What Does the iPad Bring to the eReading Experience?
By Dave Peterson | January 28, 2010
During his introduction of the Apple iPad, Steve Jobs spent a bit of time addressing one of the most obvious uses for a tablet device, eReading. Until now, that market has been pretty well controlled by the Amazon Kindle, but as a user of all the Kindles since their initial launch, I can tell you the monochrome world of conventional eInk is a mixed blessing.
Battery life on eInk devices tends toward the amazing. The standard Kindle delivers about a week of normal use on a single charge and turning the wireless connectivity off can double that. The iPad has a stated 10 hour battery life with WiFi use, and that can likely be extended by turning wireless off during use as an eReader.
Selecting a book to read on a Kindle can be a dicey proposition, largely due to publishers’ frequent inclination to leave out graphics and photos, even monochrome or grayscale ones the Kindle could reproduce quite well. My rule of thumb is usually that novels (not known for much image content) are pretty safe Kindle picks, but non-fiction books that might have photos, illustrations, maps. etc., might be better to buy in a bound paper format. If I’m uncertain about the suitability of a book to be eRead, I usually try to check it out in the real world before making a buying decision. It’s reasonable to think the iPad will make buying graphically-rich books in electronic form safer, but that will ultimately depend upon how much effort (and expense) individual publishers (and maybe Apple) want to put into specific titles.
Another simultaneous positive and negative is the eye strain issue. An eInk display produces no light, making it easier to read for long periods of time. I’ve talked with people who can’t read books on a back-lit display for very long without starting to develop a headache, but they have no such problems with eInk. The lack of backlighting, though, means you need to bring your own page illuminating light, one way or another. The iPad is already being touted as “easy to read, even in low light.”
Users of existing eReaders (Kindle, nook, Sony Reader, etc.,) should have a reasonably smooth transition should they choose to go with an iPad. There are currently ways to read all the popular formats on the iPhone or Touch, and that means those reader apps will be available on the iPad as well. It does mean your library may become a bit fractured, with different books requiring different apps on the device. It may not be elegant, but you shouldn’t lose any part of your existing eLibrary.
One strong element I’ve seen in the iBooks app is the speed of virtual page turns. It’s an LED display and that means it can refresh at a much faster rate than eInk. For me the biggest requirement of an eReader is that the device must become unnoticeable, giving way to whatever is being read. Slow page turns pull you out of the book. The iPad will be not have this problem (and if it matters, it looks to have some absolutely gorgeous page turn animation that can vary depending on the speed at which you flip your finger across the screen).
One final comparison to make is the presence of wireless connectivity. In the Kindle, it’s provided free with the purchase of the device, but it’s of limited use for anything other than browsing and buying from the bookstore, and Whispersyncing between Kindle format devices. The iPad will provide WiFi, but if you anticipate a need for connectivity away from a hotspot, you’ll need to Pay $130 extra for the 3G version and a monthly (non-contract) service charge of $15 or $30. But with that, you’ll get web options that go far beyond those offered on the Kindle.
Before we get too excited about the promise of a full-color eReader, we have to note the saddest part of this story, that the iBooks app (and associated iBookstore) are currently listed as available in the United States only. Obviously there are international copyright and electronic publishing deals still to be hammered out, and that could happen before the iPad lands in users’ hands two months from now, but I don’t think anyone is making large bets that it will happen that quickly.
Ultimately, for eReading to really gain acceptance, it must deliver an experience equal or superior to that pulled from a printed page. A lot of bibliophiles say that’s impossible, but I think “book” is a word on the verge of redefinition, in a good way. The iPad is the second of many needed steps before that can happen.
Topics: ereaders | 1 Comment »
Apple iPad is a Touch/Kindle DX Mashup
By Dave Peterson | January 27, 2010
It’s probably predictably human to compare a new device to attributes of existing ones we know well. As Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPad to the world, my thought was that I was looking at a fairly compelling blend of an iPod Touch and a Kindle DX.
If you’ve ever held the larger version of Amazon’s eReader in your hands, you’ll have a pretty good sense of what it will be like to hold an iPad. The iPad is about an inch shorter than a DX, but the widths are very similar. Both have a 9.7 inch screen, although the aspect ratio is different, with the iPad screen a bit wider when both are held in portrait orientation. The iPad is just slightly thicker and a few ounces heavier. Obviously the biggest differences are the color multi-touch screen (1024 x 768) and the lack of a physical keyboard. The most stunning similarity is the price. As of today, the lowest-end iPad, at $499, is just ten dollars more than the DX. For that $10 you’ll get four times the storage (16 GB as opposed to 4), video playback ability, a rich web browsing experience, and all other features you’d find on an iPod Touch.
There are a few things missing from the iPad that are worth noting: There is no camera, forward or back facing. No Flash support, which means certain web sites and videos will not play correctly (or at all). There’s no evidence of a native chat client like iChat, although iPhone chat apps already available should run on it.
As on Touch and iPhone there’s no multitasking. I strongly believe that tablets will one day replace notebook computers in our daily lives, but multitasking is a must before that can happen. This device won’t replace your netbook if you ever do more than one thing at a time.
An interesting accessory is a keyboard dock that looks very much like an Apple Wireless Keyboard. If the virtual keyboard (an expanded version of what’s used on the Touch and iPhone) doesn’t work for you, plug the iPad into the dock and start typing on physical keys.
The iPad will come in six different price points and configurations: WiFi-only in 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB sizes for $499, $599, and $699, or with 3G added to those capacities at $629, $729, and $829.
I’ll have hands on reviews of both the Wi-Fi and 3G models when they ship in two and three months, respectively. Tomorrow I’ll be back with a more in-depth look specifically at the positives and negatives of the iPad as an eReader.
Topics: Gadgets, ereaders | No Comments »
Boogie Board Gives You an Electronic Scratch Pad
By Dave Peterson | January 24, 2010
Maybe one thing we’ll learn this year is just how many different things in the gadget world can be called a tablet. We still don’t know exactly what Apple’s entry to that named category will be able to do, but eReading, media playback, web browsing and games all seem likely. However, if you just want to jot down non-permanent notes, Improv Electronics (a division of Kent Displays), has something for you that will get the job done for a lot less money.
The Boogie Board is a $30 LCD tablet that only uses power (supplied by a watch battery) to erase itself. Writing is done with the included stylus, or just about any hard object, including the user’s fingernail. The writing surface is pressure sensitive, so you can vary line width easily. The tablet’s size is 8.8 x 5.6 inches, it’s 1/8 inch thick, and weighs 4.2 ounces. As of now, the device is sold out at Amazon, but the company’s web site predicts it will be back in stock within a couple of days.
It won’t play back your iTunes library, but if you’re just looking for an alternative to lots of temporary notes written on paper you’d just throw away, the Boogie Board might be worth the minor investment.
Topics: Gadgets | No Comments »
PDFmyURL – Fast, Easy Captures of Any Web Page
By Dave Peterson | January 18, 2010
Here’s an idea that’s incredibly simple yet elegant and useful. Have you ever wished you could snapshot a web page, either for later offline reading, personal archiving, or some other reason? Screenshots are an option, but they can be a bit unwieldy, as several files are usually required for any but the shortest pages.
PDFmyURL.com does just what it sounds like it would. You go to the site, enter the URL that interests you and click Enter. In a couple of seconds a PDF file containing a full image of the page (in however many PDF pages are required to capture it all) is downloaded to your computer. It works like a charm and is going on my link bar.
Topics: Web | No Comments »