iPad Amazon:“The iPad has made more people aware of e-readers"

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

But the iPad is a tablet, that's a fact.
If I use my archos only to read mp3, that don't make it an "mp3 player". It is still a multimedia tablet, able to do more.

E-reader are device whose primary (and most of times, only), fonction is reading. Reading is only one function among the many the iPad have.

The point is you're on various threads saying what you'll "accept" an iPad as, speculating on what reading apps iPad owners use, insisting that you know why people bought their iPads, etc. If all you want to insist on now is that iPad is a tablet, duh, that's obvious. Are you really on an Apple sub-forum used by iPad owners to announce that iPad is a multiple-use tablet? Wow, thanks for the revelation.

[scottjl]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Nope, it's still a tablet.
Buying an iPad only for reading is a bit of an overkill. It's like buying a smartphone only to phone and send SMS.

well it's my money to spend, any way i like. please, don't tell me (or anyone else for that matter) what i can and can't buy and use my devices for.

[thianliongpatpoh]

Originally Posted by tyche

Unless you want a 9"+ device that can access the libraries of Apple, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Sony, etc, etc. The one e-reader to rule them all.

YEAH! ebook format wars? I don't care. I search for lowest price on these stores, deals & freebies and whatnot, buy from amazon kindle, or ibooks store, or using stanza to access my booksonboard and fictionwise library, and read them with kindle app, ibooks app, whatever. One e-reader to rule them all. I like that phrasing .

Now, if only "they" completed that fair use drm cracking...

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by tyche

Unless you want a 9"+ device that can access the libraries of Apple, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Sony, etc, etc. The one e-reader to rule them all.

Might make sence from a US point of view. But, most of these shops are US only.
And any device with android market does that, too

[kjk]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Might make sence from a US point of view. But, most of these shops are US only.
And any device with android market does that, too

Android devices have almost the same choices

[EowynCarter]

What do you mean by "almost" ?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

What do you mean by "almost" ?

iBooks?

[dwharrison]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Might make sence from a US point of view. But, most of these shops are US only.

Well, let's see from a Canadian's perspective:

Apple - available in Canada (yes, with paid books too)
Amazon - available in Canada
Kobo - not only available in Canada but largely owned by Chapters Indigo, the dominant Canadian big box bookseller, and headquartered in Toronto
B&N - available in Canada according to B&N, although I confess I've never tried them.
Sony ... I'm not aware of Sony support on the iPad even in the US, so it's a moot point for country comparisons.

Granted that selection is less in some of these stores in the US, but the stores are certainly available to iPad users outside of the US.

[EowynCarter]

Oh, right, my bad, i forgot canada.
US and canada goes mostly together as far as geographic restrictions go.

I'm not sure what iBooks proposes in france. Probably as crippled as amazon.

[dwharrison]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Oh, right, my bad, i forgot canada.
US and canada goes mostly together as far as geographic restrictions go.

The major problems are contractual/rights based, and I do have access to fewer books than a US resident. The most silly example is that WWW:Wake by Robert Sawyer (his latest paperback) is not available to me even though he is a Canadian and lives less than 20 km from where I am sitting right now.

Of course, Canada is an easier market to target for US-based operations (same language, same time zones, etc), but Apple is rolling out to more countries and Amazon has a large number. Kobo and B&N are probably sticking closer to home, though.

I think it's safe to say that for big book stores that don't go the Adobe Digital Editions route, an iPad isn't going to be any worse than a standalone reader in terms of content availability and likely will be better, regardless of where you are worldwide - at least in terms of countries where the iPad is actually for sale.