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iPad Closing in on Kindle in eReader Ownership

I own a Kindle and an iPad. I don't use the Kindle any more because of charging problems as well as not being able to read in the dark. The Amazon library is great. The Amazon library on the iPad is even better.

I hope that someday soon, the iBook library will be as big as Amazon's.
 
Shasterball said:
I don't get this. You can't count every iPad as an e-reader; especially if that is not the intended use of the device. If that's the case, all iPhones should be e-readers too...
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in my view it is just another way for Apple fanboys to scream how great Apple is. They do not care what the facts really are.
 
dwsolberg said:
I have both a Kindle and iPad, and I prefer the iPad for reading books. It's true that glare can be a problem, but I read mostly inside and in the evening, so the backlit screen is much better for me because I can read in a dimly lit room or in bed. Also, the screen is much bigger and I can easily go back and forward a few pages without waiting. (It's not a long time, but it is long enough that is can break my train of thought.) Also, I tend to read nonfiction, and color graphs are much better than grayscale graphs.

---

I haven't bought any iBooks so far. I prefer Amazon's website for ordering because of the user reviews and recommendations, and so I just use the Kindle application.
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I haven't bought any books on iBooks yet either--all from Amazon--and I don't have an iPad--i read on my iPhone. But that would be an interesting comparison--iBooks to Amazon. Regardless of Kindle sales, I would guess Amazon is doing quite well with their download book sales. :cool:
 
I just ordered a Kindle 3. I've used both my daughter's iPad and my wife's Kindle for reading - and the Kindle wins hands-down for both readability and weight (not to mention battery life).

If I do eventually get a tablet, it'll be a Galaxy Tab or other similar-sized device - since Steve Jobs says a 7" tablet is too small, I know it won't be an iPad. :D I doubt I'll have to whittle my fingers down since they work with my 1st gen iPod Touch just fine, despite Stevey's rantings. I'm waiting to see what Android 3 brings to the table.
 
I have both a Kindle 3 and an iPad.

But I've actually ended up doing most of my ebook reading using the Kindle app on my iPhone 4. The text is deadly sharp, the i4 weighs very little, and I don't need to turn the lights up, or even on. I do often need to find my reading glasses first.

The Kindle 3 is a win when sitting outdoors in daylight, and the iPad wins for web/magazine page content, or when I don't have my reading glasses nearby. But ebooks on the i4 still gets most of my page reads.
 
Do you think in time they will see the benefit of one eBook marketplace that all devices can access, rather than some books only at one place, and other books only at another.

Which really is not good for anyone.
 
Westside guy said:
I doubt I'll have to whittle my fingers down since they work with my 1st gen iPod Touch just fine, despite Stevey's rantings.
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I don't understand that comment, either. Touch on the iPhone works great. In fact, it's easier to type on the iPhone than it is on the iPad because you don't have to reach across the screen.

That said, I tend to trust Steve's judgement in terms of how big the screen needs to be. There were tablet computers for 10 or so years before Apple came around and completely reinvented the category and made it huge. Same with the smartphone market. Same with the portable audio market. I don't think that's an accident.
 
No E-Ink = No E reader for me.

iPad will crush more and more of these type of devices as the price drops. (And resales get cheaper and cheaper)

However, I have children and if I used my iPad as an E-reader, reading would never happen.

There is a place for a stand alone device. I for one am glad to have my boring ass Kindle becaue it looks like an 8 Track tape to my kids! :D
 
But isn't the iPad a kind of very bustling PDA, and the Kindle just an e-reader? If we're using such broad terms can we also compare against PC's that can also be e-readers?
 
Tried a Kindle, prefer the iPad for reading books. So each person must decide for themselves.

The market, meanwhile, has already decided: iPad is the killer device that is taking over. However, the Kindle is cheap enough to be considered a complementary device. Get 'em both! Then when you go to the beach to read, grab that Kindle. And when you read in bed at night 365 nights a year, use the iPad.
 
The whole story is misleading.
The impression is that Kindle is loosing ground to iPad, but have the sales of kindle even slowed, has growth even slowed?

These are completely different products, and if both are expanding the market for eBooks by taking a different attitude to features and appeal to different parts of the market then that is a good thing.

Real choice is great for the consumer. Choice that goes to the very bones of the company and their attitude of what makes a successful product. Not just this thin GUI overlay that is often called "Choice" at the moment.

Can we please have an end to stupid marketshare graphs?
They just perpetuate the notion that some company must dominate to "Win".
 
Kindle in the dark

I read on my Kindle 3 in bed at night, right next to my sleeping wife. The lights are out. Very Dark. So I attach my Kindle reading light (2 levels, very bright and bright) to my Kindle. And I read.
No problem.
I don't have an iPad and won't be buying one for a few reasons. I have computers that I can use for reading newspapers, etc. I like the ease of use and clarity of the Kindle. I also have an iTouch and a nano iPod. I use them all -- but not simultaneously.
Comparing the iPad to a Kindle without accounting for the differences in usage is more like a PR/ad gimmick than an intelligently-based survey. There must be someone somewhere who turns on an iPad to maneuver through a pitch-dark room when necessary. Can't do that with a Kindle!
On the other hand: So what?
 
NebulaClash said:
Tried a Kindle, prefer the iPad for reading books. So each person must decide for themselves.

The market, meanwhile, has already decided: iPad is the killer device that is taking over. However, the Kindle is cheap enough to be considered a complementary device. Get 'em both! Then when you go to the beach to read, grab that Kindle. And when you read in bed at night 365 nights a year, use the iPad.
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Agreed, iPad is a killer device!

However, I can not read on the iPad for more than 30 mins tops. At night, I use the Kindle case with intergrated light.
 
I like both of them. Kindle is light , cheap(er),very mobile and if I lose it I wouldn't be as sad as when I lose an iPad. Kindle does not offer good PDF reading experience , I would never read a PDF file on Kindle. Kindle does not offer multi device sync when you got the books from another source than Amazon. ( Please correct me if I'm wrong)

On the contrary iPad is amazing with PDF's. It offers much better page navigation. iPad is kind of heavy compared to Kindle. You wont be able to read directly under sunlight ( which isn't a problem for me. You wont be able to read your Kindle in dark ) You can reduce the backlight so iPad is not really bad for your eyes.
 
The Apple iBook store finally got some tech books available to purchase. The iBook reader is better than the Kindle App book reader. Having said that, I do think the Kindle 3 is much better than the prior Kindles. I have most of my books in Kindle format and I really like the Kindle 3 for reading books more than the iPad.


Both the iPad and Kindle win.
 
MattInOz said:
Can we please have an end to stupid marketshare graphs?
They just perpetuate the notion that some company must dominate to "Win".
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I think we have a zero sum game. The issue is, most of the points are free floating and have yet to be collected. Grab market share while you can.
 
yg17 said:
I have an iPad and just got a Kindle last week.
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So you're one of the lucky few who got the $89 Kindle 2. I clicked on the buy button as soon as the deal became available and got a sold out/waiting list screen.:( Went over to the BB website for the $89 Nook and that was sold out too.:(:(

I've tried reading on the iPad before. My eyes got bleary after an hour or so. That's why I was gunning for a Kindle.
 
DocPenguin said:
Definitely a bad comparison. It's like apples and oranges. The iPad is a tablet computer, not an eReader. The iPad is gaining in popularity, for sure, but I'd guess that most people buying them aren't doing so just to read books if at all. If you are a avid book reader, a Kindle, Nook, or other eInk device is the only way to go, the iPad won't cut it. Period.
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Or shouldn't you say: It's like comparing Apples with Amazons? (sorry :eek:)
But seriously, I agree with that statement. First off, the iPad is too big to read with one hand (which for me, is a must for a ebook reader). Secondly, when I'll buy an iPad, I will use it to read ebook but that's definitively won't be the reason number 1 *because* it can do so much more than an ebook reader.
 
Shasterball said:
I don't get this. You can't count every iPad as an e-reader; especially if that is not the intended use of the device. If that's the case, all iPhones should be e-readers too...
Click to expand...
I see that you are in the US so you might not be aware that the iPad was released in Canada a couple of months after its initial launch in the US because the iBook store for Canada was not ready due to a need to negotiate deals with Canadian publishers. The same thing held back the release in other markets such as Scandinavia.

If the iPad is not to be counted as an e-reader then why does its release in certain markets depend on the iBook store being in place first?

The fact that the iPad can run third party apps also means that it can host third party book store like Kobo and Kindle in addition to iBooks. With a Kindle or Nook, you are limited to one e-book store.
 
Do me a favour. This is a statistic that has only been generated of the back of iPad sales regardless is any owners read books on it or not. As for ebooks the Kindle is FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR better then the iPad, more books, cheaper prices, a WWWAAAAAAYYYYYYY better screen and iPad owners agree, many will tell you it's not a pleasant experience reading a book on an iPad for extended periods of time. e-ink was built for the job, and lets not mention cost eh, I think nearly FOUR Kindles for the bottom priced iPad. So unless Apple use an e-ink display the ipad will never be as good.
 
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