Comments on: Kindle vs iPhone – check out this article

By: Steve P.

Steve P. — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:28:12 +0000

People who carp about small screens: unless you are a speed reader you only read a few words at a time. The argument that it takes too much effort to lightly touch the screen or a button every 10 seconds is dubious on the fact of it, but in any case ignores features like auto-scroll that require no hands at all to turn the page (many of our customers use it on treadmills, etc.). This kind of flips the argument around: using autoscroll actually takes less effort than turning pages of a physical book, not more.

(Yes, before you ask, the next version of eReader for iphone, due out very shortly, does have auto-scroll!)

-Steve P.

By: LC

LC — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:48:34 +0000

I agree with Aaron. I own a few e-ink readers and usually check the prices at Amazon, Mobipocket, Fictionwise and Sony to find the best price on a particular book that is available and more times than not, purchase one for the Kindle because it is the cheapest.

As for reading on an iPhone, I have read on smaller devices, such as an iPaq 4700 and my iPhone. While doable, I have been spoiled by the comfort of e-ink screens and cannot comfortably read anything more than newspaper articles on small back lit screens.

By: Aaron Pressman

Aaron Pressman — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:26:56 +0000

In what universe are Amazon’s Kindle books “over-priced”? It’s precisely the opposite. New books on Kindle are almost always — like 99.9% of the time — cheaper than the Fictionwise/Sony/Ereader versions and there are far, far more books available.

I just read Neil Degrasse Tyson’s great new book, The Pluto Files, which was $10 on Kindle. The hardcover is $24 or about $16 at Amazon in print. A search on Ereader/Fictionwise shows nothing and it’s $14 at Sony’s ebook store.

If you like to read free public domain books, there are plenty for the Kindle also, like at Manybooks.com

By: Chris Meadows

Chris Meadows — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:19:45 +0000

Seconded. There has been a long history of skeptical people trying small screen reading and being converted, going all the way back to the original Palm Pilots. If you try it with an open mind, you might find it’s a better experience than you expect.

By: Franko

Franko — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:04:56 +0000

the screen may be physically smaller than a paperback, ellen, but it is remarkably clear, and very easy to read even small type on it. even so, the type is scalable to anything you find comfortable reading. if you haven’t tried reading on one, you should.

By: Ellen O'Connell

Ellen O'Connell — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:55:05 +0000

All the articles about how the iPhone will take over the ebook world don’t take into consideration those like me who will revert to pbooks rather than read on a tiny screen. Surely the ebook world will shake out to allow choices in ebook readers so that those of us who want a screen at least as large as a paperback page can also have what we want/need.

By: Michael Pastore

Michael Pastore — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:21:47 +0000

Compared with the Kindle, the iPhone (or iPod touch) gives you so much more (capabilities) and you pay signficantly less, not only for the hardware, but for the ebooks that are available. Or am I wrong here: does Kindle give you free connectivity, that connects with something other than the opportunity to buy over-priced books ? … The Kindle approach will need to change, as consumers become less mesmerized by Oprah, and more aware of what their options are — options as in ePub, and low-cost ebooks.