I'll have to try the ipad as a reading device before I decide to buy. The ibook store seems like it could be nice. It would be nice if there was a decent text to speech app for books.
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iPad Poised to Grab Significant Portion of e-Reader Market
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Note that only the early models of the original Kindle require
PDF conversion. The Kindle DX has always supported native PDF,
and a firmware upgrade for the 2nd gen Kindle 6" adds support.
I still prefer real books over the iPad. Much easier to handle on the beach (think theft) where heat, salt and fine sand can void your warranty easily.
iPad poised to grab marketshare, but so is their sibling, the ePad! 
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/06/found-footage-say-hello-to-epad/
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/06/found-footage-say-hello-to-epad/
Guess I should have elaborated more. I realize that the DX, and later revs of gen 2 don't require conversion. But the PDFs that they give you are often unusable. Case in point is a recent Microsoft Press PDF that I was trying to read on my Gen 2. Unusable on the Kindle, because it's an image, instead of rendered text. Not really Amazon't fault, but anyone who didn't know better would blame them. On the iPad it will be "zoomable."
I would not be surprised at all if we were to see the similar market dynamics as when Apple entered the mobile phone market. The initial entry should be even stronger, since the iPhone OS and its plethora of applications are now known factors and are going to impact purchase decisions. At the same time, the competitive environment is not nearly as strong as in the mobile phone market. The iPad should see very little opposition. It will be exciting to see the growth in the sales numbers over the next several quarters.
FAIL? Are you joking? You obviously won't be buying one, because you'll need to save your money for that crack you're smoking.
I've read a few books on my iPhone, and it didn't bother me a bit. I'm not sure what's going on with the folks that can't stand a backlit screen. The biggest reason I'm not getting an eInk device is that I can't read it in the dark without an external light. Combine that with the lack of color, the horrendous update delay, and I'm thinking the iPad would make a much better eReader for me. The rest of the iPads capabilities are just icing on the cake.
See, I think a lot of people aren't hard core readers, but will read for an hour or two at a time, flip over to the web, surf there for a bit, put it away and listen to music (maybe nap) then pick it up for a bit again. An iPad does that well and will fill a need there.
And . . .
Who want to surf the web on a gorgeous mobile device with a great UI (perfectly designed for the device) and Apple's Touch technology
Who want to run apps - covering the whole range from productivity (word processing, VNC, iDisk access, etc.) to more powerful, full screen games. As an iPad user, the entire App Store is at your disposal. That alone is massive.
Who want to use it to communicate via e-mail, chat apps, even SMS, using (again) Apple's wonderful multitouch tech
Who want to have access to their photos, do editing on-the-fly, etc.
Who want to view multimedia content - i.e. movies, YouTube
Who want possible telephony options with the 3G model
With the power of the App Store behind it, plus an ocean of developers backing it, the potential of the iPad is absolutely insane.
Books are just one aspect of this incredible device. It'll cater to *everyone* like most Apple products, because first and foremost, it's Apple's coolest, most beautiful device, and you don't have to *need* one to *want* one. The very act of holding it and performing multitouch gestures on the screen alone, will draw people like little kids to candy. Who cares about needs? No one need and iPhone. No one needs an iPod Touch. But boy, do people ever want them! Apple has a way of showing you products you never knew you wanted.
I'm a Day 1 guy myself as I've said many times, and intend to retire my MBP and use my iPad as my primary computer.
What puzzles me about this is the hump at 4 - 6 months out which is counterintuitive to me. That's right smack dab in the middle of an annual refresh cycle. So you get neither thrill of having the latest and greatest by buying early, nor any last minute discounts if older inventory has to get pushed out (by buying say in months 10-12).
I mean sure, we'll likely get an OS rev a few months after shipping, and that's what many could be waiting for I suppose. But in my mind you either buy Day 1 or day 366 when Rev B ships
What puzzles me about this is the hump at 4 - 6 months out which is counterintuitive to me. That's right smack dab in the middle of an annual refresh cycle. So you get neither thrill of having the latest and greatest by buying early, nor any last minute discounts if older inventory has to get pushed out (by buying say in months 10-12).
I mean sure, we'll likely get an OS rev a few months after shipping, and that's what many could be waiting for I suppose. But in my mind you either buy Day 1 or day 366 when Rev B ships
Maybe when people realize how stupid it is to be lying out in the sun they will stop reading paperbacks then too?
Hey I am guilty as anyone. I used to spend a lot of time outside at pools and on the beach reading a paperback. But laying out in the sun is a pretty stupid thing to be doing these days... So maybe you will have a nice umbrella or something.
Seriously though, I agree from the standpoint of I am not taking my $500+ ipad or even my $250 kindle to the beach to read. Sand, water, theft. All significant issues. So in those cases a paperback makes a nice filler.
I sure wouldn't bring the iPad to the beach or pool side where it would be out of my possession for any amount of time that is just common sense. When I was a kid (back when kids were actually kids) I thought twice about bringing my transistor radio to the beach because sand got in everything and it could be stolen while I was away swimming.
While my main reading material are ebooks I still have paperbacks that I take to places like that or where it might be too bright for my iPhone to work well (mind you I haven't found that to be a problem as the backlight adjusts just fine to bright sunlight)
There will always be a place for printed books and to say that the iPad is the prefect replacement for anything is wrong. Its just another tool to combine multiple devices into one small package.
Dunno, maybe it's just me, and I'm different than most. But if I'm going to make my buying decisions based on fear of my environment, and the small percentage of thieves in the world, I might as well just live in a bubble, with a Glock in my hand.
Bye, bye Kindle. A one trick pony priced as closely to the entry level iPad is not going to cut it anymore.
The iPad will eventually become ubiquitous, there are so many different ways that it can be used. I imagine it will be adopted first by book readers, then by people whose use of computers is limited to surfing the web and email.
After it catches on, the iPad will revolutionize hospital record keeping and just about any other job that requires portable data access and entry.
Hopefully it will replace paper on college campuses.
The iPad will eventually become ubiquitous, there are so many different ways that it can be used. I imagine it will be adopted first by book readers, then by people whose use of computers is limited to surfing the web and email.
After it catches on, the iPad will revolutionize hospital record keeping and just about any other job that requires portable data access and entry.
Hopefully it will replace paper on college campuses.
LCDs in Low Light
While far too much has been said about using an LCD in low light, I have this much to share: Turn brightness to its lowest setting and view it from a slight angle to further reduce direct glare. That is all it takes. It easily offers less brightness than a front-lit book in bed.
Sitting outside with my cheap-ass Acer netbook at the moment thinking outdoor viewing might be more of a challenge. Now I understand why people think glossy screens suck. My MBP (with glossy screen) isn't nearly as annoying though, nor is my iPhone...
While far too much has been said about using an LCD in low light, I have this much to share: Turn brightness to its lowest setting and view it from a slight angle to further reduce direct glare. That is all it takes. It easily offers less brightness than a front-lit book in bed.
Sitting outside with my cheap-ass Acer netbook at the moment thinking outdoor viewing might be more of a challenge. Now I understand why people think glossy screens suck. My MBP (with glossy screen) isn't nearly as annoying though, nor is my iPhone...
Do you also use a typewriter instead of a computer?
Books aren't going to die anytime soon, but if you can't see the obvious advantages of the iPad or e-readers in general, you need new beer-bottles.
well when i do read a book which isnt often i choice it for many reasons
1. doesnt need power.
2. on amazon they are like 8 bucks when the digital are going to be 10-15. no thx
3. its not huge.
4. it flexible (paper back)
5. who the hell is going to steal them?
6. i dont need memory on a book
7. the pages wont hurt my eyes
8. and other things.
the difference between a type writer and a computer is the typer writer had nothing over a computer.
Let me fix this for you
:To [ab]use Jobs' BMW/Mercedes cliché - would you rather have 90%
of a niche market, or 5% (or 20%, or 40%) of an enormous market?
The "walled garden" model of the Iphone would keep the Ipad in a
niche, IMO. An open model (content portable to any slate made by
anyone) will change the world™.
Steve - would you rather sell shiny gadgets, or change the world?
The iPod Touch also functions on the "walled garden" model. It's fairly ubiquitous. There is currently nothing out there like the iPad. No reason at all for it not to be an iPod-phneomenon.
I guess we just have different definitions for "fairly ubiquitous",
that's all.
I don't know anyone who's used a touch around me, so I don't
consider them to be ubiquitous.
Same when the fans say that "everyone has an Iphone" - most people
that I see have feature phones (or even dumbphones). The Iphone
is a popular smartphone, but lots of Palm, 'berries and Androids
are out there. WP7 is coming, so there may be a resurgent player
in the mix by the end of the year.
___________
However, slates will be driven by content as much as apps, IMO.
If you have a narrow, proprietary ecosystem of content, the
slates will be isolated niches.
If it's open, like the web, and any content will play on any
slate (hold tongue, no snarky comments about Flash) - an open
ecosystem will flourish and all slates will prosper. A rising
tide lifts all boats, as the saying goes.
The iPad is not an e-reader.
Its a touchpad. A portable computer.
It does not have e-ink, it does not last as long as an e-reader, it does not have as good resolution as an e-reader, and the book-app is just one program of an entire operating system.
So reading books is not the primary function of the iPad. You cant call it an e-reader then.
Its a touchpad. A portable computer.
It does not have e-ink, it does not last as long as an e-reader, it does not have as good resolution as an e-reader, and the book-app is just one program of an entire operating system.
So reading books is not the primary function of the iPad. You cant call it an e-reader then.
Just noticed Sony's market share on the chart and the title of another thread "Sony Preparing New Handheld Devices to Take On Apple"
You are wrong. In the current iPhone software there is a setting to toggle the "white on black" function by pressing the home button 3 times. Sort of like a "system wide gesture".
*yawn*
Apple TV and/or Mac Air, anyone? Thought not. Not hearing much about the high demand for the iPod Nano, depite adding a camera (because they're too selfish to give up any monopoly on the iPhone market).
Oh, yeah, but anything Apple puts out is always golden.