Like him, I read outside, in the sun when possible. Thus, any LCD screen is a nonstarter.
Kindle is OK
21–30 of 109 posts
Re: Kindle is OK
#22>Further, I have a backlog of unread books I bought on Amazon, and I don't see why I should replace them (or if I can) using Apple's store.
To clear that piece of FUD - there's a Kindle app in the Apple app store which lets you read all your Kindle books on your iPad.
Re: Kindle is OK
#23The Kindle is best at reading straight-forward linear text with minimal formatting, like novels. You can't go wrong with a Kindle if you read plenty of novels, especially if you read outside.
OTOH, the iPad is far superior for heavily formatted text and graphical content. Even the Kindle DX has terrible support for PDFs and the eInk screen is inherently bad for graphics, so for the person who wants to carry textbooks, technical papers, other structured PDFs, or comic books, the iPad is the only viable option.
Re: Kindle is OK
#24>Further, I have a backlog of unread books I bought on Amazon, and I don't see why I should replace them (or if I can) using Apple's store. To clear that piece of FUD - there's a Kindle app in the Apple app store which lets you read all your Kindle books on your iPad. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kindle/id302584613?mt=8
If you read the comments Dave is busy shouting at people who make that point. Apparently there's some sort of additional reason why the Kindle hardware is staying around.
Re: Kindle is OK
#25When I read on tech blogs that Kindle is a goner, I think these people must not read very much. Yeah, pretty much. It is snobby and rude to say it that way, but being snobby and rude myself I'm fine with that. In fairness, while e-ink devices offer what I believe is the best reading experience in the present for texts read linearly, they're less pleasant when used to read texts where you're likely to bounce around: t…
If you read the article that Dave links to, it's pretty obvious that the author doesn't read very much, because he clearly can't write.
But I said that I have no problem with rudeness and snobbiness, and I was being more than half serious.
Re: Kindle is OK
#26I guess I am in the minority. I found that the eInk displays of these readers made for a poorer reading experience than reading straight off my iPhone with the help of Stanza.
(1) I can read with the lights off.
(2) The default font is not as grating.
(3) I can adjust the brightness.
Without giving my preference, I had an older gentleman compare the experience of trying to read with both devices. He usually needs to wear glasses to read things close up, and even then, he has trouble making out words at times. To my surprise, he was able to read the iPhone text much more easily than the reader's text, and keep in mind that the iPhone text by default is fairly tiny -- smaller than the reader. I am guessing that the high resolution and the contrast helped him make out the letters.
I have not tried this on an iPad; I imagine it will be the same good experience as on the iPhone except with more of a book feel. On the other hand, I have no interest in an iPad any more than any other touch tablet. The iPhone was novel since it was a computer that fit in my pocket.
But the Kindle was a thumbs down for me with all its DRM limitations and the lack of reading improvement that was promised with eInk.
Re: Kindle is OK
#27I bought a Kindle recently even though I have an iPad. I enjoy the Kindle far more. I also don't mind taking it with me on the train because if something happens to it then I didn't just lose something super expensive-just fairly expensive. It's also nice that I don't get distracted playing "Plants vs. Zombies" or "We Rule" on it when I intend to be reading.
I find it fascinating that people these days are willing to pay (a premium) for less features or less choice. It's counterintuitive, but if you look at e.g. Leica's exploding sales, or Macs, or indeed bare-featured Kindles, there's a pattern. In a perfect world (or, at least, one with perfectly consistent people) less features could never be worth more. People would do what they want and whether the device offers more choices or not wouldn't matter. Distractable as we are, however, every feature introduces a new decision calculus we need to make, and one more temptation against which we need to fight.
Re: Kindle is OK
#28>Further, I have a backlog of unread books I bought on Amazon, and I don't see why I should replace them (or if I can) using Apple's store. To clear that piece of FUD - there's a Kindle app in the Apple app store which lets you read all your Kindle books on your iPad. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kindle/id302584613?mt=8
If you read the comments Dave is busy shouting at people who make that point. Apparently there's some sort of additional reason why the Kindle hardware is staying around.
And those additional reasons are the 4 paragraphs surrounding the paragraph I quoted (and I don't disagree with the points made there). But that paragraph is wrong.
Re: Kindle is OK
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you read the article that Dave links to, it's pretty obvious that the author doesn't read very much, because he clearly can't write.
But I said that I have no problem with rudeness and snobbiness, and I was being more than half serious.
I was just pointing out that the specific article Dave points to is even more proof that we're dealing with the illiterate (I also have no problem with rudeness and snobbiness).
Re: Kindle is OK
#30I bought a Kindle recently even though I have an iPad. I enjoy the Kindle far more. I also don't mind taking it with me on the train because if something happens to it then I didn't just lose something super expensive-just fairly expensive. It's also nice that I don't get distracted playing "Plants vs. Zombies" or "We Rule" on it when I intend to be reading.
I find it fascinating that people these days are willing to pay (a premium) for less features or less choice. It's counterintuitive, but if you look at e.g. Leica's exploding sales, or Macs, or indeed bare-featured Kindles, there's a pattern. In a perfect world (or, at least, one with perfectly consistent people) less features could never be worth more. People would do what they want and whether the device offers mor…
It could also be that with fewer features, we expect the manufacturer worked really hard to do those features well.