Why are dedicated ebooks readers still popular?

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

My personal experience is that many people who have never seen an ereader in life think they're similar to tablets. So they see no point in getting one if they already have a tablet. When I offered my Oasis 2 to my niece (who admittedly doesn't read much), she wasn't interested at first. She said she prefers paper. But later, when she had actually tried to read with the Oasis, she liked it. I don't think she's unique in this.

Probably very true. I have a friend who reads books on her IPad at times, and she didn't understand the difference with e-ink when I tried to explain to her. I also showed my friend Amber in person when she just had a fire, and she fell in love with the difference since she mainly reads outside during her lunch break, and the glare was killing her. She converted to a paperwhite and gave her tablet away to a friend who couldn't afford an e-reader. She also purchased her mom a paperwhite as a gift for her to join in on our book club.

[twowheels]

Yeah, that's consistent with what I've seen -- I've lost track of how many times I've heard "but I have a tablet, why would I need an eReader?" followed by eager acceptance.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I'm not contesting the "uninspiring" description of the Kobo app, as I hardly ever use it. I am, though curious to know in what ways the current Kindle app is less uninspiring. I have the latest versions of both on my Android tablet, and not struck by a huge difference in functionality. What am I missing?

I’m picky, perhaps but here is a short list (some specifics apply to iOS/iPad, but probably apply to Android as well):

- zero margin or line height adjustments. Huge headers and footers. The defaults just don’t look good to me. LOTS of wasted space. This alone makes me not want to do much reading with it.

- color scheme of the UI is not well thought out. They use red for check marks and switches (in various settings) and it doesn’t look good with any background.
- No support for system Dark mode. There are Themes for views of one’s library, but none of the choices are dark colors or backgrounds.
- The design of the Home views is like a scaled up phone app, things are way too large and don’t make good use of larger screens. List view especially wastes a lot of space. On my mini I can only see 4 items in portrait, 6 in landscape. The thumbnails could be much smaller so it could be more compact without having to shrink the title text.
- If they would just hire a competent UI designer a lot of progress could be made.

- granted, Apple doesn’t allow in app purchasing, but one cannot even browse the store and download samples.

- Does not support any Accessibility features like Speak Screen, Voice Over, or Voice Control. They don’t care about people with vision or dexterity issues.
- Does not support Split View / Slide Over on iPad. This is really expected on iPad and all the other reading apps support it

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by tomsem

- In a number of contexts, I find the UI sluggish and not responsive enough. It’s okay when in reading mode, but navigating library and storefront is sometimes painfully slow (especially when something is downloading or indexing), as compared with other electronic devices. A more capable CPU and chipset might help with this, maybe with both high and low performance cores that can help smooth out responsiveness without impacting power consumption.

- specifically about Kindle, I would like them to implement Immersion Reading (synchronized audiobook and ebook), and bring back TTS (VoiceView screen reader doesn’t really fulfill the same use cases). Again this might benefit from a more specialized CPU and chipset, and perhaps more RAM than the existing lineup has.

I would also welcome display improvements (still contrast is not great compared to LCD/OLED etc) but it doesn’t seem there are any on the horizon.

But even with such enhancements, would it be enough to entice people from reading on smartphones and tablets?

Kudos- great point. You’ve made me eat my words . I find navigating the library and storefront frustratingly slow. So much so that I never buy books directly from the e-readers and instead do so from a tablet.

Personally I don’t think those enhancements would entice most people to buy e-readers in lieu of tablets and smartphones. They’ll remain a niche market unless / until they excel at some function we don’t need or foresee yet.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I’m picky, perhaps but here is a short list (some specifics apply to iOS/iPad, but probably apply to Android as well):

- zero margin or line height adjustments. Huge headers and footers. The defaults just don’t look good to me. LOTS of wasted space. This alone makes me not want to do much reading with it.

- color scheme of the UI is not well thought out. They use red for check marks and switches (in various settings) and it doesn’t look good with any background.
- No support for system Dark mode. There are Themes for views of one’s library, but none of the choices are dark colors or backgrounds.
- The design of the Home views is like a scaled up phone app, things are way too large and don’t make good use of larger screens. List view especially wastes a lot of space. On my mini I can only see 4 items in portrait, 6 in landscape. The thumbnails could be much smaller so it could be more compact without having to shrink the title text.
- If they would just hire a competent UI designer a lot of progress could be made.

- granted, Apple doesn’t allow in app purchasing, but one cannot even browse the store and download samples.

- Does not support any Accessibility features like Speak Screen, Voice Over, or Voice Control. They don’t care about people with vision or dexterity issues.
- Does not support Split View / Slide Over on iPad. This is really expected on iPad and all the other reading apps support it

I know nothing at all about anything Apple, I've never used any Apple hardware or software. In terms of the home screens, as my earlier screenshots showed, there's very little difference between Kindle and Kobo on my Android tablet. Beyond that I seldom venture, as I buy all my books from the Kobo Store on my PC and read them on my Libra.

Opening a book in each did show more differences, and confirmed why I don't read on anything other than my ereader unless I absolutely have to. Fwiw, I like the red check marks, very clear and unambiguous. But that subjective reaction is as far as I'll go defending Kobo's vrey underwhelming app. Kindle's app offers more controls, but the reading experience is still poor, especially compared to KOReader on my Libra.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

That's a very good point. But I'd imagine even reading a regular book would be difficult with arthritis in the hands.

It is. That's why I have an e-reader.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by tomsem

And it has been 20 months since the latest model shipped, the longest interval in the history of Kindle.

And it's probably been 100 years since anybody released a new hammer. Once you've got the functionality down, you don't need to constantly come up with new designs. I dare say, a 100 year old hammer from 1921 will probably work just as well as a new one bought at Home Depot yesterday. Maybe even better.

The Kindle is somewhat like a hammer - mature in it's design. New versions of it will probably not be for added functionality (maybe a few minor things, but most likely nothing major). New versions will be for cost reduction.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

My personal experience is that many people who have never seen an ereader in life think they're similar to tablets. So they see no point in getting one if they already have a tablet. When I offered my Oasis 2 to my niece (who admittedly doesn't read much), she wasn't interested at first. She said she prefers paper. But later, when she had actually tried to read with the Oasis, she liked it. I don't think she's unique in this.

When I first heard of e-readers I didn't see the appeal of reading on a screen. Then a relative got one and showed it to me and once I saw it I was sold.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by haertig

And it's probably been 100 years since anybody released a new hammer. Once you've got the functionality down, you don't need to constantly come up with new designs. I dare say, a 100 year old hammer from 1921 will probably work just as well as a new one bought at Home Depot yesterday. Maybe even better.

Technically..... the fiberglass hammer handle is a fairly new change, and significantly reduces vibrations into the user, making for more comfortable all day use.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

When I first heard of e-readers I didn't see the appeal of reading on a screen. Then a relative got one and showed it to me and once I saw it I was sold.

I second this.
When i first saw some eink readers it was ~10 years ago, in an airport computer shop.
I took them in hand and i was wondering for a couple of seconds why they keep those reader turned off with a demo sticker on it.
Then the image of the likely demo mode changed.

I knew they were existing but i thought the difference was mainly in battery life and i wasn't reading that much at that time (because of lack of proper tool).
Now i have an eink reader, an eink smartphone and i would kill for a decent prized eink computer monitor

[John F]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

When smart phones can do that as well?

I can understand when readers prefer the dedicated ebook reader eliminate distractions because of the unavailability of email and the internet.

However the dedicated ebook reader is something additional to carry and something to worry about getting smashed or lost. Isn't it easier to carry one device?

So jbcohen, what do you think of all the responses?

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by hobnail

A phone's screen is too small for my old eyes. I also don't like reading books on that type of screen. I only read PDFs on my tablet, never regular ebooks.

But yeah, it is a hassle having to carry two devices. Now if my kobo also had a phone built into it I'd be set.

Pretty much says what I have to contribute. I keep novellas and essay collections on my phone for "downtime" content, but an ongoing (full length) book... no thanks.

[John F]

Originally Posted by karimburhan

habit also plays a role here. what is a habit when we repeat something then it becomes our habit. So we use mobile for calling, texting, watching. If we start reading books on mobile then it would become difficult for us because we have associated the mobile with texting, watching, and mailing.
On the contrary kindle device have no such thing to associate without reading.

Sure, but there is a tipping point. Look at the reports of people switching. I myself, use both a PC and a tablet for web browsing.

My "habit" is that my phone is my on-the-go device. If I'm doing something for a while, I like to use the right tool; a tablet/PC for browsing, a ereader for reading, a PC for lengthy emails, ...

[fathead]

Originally Posted by haertig

Many people seem to worship their smartphone. Never taking their eyes off it - not while walking, not while in a group with others, not in bed, not in a restaurant, not in a theater, not while driving. Incessantly taking selfies and typing away on the thing. I'm not like that. And I don't understand that neurosis either. It's bizarre. They don't seem to know how to exist without the smartphone leading the way.

I doubt if such people ever read anything longer than a Twitter post.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Technically..... the fiberglass hammer handle is a fairly new change, and significantly reduces vibrations into the user, making for more comfortable all day use.

There's also that hammer that has the bounce back reduced with a shifting weight or something in its head. But mine is nylon and not for driving nails.