With kindle e-books surpassing paperback book sales on amazon.com recently, I’ve been thinking it’s time to make the transition to where the future is heading.
I’ve probably purchased 20-40 books a year for the past 10 years and have put a hold on physical book purchases until I figure out what I’m doing. I can’t see myself really investing more into physical books as it just adds clutter and can’t be great for the environment.
The pluses for switching gears to ebooks is centralizing my library, search-ability, digital annotations, and instant delivery.
Other things to note in my research is that I desecrate any book I’m into with major highlighting and margin notes. I also own an iPhone 4 which I love and becomes a factor in this potential next gadget purchase. Also some of this will be from a Canadian perspective.
I know most people will say that this is an apples and oranges comparison (and yes the iPad does SO much more) but for my particular needs it’s worth weighing the options.
If you’re making similar considerations here’s what the latest I’ve discovered so far.
Price
The Kindle’s actually quite a deal I think at $139. It’s not available in any stores in Canada however and must be shipped out of the u.s. and after all the shipping and other fees it’s more like $166. Tack on another $60 if you’re looking into the 3G version. Amazon’s 3G whispernet is quite awesome in that there’s no extra fees for it’s usage.
iPad will run me somewhere between $740 CAD after tax as I’d likely opt for the middle-ground 32GB version without the 3G in this scenario (I just can’t see an iPad with less memory than my current phone)
The other pricing issue that came up in my research was that amazon was adding a $2 “wireless delivery charge” to all books. From what I can tell as of mid-last year this has been dropped though some people have been saying the extra $2 fee for non-u.s. residents seems to be incorporated into the price of some selections.
Either way from what I can tell both kindle or ibooks offers selections for $2-6 cheaper than the print versions so there should be some long term savings here as well.
Selection
Kindle is the clear winner hear as they have over 800,000 titles currently compared to iBooks 130,000. However in Canada from what I can tell there is currently 530,000 (only) on kindle and surely less available on the iPad as from what I can tell much of it has to do with distribution rights and other regulatory nuisances.
Form-factor
The original kindle was the most awful looking device ever and turned me off from ever considering the device till now. It looks much sharper now though the keys still look a bit silly. One thing I don’t like about the iPad is that it’s thick and heavy (when compared to your typical e-reader). I imagine it getting tiring holding after a while. The kindle is about 3 times lighter and thinner. Because it’s a lot simpler device, the kindle seems a lot more portable and durable.
Readability
The e-ink on the Kindle is a massive plus when I’m lasering in on this being an e-reader comparison. Reading seems far more soothing on it, though I’ve had no issues staring all day at a bring LCD screen either. The downside on the e-ink is while it’s great in the sunlight and very low on batteries – it’s not backlit at all and there goes any reading i’d do in the dark in bed.
Accessibility
Kindle books work just about everywhere, pc, mac, and even on the iPhone/iPad. iBooks are exclusive to iOS. They both have similar DRM rules of 5-6 devices. (I’m a bit bummed that I don’t see ebooks as conducive to ‘sharing’ with others as paper books though).
A big downer on Kindle’s end is that while it can read PDF’s now, they haven’t opened up epub access. This only matters to me because the Toronto Public Library absolutely rocks and they’re getting an increasingly awesome selection of ebooks for downloading/borrowing – and they seem to work on just about every device (iPad with the overdrive app) except the Kindle. This makes me sad. I guess there’s no real direct financial advantage to amazon making this available but it sure would help swing my vote.
* I’ve discovered there’s an open-source application called calibre that can help convert file formats if they are not DRM protected.
Note taking
As mentioned notes are a huge deal for me. Whenever I read books, I highlight and make notes throughout and then I review my notes afterwards. This process is really important to me as it narrows down everything that matters to me in a book. From what I can tell iBooks is intuitive and easy enough though I think it could use a tad more work on the way it’s listed when you want to review them.
The Kindle has highlighting and note taking capabilities, but it’s just that. It’s far from slick. The lack of a touch screen and having to cursor around the words with that clicky pad seems very cumbersome and might deter me from the whole point of reading the book unless I can quickly get use to it.
Other notes on the Kindle
The battery life at a full month seems awesome. I love that there’s some basic web access for free. I can see myself browsing wikipedia quite often. It appears you can browse just about any text in black & white however with the lack of a touch screen or a mouse it seems barely usable. Great for emergencies, but I doubt I’d use the feature much as neat as it is.
Other notes on the iPad
I’m sold on iOS it’s slick and works well, and again it does so much more. At the same time though having an iPhone I feel I can do just about all the ‘other stuff’ on my phone while being much more accessible as I always have it with me. I could really see my kids loving the iPad though. I’ve seen some great apps as educational aids that I have doubt my kids would enjoy. Besides that I might use it for some light mobile computing when I’m out and about.
On the future of these devices
Kindle 4 rumors seen to indicate that it’s next release won’t be till 1Q 2012. People seem to be debating whether it will offer color or a touch screen. I couldn’t care less for color – touch screen for my note taking would make it a winner for me, though I’ve been reading some say that it’ll require a lot higher refresh rate and may kill it’s great battery life.
iPad2 seems right around the corner with a release before summer this year. Leaks so far seem to indicate that it will be very slightly lighter and thinner, similar screen, faster, and with cameras. If I went down the iPad route I’d wait for version two.
Conclusions
Okay, after all the research this evening, I’m still torn unfortunately. One interesting tidbit I found was that 40% of iPad owners actually also own a Kindle. I suppose the price of the Kindle is affordable enough that it can be treated as an accessory to an iPad for when people strictly feel like reading. Still, the thought of another device to lug around doesn’t appeal to me.
What to do… what to do… anyone else have any insight to add to this debate? I’ve heard of fanatical users for both products.
Update: A few thoughts now that I’ve had a chance to touch the iPad 2. It’s a nice product. People complain about it not having retina, but it’s still a beautiful screen, it’s much snappier, and the touch experience is quite impressive. I’m considering getting it for my mom – for myself however it’s still too heavy as an e-reader. I can’t quite hold it with just my thumb and index finger at the corner of the iPad 2. If it wasn’t propped up somewhere, I would still generally need to use two hands with it.
If I was to use it as more than an ereader it would remain a consumption device and still can’t see it fitting my workflow.
At the moment I’m waiting to see what the Kindle 4 delivers. There are rumors of android apps integration, though I’m concerned the product would become less focused, become pricier, and have the same weight issues as the iPad2 if they do so. That or a further slimmed down iPad 3.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
What about the kobo or Sony e-Reader? I’ve heard good things about Sony’s e-Reader in particular and both the kobo and Sony e-Reader support ePub.
Thanks for the research. What about the Kobo from Indigo/Chapters?
What about the Kindle or Kobo app for the iPad? Price of e-books are worth considering here as well. I’ve purchased an ebook from amazon.com only b/c is was $8 cheaper than Kobo? I did not get charged an obvious $2 fee and was not charged taxes. It was a great deal as the hard cover book ended up being $24.99 + taxes.
I’m personally waiting for the next generation of all the devices this year before I make my own decision.
I think part of my concern with the other devices was their selection and the future support of these products. I haven’t looked into Sony too much but kobo got a number of bad reviews in usability – I’ve tried it in store and it feels a bit cheap and not quite as crisp as kindle’s pearl e-ink.
If I went the iPad route i’d probably use the kindle app over iBooks or maybe even interchangeably depending on price.
And jeff – yeah Things will only get better with time. Maybe it’s because I’ve put all potential book purchases on hold that I’m anxious
I am using the Kobo app for the iPad and quite enjoy it; although, I don’t have the advantage of comparing it with Kindle’s E Ink Pearl which does sound impressive. My hope is that Kobo’s iPad app will continue to evolve. I’m not going to lug around two devices…that’s for sure.
For whatever it’s worth, I love my iPad. I totally understand the internal debate, but it seems to me you’d be able to do most of what you want to do on it.
Like you say, I would wait a week or two, though — rumor boards are going crazy saying iPad2 details are coming out very soon!
P.S. I am writing this from my iPad, laying in bed. Lol
Thanks for this. We are in *exactly* the same predicament, although I myself have all but pulled the trigger on the Kindle. The thing that swayed it for me was that I want an e-reader. It’s arguable that the iPad *is* a reader, and much more, but to me, that’s part of the downside. I had the pleasure of using an iPad for the entire summer last year, and among the things I did was read a book (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). I can tell you that while I found the experience of an e-reader to be great (I read more, in more places than before), I did find the iPad heavy, particularly when reading in bed, and I found it distracting in that I was always interrupted by email coming in, the lure of the internet, and what have you. Personally, I also found that in spite of the fact that I stare at LCDs all day and am quite used to it, it was still hard on the eyes, and I found I didn’t want to look at the screen anymore after a while. I don’t know why you couldn’t read in bed with a Kindle… just turn a little book light on.
Kindle on the other hand is a single purpose device, and if you want to read, that’s what it’s good for. I have used a Kobo reader, so I know what the e-ink screens are like, and they’re FAR nicer to read with in my opinion. Finally, I’m like you and like to take notes, and I don’t think note taking will be easy on either device. I didn’t take a single note in anything I’ve read on a reader so far, and it’s because compared to putting a pencil down and jotting, it’s quite a process to navigate menus, select text and type. I think of all things, that’s the real downfall of any reader. Anyway, sorry for prattling on. I’d love to hear what your opinion is of whatever you do buy. Good luck!
Sean – Have you found the kobo has a better selection than what kindle or ipad has? I guess what’s great about the iPad is you have your choices of ebook stores you’ll go with.
Josh I’d definitely hold out for the ipad2 if that’s how things swing… though now I’m hearing rumors of a potential ipad3 release in the fall already?
Martin, I figured there would be others in the same boat. Thanks for really sharing your thoughts here.
Part of the debate is definitely between the quality single purpose device versus the generic multipurpose device. I think Kindle still offers the better reading experience – with the e-ink and lightness with the right price-point – and the iPad opens the world to a whole world of goodness in addition to e-reading.
The note-taking and highlighting though is a bit of a deal-breaker for me at the moment on the kindle. Watching some of the youtube videos on it feels unbearable. It’s actually quite intuitive and slick on the iPad. I have a horrible memory and I don’t feel like i’ve read a book unless i’ve marked it up or highlighted it for review, so it’s quite important for me.
I think I need to sit back for a while and pray the iPad gets a lot thinner and lighter – or the kindle gains touch capabilities. I hope it’s not a long wait.
If you’re looking for a mini-computer then the ipad is pretty slick.
If you mostly just want to read (and maybe check email) then the Kindle is great. It’s easy to read in bed, or bright daylight (unlike my ipod). I bought the Kobo but returned it because it’s just too difficult to jump to different parts of a book. I bought the Kindle instead and it kicks Kobo’s a$$.
I buy my ebooks from Amazon either from my computer or through my wireless connection and haven’t noticed any $2 charges.
Hey Mailis, thanks for chiming in. How have you found highlighting and note-taking – do you do it at all, or is it too cumbersome to bother?
The ipad is meant for movies games and media, the kindle is meant for reading. So in a ‘which is the best reader’ question, the kindle will always win. It has eink which makes it a superior reader. It should really be compared to a kobo or a sony reader for a better ‘reader vs reader’ comparison. The kindle is also cheaper, especially if you order it from the international amazon store, though its a bit tricky. I outline how to do it on my website http://www.kindlecanada.fh.ca/ check it out.
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