iPad Anyone else NOT like reading on their iPad?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

This has been discussed to death. For me (and others like me) there is a huge difference between reading small bits of text on an LCD monitor and doing serious, concentrated reading for long periods of time.

I spend all day at work looking at LCD screens, and a great deal of my leisure time as well. But I just can't read anything more than a few hundred words at a time on LCD without feeling uncomfortable. I've been reading this forum for the last 15 minutes and when I look away my eyes relax. They don't need to with e-ink.

I'm sick of people comparing book reading to browsing the web and checking email. If LCD works for you that's great. But it doesn't work for everyone, and long-form reading is a very different activity to reading relatively small pieces of text in between looking at pictures and interacting with the mouse, etc.

One thing I have noticed is that when reading on an LCD screen, sometimes it's not only the brightness that makes a difference, but rhe colors used. The new Kindle App has a sepia setting which gives some nice colors which are pretty good on the eyes (IMHO). If iBooks had color options, then it would be a lot easier (IMHO) for most people to use to read with who don't care too much for reading via LCD.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by leebase

So "for you and others like you" -- you need to actually TRY it to know. You do not know based only on your experience reading on a computer monitor.

yeah. i'm with you. i'm pretty tired of people who don't have an ipad, or have only tried one in the store for a hour, coming back and making all sorts of claims. if they want to claim it's not good enough for them, so be it, that's their opinion on how the device would work for themselves. but to make broad-stroke claims on how the device is fit or unfit for others is just silly. i'm not saying their opinions have no value, but they certainly have less than if they actually owned the device, or had it and took it back. lol.

i don't own a nook. i tried one in a store for about 15 minutes. i'd never be making any claims about it.

[Sischa]

Originally Posted by leebase

Do you have an iPad -- do you know what you are talking about? I can't stand reading long form on my laptop or any computer monitor. I can read for hours and hours on my iPad with no eyestrain whatsoever. I've finished 11 books so far -- reading with the iBooks app (my favorite), the kindle app and Stanza.

We have all this testimony now -- not theory -- of people quite happily reading away on their iPad.

Do some folks not like it? Yes. Just like SOME folks don't like eInk screens.

So "for you and others like you" -- you need to actually TRY it to know. You do not know based only on your experience reading on a computer monitor.

Lee

I have the iPad and i just feel sorry for all the people out there using it for long reading sessions cause they just have one reading device. If you have to look on your budget well then its ok and nice but if you can afford several reading options/devices it its way better to read on my iPad news, websites and magazines or sometimes books with Kindle App when i would need a reading light on my Kindle.

And then again switch to my Kindle DX or K2 for eink reading, give my iPad battery a rest and enjoy the clear eink screen of my Kindles. And i can just start reading at the location where i stopped reading on my iPad and vice versa cause of the great Kindle app.

If I have the choice (and good light conditions ) I would always choose one of my kindles for reading a book and never my iPad. But if i just could keep one device i would maybe choose the iPad cause i "can" read on it. Just not the best experience you can get out there.

But in the end i am not that kind of person who cheers like a little cheerleader about features like fancy page turning or flashing books like Alice in wonderland So i don't fit into Steve Jobs target group thinking i got something magical in my hands. I just got a very nice and steady multimedia machine with it and could never think about something stupid like throwing away my other ereaders now

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by leebase

Do you have an iPad -- do you know what you are talking about? I can't stand reading long form on my laptop or any computer monitor. I can read for hours and hours on my iPad with no eyestrain whatsoever. I've finished 11 books so far -- reading with the iBooks app (my favorite), the kindle app and Stanza.

We have all this testimony now -- not theory -- of people quite happily reading away on their iPad.

Do some folks not like it? Yes. Just like SOME folks don't like eInk screens.

So "for you and others like you" -- you need to actually TRY it to know. You do not know based only on your experience reading on a computer monitor.

Lee

I have tried an iPad (I would never own an Apple product) and find it no different to any other LCD screen (it is quite a nice screen, but still backlit, and I'm still reading something that is 'not really there'. It's unpleasant. I still felt my eyes relax whenever I looked away from the screen. FWIW my vision is fine - tested 20/20 about 18 months ago, never needed glasses). I tried the Alice in Wonderland app and loved it - but I found that even the small amounts of text still suffered from the drawbacks of LCD. And the iBooks app is terrible. The whole page-turning animation thing is horribly tacky and backwards looking. That's Apple for you.

You seem to take offence at what I said yet you are making the same point. People have different preferences. I didn't state that e-ink was better than LCD. I simply prefer it. Believe me, I wish I could read books on LCD. I'd get a tablet immediately and enjoy the benefits of a touchscreen, colour, video, etc. But for now I am not willing to sacrifice the screen I prefer for extra functionality.

You also imply that your testimony of reading on an iPad in some way trump my personal experience. That doesn't make any sense. With something that is subjective testimony is irrelevant. You like what you like and I like what I like.

My point was that people shouldn't compare casual reading on a computer screen (which is how most people read on a computer) to reading 40 pages in one sitting without looking away from the page/screen because for some people they are entirely different experiences.

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by scottjl

yeah. i'm with you. i'm pretty tired of people who don't have an ipad, or have only tried one in the store for a hour, coming back and making all sorts of claims. if they want to claim it's not good enough for them, so be it, that's their opinion on how the device would work for themselves. but to make broad-stroke claims on how the device is fit or unfit for others is just silly. i'm not saying their opinions have no value, but they certainly have less than if they actually owned the device, or had it and took it back. lol..

I didn't make any broad-stroke claims. I stated that I don't like reading on LCD. I even made it clear that I was stating a personal preference.

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing I have noticed is that when reading on an LCD screen, sometimes it's not only the brightness that makes a difference, but rhe colors used. The new Kindle App has a sepia setting which gives some nice colors which are pretty good on the eyes (IMHO). If iBooks had color options, then it would be a lot easier (IMHO) for most people to use to read with who don't care too much for reading via LCD.

That may be true, but I think it points to a disadvantage of LCD. I've heard a lot of people say that the iPad screen can have its brightness adjusted, colours customised, etc. for more comfortable reading. But I prefer to just pick up a device and use it without having to set everything depending on various factors or what I'm doing with it. One of the benefits of most e-ink devices is that they are very simple and easy, intuitive. For reading that's what I want (and for the same reason I have a stand-alone MP3 player even though my phone can play music and video).

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by Sischa

I have the iPad and i just feel sorry for all the people out there using it for long reading sessions cause they just have one reading device. If you have to look on your budget well then its ok and nice but if you can afford several reading options/devices it its way better to read on my iPad news, websites and magazines or sometimes books with Kindle App when i would need a reading light on my Kindle.

And then again switch to my Kindle DX or K2 for eink reading, give my iPad battery a rest and enjoy the clear eink screen of my Kindles. And i can just start reading at the location where i stopped reading on my iPad and vice versa cause of the great Kindle app.

If I have the choice (and good light conditions ) I would always choose one of my kindles for reading a book and never my iPad. But if i just could keep one device i would maybe choose the iPad cause i "can" read on it. Just not the best experience you can get out there.

But in the end i am not that kind of person who cheers like a little cheerleader about features like fancy page turning or flashing books like Alice in wonderland So i don't fit into Steve Jobs target group thinking i got something magical in my hands. I just got a very nice and steady multimedia machine with it and could never think about something stupid like throwing away my other ereaders now

do you realize just how foolish and bitter this whole post sounds?

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by Bremen Cole

If you want an eye strain, try being an early adapter to ebook mobile reading like I was. Reading on a true vanilla LCD screen on a Palm Pilot......

I read my first e-books on an old PDA. Quite horrible when I think about it now.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

I didn't make any broad-stroke claims. I stated that I don't like reading on LCD. I even made it clear that I was stating a personal preference.

i don't recall posting your name (or anyone else's either) in my message. relax.

That may be true, but I think it points to a disadvantage of LCD. I've heard a lot of people say that the iPad screen can have its brightness adjusted, colours customised, etc. for more comfortable reading. But I prefer to just pick up a device and use it without having to set everything depending on various factors or what I'm doing with it. One of the benefits of most e-ink devices is that they are very simple and easy, intuitive. For reading that's what I want (and for the same reason I have a stand-alone MP3 player even though my phone can play music and video).

actually i'd say it's an advantage of LCD, to be able to be customized where eink can not. i know quite a few folk who still open up terminal windows with green text on a black background. why? because it is what they are comfortable using. eink gives you pretty much no choice, maybe some slight variations in contrast, but you're stuck with black text on a grey background.

my sony 600 was just as "pick it up and read" as my ipad is. the eink screen had its own quirks with required lighting, getting the angle right, flipping pages a few times to get rid of ghosting. the ipad has settings i can tweak but brightness can be automatically adjusted as well. neither one seemed to really have any speed advantage to me from power on to reading a book. unless you want to include boot time, the sony took several minutes to do its full directory scan, ugh. the ipad boots from a power-off far faster.

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by scottjl

i don't recall posting your name (or anyone else's either) in my message. relax.

My apologies. You were replying to a reply to one of my comments so I assumed to were referring to my comments.

actually i'd say it's an advantage of LCD, to be able to be customized where eink can not. i know quite a few folk who still open up terminal windows with green text on a black background. why? because it is what they are comfortable using. eink gives you pretty much no choice, maybe some slight variations in contrast, but you're stuck with black text on a grey background.

Absolutely. I agree with you.

I meant it is a disadvantage in terms of simplicity. I like to pick up my Kindle, flick the switch and start reading immediately. I don't like the barrier that setting up the screen presents. I'd have different preferences for watching video, web browsing, reading, different lighting conditions, etc. I don't want to spend time getting the screen just right. I found I did that when reading on my phone - so I stopped reading on my phone.

From a functionality and customisation point of view LCD runs rings around e-ink.[/QUOTE]

my sony 600 was just as "pick it up and read" as my ipad is. the eink screen had its own quirks with required lighting, getting the angle right, flipping pages a few times to get rid of ghosting. the ipad has settings i can tweak but brightness can be automatically adjusted as well. neither one seemed to really have any speed advantage to me from power on to reading a book. unless you want to include boot time, the sony took several minutes to do its full directory scan, ugh. the ipad boots from a power-off far faster.

If he 600 is anything like the 700 it is a terrible e-ink screen (or rather the touchscreen layer ruins the e-ink). I find the Kindle screen looks great in any light I'd read in, whereas my old Sony PRS-700 was as you describe - I needed more light, the right angle, etc.

As for speed I was referring to changing settings for optimal viewing, as I described above. If you're totally comfortable reading LCD this would be irrelevant.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Sischa

I have the iPad and i just feel sorry for all the people out there using it for long reading sessions cause they just have one reading device. If you have to look on your budget well then its ok and nice but if you can afford several reading options/devices it its way better to read on my iPad news, websites and magazines or sometimes books with Kindle App when i would need a reading light on my Kindle.

And then again switch to my Kindle DX or K2 for eink reading, give my iPad battery a rest and enjoy the clear eink screen of my Kindles. And i can just start reading at the location where i stopped reading on my iPad and vice versa cause of the great Kindle app.

If I have the choice (and good light conditions ) I would always choose one of my kindles for reading a book and never my iPad. But if i just could keep one device i would maybe choose the iPad cause i "can" read on it. Just not the best experience you can get out there.

But in the end i am not that kind of person who cheers like a little cheerleader about features like fancy page turning or flashing books like Alice in wonderland So i don't fit into Steve Jobs target group thinking i got something magical in my hands. I just got a very nice and steady multimedia machine with it and could never think about something stupid like throwing away my other ereaders now

I think it's great to have choice, and people should use what suits 'em best.

I feel sorry for people who have trouble reading on LCD, because they must rely on e-ink. I'm thankful to have good eyesight, so I can read on either without problem. I've edited for a living on LCD all workday for two decades, and have read online for countless leisure hours during all those years as well. I also enjoy reading print books. I support all forms of reading, and I'm glad that e-ink allows some people to read when they couldn't otherwise.

My personal preference is tablet form, for greatest flexibility in book selection, apps and display options; online access; touch screen; and backlighting. I'm looking forward to better tablets and reading innovations, and I don't care which companies provide 'em. My only loyalty as a consumer is to myself.

[Bremen Cole]

As far as eInk vs iPad screen, there is no argument to win. It is just personal preference. That's all. If someone has both devices and prefers one over the other, then that is what they prefer.

But, the commenting when you don't own the device is a different matter. I never got involved in the Kindle vs Nook debates, because I never owned a Nook. Or the Sony vs Pocketbook.... etc... I "assumed" they were all about the same, but I didn't really know..... It took me a few days of reading (and other things) to really be sold on the iPad. After a week there was no way I (that's me not you) I could go back to eInk.

If I had the narrow little world view that said "I will never buy an Apple product", then I would be missing out on the best reading experience I have had. But a brand name is not what is important. What is important is what the device brings to my life.

If Toshiba *or MS, Sony, HP, Dell, Gateway....whatever) comes out with a device in a few years that brings a better internet, media, reading, gaming, music and creative experience to me than the iPad.... then in a few years I will be on a Toshiba forum.... it's that simple....

[radleyp]

As someone who was one of the first to own a Kindle, and now an ipad owner as well, I have done a lot of reading on both, and carry them both around with me (in a small shoulder bag that fits them just right). For journals, magazines and newspapers as well as professional documents (mostly pdf) I use the ipad, for books I use the Kindle, as I find the ipad inconvenient, especially when I am in bed or in an easy chair (it is too big, too heavy, and requires two hands to operate). I am not sure there will ever one device that does it all. I must add that I find the comments about lighting strange: I have never read in the dark, there was always a light somewhere, so I don't need backlighting (it is required by LCD technology, not me).

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by radleyp

I must add that I find the comments about lighting strange: I have never read in the dark, there was always a light somewhere, so I don't need backlighting (it is required by LCD technology, not me).

I actually started reading in the dark with Kindle and a Mighty Bright, while away from home. Good for planes, too, when you don't want a light overhead while everyone else is sleeping on a red-eye flight. It was a pain setting a sweet spot to avoid glare and then accidentally knocking it out of place, though. I often read in the dark with iPad now, because the light is nicely diffused.

[pshrynk]

I turn the brightness down for reading and that seems to take care of the eye strain problem for me. I'm not using my Kindle for much right now, because of the weight of my computer bag more thn anything else. I'm experimenting with using the iPad as an Excel stand in and if it does the job, then the lap top is going to be semi retired and I'll probably bring the Kindle along with me. There are just times that the eink works better for me.