Study: most e-book readers too "old," limited
updated 12:50 pm EST, Fri January 29, 2010
Research says iPad a better fit than Kindle
Despite common assumptions, a device like Apple's iPad may be better-suited to current readers than dedicated devices like the Amazon Kindle, a new University of Georgia study says. Young adults who tried the Kindle described it as "old" and felt it was too limited compared to their smartphones, which have touchscreens, media playback and third-party apps. Older readers are more receptive but note that news delivery on the Kindle is still limited and omits components they like, such as crossword puzzles or all the secondary sections of a physical newspaper.
All age groups also objected to the price of the Kindle at a size and resolution suited to newspapers. At $489, the Kindle DX was considered too expensive solely to read news. An e-book reader like the Sony Reader Daily Edition adds a touchscreen and costs less at $399.
Published just two days before the launch of the iPad, the study unintentionally supports the new hardware's approach to reading as it would address both the smartphone-level app platform and media features as well as older users' desires for games. Apple isn't known to have developed a news delivery system for its iBooks shop but provides a full web browser as well as support for reading apps from publishers.
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Joined: Oct 1999
Agree, but....
Honestly, I've always thought the Kindle looked clunky especially with the physical keys on the bottom. For a device that is primarily used for reading eBooks, the keyboard -which is rarely actually used - seems to be excessive taking up a lot of real estate to dominate the front of the Kindle. I assumed the reason Amazon had included the keyboard was out of necessity due to the limits of eInk screens. However, it appears this is not the case given that Sony's Reader line offers touchscreen models.
First, let me say I like the iPad and see one in my future. But, something that nobody appears to be commenting on regarding the iPad as a readers is it's backlit display. There's a reason that almost all the readers in the world use the eInk technology - reading on a backlit display for long periods of time is very hard on the eyes. The eInk technology evolved because of this problem, it's not old technology like grayscale backlit screens.
So in addition to an iPad in my future, I also see a Kindle, but I'll be waiting for Amazon update the device to include a touchscreen and eliminate the physical keyboard. I also expect Amazon will drop the price on the DX model.
I can see myself using the Kindle app on the iPad for those times when I might not have my Kindle with me - whisper sync is pretty slick - but this will be for short periods of time. I also think it's important to acknowledge that once you buy the Kindle, you won't have any network (3G) access fees whatsoever that's a pretty amazing deal. That being said, I don't think it's a one to one comparison for the pre-paid 3G on the iPad, after all, the iPad, by it's very nature, will utilize the network much heavier.
I've held that people that complain about the device not having a color display (which still requires backlight) or is too limiting, are not heavy readers.