Yes yes, it’s time for my obligatory iPad review! Sure, you’ve read a million of them ever since the wireless-only iPads came along last month as I waited for the 3G version, but you haven’t read a review WHERE THE IPAD IS HELD FOR RANSOM BY DERANGED MUTANTS.
Actually that didn’t happen. This really is just another review.
First of all, the all-important question: is this a game-changer for the world of books???
Yes. Kind of. I think so. I don’t know.
In my opinion the iPad is a pretty radically awesome e-reader and I love reading on it almost but not quite as much as life itself. It is awesome to read on. During the day. At night. On the couch. On the bus. I zoomed through Fellowship of the Ring like I was being chased by ringwraiths, downloaded The Two Towers faster than you can say “mellon,” and yes, I started acting like Gollum when my wife wanted her turn with it. PRECIOUSSSSSSSSSS.
However, the iPad is also a pretty radically expensive e-reader and holy cow is it kind of distracting to be able to access so many shiny things with a few clicks while you’re reading. (It is the best interface for reading e-mail ever).
Let’s break this down with e-book reading in mind:
OVERALL PROS AND CONS
Pros: The screen is incredibly crisp and clear, and no matter which e-reading app you’re using the page turns are smooth. Even better, you can adjust the brightness of the screen in all the apps, and some reading apps have a night function where the background is black and the text is white so it’s much easier on the eyes to read in the dark.
Cons: It’s not the really-looks-like-paper e-ink you find with the Sony Reader, Kindle, and Nook, which I realize bothers some people, so you should decide which type of screen you like. I personally vastly prefer the iPad/iPhone screens because there’s no flicker when you turn pages, there’s color, and I like not having to worry about a nightlight. But the iPad isn’t as good as e-ink in the sun, and it’s also heavier than the Kindle, so it’s tricky to read with one hand (which is a consideration for bus/subway riders).
THE BOOK APPS
Meanwhile, as has been well-documented on this blog, there is also a book app war afoot on the iPad – publishers have moved over to an agency model for selling e-books, in part, in order to open up the marketplace to other e-book vendors.
But wouldn’t you know: in my opinion Amazon has a substantial early lead in the iPad book App wars, even if iBooks and Kobo also have nice apps and they all will likely improve greatly in the coming months/years.
The best thing about Apple’s iBooks is that it has the most beautiful display – WINNIE THE POOH comes free, and the colors of the illustrations pop. Apple has knocked the page-turning animation out of the park, and the pages curl beautifully when you turn the pages. You can also choose between several different attractive fonts, if that’s your thing. And for all those people frustrated that Kindle doesn’t have page numbers: iBooks does.
However, iBooks lacks some key options that are really important to the e-book reading experience. There’s no night reading option (though you can dim the brightness), there’s no note-taking ability, and while I gather this functionality is coming, ironically enough, you can’t yet download iBooks onto your iPhone. So if, like me, you like to read on your phone in a pinch and have your books sync automatically when you pick up the iPad later, the Kindle and Kobo apps are so far better than iBooks.
I also wasn’t a fan of the iBooks formatting. When you turn the iPad sideways it automatically transitions to a two-page layout that looks like a real book, but while it looks good I just don’t find it as easy to read as a full page in landscape mode, my preferred reading method.
Meanwhile, the Kindle app has nearly everything I want out of an e-reader. While you can’t customize fonts and unfortunately some images (like Tolkien’s maps) aren’t very high resolution, the display is very functional and crisp. You can take notes and highlight, change into night mode when you’re reading in the dark, and best of all, you can sync between your devices.
I downloaded all the books I had previously bought for my Kindle and iPhone straight to my iPad, and now I have quite the attractive library of books with color covers, something I always missed with the Kindle.
BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
So. Will people flock to the iPad in large numbers for e-book reading?
I honestly don’t know.
For me the iPad is what I have been waiting for as an e-reader. I love that I can read and edit anywhere, I can access both books and manuscripts instantaneously, and it’s the hyper-portable and multi-functional device I’ve been waiting for. I don’t think I’ll be able to live without it.
But if I didn’t have the job I have and if reading/editing weren’t such a central part of my life I would see the iPad more along the lines of a luxury. And as a writing device it has a long ways to go. It can’t beat a laptop for ease of use if you’re going to type something longer than a quick e-mail.
Basically: it’s nice to have if you can spare the dough, but something short of a necessity.
At least until the App for killing deranged mutants is released.
@ Henry, 6:13pm:
Battery life of Kindle is (approximately) 10x as long… Here's a link to CNET comparison
There's also another good comparison of the eBook products HERE
Then there's the coming iPad competition here.
For me professionally, nothing has changed what I do as quickly as the iPad. Within weeks of its release, I received project requests asking for QuickTime files instead of Flash files so that students could watch the videos on their iPads if they wanted. Educational publishing never adapts that quickly. Ever. The iPad is being treated as a big f*ing deal.
I think I'll stick to my iPod Touch.
I don't need the iPad. If I ever got one, I'd probably just want to make fun of the name. So yeah. I'll stick to my iPod Touch.
Thanks for the review Nathan.
I've been waiting on this actually. You bring up some interesting disparity between all the e-readers. My feeling about the advanced features though, is the same as for all of them.
Why do you need a book to do more than offer you a good read? I mean, if you don't expect a paperback to surf the net and make phone calls and be handy for opposable thumbs and you're willing to shell out near thirty bucks for a long awaited hard back; why are we quibbling about the price of an electronic book or the fact we can't send twitter messages to the universe about the passage we're reading while we're on the page?
What I want in an e-reader is something with the megabytes (yes, my computer literacy is showing) to hold all the books I want to buy and read.
My two book shelves are limited. I have to give away books sometimes because I don't have the space to add another book shelf to the apartment. At any given moment, I probably have over $3,000 in paper books of any form. I miss my purchased books every time I have to clean off the shelves to make room for more; whether they cost me $1.99 or $35.
So, give me something I keep every book I've ever bought, and pack it in my purse for convenience, and I could care less that it doesn't update me on Nathan's latest post the moment its available to read.
………dhole
Nathan, your post some time about how you preferred reading on your iPhone to the eInk readers inspired me to set up my Droid for ereading. I'm loving it, and don't really see the need for a separate ereader at all.
It's just too bad that there's nowhere to buy DRM-free books for the best reader on Android, Aldiko, and the only app where you can buy modern books is Kobo's old Shortcovers, which even they admit is outdated.
I don't expect Apple to make an Android app, but Google, B&N, Amazon–come on, guys!
I love mine with a white hot passion. Also I've bought more books in the past two weeks than I usually do in a month. When I am out and someone mentions that you have to read book x, I download right then and theree justifying that the per book cost is lower. I'll be interested to see impact on book sales.
I don't write my books on it, but I love it for reading, organizing projects and marketing and general time wasting on the Internet.
Thanks for the review. It's really helpful to have a review from your perspective, vs. the broad techhie perspective.
WINNIE THE POOH comes free !
Interesting choice, I wonder what the target audience is for the ipad.
I'm planning on waiting for iPad 2.0 next year with most likely a front facing camera.
I don't have an e-reader of any kind, but I would think not being able to read outside in the sunlight is a major drawback.
Makes me wonder what it offers the reading experience that I don't already have with my little netbook …
I have to be honest, I stopped purchasing Apple products due to the proprietary nature of the company. I just couldn't agree with some of the things they do. The iPad does look pretty cool, however, I am looking forward to Notion Ink's Adam which has a brand new screen technology that makes it adjustable as both an E-Ink-like reader and an LCD screen. Notion Ink. Adam. Google it.
I don't get the big deal about colored pages. Whenever I buy a hardcover, I immediately take off the sleeve and throw it in the trash. The first reason is because I find it cumbersome. The other reason is because I hate it when illustrators (or even the author) tries to tell me what characters, settings, and such look like through an actual physical picture.
Cool. When you start channeling Gollum, you're really in the spirit of the books.
It's interesting to hear your take on the I-Pad. There's no way I can justify spending that kind of money right now, so I'll have to content myself with yearning at a distance.
I never really believed that a gadget could change your life until I got the I-phone. How I managed to survive without that is beyond my comprehension. I'm sure someday I'll feel the same way about the I-Pad or something similar!
I hope you'll let us know what you think as the kinks get worked out.
I agree with Mesmerix. I think Apple products are too closed and proprietary in nature for me. I can, however, see why people like it. I have a Nook and love it. The Adam looks like it may be worth a try.
I'm looking for a small computer, not a big phone. To me, there is a difference.
I saw the Nook advertised this morning on TV. I wonder if they are all going to start promoting now that ipad is out.
Zzzzzzzzzzz . . .
Wait, wait, wait! Does this mean that mutants are the new zombies (which are the new vampires, hello!)? Just checking!
I got to play with an iPad on Friday and must say I did love it. My husband has informed me in no uncertain terms that I must wait for my Kindle to fizzle before he'll let me get one for the sole purpose of being an e-reader…but since he's a gadgety guy, I may have him on the "lookit all the other stuff it does!" front.
But it's going to take Mother's Day, my birthday AND Christmas for, mmmm, the next three years in order for me to get one.
Sounds like you think it's worth it though, Nathan! Thanks for the review 🙂
I would think tools like the iPad and such will make graphic novels more popular, or at least usher in a hybrid of sorts that uses more visual story-telling and possibly the Internet in an innovative, interactive way. The novel may become something far more, erm, novel in the future.
As for buying something like this when new and used books will come to me in the mail for less than $10? Unfortunately, the iPad's too far down on my list of expensive toys I don't need. 😛
Thank you for the compare-contrast of this with the Kindle. I'm still debating which eReader to invest in.
The video of the cat playing with the iPad is definitely in the iPad's favor, as is your review. I like my handheld devices backlit.
Really liked your review – very balanced.
I LOVE the 2-page layout in iBooks – that's one of my favorite things! To me, reading in landscape on one page is like reading in portrait on a shorter page with the words stretched out. I feel like the 2-page offers me more of a choice. I know — all I'm getting out of it is just being slightly closer to the real book experience, but I guess that's enough for me.
The iBooks app is my favorite for reading, and I also like Kobo. Not a big Amazon fan, so I don't have that, but B&N should have their app ready this month from what I've read. I read that they redesigned it – it's not just a bigger iPhone app.
I don't have a smartphone or Touch – this just seemed to be the right time to me to jump in on this sort of thing. And I expected it to just be for fun — allow me to catch up on blogs and email while I'm out of the house, and then I can sit down to work on my laptop when I get home. But I really could work on this thing — if only Pages would track changes!!! Maybe one of these updates…
The PRECIOUSSS comment nearly made me fall out of my chair – my husband says that to me all the time about his gadgets. Hilarious. Thanks for breaking it down for us 🙂
Blasphemy!
Seriously, though, I love my Kindle. Not just for the e-ink, but I think an iPad would distract me from reading books cause there are too many other things to do with it.
Did you have another e-reader before this one or was this your first one?
zoe-
I've had a Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone and now iPad. Kindle wins for clearest e-ink display (though I prefer backlit screens to the grayscale of e-ink), I liked Sony's touchscreen display and the nightlight was indispensable, iPhone worked great, iPad works better.
I liked them all and my shoulders and back appreciate not having to lug around books and boxes of manuscripts these past couple of years, but I like iPad the best. I'm basically using it as a second computer at work.
I've been waiting for this review, Nathan! Thank you so much for the great info. I can buy one with confidence now. : )
Crap, that's a lot of e-readers! I like the grayscale because my favorite way to read is outside in the sunshine and I've found the e-ink displays awesome for that. Much easier to read the Kindle in the sunlight then even a print book since the print books pages are too bright for direct sunlight, reflects.
Why don't the publishing companies just start making their own e-book readers and sell from their own websites?
I'm so glad you're reading the Lord of the Rings.
E-books are not better than the real thing. They are not books they are words on a screen. i would rather hold pages in my hands any day over a heavy screen. Sorry. my opinion.
and great post !!!
PAY THE RANSOM BEFORE WE DERANGED MUTANTS CAST THE I-PAD INTO THE LAVA! WE HATES IT! WE HATES IT!
Nathan,
I am glad to learn that you love your iPad. I had a strong feeling you would.
BTW, there is a Dictionary app for iPad. Using that is faster than going to Dictionary.com on Safari.
As for word processing I installed Pages my first day, but I'm not all that comfortable with it. I also have GoodReader. I'm still experimenting as to which works better to read files that I get via email.
This past weekend I used iAnnotate with a friend's writing. I used my Mac to change the submission from a Word document into a PDF, emailed it to myself, opened it in iAnnotate and got to work. I basically wrote little sticky notes in the margins to make comments.
I found it much more convenient to do this while outside on the patio with my family than holed up in my office in my computer. And definitely more convenient than printing it all out in hard copy to scribble notes.
You cannot send attachments via email on the iPad just yet, so I installed the Aji Reader Service on my computer and synced my iPad to my Mac. I saved the annotated document on my hard drive then emailed a copy to my friend.
Those pages that were annotated appear smaller with the notes in the margin. Pages without notes appear full sized.
I prefer iAnnotate for critiquing over Pages app. At least for now. I'm still playing around with this new toy.
There is another application you might find useful. StoryTracker. There's a lite version for free to test to see if you like the functionality and then pay for the full app.
Oh, and thank you for including the Alice in Wonderland YouTube video. I went and got the lite version, showed it to my son and then had to buy the full application.
It is so cool.
Have a great weekend!
Here's an interesting piece in the New Yorker about how Jobs has approached publishers, in comparison to Amazon's Bezos.
https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta