One of the things I’m really looking forward to experiencing on the iPad (and other tablet devices) is magazine reading. That was something that motivated me two and a half years ago, when I bought my first Kindle. I liked the idea of instant delivery to my hand-held device and an end to paper clutter around the house. Unfortunately, the magazine experience was pretty pale and unrewarding on the Kindle, with its text-only monochromatic presentation. The iPad is a different animal though, with the promise for an eMagazine that could exceed what’s possible in print.

One of the first to try its hand on this platform is the venerable newsmagazine, TIME.  Available through the app store, they’ve really done an excellent job with execution of the iPad edition. It has the most print-like feel of any eMagazine I’ve seen. There are ads, but somehow they contribute to the magazine feel and I didn’t find them overly obtrusive.  It’s a pleasure to thumb through. Unfortunately, the pleasure is killed by the pricing and distribution model. The app is $4.99. And look closely, that app is not a general TIME reader, it’s a single issue. Each week, you will have to come back to the app store to get the next issue, each time at a price of $4.99. As nice a job as they’ve done, very few potential readers are going to feel like paying that.

On their web site, TIME offers a half-year (28 issues) print subscription for $19.95, which comes to just a bit over 71 cents an issue. By contrast, if I wanted to get those same issues on my iPad it would cost $139.72. I would be delighted to subscribe to an iPad version of TIME for the same price they’d sell me the print edition. I’d even take the ads, no problem there.  But I’d also like to see a single TIME app that could pull new downloads automatically as they were published. I want a single icon on my screen, not a digital recreation of the paper clutter I’m trying to escape.

As conventional publishers work to move into the eWorld offered by devices like the iPad, they need to give the readers at least as good a deal as they’d get with the paper edition. TIME seems to be trying to duplicate the bad parts of the paper experience (high per-issue price and clutter) without giving the break of a subscription. It gives the impression that their hearts just aren’t in it, despite the potential of winning a new audience.

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.

Update: Check out my hands-on thoughts about the iPad as an eReader here.

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.

My favorite eReader coming out of CES 2010 was the Skiff, a large format device aimed at the newspaper and magazine audience. The reader is big (the screen is 11.5 inches diagonally with a 1200 x 1600 pixel display), but quite thin (just over 1/4 inch).  Its 17 9/16 ounces is a bit lighter than the smaller screened Kindle DX. It’s not small enough to put in your pocket, but it should be as easy to carry as a pad of letter-size paper. Best of all, the promotional images for the Skiff show it displaying a newspaper in the column layout arrangement with which we’re all familiar.  It seems like a perfect device to bring newspaper readers into the eReader world. But it may be arriving a year too late.

I think 2010 is going to be the year eReaders (and our expectations of them) change substantially. As much as I hate the cliche, I think the tablets that are bound to come out this year, from Apple, HP, and others, will be “game changers”. Or maybe market fragmenters. Once a good color tablet is available, there will still be a few reasons for some people to prefer the kind of e-ink displays that are found on all the readers currently on the market.  Monochrome e-ink readers will still have far better battery life than color displays, will be less likely to cause eye-strain, and may be less expensive. They will do a fine job of displaying text-only books and may start to actually duplicate the newspaper experience.  These large format readers are impressive to see now, and would have made a very big splash had they come out last year.  This year though, they’re going to be going up against full color tablets that will deliver a much broader eReading experience, and functionality beyond reading. The Skiff is not yet priced; the comparably sized Que is coming in two models priced at $649 and $799 (the more expensive adds 3G and doubles the storage).  That is pushing into the range where we can expect to find tablets with a color screen and full media playback abilities.

Price may protect the lower cost eReaders like the Kindle and the nook, but the Skiff and the Que are likely to take a serious competitive beating from comparably priced devices that deliver a better experience and a broader range of capabilities. It may be that 2010 will go down as the year the tablets killed the dedicated eReaders.

Today, people who ordered the Barnes & Noble nook eReader when it was first announced began to receive the devices.  Although it’s now sold out through the end of the year (devices ordered today have an expected ship date of January 15, 2010), the common question among people considering their first eBook reader is, Kindle or nook? Which gives a better experience? As nooks begin to escape into the wild, we can start to answer that.

Breaching the packaging

Like many gadgets on the market today, the packaging around the nook takes some effort to open.  The package consists of a clear plastic box, similar to what Apple has been using recently for iPods, with a white cardboard sleeve that covers most of the box..  The cardboard sleeve is lined with a slick lamination that adheres somewhat to the box, making a simple slide-off difficult. After a few other tries, I just slit open one side of the sleeve to remove it. It’s definitely a package designed to look good at brick-and-mortar retail stores, unlike the “frozen lasagna” packaging that houses new Kindles.  A strip of clear tape seals the plastic box. Once removed, pry off the back (which holds the device), then flex the nook out of the tight holders that clamp at top and bottom, and you’re in!

Set up

Like the Kindle, the nook ships with initial start instructions on the e-ink screen.  You are instructed to press the power button (a silver bar on the top edge) and watch as it powers up.  You’ll want to remove the colorful label that simulates the function of the color screen as well. You will be instructed to tap and enter information on the touchscreen as you set up.  Unlike the Kindle, which ships from Amazon with your account information already on it, the nook needs you to log in with your email address and password established at BarnesandNoble.com.  If you don’t already have an account there’s an option to set one up.  The prior programming has been a nice, friendly feature of the Kindle, but can be a bit of an annoyance if giving the device as a gift.  Neither way is perfect for every case.

After initializing, you should plug in the reader (it uses the same USB-Micro USB cabling, with AC adaptor, as the Kindle) and bring it up to a full charge.  Judging by the battery gauge, mine shipped with about a half charge.

The hardware

First, nook’s big difference: Rather than a physical keyboard, it fills the space below the reading screen with a color LCD touchscreen that’s a bit under 3.5″ wide and about 1″ tall.  This screen is a navigation tool, alternately showing color book covers, and buttons for different major areas, such as shopping, settings, and returning to the book most recently read.  The touchscreen also serves as a virtual keyboard for text entry such as when searching the online store for a book.

Side by side, the readers give an impression of being very similar.  The Kindle is thinner (.36″ vs. .5″) but about a quarter-inch wider and taller. The Kindle is one ounce lighter at 10.2 ouches to nook’s 11.2. Physical controls are simplified on the nook with matching forward and back pressure points (not actual buttons) on both left and right sides of the bezel, a Home button below the screen, and the touchscreen for other navigation.  The e-ink screens are virtually identical, both six inches diagonally.  The nook case is all-plastic, with a gray back that’s reminiscent of the one on the first generation Kindle.

Side by side use

The most striking thing when comparing the two readers is speed.  The Kindle is a lot faster in several tasks such as turning pages, opening a book, accessing the online store, and searching in the store.  Turning pages (something you’ll do a lot and will notice lengthy waits) takes about 1 second on the Kindle and about 2.5 to 3 on the nook. Ideally you want the same or less time than it takes to turn a paper page.  Three seconds is a pretty leisurely page turn.  Opening a book takes about 9 seconds on the nook, versus about 2.5 on the Kindle.  These speed issues may be cleared up with forthcoming software upgrades that are to be wirelessly pushed out to the devices, but until they are, they will be the  nook’s biggest drawback compared to the Kindle.

The color touchscreen is a nice touch, but doesn’t really bring much to the reading experience.  Selecting books by clicking on their cover images is easy and intuitive, and anything is an improvement  over the Kindle’s directional stick-button.  It’s important to understand the touchscreen is (at least currently) a tool for navigation only. Don’t let anyone tell you this is a color eReader.

One of the biggest non-hardware features worth calling out on the nook is its ability to lend books to other people.  They don’t have to have a nook; the Barnes and Noble reader app available for several phones, or the computer desktop application, will work as well.  The down side is not all books have the lending feature activated (publisher discretion) and you can only lend a book to the same person once.  The lending period is two weeks, during which time you do not have access to it (as with a real book).

The wireless features on the nook benefit by being able to connect by local Wi-Fi as well as AT&T 3G (use of which comes with the cost of the device). Wi-Fi is a feature missing from the Kindle, and very handy in areas that don’t have good 3G coverage.

Internal storage is the same on both readers (2 GB), but the nook adds the ability to expand that with an microSD Card slot.  Card-based storage was present in the original Kindle, but dropped from the current generation.  Advertised battery life is 10 days on the nook, two weeks on the Kindle, keeping the wireless off in both cases.  The nook’s battery is user-replaceable, whereas the Kindle’s is not.

The nook supports EPUB, PDF, and PDB eBook formats, the Kindle supports AZW (Amazon proprietary), TXT, PDF, MOBI, and PRC formats, with support of HTML and DOC with conversion.

Both readers are priced at $259.

Final thoughts

There’s a lot to like about the nook, but speed issues are a major drawback .  As with a slow computer, eReader screens that are slow to refresh will tend to color your experience with a negative light that may overshadow many positives. I hope speed is improved through the upcoming software updates. It’s also worth remembering that the nook is a brand new, first generation device as compared to the Kindle which has had a couple years to gain some maturity and improved usability.  That said, as these two devices current exist, my choice would be for the Kindle, almost entirely based on the screen refresh (and loading) speed problems.

Regardless of shortcomings on either side of the fence now, more competition is most likely to force innovation and improvements in all eReaders. I’m hoping the next generation Kindle will bring more advances because of the presence of the nook than it would have without. Likewise, the nook and eReaders not affiliated with retail giants should benefit from a stronger competitive field.  I expect great things from this tech area in 2010.

Update: Good news! I appear to have received a firmware update (although my version number hasn’t changed), and page change speed is now much improved, entirely comparable with the Kindle.  This alone makes the nook much easier and more pleasant to use.

Via TechCrunch

Some people are saying this is an overly diluted market, with too many devices that basically do the same thing.  If they all run on their own proprietary standards, I’d agree, but I think even Amazon is moving toward a wider range of formats and will eventually be forced to meet the more open design we see in the nook, with its support of emerging standards like ePub.  I don’t see a flood of these devices on the market as any worse than a huge variety of computers and cell phones from which to choose.  The ones that survive will probably be new convergence devices that combine a good ereading experience with a few other compatible behaviors, such as web browsing, while keeping prices where people are willing to give them a try.

The good news for GadgetyTech readers is that my fascination with these devices means I’ll be trying a few of them.  My hands-on nook review (with side by side comparisons to Kindle) will be up shortly after the device hits market at the end of November.  I also confess to an interest in the QUE and the Alex mentioned above so I may see about reviewing those as well.  One of the big unknowns in this arena is exactly what impact the Apple tablet will have.  We know it’s coming, and it will likely be announced early next year.  This might be the color touch-screen ereader so many have been anticipating.  If it can land with good access to an online store and the ability to read open formats, Kindle and nook may have to run to catch up with the new guy.