On why the Kindle DX pales in comparison to the newspaper

thibaulthalpern · 06-18-2009, 08:37 PM

A good article on why the Kindle DX (or even any digital reader, for that matter) pales in comparison to certain things that can also be read on paper.

http://www.slate.com/id/2220793/

I certainly don't want the digital reader world to replace my paper world entirely. I want it to supplement my paper world. It's not an either/or proposition but a both/and for me

no.guru · 06-18-2009, 08:59 PM

I agree, but the more I use my reader .. the less sure I am of that.

Gideon · 06-18-2009, 11:06 PM

Eh. I miss having a designed newspaper (though, honestly, few newspapers have any design worth looking at) but I actually READ my Kindle and I don't have to build up a tiny tower of newspaper, get my hands all inky, or deal with all the damn folding.

I LOVE reading news on my Kindle. Only way I'll do it.

(well, i digest enormous amounts through RSS feeds, but I like my newspaper in the morning)

poohbear_nc · 06-19-2009, 08:33 AM

I used to be a committed NYT Sunday edition reader. Switched to the Kindle version last year. The only time I miss the paper edition is when I need to reline the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Kindles are just too expensive - and not nearly as absorbent as newsprint!

Seriously - I DON'T miss the ads.
I DO miss the insane crosswords in the magazine section.

weatherman · 06-19-2009, 12:07 PM

I read that article.. on my Kindle. :P

Seriously though, I take issue with a couple of things that the author of that article mentions. After spending several months with the digital version of the NY Times on my K2 I can say honestly it's a much better experience all around, with the only exception being that I can't share the paper with my wife on Sunday mornings.

His issues with navigation seem overblown. For instance, his chief complaint seems to revolve around the formatting of the headlines; "The only way to know if a story merits your attention is to click on it." How about reading the headline to see if the story interests you? Did you ever think to do that?

I certainly don't find myself reading the newspaper like a book as he says, feeling like I need to finish an article because browsing to another one is too much trouble. I would admit that I do find my self reading more of the news though, and that I read it more deeply in the same amount of time. To me, that's an advantage.

His other complaint is about the fact that the newspaper only updates once a day. Once again, I see this as a benefit. The entire online news cycle is far too rushed - it's gone from articles to blog entries to headlines to tweets, for chrissake. If I wanted to read the absolutely latest headlines, I would read them online. But what I use the Kindle for is reading the news, not just what's newest. I read the New York Times for the depth of the articles and the comprehensive reporting. That stands in stark contrast to the kind of zero-attention-span culture that constantly hits refresh on the Huffington Post home page (actually that site refreshes itself - how crazy is that?). I don't want to be constantly updating, and I want to be able to return to the same paper in the afternoon that I was reading in the morning in case I don't get through all the articles I want. Would I absolutely reject a return to the "evening edition" model? No, probably not. But I probably wouldn't read it.

In short I think reading the paper on the Kindle rather than in print is so much better for so many reasons, it easily makes up for the small issues of the Kindle.

Studio717 · 06-19-2009, 07:48 PM

Other than the free weeklies around, I haven't read a paper newspaper in years. I've been reading what little I follow online primarily because I just couldn't take the build-up of paper. It was driving me crazy, so only a little pile from the weeklies now (and they go in recyc.)

The DX has, in fact, made me consider going back to reading a regular paper. I've subscribed to the Chron and have been enjoying reading it on the Kindle. I may not keep it up, but only because it doesn't cover my local area very much.

tompe · 06-19-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

His issues with navigation seem overblown. For instance, his chief complaint seems to revolve around the formatting of the headlines; "The only way to know if a story merits your attention is to click on it." How about reading the headline to see if the story interests you? Did you ever think to do that?

I can never for article I want to read tell from a headline that it is worth reading. I usually skim it very fast or read the beginning to see if it is worth reading. Of course you can filter away a lot of article on the headling but not all.

jharker · 06-20-2009, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

I can never for article I want to read tell from a headline that it is worth reading. I usually skim it very fast or read the beginning to see if it is worth reading. Of course you can filter away a lot of article on the headling but not all.

I don't actually have any newspapers on my Kindle, but from what I understand there are several ways to browse the newspaper content. One way is with headlines only. Another way is with headlines plus the first few lines of the article. You can choose, depending on how you prefer to read it.

weatherman · 06-20-2009, 04:56 PM

The New York Times on the Kindle (which is what I read) has headlines that are pretty clear - just like in the newspaper. For instance, "Iran's op Leader Dashes Hopes for a Compromise" turns out to be Iran's top leader not wanting to compromise.

And the preview in the articles List view shows the first two lines of the story (at least with the font that I have installed). Sure it would be nice to have a little more, but I can generally get a sense of what the story is about and whether I want to read it. If I can't tell for sure, it takes about .5 seconds to look at the article, then skim it, and .5 seconds to go back to the main menu. Not really a big deal.

I get what he's saying, I just think he's overstating it. And I think he doesn't give enough credit for the things that the Kindle does better. For instance I can skim all 15 of the headlines in the National section much faster than I can flip through the pages of the front page section of the Times. It's much more efficient, in my opinion, which is why I can say I read more deeply in the same amount of time.

elmoglick · 06-21-2009, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

His other complaint is about the fact that the newspaper only updates once a day.
. . .
Once again, I see this as a benefit. I don't want to be constantly updating, and I want to be able to return to the same paper in the afternoon that I was reading in the morning in case I don't get through all the articles I want. Would I absolutely reject a return to the "evening edition" model? No, probably not. But I probably wouldn't read it.

I find a nice (and incredibly inexpensive) balance by snagging the Sunday NYT for 75 cents and supplement that with the NYT Latest News blog ($1.99/month), which updates 2-3 times per day. I just don't have the time to slog through the daily NYT - it takes me a week just to make it through everything from the Sunday edition.

El

weatherman · 06-21-2009, 03:15 PM

@elmoglick: how do you get the NYT sunday edition for $0.75? Are you talking about a Sunday-only Kindle edition? I wasn't aware that such a thing existed. Not that I'd actually buy it if it were, I'm just curious.

elmoglick · 06-21-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

@elmoglick: how do you get the NYT sunday edition for $0.75? Are you talking about a Sunday-only Kindle edition? I wasn't aware that such a thing existed. Not that I'd actually buy it if it were, I'm just curious.

Yup, they sell the Kindle daily NYT for 75 cents, including Sundays. Pretty amazing deal, really.

El

angelad · 06-21-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elmoglick

Yup, they sell the Kindle daily NYT for 75 cents, including Sundays.

Pretty amazing deal, really.

El

Yea, definitely a pretty good deal.

weatherman · 06-22-2009, 11:46 AM

That is good news. I subscribe already, and I read it daily so there wouldn't be any cost savings, but I could see that being very useful for some other folks.

$0.75 for a Sunday Times is a lot of news for not much money.

06-18-2009, 08:37 PM	#1
thibaulthalpern Evangelist Posts: 478 Karma: 451808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: California, USA Device: my two eyes, KLiiK, Sony PRS-700	On why the Kindle DX pales in comparison to the newspaper A good article on why the Kindle DX (or even any digital reader, for that matter) pales in comparison to certain things that can also be read on paper. http://www.slate.com/id/2220793/ I certainly don't want the digital reader world to replace my paper world entirely. I want it to supplement my paper world. It's not an either/or proposition but a both/and for me

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06-18-2009, 08:59 PM	#2
no.guru Crazy like a Posts: 229 Karma: 2368978 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Sony PRS-T1, Sony PRS-350	I agree, but the more I use my reader .. the less sure I am of that.

06-18-2009, 11:06 PM	#3
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	Eh. I miss having a designed newspaper (though, honestly, few newspapers have any design worth looking at) but I actually READ my Kindle and I don't have to build up a tiny tower of newspaper, get my hands all inky, or deal with all the damn folding. I LOVE reading news on my Kindle. Only way I'll do it. (well, i digest enormous amounts through RSS feeds, but I like my newspaper in the morning)

06-19-2009, 08:33 AM	#4
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 62,738 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I used to be a committed NYT Sunday edition reader. Switched to the Kindle version last year. The only time I miss the paper edition is when I need to reline the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Kindles are just too expensive - and not nearly as absorbent as newsprint! Seriously - I DON'T miss the ads. I DO miss the insane crosswords in the magazine section.

06-19-2009, 12:07 PM	#5
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	I read that article.. on my Kindle. :P Seriously though, I take issue with a couple of things that the author of that article mentions. After spending several months with the digital version of the NY Times on my K2 I can say honestly it's a much better experience all around, with the only exception being that I can't share the paper with my wife on Sunday mornings. His issues with navigation seem overblown. For instance, his chief complaint seems to revolve around the formatting of the headlines; "The only way to know if a story merits your attention is to click on it." How about reading the headline to see if the story interests you? Did you ever think to do that? I certainly don't find myself reading the newspaper like a book as he says, feeling like I need to finish an article because browsing to another one is too much trouble. I would admit that I do find my self reading more of the news though, and that I read it more deeply in the same amount of time. To me, that's an advantage. His other complaint is about the fact that the newspaper only updates once a day. Once again, I see this as a benefit. The entire online news cycle is far too rushed - it's gone from articles to blog entries to headlines to tweets, for chrissake. If I wanted to read the absolutely latest headlines, I would read them online. But what I use the Kindle for is reading the news, not just what's newest. I read the New York Times for the depth of the articles and the comprehensive reporting. That stands in stark contrast to the kind of zero-attention-span culture that constantly hits refresh on the Huffington Post home page (actually that site refreshes itself - how crazy is that?). I don't want to be constantly updating, and I want to be able to return to the same paper in the afternoon that I was reading in the morning in case I don't get through all the articles I want. Would I absolutely reject a return to the "evening edition" model? No, probably not. But I probably wouldn't read it. In short I think reading the paper on the Kindle rather than in print is so much better for so many reasons, it easily makes up for the small issues of the Kindle.

06-19-2009, 07:48 PM	#6
Studio717 Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 575 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: California Device: Various Kindles, iPhone, iPad, Galaxy 10.1	Other than the free weeklies around, I haven't read a paper newspaper in years. I've been reading what little I follow online primarily because I just couldn't take the build-up of paper. It was driving me crazy, so only a little pile from the weeklies now (and they go in recyc.) The DX has, in fact, made me consider going back to reading a regular paper. I've subscribed to the Chron and have been enjoying reading it on the Kindle. I may not keep it up, but only because it doesn't cover my local area very much.

06-20-2009, 04:56 PM	#9
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	The New York Times on the Kindle (which is what I read) has headlines that are pretty clear - just like in the newspaper. For instance, "Iran's op Leader Dashes Hopes for a Compromise" turns out to be Iran's top leader not wanting to compromise. And the preview in the articles List view shows the first two lines of the story (at least with the font that I have installed). Sure it would be nice to have a little more, but I can generally get a sense of what the story is about and whether I want to read it. If I can't tell for sure, it takes about .5 seconds to look at the article, then skim it, and .5 seconds to go back to the main menu. Not really a big deal. I get what he's saying, I just think he's overstating it. And I think he doesn't give enough credit for the things that the Kindle does better. For instance I can skim all 15 of the headlines in the National section much faster than I can flip through the pages of the front page section of the Times. It's much more efficient, in my opinion, which is why I can say I read more deeply in the same amount of time.

06-21-2009, 03:15 PM	#11
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	@elmoglick: how do you get the NYT sunday edition for $0.75? Are you talking about a Sunday-only Kindle edition? I wasn't aware that such a thing existed. Not that I'd actually buy it if it were, I'm just curious.

06-22-2009, 11:46 AM	#14
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	That is good news. I subscribe already, and I read it daily so there wouldn't be any cost savings, but I could see that being very useful for some other folks. $0.75 for a Sunday Times is a lot of news for not much money.

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