iPad Can the iPad replace ebook readers?

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by kennyc

How well does it work for reading on the beach?

Any overheating problems, oh and that pesky wi-fi thing....

Who takes an ebook reader to the beach? I mean, I can see taking one to the pool, but the beach? It's just begging to have someone steal it.

Nope, no overheating problems.

Dunno what you mean about the wifi issue. I have a wifi network at home, and Scott's APE Guide takes care of the hotel internet issue. Of course, I have an iPhone which has a couple of apps which locate wifi spots if I need to tank up the iPad while walking around.

What you have to learn to do with the iPad is to curate. Park it next to your computer to recharge and refill each evening when you go to bed. The battery life is astounding. It's just not an issue so long as you that. In fact, even with weekend usage, my charge hasn't gone under 45%. So in practice, I could go two or three days without charging.

I saw my first iPad in the wild on Friday. Guy on the train had one. No cover - he lives dangerously!

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by Harmon

I saw my first iPad in the wild on Friday. Guy on the train had one. No cover - he lives dangerously!

That's one of the biggest drawbacks of a tablet to me. It's supposed to be portable but there's great risk in it.

I'm afraid there is still no wild iPad here... no domestic either...

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Graham

Yes, on weight alone it could replace four Cybook Opus readers.

The weight issue is serious, in some instances, and meaningless in others.

It's clear to me that it's too heavy to haul around on a daily basis. But I like to travel light. My iphone works as my truly mobile ebook reader, because it is a mini-ipad and I can coordinate my reading, back & forth between the two.

But in what I would call "semi-portable" situations, like carrying it from one place to another in the house, there's always a chair or table involved, & weight is just not an issue. Haven't tried reading in bed, mainly because I'm currently reading a two volume pbook - diary of a Jew in WWII Dresden.

I haven't compared it to the Kindle DX for weight, but I think that it would be pretty much the same thing. Weight aside, a device this size is just too big for most people to carry around outside the house.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

To answer the question raised in the topic, the answer is, the iPad is not yet reader to replace your reader. The apps just are not ready yet.

It's replaced mine.

I do agree that the apps need improving. That will come, I think.

[Harmon]

[QUOTE=kennyc;865438]

The best reader for web pages is a computer (netbook if you want portability) as is true of pdfs as well.

Um...not really. The iPad really is better for reading web pages. Remember, we are talking about "reading," not all the other things you do on web pages, like downloading, watching embedded video, etc.

The iPad is much more portable, and you can more easily adjust the distance to your eyes. Touching is easier than keyboarding, trackpadding or mousing. Plus with a stand (I'm using a picture frame stand) it takes up less room on a table for those times when you have to eat while you are reading.

The iPad is virtually unusable outdoors, particularly in bright sunlight.

So is a computer. But just stay out of bright sunlight and you will be fine. It's a minor annoyance, that's all.

The iPad has overheading problems.

Not mine. I know that there have been some reports of overheating in the sun, but it's a mistake to attribute the problem to iPads in general.

The best way to read comic books is paper.

I think it's a tie on this one. If you do some reading about how comics are written - Scott McCloud's books are good on this - you find out that it's not just drawing pictures. I think that comics on the iPad are going to expand the genre.

Color docs is a toss up, maybe paper, maybe computers, maybe an iPad if you can get it to connect to the internet.

Color is not just a matter of color. It also involves framing, for instance. You can look at things on the computer, but you are still aware of the computer. The iPad disappears because of its form factor. Thus, viewing something in color on the iPad is more natural than viewing the same thing on a computer screen.

My computer connects to dozens of book stores and all books can be transferred to my Sony and Kindle.

Pretty much the same, for all practical purposes, on the iPad.

The above are FACTS.

Everybody has facts. What matters is context. It's about how you put the facts together, what their relationship is to other facts, and from what perspective you are viewing the facts.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by richman

Yeah, and we are concerned here with the Ereader aspect of the IPAD , which is valid for this site, but all the other things this IPAD can do which my 505 can't do , like watch movies, surf the web, read comics, send email, and play games on , makes it a very cool device in addition to being a ereader.

I don't think you have to rely on those extras in making the point about how cool the iPad is. There are plenty of extras having to do with ebooks that support the coolness.

Last night, reading a book about Bach, I found a mention of one of his pieces that I had on my iPad. So I got iTunes to play it through the iPad speakers (which aren't bad, though not as good as earphones) while I was reading. It turned out that there is some debate about whether the piece originally was composed for the cello or the lute. I had the cello performance - I went to Amazon to locate a lute performance. I had Wikipedia available to drill down deeper into any subject that came up in the book. If a new character was introduced, I could check the web for a picture & bio.

In other words, the iPad combines the aspects of an ebook reader and a computer in a fashion that can enhance your reading, and does it in a way that is not fully accomplished by either of the other devices.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Uh....the Kindle is a book reader...the iPad is not. It's not really a netbook or computer either, it's some kind of crippled computer-like device.

Kenny, that's just baloney. Of course the iPad is a book reader.

As for being "crippled," that just depends on your perspective. It certainly is a "crippled" computer. OTOH, it's an "enhanced" ebook reader.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Kenny, that's just baloney. Of course the iPad is a book reader.

As for being "crippled," that just depends on your perspective. It certainly is a "crippled" computer. OTOH, it's an "enhanced" ebook reader.

The iPad has an app or apps that allow one to read books, it

IS NOT AN EBOOK READER.

I will maintain that it is crippled for the market it's aimed at - tablet computing.

[Harmon]

[QUOTE=yvanleterrible;865609]

And so it is that paper is the best way to read anything in my opinion. We're here in Mobile Read to find alternatives to paper.

Plectronic devices are not alternatives to paper.

What we have is reading, and a number of different ways to do it effectively, depending on the circumstances.

I also have objections about iPad but I'll have to live with them.

• iAd concept stinks, the iPad is already a market controlled device, why add injury?.
• Access in and out from iPad is restricted, controlled and frustratingly limited to a host. You can't live with an iPad without its host computer, and you can't even reach it through wifi!!!
• Memory size is downright ridiculous and expensive.
• The introduction of the iPad was rushed and a miriad of details were botched.
• Precise dates of availability were not set and so were prices and service providers for out of States buyers. I still don't know who will provide in Canada and how much the iPad itself will cost. I want the 3G.

Your second & third objections are valid. But the other three really have nothing to do with the iPad as a device.

Actually, I think you probably could live with the iPad without a host computer, but it would be somewhat limited.

face it, it is IMPOSSIBLE that a device could kill and replace all others. It's even ridiculous and narrow minded to even imply such an eventuality...

You still using your 8 Track, then? Or your cassette deck? Or your Polaroid? Or your typewriter? VHS?

The iPad won't replace dedicated eInk ebook readers in the short run, but I'll bet that in ten years, ebook readers will all be descended from the iPad, not the Kindle/Sony &c.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by Harmon

The iPad won't replace dedicated eInk ebook readers in the short run, but I'll bet that in ten years, ebook readers will all be descended from the iPad, not the Kindle/Sony &c.

you know. that's a good point. 5 years from now we're going to be using tablet devices based on OS X/iPhone, Windows 7 or Android. Kindle, Sony, and all the others based on their small operating systems are going to be long gone. Pick your poison..

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I will maintain that it is crippled for the market it's aimed at - tablet computing.

It's not aimed at that market. It is a media consumption tablet, not a tablet computer. And it is far from crippled in that regard as it is easily the best portable media consumption device I've used.

I have no interest in a tablet computer. just something like this for reading, video, net surfing, email etc.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

It's not aimed at that market. It is a media consumption tablet, not a tablet computer. And it is far from crippled in that regard as it is easily the best portable media consumption device I've used.

I have no interest in a tablet computer. just something like this for reading, video, net surfing, email etc.

I think that's an insignificant distinction and if that is all it is then it certainly will be swept aside when full-function tablet devices become generally available in the coming year.

[sfernald]

Originally Posted by kennyc

The iPad has an app or apps that allow one to read books, it

IS NOT AN EBOOK READER.

I will maintain that it is crippled for the market it's aimed at - tablet computing.

The iPad is the new definition of what a tablet computer is. It is already the most successful tablet ever released. The competition will now just copy it endlessly like the phone manufacturers did with the iPhone.

The fact that it supports multiple reader software is a strength. Amazon has already released a new version of their ereader software that fixes some iPad bugs. The ereader software will just get better and better and better because of the competition and the ease of updating "apps".

[richman]

I would like to see a number of usb inputs on ipad , so we can plug in mice/keyboard/hard drives/cams/etc.
I think apple with the iphone/itouch/ipad is thinking outside the box, and MS/HP is thinking inside the box, for MS/HP the OS is the main thing, whereas the APPS are the thing for apple, very smart. The bottom line is we have a list of things we want to do on a device like this, and it if does it easily and fast and looks good, we are sold.

MS /HP has tried the tablet thing making it "like a computer based around OS". It didn't work or catch on with the MASSES. They had many years to get it right , at least 10 years. And you guys saying , maybe they will get it right this time, are "dreaming". But go on and tell us how MS/HP will do it, just wait and wait and wait. Now MS/HP can see how apple did it, and they will try to copy it! But they are years behind , and next year apple will improve the IPAD.
KennyC talking about IPAD as crippled PC tablet is just so wrong, the PC tablets up till now seem crippled next to the IPAD, if you ask the "average user" or a "pro". Bottom line, does it do what I need it to do? YES or NO. And bro, give it some time to grow, it's only 1 week OLD. The APPS that people will come up with will crush the competition! And even now , who else is the competition. Tell us? And I mean, with finished product in our HAND.

[yvanleterrible]

[QUOTE=Harmon;867133]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Plectronic devices are not alternatives to paper.

What we have is reading, and a number of different ways to do it effectively, depending on the circumstances.



Your second & third objections are valid. But the other three really have nothing to do with the iPad as a device.

Actually, I think you probably could live with the iPad without a host computer, but it would be somewhat limited.



You still using your 8 Track, then? Or your cassette deck? Or your Polaroid? Or your typewriter? VHS?

The iPad won't replace dedicated eInk ebook readers in the short run, but I'll bet that in ten years, ebook readers will all be descended from the iPad, not the Kindle/Sony &c.

I'm not a quik typist so I'll make it short.
You're wrong about the reading thing if you only read from a magazine or a coffe table book without having a look at the rest. The graphic part is just as important if not more. So my calling it an alternative to paper stands in its logic. Go see the definition.

The list of arguments i gave were my personal reasons and griefs about the iPad . They are my beef and you can't say they have no incidence on the fact that someone cannot base a choice on triviality. That's marketing 101.
Some people have bought a Sony because it was red...
All the objects but the 8 track and typewriter I have had. The VHS is still in use, the others are not supported or broken. You seem to forget that it's not everybody that has a computer or know how to use them. How can you be their judge?