iPhone now the biggest eBook reader?

[quimby]

I find reading on the iPhone surprisingly good. I have Stanza, and eReader, but haven't played with them much. I have been reading a large PDF file, though, using Files Lite. I wouldn't want to read for extended periods on the iPhone, but for half an hour or so at a time, I find it fine. Better, in fact, than my previous reading experiences on mobile devices, which were via a variety of Palms - III, V, Tx etc.

[thibaulthalpern]

Why would someone want to intentionally read a book length text or even journal article length text on a mini-screen like the iPhone or iPod touch? That's rather ridiculous and makes reading very limited. Such a tiny screen is no conducive to skimming and scanning. When I read academic texts (my field is anthropology) much of the time I skim through things and read portions that I deem necessary. The iPhone is a bad device for something like this. By the way, I own the iPod touch and I never use it to do lengthy reading.

Also, I'm not sure that to call eBook reading a new phenomenon a useful classification. We've been reading a lot of lengthy texts on the laptop screen for a while now. They may not be in the format of a book, but they certainly are lengthy. Examples include documents, internet websites, online journals, and so forth. With regards to reading lengthy texts, we've been doing that for a long time now (long in computer years). What is a little different is having digital reader devices. So, it's not the reading that that's new but rather what device the reading is done on.

[GntlmnBndt]

Originally Posted by thibaulthalpern

Why would someone want to intentionally read a book length text or even journal article length text on a mini-screen like the iPhone or iPod touch? That's rather ridiculous and makes reading very limited. Such a tiny screen is no conducive to skimming and scanning. When I read academic texts (my field is anthropology) much of the time I skim through things and read portions that I deem necessary. The iPhone is a bad device for something like this. By the way, I own the iPod touch and I never use it to do lengthy reading.

Wow... This is the forum specifically set aside for people who want to read on these devices. Did you really come here just to label our enjoyment as 'ridiculous'?

I'll grant you that the small screen as not conducive to skimming and scanning, but luckily some of us want to read a book in its entirety. Also, I have used such handhelds to carry around reference material, when my job demanded it. It was very useful to have eight or ten large manuals in my hip pocket, with fast searches and indexing being a great improvement over the paper versions, and the portability was better than any laptop.

I am sorry that these devices are not your ideal, but please do not insult those of us who read on them for hours at a time and enjoy it. There is a separate forum specifically for people who are still trying to decide what device is best for them. Why not go there where your insight and opinion would be of great use and interest?

The Bandit

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by thibaulthalpern

Why would someone want to intentionally read a book length text or even journal article length text on a mini-screen like the iPhone or iPod touch? That's rather ridiculous and makes reading very limited. Such a tiny screen is no conducive to skimming and scanning. When I read academic texts (my field is anthropology) much of the time I skim through things and read portions that I deem necessary. The iPhone is a bad device for something like this. By the way, I own the iPod touch and I never use it to do lengthy reading.

Also, I'm not sure that to call eBook reading a new phenomenon a useful classification. We've been reading a lot of lengthy texts on the laptop screen for a while now. They may not be in the format of a book, but they certainly are lengthy. Examples include documents, internet websites, online journals, and so forth. With regards to reading lengthy texts, we've been doing that for a long time now (long in computer years). What is a little different is having digital reader devices. So, it's not the reading that that's new but rather what device the reading is done on.

I can give you a couple of practical answers to that question:

1: Money. An iTouch can be bought for around £130, significantly cheaper than the crop of e-book readers available at the moment in my country.

2: Portability: the iTouch/phone is small and fits into a jacket pocket. You can carry it wherever you go and it's unobtrusive.

3: Convergence: with an iTouch/phone I have a multi-function device. Make calls, listen to music, watch video, read books, it does it all.

My own reasons for getting an iTouch for reading were mainly to do with money. I got a good deal on an iTouch, £100 and the crop of readers available at the moment were either too expensive (Sony) not available (Kindle) or clunky-looking (BeBook, Hanlin etc).

I've managed to read a couple of full length novels on the device so far, nothin approaching War & Peace, mind you, but nonetheless it wasn't a terrible exprience. I will be purchasing the Txtr when it's released because it does doe everything I want and looks the part, and hopefully I'll have more money then. But to say the iTouch/phone is no good for reading dismisses all those of us who actually use the device and have little or no problems with the experience.