Editorial: iPad just a more complete experience

A recent study from the Nielsen Norman Group found that those who read books on an e-reader tend to get through content more slowly than those who read actual books. It also found that, on a scale of 1 to 7, Apple's iPad provides the best reading experience out of all e-readers with a 5.8 rating. It was closely followed by Amazon's Kindle, which tallied a 5.7 rating. Many still gave the nod to paper, which remained the fastest to read of all.

Of course, some hardcover fans quickly took this to mean that Nielsen Norman's study proves their point: e-books are great, but nothing can replace standard books. The problem with those folks is that they're very short-sighted. And they fail to realize that although some people like to read books the old way, Apple's iPad delivers an experience that simply trumps any other reading option out there -- for now, at least.

It's not hard to see conspicious advantages. The device has a big, 9.7-inch screen, its display is vibrant and easily readable, and perhaps most importantly, it supports color, graphics, and just about anything else a publisher can throw at it. If you want more than just a book, it's certainly your first choice.

The Amazon Kindle, its clearest competition, isn't such a bad device either. As the first wildly successful e-reader, the Kindle delivers arguably the most book-like experience of any device on the market. Thanks to E Ink, reading a title is easy on the eyes, and the text is closest to what you'll get from real paper without having to stock a library.

But there are two major issues with the Kindle. For one, flipping through pages with the press of a button isn't ideal. Moreover, any e-paper display takes a brief second for the next page to load; it isn't all that annoying for short stints, but over the course of a chapter or a book it bogs down. And as you'd expect, a grayscale display limits its usability by its very nature. All those graphics and colored displays are gone. It's simply a collection of text.

The same can be said for Barnes and Noble's Nook. Although it's starting to sell well for the book retailer, it can't compare with Apple's iPad on any level other than battery life. It's simply another Kindle with a touchscreen and a pair of options thrown in to make it different. It's a single-purpose device; an isolated experience where you can't have the full context of a book.

When it comes to reading beyond paper, viability goes beyond simply looking at text and flipping through pages. The iPad, unlike its competition, is more than just an e-reader. Users can get out of the book, look up something they just read on the Internet, and get back to it. Admittedly, the Kindle has an experimental Web browser, but as those who have actually used the device know, it's not even worth loading up.

Before we crown the iPad king, it's also worth noting that both Barnes and Noble and Amazon deliver apps for the iPhone and iPad that allow users to access their e-book libraries and read content on those devices. They do a good job of matching iBooks. Most consumers will find the simplicity of iBooks more viable than using Amazon's service, but even if they don't, the iPad gives them a choice of stores; for all of Apple's reputation for closed systems, its e-reader is the most open.

The e-reader market is tough to gauge. Not only does it change quickly -- a basic reader now costs $150 -- but it commonly delivers products that, to many, seem awfully similar. But upon using all the major products in the space, and comparing them to real books and each other, it quickly becomes apparent that Apple's iPad is just the more complete experience; it starts where other book formats, even paper, often stop.

By Don Reisinger

By Electronista Staff