iBook Questions

[masonfoley]

Hello everyone. I'm absolutely new to the Mac world, been a PC guy my entire life. My wife is wanting a Kindle, she loves to read, but I'm thinking she'll enjoy an iPad even more.

She'll be interested in the iBook the most. How does is rate compared to Kindle for libraries, book storage, possible free cache of books provided from various sites, and so forth?

I would really appreciate as many details as people might have. I have looked at the Apple website and it looks very interesting.

Regards, MasonFoley

 

[DUTCH VanAtlanta]

Hello everyone. I'm absolutely new to the Mac world, been a PC guy my entire life. My wife is wanting a Kindle, she loves to read, but I'm thinking she'll enjoy an iPad even more.

She'll be interested in the iBook the most. How does is rate compared to Kindle for libraries, book storage, possible free cache of books provided from various sites, and so forth?

I would really appreciate as many details as people might have. I have looked at the Apple website and it looks very interesting.

Regards, MasonFoley

The iPad can get quite heavy for reading, although I don't know how it compares to the Kindle for weight.

The iPad also has a free Kindle app, so you can have both on the iPad. The nice thing about the iBook app is that you can download a free sample of the book to see if you want to buy the whole thing. I have not found that feature on the Kindle, but just could be missing it some how.

Both the iBook and the Kindle apps on the iPad seem to be pretty much the same when it comes to actual reading; although I still prefer an actual paper book over either the iBook or the Kindle. I usually wait for a book to come out in paperback before purchasing; and that option is definitely less expensive than either the iBook or the Kindle purchase.

 

[MattIM]

iBook, Kindle, Nook, etc

The absolute best thing about reading books on the iPad is that you have a choice. If you go with a Kindle or a manufacture specific product you are somewhat limited to the books available for that device.

But with the iPad you can get all of the ebook readers available for the iPad. Shopping for books is really easy too. If you find a book in iBook, then you can go to the Kindle app and see what that book costs from Amazon, or Barnes & Noble's Nook or Border's e-Books, etc. So far, the Kindle app has many more titles than iBook. If the book is available in iBook, it is probably cheaper at Kindle.

All of the apps offer excerpts from the book you are interested in acquiring. Most allow you to have this sample to download and read offline.

There are readability issues with iPad versus competitor devices. Those include the weight of the iPad, usually heavier than other devices. Screen resolution and brightness and different presentation, ie backlit (iPad) versus another e-ink technology (kindle). Color versus black and white. Etc.

 

[vickiec]

I don't have a Kindle, but I have a Nook and my Ipad and read on both. I read mostly on my Nook because of the size, it is smaller and weighs less the the Ipad. It is actually about the size of a paperback. But there is a need for a book light or some kind of light when you read in dim lighting as it is not backlit like the Ipad is. So at night I read on the Ipad. I also tried reading in a car once on my Ipad, but it was impossibea because of the glare from sun. I think they make a screen protector that is anti glare but I haven't tried one yet. The books in the Istore seem to be more expensive but you can always download from another site and covert it to the iBook app.

Good luck with your decisions,maybe just let her choose.

 

[wrecklass]

I love linking up with other book lovers.

The Kindle is far smaller and easier to read in direct sunlight or anywhere you can read a paper book. The iPad is great in low light conditions but is much heavier and a lot bigger. The Kindle would fit in her purse, the iPad won't likely.

I've done a lot of searches and the Amazon Kindle store has far more books available than Apple's iBook Store.

The good news is with the Kindle App on the PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android you can read Kindle books just about anywhere you happen to be. iBooks are readable on the iPad, period. Unless you get non-DRM books which is rare for new books and best sellers.

My wife has a Kindle (well, we both do actually) and you couldn't pry it out of her hands. She loves the small size and light weight for her purse and having every book she wants in the small form factor. To be honest, she wouldn't be very happy holding the iPad for hours while reading. It's that heavy.

The size of book files is so small it really doesn't matter which device you have. The Kindle 3 with 4GB of memory can store several thousand books easily. Unless your wife can read a book every hour, I suspect the storage won't be an issue.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[Elminster]

I agree with all the above. Although I have retired my Sony prs505 in favour of the iPad, mainly because I read a lot of oreilly manuals rather than novels. I have iBooks and kindle apps installed but I use stanza to read PDF manuals. I also have txtr which is the only app I have come across that can display adobe digital edition books.

I think glare is a personal thing, I have had no trouble reading in sunlight but would agree that my e-ink Sony is easy and probably less eye strain.

 

[muyoso]

I read on the iPad all of the time, and I really like the experience. If however, I just wanted an ebook reader, I would pick up one of those $140 Kindles in a heartbeat. They are incredibly thin and light and have great reviews. You have to ask yourself if your wife is going to be playing games, browsing the web, checking email, etc on the device. If the answer is no or maybe, then its probably not worth spending 400 dollars more for a heavier device which is too large to tuck in a purse and take with you on the go.

 

[BrennB]

Just to add, kindle does allow a partial/trial download so you can decide if you want the whole book....and along with iPhone and android also offers Blackberry and windows mobile editions.

 

[hightimes]

I’m pretty sure any free book you can get for the Kindle (Guttenberg, manybooks.net) you can also get for the iPad.

If you’re just after an e-Reader I’d go with the Kindle based on its size/weight. If you want something that does a little of everything (and are willing to pay the extra) the iPad’s the better bet.

 

[arshield]

If she wants a kindle, get a kindle. I have both and I read a lot. I do not like reading on ipad. I love reading on kindle. Get both if you think that you would like the ipad. I love my ipad, but I do not like it for reading.

I also strongly recommend kindle over Nook or Sony, mostly because of library size, stability of the company, best current feature set and ability to read on a number of other devices (iphone, blackberry, computer, Mac, iPad, etc.)

 

[arshield]

Also Amazon has been giving away about 40-50 books a month (new books, not public domain). These are promotions, ususally early books in a series and often only available for a few days a time. Most people would be able to fine at least 4 or 5 a month that they would read. Nook also has some free books, but not as many.

 

[psmoore]

I have the Nook and the iPad and prefer the iPad to read books on. I haven't used any other reader, but the person who suggested the iPad is probably right. Then you can download all the different companies readers and buy from where you want. I've heard that the Kindle has more books then then the Nook. Not sure about the Kindle, but with the Nook you can access alot of public libraries that have ebooks (a few of them have thousands of books that you can "check out" and after a set time frame the books disappear off your nook). Good luck with your choice.

 

[papasue]

I downloaded both the ibook and the kindle app. After searching for books, mostly free ones I found more, better books for the Kindle on Amazon. I've downoaded two books so far, it was easy and both books work fine.

Just another opinion. The nice thing about FREE apps is that you can try them both!!!