Ever since Steve Jobs first announced iBooks for the iPad, pundits have been wondering about the future of the Kindle and similar e-book readers in the face of this new competition. Now that we actually have access to an iPad, we had a chance to take a closer look at both the iBooks and Amazon’s Kindle for iPad apps. We are still waiting for the B&N iPad app, but both iBooks and iPad for Kindle already highlight the iPad’s potential as an e-book reader. iBooks It doesn’t come as a surprise that Apple managed to develop the prettier e-reader app. Switching from the iBooks store – which looks a lot like the App Store – to your bookshelf is done through a nifty animation. Newly downloaded books and samples smoothly slide into the bookshelf and thanks to a faux 3d look and a page-flip animation, the app itself mimics the look and feel of a book. When you click on a book in your shelf, it flips open and zoom to the page you left off. Flipping the iPad to landscape mode switches iBooks from displaying on page per screen to a more book-like two-page view. Given how wide the iPad’s screen its, this makes it a lot easier to read as the individual lines are much shorter. With regards to customization, iBooks allows its users to change the size of the font, but also the font itself (Baskerville, Cochin, Palatino, Times New Roman and Verdana). You can also set the screen brightness right from within any book, which is great for reading at night. As far as we can see, however, you can …
Categorized | Kindle
iBooks for iPad vs. Kindle for iPad
Posted on 06 September 2010.
18 Responses to “iBooks for iPad vs. Kindle for iPad”
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Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6"
The all-new Kindle has a new lectronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with a 21 percent smaller body while still keeping the same 6-inch-size reading area, and a 17 percent lighter weight at just 8.5 ounces. The new Kindle also offers 20 percent faster page turns, up to one month of battery life, double the storage to 3,500 books, built-in Wi-Fi, a graphite color option and moreâall for only $139.
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Can you put your own ebooks onto kindles or into the kindle app?
@jordanems Wouldn’t that be the iPhone4???
The ipad is an all round device, but theres no doubt that the kindle is far better for just reading – especially with the new one just released.
@vdelizondo2 There’s is a Rumor about the iPad mini with OLED screen
dose anyone think they r going to make a second i pad?????
iPad is better for me of course
Well, I love both the Kindle & the iPad. The iPad is beautiful, no doubt… love the color display, especially for newspapers, etc. Also the apps & so many fun features. I also enjoy reading at night with the iPad, because it is backlit. But with that said, I often like to read outside in the sunlight, and the iPad backlit LCD screen makes that near impossible without some type of shade over the screen. The Kindle I can read in sunlight (at the beach, etc.), without glare on the screen.
I Love the Ipad
@maniacdev the issue with page numbers is that as you change text size, the pagination would also change, so ‘page numbers’ are useless, because they would constantly be shifting as you adjusted text size to your preference. For example, text at the bottom of pg 1, would become the top of pg 2 with a text size increase, and this would carry forward through the whole book. That’s why kindle uses position numbers, because those remain fixed regardless of what text size you have chosen.
@maniacdev I wish I could agree, but I sold my Kindle when I got the ipad, I tried reading a book on it and had a headache in 20 minutes. When the new kindle comes out, I am going back to it for reading
@johnmonk66 you can read the iPad or iPhone for that matter just fine outside with the right screen cover.
I will be staying with Kindle books for the most part just because i have so many, and can read them on any device, but I agree 100% on the page number thing.. seriously they should fix that.
In your opening you said “…compare the Kindle iBook reader to the Amazon Kindle app on the iPad..” Maybe you meant “iBooks reader on iPad”?
@TS7019 agreed, and the first time they try to read a book outdoors they will go straight back to the kindle.
@ps249 true, it will trick ‘wanna-be’ readers. I estimate half of the people who bought kindles don’t even use them.
@johnmonk66
The ipad may not replace the kindle- but it may sway new ereaders
As impressive the iPad is and kewl ebook reader tricks (e.g. page turning), seriously doubt the iPad will replace any formfactor for avid readers. In fact, I have not yet found a single vlog by an avid reader who blogged about the reading experience on this formfactor. There is a lot of attention on the tricks and nothing on actual reading. The iPad is likely too heavy and big to be comfortable for 2-4 hours of reading in any setting. So Kindle-killer it is not.
Your complaint about page numbers is silly, once you change the font size or watch in landscape mode, the page numbers change and are useless anyway. The Ipad is not replacing the kindle for serious readers.