Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"Reading on an iPad is better than a Kindle, a study by Nielsen Norman has found."

image credit: iPhone App Freelancer

An interesting study found that reading on an iPad was faster than on a Kindle, but both were slower than reading from paper. The iPad beat the Kindle in usability, with more clearly defined fonts, and an easier to understand page marker. In an enjoyability scale, the iPad won, followed by the Kindle, with traditional books last. Interesting but odd mixture of quantitative and qualitative statistics, with no indication of sample size or how the study was conducted. I prefer reading on the iPad over the Kindle, but still find that I'm still reading a lot of paper books.

"Add Google to the list of companies planning an ebook service. The Internet giant's Google Editions service could be up and running as early as June, the Mountain View, Calif. company told publishers Tuesday. Google would compete with Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble for the growing audience of electronic readers."

The big difference here, between Google, iBook, Amazon and Barnes & Noble is that the "Google Editions" is going to be available from any browser, and not just on a particular device like the iPad or Kindle. Another twist to all this is that Google Editions will be sold through other websites so you aren't tied to a particular site such as Amazon.com or the iBook store. I prefer to have my books on a reader so I don't have to depend on an Internet connection to read them so I will have no interest in this, what are your thoughts? 

"Amazon announced Tuesday that it will be releasing a Kindle app for the Mac platform. Like its Windows cousin, Kindle for Mac will allow users to read Kindle content on their Macs. A standalone Kindle hardware device is not needed, but for those users with a Kindle reader can sync that content with their readers."

It is available now at Amazon. So far I'm pretty happy with it, it is very responsive and simple to use. They are also planning on having a version for the iPad so it looks like I will be selling my Kindle 2 after all.

"Amazon has caved to Macmillan's demands that it raise the prices it charges for Kindle books to as much as $15. What does this mean for Amazon?"

Well I think it means they saw the writing on the wall with the iPad looming on the horizon. You may or may not have seen the story, about Amazon.com pulling titles from Macmillan due to a feud over pricing, Macmillan wanting their books priced dynamically, from $5.99USD to $14.99 USD instead of the usual $9.99 USD pricing the Amazon.com Kindle store uses (which they lose money on I'm told). Now Amazon.com has relented and agreed to the request. I think it is like all things, the pricing should reflect what the market will bear. That is the way a free market economy, or as close to a free market economy we can get with all the government intervention, should work. Ultimately the consumer will dictate what prices the books will be sold at, which is the way it should be. What are your thoughts?

"Barnes & Noble today alerted Nook buyers that new orders now won't ship until December 11th (subscription required). The delay from the original November 30th date follows a recent push back for some until December 7th and is credited by spokeswoman Ellen Keating to sales that have "surpassed our expectations." The book retailer hasn't said how many pre-orders it has taken."

Kindle killer may be a bit dramatic, but competition is a good thing, especially in a market where one product has been dominating. This is the case when it comes to e-book readers and the Kindle. I know, I know, Sony has had one for awhile, but the Kindle has been dominating so if this shakes up the status quo I'm all for it! The key, in my opinion, is the infrastructure surrounding it and if they make it as easy as Amazon has done with the Kindle.

"Following Amazon's announcement of Kindle software for Windows users, the company has acknowledged that it is also working on a Mac version, according to Fast Company."

It's well documented that I love my Kindle, as well as the accompanying iPhone app. This is welcome news, since I was a little disappointed that when they announced the Windows 7 version, a Mac version wasn't mentioned. I don't know how much I would use it since I have my Kindle in my laptop bag, but I'm all for having options.

"Amazon.com slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader, likely in response to vigorous competition from manufacturers such as Sony and the prospect of a huge battle with Apple in 2010."

That is if Apple comes out with a tablet, which seems to be at the forefront of the rumor mill these days. Regardless, the drop is to $259.00 USD for the regular Kindle, $279.00 USD if you want the one tied to 3G and able to download content while in the US as well as about 100 other countries. 

"Amazon's Kindle app for iPhone [App Store link] was updated this week to include, among other things, landscape mode! Hooray! Additionally, you can change the color of both the text and the background. I like the "Sepia" option; it's similar to the way Classics looks."

This is sure a welcome update. I have played with this app a bit, and I really like the what they have done with it, especially the syncing with the books I already have on my Kindle. Now that they have landscape available I may end up using it even more. The update also allows you to flip back and forth through the pages by touching either side of the screen.

"Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today launched a Kindle Store optimized for the Safari Web browser on iPhone. Now when users of the Kindle for iPhone app click on "Get Books," the new Kindle Store tailored for the size and shape of the iPhone and iPod touch screens automatically opens in Safari. This optimized Kindle store offers iPhone and iPod touch app users quick and easy access to the Kindle Store's 280,000 books, including 106 of 112 New York Times Best Sellers and most New Releases that are available for $9.99 or less."

The only knock I had on the Kindle App was that it didn't have a good mechanism for getting content onto the app; you had to browse the store through Safari and an interface that was anything but intuitive. Now, however, things are much easier and Amazon, as usual, did a hell of a job on the UI (it's very similar to their iPhone version of the web site). Basically, if you can live with reading books on the small screen, the iPhone could replace the Kindle if you wanted to (I don't, but it's a decent companion; no one can have my Kindle. Ever!).

"Kindle for iPhone allows Apple iPhone and iPod touch owners to read Kindle books using a simple, easy-to-use interface. You can shop for hundreds of thousands books at www.amazon.com/kindlestore, and wirelessly transfer the books to your iPhone or iPod Touch."

I'm impressed. I downloaded it last night to try it out and I like it. It'll never replace my Kindle, and the reading experience is "ok," not great, but I'm starting to understand the point about the device you have with you rather than the perfect device for the job. My Kindle doesn't get carried with me regularly, but I'm never without my iPhone unless I'm in bed and even then, it's right next to me on the night table.

On the iTunes store, the blurb says that book marks and positions are sync'ed across multiple devices. Maybe it's because I have a Kindle 1, but it doesn't do that. Kind of a bummer, but no big deal. I always finish off a chapter so it's easy enough for me to pick up where I left off. If they fix that, it would be killer.

"Although Amazon's Kindle is great device that helps sell content and add revenue for Amazon, the move to offer content on other devices makes sense. Not everyone is going to plunk down $400 for a dedicated eBook reader. Most of those same folks do however, already own a capable mobile phone handset. Why not add those devices to the potential revenue stream?"

Just because a device can do something, doesn't mean it should. I have a Kindle. It's one of my favorite tech devices ever and has made numerous plane trips much better for me. I can't even imagine reading a full length book on something the size of the iPhone. The idea just makes me cringe. Secondly, the e-ink screen makes reading infinitely easier to begin with. It's much easier on the eyes, and works great in sunlight. Just try and do that with any LCD display device.

The Kindle's greatness isn't based in the fact that it's an ebook reader, it's in the way it does it. The big e-ink screen, wireless connectivity, and insane battery life make it a fantastic device for reading books on a flight or anywhere else for that matter. I just don't see the iPhone being a great book reader. It may work as a substitute for some people, but I have a feeling those people are just rationlizing not spending on a keyboard, but not having a really good experience.