Chris Pirillo » ebook-reader http://chris.pirillo.com News and Reviews! Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:32:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 iPad vs Books http://chris.pirillo.com/ipad-vs-books/ http://chris.pirillo.com/ipad-vs-books/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:08:27 +0000 Chris Pirillo http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=23883

iPad vs Books

This is a guest post written by Adrian P.. Ive been using the iPad for five months now, and I find it to be a very useful device. The video, apps, music, and the browser make it a worthwhile purchase. Its really nice to have the Internet at your fingertips without having to boot up [...]

iPad vs Books

]]> iPad vs Books

This is a guest post written by Adrian P..

Ive been using the iPad for five months now, and I find it to be a very useful device. The video, apps, music, and the browser make it a worthwhile purchase. Its really nice to have the Internet at your fingertips without having to boot up your machine every time that you want to check out something on the net.

I have found that while many websites/blogs have reviewed the features mentioned above, I haven’t found a lot of salient information regarding the iPad and how it compares to paper books. Sure, everybody knows that you can download and read eBooks on the iPad, but its other features tend to eclipse the ebook experience. If, however, the ebook feature on the iPad is reviewed, its almost always compared and contrasted with Amazons Kindle. I have not seen anybody review the iPads efficacy as a reading device vis-a-vis actual paper books. Being an avid reader of paper books and now having had experienced reading on the iPad for five months, I think that its time I did a review of how the two compare.

Before I begin I think it would only be fair to say that I am a big fan of standard paper books. With that being said, I hope that I can separate my love of books in order to give a fair assessment of the iPad reading experience.

The iPad has some great features:

  • The ability to look up words using the iPads built in dictionary.
  • The orientation can be changed (landscape or portrait).
  • The animated graphic for each page turn mimics page turning in a standard paper book.
  • The paper color can be changed to a yellowish to mimic discolored paper.
  • The typeface can be changed and the font size can be increased or deceased.

The ability to instantly look up unfamiliar words is truly a handy feature. When reading books I normally keep my iPod touch close by to look up words using a dictionary, or I will simply look it up in a book dictionary. This can become irritating as it distracts you away from the subject matter of the book that you are reading. The iPad definitely scores a big win with the built in dictionary.

The orientation and page turning animation graphic are nice touches, but ultimately this makes no difference to me. I find that this is something that is more a novelty that you would show your friends in order to impress them and say: Hey look how my iPad can mimic paper books the future is now! Blah blah blah. The ability to change the color of the pages to yellow from the bright white is an essential feature. When I first started reading on the iPad I used the white colored pages (the default setting), but I found that this really strained my eyes after a long reading session (even with the screen brightness turned down really low). With the screen brightness turned really low and the paper color turned yellow, this can definitely mitigate eye strain, but it isn’t a panacea.

Another feature that effectively mitigates eye strain is the ability to change the font sizes and typeface. This makes reading on the iPad superior to books. It is superior because the only way to enlarge text when reading a paper book is to move the book closer to your face or wear reading glasses.

So far it seems that I would prefer reading on the iPad to books, but this is not the case. I’m not sure if its because the culture of paper books is so firmly entrenched in my psyche, but books just seem to be a more natural method for reading. As you turn the pages you get a feeling for the texture of the paper that the iPad cant even dream of being able to recreate. Another issue that adds to the books experience is that each paper book has a smell that adds to the reading experience. I cant take credit for this observation. I saw an interview with poet/writer Nikki Giovanni on This is America with Dennis Wholey where Wholey asks her opinion on technology/ebooks/ebook readers. She responds by saying that The ebook wont work until they can find a way; well we already know how to turn the page now[sic], but were going to have to find a way to bring the smell of paper and ink. This was something that I hadn’t thought about until I heard Giovanni make this statement, but now I do notice the smell of books. I think unconsciously I was noticing the smell of books all along. However, after reading on the iPad where no smell is emitted, you do start to miss the smell of paper and ink as Giovanni claims. I suppose smell is one of the most under-appreciated senses always being relegated to a subordinate position to sight and hearing. Giovanni’s explanation is far more robust than this; Ill embed the video of the interview at the end of this article.

One thing that can get irritating on the iPad is that after the 9 hour battery dies you have to plug in the device for recharging. This can be irritating because it interrupts the flow of reading during a long session. I know that this seems like an insignificant point. Im sure many would argue that after 9 hours of reading having to plug the iPad in is not a big issue. However, this can be more irritating than it sounds. Suppose you were reading in a comfortable position on your couch and there is no power outlet near you. You would have to get up from that position and find a spot near an outlet where you can plug in the iPad and continue reading. Now if you cant achieve the same level of comfort in that new spot, you will most likely just stop reading and move on to doing something else. Your reading session has been interrupted. Books don’t suffer from this deficiency. So long as you have a working light you can keep reading for as long as you want.

So which method of reading is superior? This is a very difficult question to answer. I will say that the iPad definitely has clear advantages (all of which have been mentioned above). I don’t think that the iPads advantages necessarily eclipse the advantages of books. Books are low-tech, but they are still effective at disseminating knowledge. I think the reason for ebook popularity is really more of a consequence of novelty rather than efficacy. When we look at both methods objectively the main purpose is to disseminate and read information no matter how high-tech or low-tech the medium is. Both the iPad and paper books serve the purpose of making knowledge accessible, but is one a better method than the other? Really, I don’t think it makes a difference. While it is true that you can buy an ebook and have it downloaded to your device instantly, I don’t think that this necessarily makes the ebook experience more advantageous. Have we really become that impatient as a society that we cant wait a day or two for a paper book to arrive in the mail? Personally, I can wait for the paper version to show up, but that’s just me. The final verdict: I will say that the iPad and ebooks are here to stay, but they will never fully replace paper books. In terms of which method is better really depends on which method is more suitable for the individual.

I will personally be using both the iPad and paper books for reading.

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

iPad vs Books

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/ipad-vs-books/feed/ 5 What Would You Do With a Million Dollars? http://chris.pirillo.com/what-would-you-do-with-a-million-dollars/ http://chris.pirillo.com/what-would-you-do-with-a-million-dollars/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:10:55 +0000 Chris Pirillo http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=15431

What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?

Over on Geeks today, people have been talking about what they’d do if they suddenly won a million dollars. It’s funny to read the answers, and touching as well. Many people would donate to charities, which I would do more of myself if I won that kind of money. I’d also invest plenty of it, [...]

What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?

]]> What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?

Over on Geeks today, people have been talking about what they’d do if they suddenly won a million dollars. It’s funny to read the answers, and touching as well. Many people would donate to charities, which I would do more of myself if I won that kind of money. I’d also invest plenty of it, in order to retire at an early age!

But we all know me, and we all know that I would be going on a massive Geeky shopping spree! There’s so many gadgets and USB gizmos out there that I don’t have yet!! Don’t lie – you know you’d be buying some, as well. So come on… tell us… what would you do if you had a cool million in your bank account?

I had a look through what’s new at our downloads site today. Holy cow there are some excellent pieces of software. Did you realize you can find everything from games to productivity software… for your Windows machine, your Mac AND your phone?

[awsbullet:windows 7 upgrade]

What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/what-would-you-do-with-a-million-dollars/feed/ 5 Is the Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Worth It? http://chris.pirillo.com/is-the-amazon-kindle-ebook-reader-worth-it/ http://chris.pirillo.com/is-the-amazon-kindle-ebook-reader-worth-it/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:21:20 +0000 Chris Pirillo http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=11286

Is the Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Worth It?

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed Note: The Kindle is currently backordered 11 to 13 weeks at Amazon and there are no current coupons. We’ll keep an eye out for Kindle coupons in the new year, but your best bet to get one before then is to [...]

Is the Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Worth It?

]]> Is the Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Worth It?

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

Note: The Kindle is currently backordered 11 to 13 weeks at Amazon and there are no current coupons. We’ll keep an eye out for Kindle coupons in the new year, but your best bet to get one before then is to buy one on eBay…

I’m not sure how many of you are into eBooks, but you may have heard of Amazon’s Kindle. It’s been out for quite awhile now. The Kindle is interesting, in that you can download over 200,000 books instantly including New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases for only $9.99. You can read RSS feeds with it, and access parts of the Internet with it. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed for ambidextrous use so both “lefties” and “righties” can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time.

The screen is good, for reading text. I have never really wanted Kindle, though. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want an eBook reader though. I’ve always been interested in having something to read with me anytime I’m traveling and such. I love having something like this in an offline capacity. I’ve never been really into reading electronic books. Even if I was, I don’t think I’d want a dedicated device for reading them. With a printed book, I can carry it with me. I can donate it to someone else. Heck, I can even just keep it on my bookshelf. The downside of a paper book would be not being able to search for words or phrases, but how often do I need to do that?

Ponzi purchased a Kindle without my even knowing it. She did that because I’m against the eBook thing for a variety of reasons, including the whole DRM thing. If I were to get into reading eBooks, I’d likely read them on my iPhone. It’s absolutely true that the screen and battery on the Kindle are better, yes. However, which am I more likely to carry with me wherever I go – the iPhone or the Kindle? Yeah, the iPhone is going to win that battle.

Another reason I don’t like the Kindle is due to a few engineering mistakes as I like to call them. The Kindle has a mini USB port – but it doesn’t charge this way. You have to charge it with an AC adaptor. Are you kidding me? If you ask me, that’s just crazy.

Ponzi loves her Kindle, that’s for sure. The reviews on Amazon are great… 4 stars out of more than 7000 reviews. She has proven my point though. Even though she loves the Kindle, she never takes it with her. She does, however, take her iPhone with her everywhere.

There’s a large debate as to whether eBooks are the wave of the future. I think I’d be a lot more interested in this idea if there were an open market for the content, or the ability to read the text wherever I may be – on any platform I should choose. That’s not possible at this moment, thanks to things like DRM.

Here are the most frequently tagged Kindle items on Amazon:

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

Is the Amazon Kindle eBook Reader Worth It?

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