iPad Anyone else NOT like reading on their iPad?

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Not nutty at all. Realistic. Just like DRM.

There might well be companies that add ads to books, in exchange for eyeballs willing to read the books for free or at reduced price. That doesn't mean all books will end up with ads because the tech is possible. As with DRM, you can vote with your dollars.

[Bremen Cole]

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.

While I agree it may seem nutty now, but I have to agree with kennyc on this point at least. At some point there WILL BE advertisement added. It ALWAYS happens. It could work like this..... You can buy the book for let's say $15 without ads, or pay only $10 and get the same book, but will advertising..... but that should not stop the technology. We can watch "free" broadcast TV with ads, or watch paid channels. We can listen to "free" AM/FM radio with ads, or listen to internet or subscription services. The same kind of thing is bound to happen sooner or later......

[pshrynk]

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

Kenny was responding to a part of the conversation about having media attached to the books and stating a preference for the linear reading experience.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

While I agree it may seem nutty now, but I have to agree with kennyc on this point at least. At some point there WILL BE advertisement added. It ALWAYS happens. It could work like this..... You can buy the book for let's say $15 without ads, or pay only $10 and get the same book, but will advertising..... but that should not stop the technology. We can watch "free" broadcast TV with ads, or watch paid channels. We can listen to "free" AM/FM radio with ads, or listen to internet or subscription services. The same kind of thing is bound to happen sooner or later......

Agreed. My post just above yours refers to such possibilities.

[scottjl]

a lot of people's complaints are that they have too many options on the ipad, they don't spend time reading but doing other things. i really don't understand the complaint as (1) what they're admitting is they have no self-discipline, which is their own issue, not the fault of any device they have in their hands and (2) if they're spending time surfing the web, or playing a game, or watching a video, are they not getting some level of satisfaction doing those activities instead? it's a trade off from one enjoyable activity to another. if they dislike the other activity, then why are they doing it?

anyway, for the folk who want nothing more than to simply read and don't want any options to do more than simply read. then the ipad is probably not the device for you. simple as that. the ipad is clearly a device with a choice of many activities to do.

[Rique]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Agreed. My post just above yours refers to such possibilities.

Really great discussion... thanks, everybody!

Where I'm thinking this could possibly lead is not to one, but to several standards. We already have something similar within Email clients, where you frequently are provided with a choice of plain text or rich text or html. All are standards, all are embedded within a single client.

The Ebook client software of the future could very well end up supporting several standards within a single client. Text only for dinosaurs (such as myself) and richer, more interactive reading experiences for Gen X or Y or Z or... you get the idea. I bet the market leads it there eventually.

The possibilities are really cool, if you ask me!

-- Rique

[Bremen Cole]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Agreed. My post just above yours refers to such possibilities.

Yes, if you look at the times we were posting at the same time....

[Maggie Leung]

Yup, Bremen. Personally, I might be open to reading more content with ads, depending on how they're displayed. Most of the Web content I read has ads that I just ignore. Subsidized content also might open up options for people with limited means. Of course, that doesn't mean I want ads plastered everywhere.

Rique, I agree that the possibilities are intriguing. Not to say that all experiments will succeed, but it will be interesting to see what develops.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by scottjl

a lot of people's complaints are that they have too many options on the ipad

Not all complaints have equal merit. This one certainly falls into the "without much merit" side of the spectrum.

When you are reading on the iPad -- nothing interferes with your reading unless you CHOOSE to have it do so. This is the SAME thing that even a book has. Even reading a book, you can choose to stop and watch tv, stop and talk to someone, wander off and day dream. It's not the fault of the book, and having "only a book" doesn't change your ability to be distracted.

It's a silly concern - without any merit as a feature in deciding one option over another.

Size, weight, battery life, price, performance in bright sun, eyestrain -- these are all legitimate areas of concern about which different people will have different evaluations about how the iPad (or any device) fits their needs. The iPad won't be the "best device" for every user or every use case.

I do hope the OP will take some of the tips provided in the thread to help improve their own reading experience with the iPad they already bought. It can be a very nice reading tool for most people.

Lee

[mores]

I'd love to have an iAd-style system to enhance eBook reading. Do wiki and dictionary lookups without leaving the book. Right now you get thrown out of the experience. If it was in a little "popup" it's be a lot better.

[djgreedo]

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.

What you want is irrelevant. Artists will create what they feel expresses what they want to express and publishers (or the authors themselves) will publish what people want to buy. I think people will happily gobble up enhanced books.

There will still be traditional words-only books, but I think a new medium will evolve out of the new technologies, and that new medium may replace books for many people. It may even be the saviour of 'reading' for the general population (i.e. not the people who are already reading a lot but the people who currently read rarely if ever).

I would be surprised if we don't see several 'choose your own adventure' type books on the iPad in the next 12 months with multimedia enhancements, but overall roughly the same amount of text as a novella. I would actually be quite interested in that sort of a book if done well. I'd probably even buy a tablet computer to read them on.

I think novels and standard non-fiction books will largely remain text-only, but reference books could be greatly enhanced with multimedia.

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by hgwlackey

I love reading on my iPad. I had a Kindle 2 for six months, and I read 10 books on it. I've had the iPad for a little over two months, and I'm currently on book #20. 1.5 books/month to 9 books/month--that's a big jump.

I know that a lot of people love eInk screens, but for me the lack of contrast in anything but perfect light, the having to fiddle with the book light to try to improve the contrast, and the increasing frequency of fiddling as the book light batteries waned distracted me from the reading. Don't get me wrong, when I got the Kindle, it was, for my needs, the best device on the market. I loved it--but during that time I also read hardcopy books about as often as

I wouldn't complain if the iPad weighed less (though its current weight doesn't bother me either), and I'm sure I'll appreciate improved screen resolution on future models, but overall, I think today's iPad has it fairly nailed for my needs and peculiarities.

I totally agree. I am so much more enjoying reading on the iPad over my previous Kindle. I solve the "weight" problem by resting the iPad on a small pillow on my lap which allows me to read longer and enjoy the book more.

Did you know that you can "turn" on Voice Over, turn your volume to mute, and have your pages turn automatically in iBooks? I love that for reading on my exercise machine and just cause I am lazy!

[CCDMan]

Originally Posted by amjbrown

Really enjoy reading with it - prefer the Kindle app to iBooks.

I do get distracted by all the other features.....

amjb

Yup, that is my problem as well, I often watch a podcast or play a game instead. Insidious....

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by scottjl

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.

Yes, that would be very cool, sorta like "back in the day" when radio was the media and a script was read by actors with sound effect and music in the background (door slams!) I imagine that would really jack up the price of the e-books too which would probably not be a good selling point and a money loser for the publisher, but who knows?

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by CCDMan

Yup, that is my problem as well, I often watch a podcast or play a game instead. Insidious....

so true, I love it all! I have different books on my Kindle app from the iBooks app so switch back and forth depending on which current book I want read in the moment.