How to Pick the E-Book Reader that is Right For You
People who are thinking of buying a device to read e-books face a bewildering range of options and choices. Sadly, people buy a device before they really understand what e-books are, and how they work, and which devices are best for which kind of e-book or e-publication. I was reading a publication about all these issues and there is contained in the document a helpful summary of the differences across e-book devices, smartphone and tablets. I’ll summarize that information below, and provide some short, to-the-point advice.
E-Readers (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, etc.)
Primary User Interaction: Consume e-books
Display size: Medium
Display font: grayscale
Display speed: slow
Connectivity: 3G and/or wireless
Battery life: Long
Outdoor use: Excellent
Best content match: Books in linear format (straight running text)
Is a dedicated e-book reader right for you? If your primary interest, mind you, *primary* interest is reading e-books, a dedicated e-reader is the way to go. The display is very easy on the eyes. They are light. They have become more fast. They can be used, easily, in bright sunshine or anywhere where the ambient light is strong and there is no glare. They are the closest thing to reading an actual page in an actual book. BUT…if you want to do *anything* more than read e-books you will quickly be frustrated with dedicated e-book readers, like the Kindle and Nook, to whatever degree they offer you internet access, the interface is very difficult to manage. If you want more than e-book reading function, then you should consider a tablet.
Smartphones
Primary User Interaction: Communication
Display size: small
Display format: color, increasingly in very high resolution
Display speed: Fast
Connectivity: Full voice/graphics on 3 and 4 G networks, where available
Battery life: short
Outdoor use: Fair to poor
Best content match: News and single media
Is a smartphone the best choice for you? It’s kind of a moot point, since most smartphones will make it possible for you to install an application, like the Kindle app, and you can read e-books on your smartphone. If you prefer a small, compact, all-in-one device that also makes it possible for you to read books, the smartphone will, by default, be your best choice.
Tablets
Primary user interaction: Engagement in media experience
Display size: medium
Display format: color in increasingly high resolution
Connectivity: Full data
Battery life: medium
Best content match: magazines/multimedia
Is a tablet the best choice for you? If you want more than a simple e-book reader, like having access to the Internet, easily, for checking/responding to e-mail, or texting, or if you intend to consume a lot of multimedia, such as movies and music, and you want a larger display size, a tablet is right for you. But, be prepared, reading books on a tablet is not as pleasant as on, for example, a Kindle. There is glare and you are reading a backlit display. It is nearly impossible to use it outside, even in the shade.
Based on this information, here are my recommendations:
My recommendation for dedicated e-book reader: Kindle, hands down the best choice.
My recommendation for a smartphone that does it all? iPhone
My recommendation for a tablet? iPad, though I do not consider the iPad the best choice for straight reading of books though.
I absolutely love my Kindle for straight reading (I’m going to sit down and read this book), but for something you might do a lot of cross-referencing within (like TLSB or BOC) it’s not as handy as hard copy or even a website like bookofconcord.com
For me the lack of internet connectivity in the Kindle was a plus. The objective was to read more books — the last thing I needed was another device to connect me to the internet!
I have Kindle, iPhone, iPad and laptop (as a side note I work in computers so all but the Kindle are work tools as well!).
The Kindle ROCKS for reading. Simple as that. And your eyes will love you – not being backlit it doesn’t assault you.
I have also read many books on the kindle, and even 4-5 on the iPhone. Iphone is annoying – always turning pages. Always
. Ipad is awesome – but is also a mult use device, so it can be too easy to put the book down and check email or news reader – without putting anything down. Also the backlit screen is utterly useless outside, or even in an overly bright room.
Kindle hands down for simple reading. Everything else, iPad, but you better be inside.
Out of interest, I’ve been reading the book of concord on my Kindle (I made the books myself from the bookofconcord site), and it makes it easy to read, and also when your brain is full, to change to something lighter for a while….
Drewe
I think that, as time goes by, we’re going to see the boundaries between these three categories growing less and less well-defined. I have a couple of blogs that I follow on my Kindle (including this one), but I do find that if I want to make a comment or access any links or videos posted here I have to go to my trusty PC. I did, the other day, download what looks like a very serviceable agenda program for my Kindle, and I’ve seen a couple of other productivity/office management tools offered for use.
I just bought a Kindle 3 and it arrived April 28th. Since then, it’s a great device to read books and short documents. The Internet is an experimental part on the Kindle 3 and is kind of frustrating to work with. Perhaps add a jack for a mini-mouse to a future edition of the Kindle because the 4-way key is rather awkward to manuever around on the screen.
However, a calculator application and a notes application have been added to the Kindle so the edges are already blurring. It can play games, too.
Several books from CPH are now on the Kindle:
THE LUTHERAN STUDY BIBLE
LUTHERANISM 101
THE LUTHERAN DIFFERENCE
THE FLOOD
WHY I AM A LUTHERAN
LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM and
THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE CROSS.
Other Lutheran writings include
The Book of Concord (1921 edition)
The Anti-Christ by Martin Luther
Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther
Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional with Martin Luther’s writings from Zondervan
Just bought an android smart phone. Downloaded my collection of books via the Kindle app. When it came to trying to open the Treasury of Prayer, the app self-destructed. Could it be (dare I say it) the power of prayer?
Could be the size of the book overwhelmed your phone’s memory capacity. Might want to check into that so you know how large a book you can attempt to load.
Always love Kindle as Amazon backed this device up. Thanks
Well, couldn’t resist any longer, got a Kindle over the weekend. I am loving every bit of it. Initially I decided against the $114 “special offering” edition, but in the end I decided to save a few bucks and truthfully, the ads aren’t a big deal at all, especially since they never show up when one is reading.
This is one amazing device, Amazon has a winner in the Kindle!
Now, to decide which CPH eBook to purchase first!
Christine