# Do you enjoy reading on your iPad?



## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

I love the iBook app. I've been reading some of my epub books on it and I must say it's a lot better than I thought it would be. I like reading in landscape mode with two pages showing at once. I won't be getting rid of my kindle but it's nice to have another device that shows book covers in color and let's my daughter read her books and have her pictures show up. 

Melissa


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

I don't dislike it, but I definitely prefer reading on my Kindle.  I have found that for me, the iPad is too heavy to use for extended reading, and the backlit screen bothers my eyes.  I do think the iBooks app is really pretty--I especially enjoy seeing the books' cover art on the bookshelf (I've admittedly downloaded about 15 book samples just for cover art!).  I occasionally read on my iPad (using both iBooks and the iPad Kindle app), but most of the time, I reach for my Kindle when I want to read.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Reading on the iPad in the iBooks app is satisfactory. I have no problem adjusting the backlight to be unobtrusive. I can read all day on it. Same for the Kindle app, which I have set for the sepia background. I haven’t read anything on the Kindle for three weeks, but that doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.

Mike


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I like reading in landscape mode with ibooks too. It's funny because on my iphone I always read in black background white text but even though I can do that in both ibooks and the kindle app on ipad I don't feel the need to now.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I still like reading on my Kindle best (easy to read eInk screen, lighter weight, longer battery life) but I find that I'm putting the books that I order from Smashwords on the iPad as it's so easy to download them into Stanza.  So I will have stuff to read if I'm ever caught out without the Kindle or wireless access.  

Betsy


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Based on limited experience, I find the iPad an acceptable backup ereader while I am traveling and take it along, but the greater weight, and the more difficult turning of pages on the iPad make me prefer the Kindle for text ereading.

As eBooks with more illustrations become more common I may move to prefer the iPad.  iPad renders illustrations far better than Kindle, even on the books set up for the Kindle.  And of course color illustrations don't work on the Kindle at all.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

There are books that are illustration heavy that I wouldn't get before that now I may get for the iPad.  It does give me options I didn't have before.  But those are more reference books; if I had them in paper I probably wouldn't carry them with me very often, either.  

Betsy


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I'm putting the books that I order from Smashwords on the iPad as it's so easy to download them into Stanza.


Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having the larger screen? Stanza only shows books in that small window.

Mike


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

It probably would for some or maybe most but I find the doubling of the screen acceptable for the few things I might read on the iPad.  I know there's a way to get ePub from Smashwords into the iBook app, but I'm really lazy.  

Betsy


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Well you can 2x the iphone apps, but it's not the ideal solution because it does make the text pixelated. I tolerate the 2x on my must have apps where there is no other alternative ( macgourmet hasn't come out with their ipad version yet)


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes, it does pixelate it slightly. I really don't mind it, but some would...here's an image









That being said, I don't plan on reading on the iPad very often, and I hold out hope for an iPad version of Stanza eventually.

Betsy


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

I absolutely enjoy reading on my iPad,and for me though not popular here( which shouldn't matter at all), I prefer reading on the iPad over reading on a Kindle.To be honest that did surprise me,as I honestly didn't even consider/purchase the iPad as a replacement for my Kindles.

I also read using the Stanza app and find no real problems with using the 2x option,however it is obviously not as good as it would be if Stanza would become available in a iPad version.

I enjoy the iPad's ability to read from so many varied sources,and particularly enjoy using the Amazon Kindle app.The iBooks app is nice no doubt about it,but I so far, still very much prefer the Kindle app.


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

Sugar, I was suprised to find it doesn't hurt my eyes at all because reading on the computer does hurt my eyes. I have read way more on the ipad than the kindle in the last few days but I do still love both. Since I've been reading my epub books I haven't even had a chance to really try out the kindle app. When I finish the book I'm reading I'll read an amazon book on the app. I didn't care much for reading on the iphone so I didn't think I would love it so much. 

Melissa


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## akpak (Mar 5, 2009)

Don't bet on Stanza ever being for iPad... Amazon bought them some time ago, so I doubt they'd do anything to compete with their own Kindle app.

Reading on the iPad is ok, but far prefer the Kindle. Like others have said, iPad is too heavy, too big and too bright to do it for long


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I


akjak said:


> Don't bet on Stanza ever being for iPad... Amazon bought them some time ago, so I doubt they'd do anything to compete with their own Kindle app.
> 
> Reading on the iPad is ok, but far prefer the Kindle. Like others have said, iPad is too heavy, too big and too bright to do it for long


I'm not betting on it, but I do hope.  A girl can dream....and since it's more of a competition for iBooks, reading ePub format, than it is for Kindle for iPad, I'll keep my toes crossed for luck.

Betsy


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

akjak said:


> Don't bet on Stanza ever being for iPad... Amazon bought them some time ago, so I doubt they'd do anything to compete with their own Kindle app.


I'm not sure how Stanza is competition for the Amazon Kindle app, since it only reads ePub format. It seems to complement the Kindle app.

Mike


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I enjoyed reading Changes on my iPad, it wasn't a problem for me. There was the issue, though, of having access at my fingertip to a hundred other distractions (email, internet, games, etc).


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## obsanesth (Nov 22, 2008)

"I'm not sure how Stanza is competition for the Amazon Kindle app, since it only reads ePub format. It seems to complement the Kindle app"

Stanza supports much more than ePub formats.  In addition to ePub books, I read books on that app in pdf, lit, doc, rtf, html, pdb, prc & mobi & azw formats.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

Honestly I have read very little on my iPad. I use my Kindle for that. However, I don't carry my Kindle with me to work anymore like I used to so I am careful to keep my devices synced. But mostly, I am using my iPad for other things.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

obsanesth said:


> "I'm not sure how Stanza is competition for the Amazon Kindle app, since it only reads ePub format. It seems to complement the Kindle app"
> 
> Stanza supports much more than ePub formats. In addition to ePub books, I read books on that app in pdf, lit, doc, rtf, html, pdb, prc & mobi & azw formats.


OK. The only way I've ever used Stanza on my iPod Touch was getting books from Calibre. It may be that Calibre can only transfer books in ePub format. My fault for not checking that. I think the point is that you can't (as far as I know) read books you buy from Amazon with Stanza, except for those few that don't have DRM.

I'm still not going to use Stanza in 2X mode, though.

Mike


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Yea I can understand not bothering to use stanza in 2x there are a variety of ereader type apps available that are ipad specific. I just converted the books I had on my iphones stanza app to epub and read them in ibooks.


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## Eeyore (Jul 16, 2009)

I tried reading outside in the sun with the iPad and it was pretty useless between the glare and the reflections. Did various adjustments to brightness but it didn't help. I'm glad I kept the Kindle 2.

Best Wishes!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Rasputina said:


> Yea I can understand not bothering to use stanza in 2x there are a variety of ereader type apps available that are ipad specific. I just converted the books I had on my iphones stanza app to epub and read them in ibooks.


Me, too.

Mike


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## Starearedkid (Jan 25, 2010)

I haven't really yet. I am still waiting for a B&N app so that I can. I anticipate any reading on the Ipad to be done in bed, however my Nook goes with me everywhere! I use my Ipad at night instead of dragging my laptop up to bed then.


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

Starearedkid said:


> I thought barnes and noble did have an app. Maybe it's for iPhone?
> 
> Melissa
> I haven't really yet. I am still waiting for a B&N app so that I can. I anticipate any reading on the Ipad to be done in bed, however my Nook goes with me everywhere! I use my Ipad at night instead of dragging my laptop up to bed then.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I used the iPad this weekend for reading at night (we were staying with friends) so that I didn't disturb my husband.  It was fine.Otherwise, I used my Kindle, which I also had with me--used it for reading in the car, out in the sun, while waiting in line, etc.  I didn't have wireless, so I couldn't sync (I was reading the same book on both devices) but I just checked the location and used "go to location" when I wanted to use the other device.  
Betsy


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Based on limited experience, I find the iPad an acceptable backup ereader while I am traveling and take it along, but the greater weight, and the more difficult turning of pages on the iPad make me prefer the Kindle for text ereading.
> 
> As eBooks with more illustrations become more common I may move to prefer the iPad. iPad renders illustrations far better than Kindle, even on the books set up for the Kindle. And of course color illustrations don't work on the Kindle at all.


After a month, I'm still using my iPad as an infrequent backup reader. I load my books into the Kindle app, and plan to use iBooks for technical reference books (when I get them). I also use Goodreader for pdfs.


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I prefer my Kindle if I am going to sit and read a novel or for any amount of time.  The iPad is fine, but not something i am going to want to read on for extended periods unless it is my only option.  I am still excited about books with color illustations and graphics novels on the iPad, but I only get 2 or 3 times a week where I can just curl up for an hour or two and read, I dont want to spend those on the iPad.  

For me, there is an issue with glare and an issue with depth perception.  The screen with the font lies behind a glass pane.  It is hard to explain but it is uncomfortable for me look past the glass into the screen for an extended period.  Reading an article on a newpaper site or poetry or even a message board is fine.  But to sit for an extended period and read, not for me.  For extended reading, you just cant beat the e-ink.



Reading on the iPad is fine, but I prefer my Kindle for reading.

Gaming on the iPad is fine, but I prefer my PSP.

Surfing the internet and watching movies/tv/videos/music videos is what I believe the iPad excels at.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

KindleChickie said:


> Reading on the iPad is fine, but I prefer my Kindle for reading.
> 
> Gaming on the iPad is fine, but I prefer my PSP.
> 
> Surfing the internet and watching movies/tv/videos/music videos is what I believe the iPad excels at.


I completely agree with your assessment (except for the comment about gaming, as I'm not much of a gamer and therefore don't have a strong opinion about it).


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm liking iBooks for my baen.com epub books. Just drop them into iTunes.  Still prefer amazon for DRM books


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> I'm liking iBooks for my baen.com epub books. Just drop them into iTunes. Still prefer amazon for DRM books


Oooh, I have a bunch of Baen books I've been reading in Mobi format on my Kindle and wishing I could get on my iPad. I hadn't even thought that through. Good thinking!


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