iPad Anyone else NOT like reading on their iPad?

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by scottjl

so you pretty much, in that one post, admit you're just here for the trouble..

Oh good, now I know what to get for your birthday; a sense of humour.

[pshrynk]

I really did mean one warning. Stop flaming. MobileRead is not the place for discussions like this.

[pshrynk]

Because there were requests to open this thread, I am doing it. Hlowever, keep it on topic and stop flaming. This applies to anyone who is reading this, so don't say to yourself "Well, I certainly am not who he is talking about!" There will not be a play nice message, just closing.

[kennyc]

Thanks Pshrynk.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by mores

OR you learn to concentrate, compartmentalize, dedicate your time appropriately.

I was thinking the same thing. I understand my 6 year old niece being easy to distract but an adult should have learned to focus .

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Tamara

I was thinking the same thing. I understand my 6 year old niece being easy to distract but an adult should have learned to focus .

Yes and no. Each person has a different level of AD/HD. Some find it easier to focus on a task in the midst of distractions than others.

[Rique]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Because there were requests to open this thread, I am doing it. Hlowever, keep it on topic and stop flaming. This applies to anyone who is reading this, so don't say to yourself "Well, I certainly am not who he is talking about!" There will not be a play nice message, just closing.

Thanks, pshrynk!

Getting back to the OP:

Reading on the iPad was the application I was hoping and yearning for - and wanted so much to like. However, when I first saw the iPad, my reaction caught me off guard... ("it is too big... weighs too much.. not sure about that backlit screen... etc. etc.). I was accustomed to my Sony and the iPad seemed unwieldly and awkward compared to that.

But my wife fell in love with it. So I bought one for her. And I discovered that I liked it too... but could not get more than five minutes with it! My persuasive powers with my wife failed me - I just couldn't get time alone with it. What to do?

So after a few weeks, I got one for myself - and gave reading another try.

And what I've learned is that, although other apps brought me to the iPad (Plants vs Zombies, Safari and later Atomic Browser & iCab, Email, New York Times, Photos, Videos, Chicktionary, etc) - reading has taken its place in my list of most favored apps.

I think you have to give it a good chance - I sampled reading with "Alice" and with "Pooh" and iBooks - and it didn't do much for me. I wasn't really reading - I was more or less just examining text on the screen - and with a critical eye!

However, when I added the Kindle app - and purchased a book I really wanted to read ("With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge), I found that great book, combined with the comfort of night mode, got me where I wanted to go - immersed.

Because when the material is good, and the environment is conducive, a good book will make the device disappear - it will make everything else disappear, also - and you're transported, as only a book can do.

And that's what I want most in a device - something that makes it easy to get to that "place" that a book can take you. The iPad does that.

I'm glad I gave it a fair trial with great material.

-- Rique

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Rique

And that's what I want most in a device - something that makes it easy to get to that "place" that a book can take you. The iPad does that.

I'm glad I gave it a fair trial with great material.

-- Rique

I'm glad you did too! I think any product as personal as a reading device deserves more than just judging based on reading about a product on the Internet, or making up your mind, sight unseen, based on a logo

I think its great that Amazon is finally getting their products out in the hands/eyeballs of potential customers as well (I know they have a generous moneyback guarantee on their internet ordering). And the Apple Stores here are just packed with people trying the iPads on display.

But sometimes it takes more than just a 5 minute hands on demo to fully appreciate how you will use a product.

[Bremen Cole]

"But sometimes it takes more than just a 5 minute hands on demo to fully appreciate how you will use a product. "

So true.... In the Apple store I thought the iPad was "interesting" but limited...blah, blah, blah...you know the line of thought....

A few days into my ipad trial use, I was hooked.... As I have said before, for my wife and I the iPad is the best reading experience ever. But, I also like the fact I can buy an eBook just about anywhere and read it on my iPad. The Sony's we had were so limited in book and format, but heck even they are more open that a Kindle......It's cool to buy a book from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple, Fictionwise, eReader etc... and be able to read them on a single device..... and a device that is as portable and just plain "useable" as the iPad....

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Just for the record, the smallest mass-market paperback (A Format) is about 8.24". Hardcovers are usually about, or over 11".

So, the 6" readers are too small, compared to standard sized paperbacks, and the iPad is too small compared to a hardcover.

I've found that because of the huge margins used by iBooks, you do not get all that much text on screen as you should. I've compared iBooks with my 505 and found that my 505 gets almost as much text on screen as the iPad.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Tamara

I sold my Sony 500 because I found I was doing more enjoyable reading on my iPhone.

Sure I can read on an iPhone, but there is no way it could replace my 505.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by tyche

Well I have to disagree partly. I do agree reading a novel on a computer in a web browser is a terrible experience and I can't be bothered. But on a pc, I use Microsoft Reader format and I enjoy the experience and get immersed in what I'm reading. It has a nice minimal interface that doesn't distract.
The iPad I'm finding is also an excellent reading platform. I don't feel any distraction while reading on it. There is no popups, other apps running, icons for other apps tempting me to run them. Here is snapshot of what iBooks looks like for me. I don't have to smell my book to get into it but I do have to have a nicely sized text page without colourful bells and whistles around it.

That screenshot shows one of the reasons I have to go in and fix up almost every single ePub. Those excess line spaces are truly poor formatting.

[Bremen Cole]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That screenshot shows one of the reasons I have to go in and fix up almost every single ePub. Those excess line spaces are truly poor formatting.

I find myself using Stanza more and more on the iPad. It is not as pretty as iBooks, but the HUGE margins and line spaces are IMHO absurd. I know most folks like it because it looks pretty, but I would like the option in iBooks of setting my margins and lines as I please.....

[tyche]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've found that because of the huge margins used by iBooks, you do not get all that much text on screen as you should. I've compared iBooks with my 505 and found that my 505 gets almost as much text on screen as the iPad.

Really? I've found in portrait the iPad has over 2x the visible text and in 2 page landscape the 505 can fit on one half with room left over.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sure I can read on an iPhone, but there is no way it could replace my 505.

After my 500 sat on the shelf for 3 months gathering dust, I decided it was time to sell it.