPads? Does the Kindle UI reserve some of the space for itself?
 
I specifically sold my kindle in lieu of an iPad for reading technical journals.

The kindle could not handle a decent number of technical figures/graphs/equations in TeX PDFs (it just would not display them properly, or not display them at all). The iPad on the other hand does not have this problem what so ever.

It's also nice to get my email and listen to music while I read in a very convenient way.
 
You want to get an iPad and your argument against the Kindle is better reading! LOL

Kid, just tell your parents you want to spend your days playing games and going on the internet, because it's the truth. And if it's not... why make your parents spend ATLEAST $400 more?
 
jddar said:
Sorry for the bad news, none of the "Harry Potter" novels are yet available on any legitimate/legal e-book store. I wish they were. Even though I own hardback versions of all seven, I'd still buy them again from the iBook Store.
Click to expand...

Ok, bad example. But my point was, is he reading kids' books with lots of illustrations and the like, or is the stuff he's reading mostly novels with primarily text? Because I could NOT read HP, LOTR or similar very long books on the iPad comfortably. But then, I am also not 8 :)
 
I have both. For myself I prefer reading on the Kindle. Because it is so light and easy to hold. It's lighter than a paperback, I can take it on vacation without worrying about charging, glare is not an issue, and if I do get it wet something it was much cheaper. I do not find the menu, etc akward. After all, once you select a book all you have to do is turn the page.

That being said, I read iBooks to my grandkids because the screen is bigger and color.

Each has it's purpose and fits well for that purpose. If I were traveling on a plane with my grandkids though the iPad would win, hands down. Mostly because of the color, the ability too share concurrently, and the capability to do other things (such as games - there are many educational games they love).

As a previous poster said, the first thing you should research the availability of content to you. If that is equal, then go from there.
 
buy both,
have your parents buy the iPad for the family, then buy the kindle (or other e-reader) yourself that way both bases are covered and the family can share
 
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