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iPad as an e-reader?
- Thread starter Ruffian829
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My Kindle sits in a drawer. I read about a book a day on the iPad.
I thought the screen would bother me, but I just switch between sepia and white every once in a while.
If the full-sized Kindle DX was ~$99, I might use it for longer reading sessions.
I thought the screen would bother me, but I just switch between sepia and white every once in a while.
If the full-sized Kindle DX was ~$99, I might use it for longer reading sessions.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I have both an iPad and now a Kindle.
What I like about the iPad is it power, flexibility and function.
The kindle does one thing and it does that one task exceptionally well.
I found the iPad's size and back lighting to be its biggest drawback for extended e-reading. With the Kindle when I commute, I can easily hold onto the Kindle with one hand, and my other hand on the bar of the subway. Trying to use an iPad in one hand can be quite awkward. I also seem to suffer from hand fatigue from holding the iPad for extended periods while reading
I'm not sure its the PPI, back lighting or what but my eyes definitely find reading the kindle to be less strain.
The iPad is a great product but imo the Kindle exceeds the iPad in size, ease of use (particularly using one hand) price, battery life and less eye strain
What I like about the iPad is it power, flexibility and function.
The kindle does one thing and it does that one task exceptionally well.
I found the iPad's size and back lighting to be its biggest drawback for extended e-reading. With the Kindle when I commute, I can easily hold onto the Kindle with one hand, and my other hand on the bar of the subway. Trying to use an iPad in one hand can be quite awkward. I also seem to suffer from hand fatigue from holding the iPad for extended periods while reading
I'm not sure its the PPI, back lighting or what but my eyes definitely find reading the kindle to be less strain.
The iPad is a great product but imo the Kindle exceeds the iPad in size, ease of use (particularly using one hand) price, battery life and less eye strain
ftaok
macrumors 604
Personally, I'm not a big time reader. However, I am a fan of dedicated devices, as long as they perform that one feature extremely well. From everything that I've heard, the Kindle is the best of class for dedicated eReaders.
Personally, I find the iPad to be a terrible eReader. It's way too heavy to read for extended periods on the bed. It's hard to hold in one hand. And with all of the other features available on the iPad, it prevents me from serious reading.
So if you feel that you'll do a decent amount of reading, go with a Kindle. At $114 (with special offers), it's almost throwaway money. Also, you might snag a great special offer that gets you 20% off of an iPad. There was a thread a little while ago that allowed you to buy a MBA from Amazon with a huge discount.
Personally, I find the iPad to be a terrible eReader. It's way too heavy to read for extended periods on the bed. It's hard to hold in one hand. And with all of the other features available on the iPad, it prevents me from serious reading.
So if you feel that you'll do a decent amount of reading, go with a Kindle. At $114 (with special offers), it's almost throwaway money. Also, you might snag a great special offer that gets you 20% off of an iPad. There was a thread a little while ago that allowed you to buy a MBA from Amazon with a huge discount.
Paulywauly
macrumors 6502a
I own both, i tried Ipad as an ereader initally, then purchased a kindle after reading on iPad for a few months.
In my experience the iPad was far superior in a sense that it did a million other things on the same device and did alot of them well. There are also inumerous ways to view documents/ebooks from different sources. The issuse i had with it in the end was that i was sick of reading something that looked basically like a computer screen and couldnt be read in sunlight. The battery life didn't help either. I still love my iPad, but for ereading there was just too much "distraction" from the reading experience for my taste.
Ended up buying a Kindle after borrowing one from a friend. It doesnt do 1% of the stuff my iPad does, which understandably puts some people off, but if used just for reading i couldnt recommend it enough. Sometimes i've found myself reaching over to turn a page like a real book! Would never have done that with my iPad
In my experience the iPad was far superior in a sense that it did a million other things on the same device and did alot of them well. There are also inumerous ways to view documents/ebooks from different sources. The issuse i had with it in the end was that i was sick of reading something that looked basically like a computer screen and couldnt be read in sunlight. The battery life didn't help either. I still love my iPad, but for ereading there was just too much "distraction" from the reading experience for my taste.
Ended up buying a Kindle after borrowing one from a friend. It doesnt do 1% of the stuff my iPad does, which understandably puts some people off, but if used just for reading i couldnt recommend it enough. Sometimes i've found myself reaching over to turn a page like a real book! Would never have done that with my iPad
I read something on the first generation of iPad and it was fine. In terms of long term readability and lack of eyestrain, I figure that going with the Amazon Kindle would be best.
The cheapest Kindle, which is new not refurbished, is $114 on their website.
malnar
macrumors 6502a
As someone in a similar position, until recently I figured the iPad would do fine. Then my mom got a Kindle and I really saw the difference. The print quality on the Kindle is immensely better. There's no doubt in my mind that if you care about reading, a Kindle is a must for ereading. I have numerous books in my Kindle app, but I can't sit down for long periods to read on the iPad, I find it uncomfortable for the various reasons people have given. The Kindle is incredibly light and small. The only reasons I can find to not like it are the keyboard and lack of touch screen. If Amazon takes care of those, they've got an instant sale.
As for Nook vs. Kindle, I was tempted by the Nook but ultimately I will stick with Amazon. Nook often has better prices but Amazon offers a more secure future, not to mention they have "Kindle Singles" and special deals on books that I don't see with the Nook. I just bought a 300 page book for 99 cents yesterday. A week ago I bought a fantastic short story (basically a very long nonfiction article) for 99 cents. I don't see Nook offering things like that. Those are the kinds of things that I'm looking for and what will seal me to one or the other. So Amazon, despite some higher prices, wins.
As for Nook vs. Kindle, I was tempted by the Nook but ultimately I will stick with Amazon. Nook often has better prices but Amazon offers a more secure future, not to mention they have "Kindle Singles" and special deals on books that I don't see with the Nook. I just bought a 300 page book for 99 cents yesterday. A week ago I bought a fantastic short story (basically a very long nonfiction article) for 99 cents. I don't see Nook offering things like that. Those are the kinds of things that I'm looking for and what will seal me to one or the other. So Amazon, despite some higher prices, wins.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Same here, if they went touch screen then the keyboard is not needed,so you can make a larger display. Of course its probably difficult to make a great display that includes touchscreen for only 114 which is their cheapest model.
saberahul
macrumors 68040
True, I got 2 of them for free for attending some real-estate program where they tried to sell me some land in PA (I went for the free devices 🙂 )
TheWheelMan
macrumors 6502a
Not sure if this was brought up (I didn't see it mentioned) but if you'll be reading a lot of textbooks, then iPad might be a better choice because of the color display. I sold my Kindle DX after getting my iPad because I knew it would be easier for me to use the one device. And because I read many software reference books and manuals, I find the iPad's larger, full-color display much better for me than my DX ever was, and I loved my DX.
i have a dx. i am at the airport reading it now (long international flight, but no worries with this week-long battery). i love it and highly recommend it, but with one huge caveat.
the dx is a very expensive product with old software, old hardware, and limited capabilities. it is infuriating that amazon will neither update the software nor tell you if they even plan to do it at any time in the future. don't expect to get asian fonts, page numbers, or any number of things you get with the less expensive 6". this is a sore point for many of us in the dx community, and amazon's stance makes it pretty unlikely that i will ever purchase a tablet or other similar device, because i know they won't measure up to apple's phenomenol after purchase support. the hardware is more than a year old now, with no hope at this point of something like wifi capability. pdfs need to be formatted just right to work, and page turns with pdfs can be slow. amazon made a great device, and then dropped the ball.
but, the dx is undeniably the best large screen ereader on the market. it is a true joy to read eink on the large screen. the screen size is particularly important if you read quickly, because it displays a lot of text at once. i find my reading speed hampered by the small screen of the regular kindle.
anyhow, considering how versatile the ipad is, and how well it handles stuff like zooming (not to mention color), it is the better buy for most people. if you are like me, though, and read lots of books, dissertations, and journal articles that rely primarily on text to convey their message, then you'll at least want to consider the dx.
the dx is a very expensive product with old software, old hardware, and limited capabilities. it is infuriating that amazon will neither update the software nor tell you if they even plan to do it at any time in the future. don't expect to get asian fonts, page numbers, or any number of things you get with the less expensive 6". this is a sore point for many of us in the dx community, and amazon's stance makes it pretty unlikely that i will ever purchase a tablet or other similar device, because i know they won't measure up to apple's phenomenol after purchase support. the hardware is more than a year old now, with no hope at this point of something like wifi capability. pdfs need to be formatted just right to work, and page turns with pdfs can be slow. amazon made a great device, and then dropped the ball.
but, the dx is undeniably the best large screen ereader on the market. it is a true joy to read eink on the large screen. the screen size is particularly important if you read quickly, because it displays a lot of text at once. i find my reading speed hampered by the small screen of the regular kindle.
anyhow, considering how versatile the ipad is, and how well it handles stuff like zooming (not to mention color), it is the better buy for most people. if you are like me, though, and read lots of books, dissertations, and journal articles that rely primarily on text to convey their message, then you'll at least want to consider the dx.
If you want to stick with "just reading"--books, and maybe some newspapers and magazines--an e-book reader ($114 to $189) is probably your best bet. Every additional feature you add will put you on the road to a more full-featured tablet (an iPad or one of the growing number of Android tablets). A tablet is much more versatile and can replace a laptop for many tasks--but it will cost you upward of $500 to start.
But in end I will tell you that yoe should get that one that you like....!
TheMadBrewer
macrumors regular
I've been "eReading" since the original Palm Pilot and all you could get was Gutenberg Project books as text -- and you had to futz with them to read.
Later it was my Garmn iQue (also Palm device) then the iPhone as soon as they had apps.
I guess what I am saying is that reading on an LCD screen doesn't bother me so I find the iPad great for reading. I do have a Kindle 2 (She Who Must Be Obeys uses it mostly) and even a Kindle DX (bought for PDFs which it didn't do as well as was advertised).
One advantage of the iPad over a Kindle is you may be able to check out ebooks from your library using the OverDrive app. You can check out audiobooks as well -- I use that in the car (aux port on my car stereo) or when riding the bus.
The iPad is also my portable reference library -- I have technical manuals in PDF format that I read with GoodReader. It has been a life saver (well, more of a job saver 🙂 )
When I travel it is my InFlight Entertainment system -- read and listen to music but if I get bored, watch some video or play a game. Answer emails if a WiFi enabled flight (but costs $$$)
As many have said, the drawbacks are you must charge it every day or so rather than every few weeks with a Kindle. Reading the screen in sunlight is difficult (to impossible). And some people don't like reading on an LCD screen. But even if you only read with the iPad for short periods I think there is enough other uses for it that you will love it.
Later it was my Garmn iQue (also Palm device) then the iPhone as soon as they had apps.
I guess what I am saying is that reading on an LCD screen doesn't bother me so I find the iPad great for reading. I do have a Kindle 2 (She Who Must Be Obeys uses it mostly) and even a Kindle DX (bought for PDFs which it didn't do as well as was advertised).
One advantage of the iPad over a Kindle is you may be able to check out ebooks from your library using the OverDrive app. You can check out audiobooks as well -- I use that in the car (aux port on my car stereo) or when riding the bus.
The iPad is also my portable reference library -- I have technical manuals in PDF format that I read with GoodReader. It has been a life saver (well, more of a job saver 🙂 )
When I travel it is my InFlight Entertainment system -- read and listen to music but if I get bored, watch some video or play a game. Answer emails if a WiFi enabled flight (but costs $$$)
As many have said, the drawbacks are you must charge it every day or so rather than every few weeks with a Kindle. Reading the screen in sunlight is difficult (to impossible). And some people don't like reading on an LCD screen. But even if you only read with the iPad for short periods I think there is enough other uses for it that you will love it.