iPad Anyone else NOT like reading on their iPad?

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I disagree... ebooks are supposed to emulate the book reading experience not emulate the web. We already have pcs, ipads, netbooks that do that.

Originally Posted by djgreedo

But what is a book in the digital age? I think we'll start to see the edges between books, websites, magazines, multimedia experiences, etc. blur in the coming years.

I don't care about e-books emulating the "book reading experience." To me, that's going backward. I agree with djgreedo that the lines will blur.

[scottjl]

if i wanted the "book experience" i'd.. umm.. read an actual book. what is the purpose of having such a capable device only to ignore the capabilities of it?

bring on more applications like the alice book. give me some interaction. or embedded audio and/or video to set an atmosphere or enhance my reading experience. it would certainly set a mood to have some background music (user adjustable) to start up when reaching a certain point in a story, or a sound effect to go along with the action on a page.

[Bremen Cole]

The emulating a paper book thing reminds me of 10 years ago in the electronic computer music scene. The software companies thought they had to emulate the hardware mixers, synths...etc... and for that reason things were actually held back for a while. When many (not all) began to realize that many users had never even used a hardware mixer, they got innovative and creative. As time goes on, the need to make it look like a book will be less and less important, then we can advance.....

BTW, I have nothing against emulating paper books, iBooks is about the best at that.... but it really is limiting to the progress of the medium....

[HarryT]

There's no earthly reason that an eBook should have the concept of pages, but most eBook readers try pretty hard to emulate the appearance of the page of a printed book, because that's what people are used to reading.

[scottjl]

right, and in a piece of software, nothing against giving us options. the page view for page comfortable folk and a non-page view for people who don't.

just imagine if cell phones had rotary dials for those of us who grew up using them!

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by scottjl

right, and in a piece of software, nothing against giving us options. the page view for page comfortable folk and a non-page view for people who don't.

just imagine if cell phones had rotary dials for those of us who grew up using them!

Lol. Agreed.

Personally, I wish some books were scrollable, as well as flippable. For instance, I'd like a feature that easily lets you click and mark passages or pages and flip (or quickly scroll) among them, including flipping through more than one book at a time. More like jumping than flipping, actually.

[kennyc]

Well you guys may be different, but if I want to read I want to read, not watch a movie etc. And no that doesn't mean a paper book, though I do read those as well. It means I want the both the reading experience and the convenience of having a library of books in my reader.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Well you guys may be different, but if I want to read I want to read, not watch a movie etc.

What does that have to do with the price of beans in China? When I want to read, I read -- on my iPad.

I do a lot of my reading in my living room or bed room. I have Tv's and stereo's in each room -- and yet I'm able to read a book and not turn either on if I don't want to. Why would I be bothered in my reading by my iPad having OTHER things it can do as well?

Lee

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Well you guys may be different, but if I want to read I want to read, not watch a movie etc. And no that doesn't mean a paper book, though I do read those as well. It means I want the both the reading experience and the convenience of having a library of books in my reader.

That's the point: Preferences vary among readers, so there is no "supposed to" standard, as you wrote about e-books emulating print books.

[kjk]

While I know some users don't like the plethora of specific reader apps for each format (Kindle, Kobo, B&N, iBooks), I'm hoping the app devs learn from each others strengths and weaknesses as they evaluate all the possibilities/ways of displaying/navigating through text.

We are still in the early stages of the e-Reading game here-what I love about the iPad is being able to see ALL of the options being explored. And if you want to get involved, make sure to leave comments/suggestions/rants on the iTunes App Store-the developers really do take those seriously, from what I've been told.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by leebase

What does that have to do with the price of beans in China? When I want to read, I read -- on my iPad.

I do a lot of my reading in my living room or bed room. I have Tv's and stereo's in each room -- and yet I'm able to read a book and not turn either on if I don't want to. Why would I be bothered in my reading by my iPad having OTHER things it can do as well?

Lee

What it has to do with is the post I was responding to saying that ALL reading devices needed multimedia etc.

I'm saying that is not the case for everyone. If that's what you want, then great. Go for it. I'm saying that I want to keep the experiences separate. I don't want interactive advertisements popping up as I'm reading War and Peace for example.

[Bremen Cole]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Well you guys may be different, but if I want to read I want to read, not watch a movie etc. And no that doesn't mean a paper book, though I do read those as well. It means I want the both the reading experience and the convenience of having a library of books in my reader.

And that's cool. My wife though is different from you. While reading a book on the iPad, she will often come across a reference to a city, country....etc that she knows little about. In a second she is out of iBooks, and into Google Earth. She looks at the location and get a better feel for the story. Sometimes also popping over to Wikipedia for a little more info. Then slips right back into iBooks and continues her story..... (she loves her iPad )

A "book" that had such possibilities built in would at least have some audience.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I don't want interactive advertisements popping up as I'm reading War and Peace for example.

Who wants that? You're offering a nutty example. There are potential uses for e-book tech that would add to books without being ridiculous. Some nonfiction history, for example, would be great with well-integrated multimedia. Note that I said well-integrated. Tech can be used badly, but that doesn't rule out good uses.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

And that's cool. My wife though is different from you. While reading a book on the iPad, she will often come across a reference to a city, country....etc that she knows little about. In a second she is out of iBooks, and into Google Earth. She looks at the location and get a better feel for the story. Sometimes also popping over to Wikipedia for a little more info. Then slips right back into iBooks and continues her story..... (she loves her iPad )

A "book" that had such possibilities built in would at least have some audience.

Agreed. Just like the internet and it's convenience. To each his (or her) own.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Who wants that? You're offering a nutty example. There are potential uses for e-book tech that would add to books without being ridiculous. Some nonfiction history, for example, would be great with well-integrated multimedia. Note that I said well-integrated. Tech can be used badly, but that doesn't rule out good uses.

Not nutty at all. Realistic. Just like DRM.