Protip: Books are heavy because they are filled with awesome.

Really, it’s true. Having books is better than not having books. iPads and Kindles kill the visceral pleasure of having a book and replace it with the numb conformity of having some piece of consumer grade silicon and plastic. There is no excitement or community involved in ebooks, No excitement of getting the finished, bound book, every page specifically existing to tell its part of the story.

I don’t want to pay publishers to send me fucking text files. I want books, with beautiful art, and author photos. I want to have them signed. I want to keep them. I want to share them with my friends and family. I want to hand them down to my children.

I have a netbook that I use to read in landscape mode (feels kind of like holding a hardback). Mostly classics from Project Gutenberg. And when I find one that I really like, I invariably go and buy the hard copy.

Yes, you want an iPad. Kindles and Nooks are fine, but for you, only the iPad has the meaty apple-scented clout you cogently describe.

I’m also trying to make this decision. I was thinking Netbook, but after playing with one for a few minutes, I decided that most of them don’t have enough memory (yeah, you can add memory) and the screen is small and horizontal, which makes book reading less natural. On the plus side, and to the detriment of the iPad, they have USB ports and you can add memory to them. iPads are awfully expensive for no way to expand them or connect additional devices. And yet…I love my iPhone and could totally groove on a bigger version of it for reading. I’m reading a book on my iPhone now and, well, it’s not bad, but I have to make myself do it, as it’s just small enough to make me not really look forward to reading on it.

So, basically, I’m no help, other than to say, I’m with you, brother….

Hunter

Hey, in theory, I’m with you. I’ve said it before: I think e-books lack context, they lack the bookiness of a book — but, realistically, what’s great about a book isn’t the book, it’s the story. I get the fetish, though, and those books by authors I love, well, I’ll still buy the hard copies.

But I look over my shelves, and they have a ton of books I do not love. Like, maybe. Like a lot. Like a little. I don’t really want them. They’re bricks. Even the act of getting rid of them is the act of unloading bricks.

Hence: e-reader.

So, I don’t necessarily want this to be a platform about how e-books suck compared to “actual” books — though, obviously if people’s experiences with certain e-readers are notably troubled, I do wanna know that.

– c.

I meant to mention that I much prefer actual books, but there’s no denying that ebooks can be very convenient, as when traveling….

@Hunter:

Word to that dilemma. I’ve *almost* enjoyed reading a book on an iPhone: almost. Not quite. Too small, and again, lack of context. I hear reading on a Kindle or Nook is a pleasure. But that’s all you get, right?

That’s another bonus to the iPad, though — a Nook and Kindle app.

I dunno. Then again, if the iPad is just going to come out with a Hotter Awesomer Version in a year, do I want to make that leap now?

– c.

I was just thinking that this morning when I went outside the first time.

When books are gone, and everything is digital, where goes the experience of the author reading/book signing? I had planned to blog about that today.

If I were going to buy an eReader I’d save up and go for the iPad due to size, multi-functionality, and the fact that you can still use it to smack a bug crawling on the floor.

What do you mean you can’t?

Got my wife a Nook 3 weeks ago. She won’t give it up or put it down. The display is awesome. Also each week you can go to B&N and they give you a coupon for a free e-book. It’s a promotional thing but she liked the last book she got. I read a short story on it and was impressed. I can’t read for too long on my IPhone or my PC because the backlight gives me an insane migraine. If you want to ask Denise any questions hit her up on FB. She absolutely loves it. Go to B&N and play with it. I was suprised by how damn light the thing is.

I forgot to mention that I still rather paper books and bought 3 last night when we went to B&N. Perhaps one day I’ll switch, but I prefer to have the whole book in my hands.

@Julie:

The loss of books — if that ever actually happens, and I suspect it won’t, but what do I know? — offers sadness around board. No more browsing bookstores (mostly a pleasure, but also a major frustration due to the glut of stuff on shelves). Book signings become a whole different thing, yeah. You can still have author readings and what-not. That’s been my weirdness with replacing e-books with books — the book is a physical medium. Movies are not (though film was, technically). Games are not. TV sounds like a physical medium, but the episodes aren’t really married to it. Books are married to books, and you can’t really digitize a physical object.

You can digitize the story, though, which is how I think we need to think about it.

But it speaks to why I don’t like the term “e-book,” and demand we have a new term.

Of course, this is now so far off the beaten path of the topic.

– c.

Personally, I would pass on the ipad since you have the iphone and get the netbook if you are going for that. My wife has a kindle and loves it. I have the kindle app on my iTouch, my laptop, her computer. So we both have access to anything from her kindle pretty much anyplace we would want it.

I personally have no problem reading on the iTouch (or iPhone I assume). I read way may now that I have it with me all the time.

You can also web surf on the Kindle (free, not the best, but it works).

If you go with the iPad, buy QuickOffice Mobile Connect. It’s an office suite that plugs in with DropBox so you could have access to all your writing stuff. $10 in the app store, totally worth it. Given the situation, most of my writing gets done on my Touch. I’ve become pretty proficient at it out of necessity.

I am on record as an iHater, so my input on that is not reasonable enough to offer.

I really thought I NEEDED an ereader not long ago. I borrowed a Kindle and hated the shit out of the big stupid keyboard strapped to the thing. I borrowed a sony reader and decided the screen was too shiny, nothing more annoying that having to constantly shift around to avoid the glare. I actually bought a nook thinking it was the answer. It turned out to be a rather soulless way to read and I returned it. Nothing wrong with the device itself (aside from it being slow and prone to occasional text glitches) but I spent $250(!) on a device that allowed me to buy books. I had to think WTF am I doing? The book is it’s own playback device and is in anyway improved by putting a screen between you and the content.

I loaded FBReader on a $99 netbook lying around, rotated the screen and held like an open book. It works well for catching up on Joyce, Homer, Twain and the like. I can write on it if I want to. It plays Grooveshark in the background.

Check out the forums at mobileread.com, they are the gurus.

One of the perks of my husband’s career is that I get to play with nifty new gadgets from time to time. Having played with them all, I’ll let you know my thoughts.

The iPad is the most intuitive of the bunch, with it’s fancy touch-screen. However, it is still a back lit screen. Certain ebook apps for it (most notably Stanza) has a built in feature where you can dim the brightness of the screen and invert the colors (so text becomes a much more friendly for long term viewing white on black). But you’re still going to get some pretty bitching eyestrain after a while. The iPad is awesome, but I’m not sure it’s worth $500 to me yet (since I’m happy with my iPod Touch).

The Kindle is anything but intuitive. I don’t know if they fixed it in the more recent models, but the buttons on the side take a while to figure out and the response time is sluggish at best. It also gives you this itty bitty square toggle thing for scrolling that doesn’t scroll very well.

The Nook is pretty sweet with it’s dual screen loveliness. Again, if you use an iPhone, you’re going to want to touch the screen and be disappointed. The buttons are a little more responsive, but not by a whole lot. What you’re really getting from the traditional e-readers is e-ink, which will save your eyes.

Now, the Nook and the Kindle both have hidden service charges. I know for certain you need a Sprint service with the Kindle. For the iPad, you don’t NEED the 3G plan if you live somewhere with lots of available WiFi.

The Sony e-reader also doesn’t lock you into any particular wireless plan, and has the ability to read .pdf, .doc and .docx (and a bunch more non-publisher formats) files, whereas the others not so much. So it’s good to bring your own work with you to ruminate over if that’s your desire.

At the end of the day, I want an iPad the most. Just because it has all the bells and whistles I like to have in a device. I wouldn’t use it so much for reading (my eyes strain in ten minutes flat with any screen), but it is far and away the coolest.

Ok, so this is well within my wheelhouse of Nerdery, as I have a netbook, a kindle and an ipad. My love of this segment of technology is entirely unhealthy.

So here’s my breakdown.

If what you want is primarily a writing device, without bells and whistles, on which you can enjoy media and occasionally examine a book, then a netbook will be ideal. Battery life is great these days, keyboards have gotten good, screens are nice and they handle all the computer-ey stuff. Downside is that they are he heaviest and largest of the three options (which is not to say they are heavy and large) and that they ultimately have the laptop form factor writ small, so lots of actions (especially the ones I associate with reading or showing things) are very awkward.

The kindle is the best option for straight book reading. The nook is comparable, and even better in some ways, and the decision is really more between amazon and B&N than between the technologies. It can’t really do much of anything else, but what it does it genuinely knocks out of the park.

The Ipad is the strongest all-arounder. If the iphone screen only bugs you because it’s small, then you’ll love it as a reader, and it has the advantage of being a mult-platform reader. Someday when there’s some standardization on formats, that will be less of a big deal, but for now that’s pretty handy if one store doesn’t carry a book you need. As a writing machine, I’ve found it to be exceptionally useful with the addition of an external keyboard, though some with less flipper-like typing skills find the onscreen keyboard sufficient. And when I say writing, I mean writing – straight-up sit down in the chair and kick out some words writing. The inability to multitask is a good thing for that, and while I wouldn’t want to have to do any fancy formatting on it, it’s magnificent for the words itself. Downsides include price, the proprietary nature of apps and accessories and the fact that the app store is the devil in a way I suspect you appreciate. SO many shiny things!

(and on that note. iphone apps are not migrating to the ipad as fast as I’d like, but there are plenty, and you can run the apps you’ve already bought on your ipad without re-purchasing them. Some scale up to the larger screen very well, some do not. Very much case-by case).

So, given all that, I’m going to suggest the Ipad, but for reasons slightly tangential to the ones I’ve given so far. See, I think it will solve our ebook problem, and I think it will be a useful writing tool, AND I think it will play nicely with your iphone, but there’s one other issue, and that is Chuck Wendig – Scriptwriter.

I was totally thinking about you when I read this and I suspect you will see why quickly. Not only is there good scriptwriting software for the iPad, I have been hearing more and more mention of people using them for reading and passing around scripts. So much so that I suspect it’s become a de facto standard. And given your other specialized writing interest, the fact that the Ipad can actually display pdfs of gamebooks in a useful and readable fashion is also a big plus.

On the question of when to buy…honestly, if you get ANY of these, the stuff available in a year will be much better and cheaper. That’s just the way of it. But that doesn’t decrease the value you’ll get out of it now.

-Rob D.

It’s bizarre. I’m a technology lover, I always want smaller, faster, stronger, but this idea of digital reading makes me very uneasy.

I do have to say that so did digital cameras. I used to have an old Pentax SLR with multiple lenses and felt that someone would have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. Digital cameras were soul-less. No film? Screw that. My dad had a portable darkroom setup that he used in the bathroom, and by God I would one day too.

Yeah. About that. I haven’t even opened that camera’s case in six years.

I was thinking this morning pretty much what you said, that if I ever go that way I’ll absolutely be buying the physical books that become favorites or those by authors I adore. The one thing I wonder about though is what these gadgets are doing to our brains. It’s pretty much fact that staring at video screens for prolonged periods of time does kind of crappy things to your eyes, and at least when you turn a page you have the physical connectivity to the story which engages your brain in certain ways, so I sit and wonder if through all of that sedentary BS we’ll all end up someday with chips in the bases of our skulls where someone can plug in a cord and just upload whatever.

The horror novel/ghost story where you’re afraid to turn the page because you just KNOW it can’t possibly be good, so you sit there with your finger on the corner, waffling, take a breath, and then turn the page to the next sentence and OH MY GOD IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN I THOUGHT…

That’ll be gone.

I know I will buy one. I know I will love it. I just wonder what will be lost.

As a frequent mover, I feel your pain. But getting a costly piece of electronics is not the answer, whether you’re getting a humble unitasker or a bulky multitasker (“no unitaskers” is kind of a silly notion outside the kitchen. I do not want one of those silly finicky screwdrivers with the interchangeable bits. I want a nice set of 13 of the most important screwdrivers sizes and shapes).

The solution is a library. I read as much this year as usual, but I only bought like 5 books, instead of my usual 20-30. Because my library is well stocked and I do not give a damn about most new publications. They’re Twilight copies anyway.

Come on, Chuck. Get a library card. Rent at least a book weekly. Vote with your activity and let the government know you want them to spend money on libraries and not gold-plated hookers and blow to sniff of the asses of toilets.

Still, if you want a reader, I’d wait for the ones with OLEDs.

I’ve come around to the idea that eBooks are great for disposable reading. All of those books on your shelves that you’re eyeing warily, wondering if they’re worth packing up and lugging to the new house, most of those would probably have been good eBook purchases. Assuming, of course, that they cost less than the paperback edition, which even if it sucked, you could pass on to a friend, donate to the library, or sell at a garage sale for a buck. With eBooks, if the story sucks, you’re out of luck.

As for which device, Kindle and Nook are solid dedicated readers, but I’d lean towards the former since it’s 2nd generation, and Amazon’s multiple-platform apps are pretty good. Both come with their 3G service included, at no extra cost, and the Nook’s in- store features could make it a better buy if you’re already a regular B&N customer.

If you’re looking to leave the laptop at home, too, though, the iPad MIGHT be worth spending twice as much for. It’s not a laptop replacement, but as casual computing goes, it’s pretty solid for a 1st-Gen device. Most iPhone apps do work on it, though many haven’t been optimized yet, and some shadier developers are releasing separate, more expensive versions of their iPhone apps for the iPad so you have to buy them twice. For eBooks, though, I’d stick with the Kindle app or B&N app over iBooks because I’m not sold on Apple’s commitment to books just yet, and you’re probably already a customer of Amazon or B&N anyway.

WiFi vs. 3G depends on how often and where you’re traveling. 3G is an extra $130 plus the monthly connection charges, which is crazy, especially if you already have an iPhone. But you won’t always have access to free WiFi, so it could balance out. I use mine predominantly at home, so WiFi is good enough.

And as a side note, I hate Netbooks; they’re crippled laptops for those who still believe regular laptops cost more than $1000. Avoid!

@Marek: I still vote “no unitaskers.” An e-book reader does one thing: it reads books. A screwdriver does many things. Yes, screws. But it’s a wedge. A scraper. An all-around multi-function tool. Plus, you can instead use a drill for maximum screw-in-and-outedness. Most tools in the toolbox are not unitaskers.

The solution for me is probably not the Library. I love the Library. Used to work there. But, like with Blockbuster and videos, I know what’ll happen: I’ll forget to take the books back. And I don’t like having to drive back and forth. Amazon delivers. Whether to a device, or to my front porch.

As for OLEDs — well, what’s the advantage? I’m not opposed, but my understanding is that the OLED displays are really just a cool new thing, not a cool new necessary thing.

– c.

@Guy: That’s exactly it — I need something for my disposable reading. I want an excuse to try out new books, and frankly, I’m far less hesitant to buy books these days because I don’t have the room and I don’t want to have another physical object to move or deal with. Sure, I can share it and give it away and sell it or swat bugs with it, but it’s still This Thing On My Shelf I Someday Gotta Deal With. Fine if it’s just one, but as it turns out, it’s… er, let’s just go with “a lot more than that.”

And yet, yes, I’m kind of a hard copy book fetishist. I’m not a smeller (didn’t even realize that was a thing, thought it was a joke), but the physical object has a presence that no electronic product can replace. But that’s solved by buying the physical copies of books I love — and Rob Donoghue speaks to that here.

Kindle and Nook are a little worrisome to me because, if it turns out that I just can’t get used to reading on them, then I’ve just bought very expensive gateway devices that are, as noted, unitaskers. Even if I determine I don’t like e-books, an iPad still gets me extra versatility, as does a netbook. Though, ultimately I share your sentiment re: netbooks. I’ve never found one I like, and they’re basically just gimpy laptops.

I actually predict it’s the laptop, not the desktop, that’s going the way of the dodo, by the way. That’s a convo for another time, p’raps.

– c.

@Julie: I’m so fucking glad for digital cameras. If I had to play with photos using film, I’d be broke.

@Rob D: You’re definitely the sherpa I was looking for — let’s not pretend you’re not the Chief Council Member In Charge Of This Biblio-Tech Nerdery. (Hah! Bibliotech.) (Shut up.) I saw that article the other day — and it actually is really urging me toward an iPad. The fact that it’s versatile to write on (with?) is a compelling seller, and makes it a nice companion to the iPhone in terms of portable-yet-functional writer tools. Again, I think my laptop is slowly sinking into the La Brea tarpits.

@Kate: So, for you, it’s mostly about the iPad? I also didn’t realize the Nook and Kindle had plans you had to pay for — I thought the books were delivered wirelessly for free. Huh. Duly noted, then.

– c.

@Chuck: oh, I vote OLED because of lesser eye-strain and because it is a very exciting technology. I mean, e-readers are a luxury item to me: if I was getting one, I’d buy the cutting edge.

And I will vote against the iPad because I hate the policies Apple has, which have lately crossed a market dear to my heart.

@Marek: Fair enough. Eyestrain is certainly a concern, though fairly low on my list of worries. (Reading a book in dim light — often my problem — promotes its own brand of eyestrain.)

Apple’s policies bother some people, and I suppose I understand that, but ultimately I’m not invested (or perhaps informed) enough to care on that front. I already own my iPhone, and I resisted Apple for a long time, but damnit if they don’t understand the consumer experience.

– c.

If you’re looking for an e-book reader…I hate to admit, but the iPad is what you want. Not because of the reasons everyone has already addressed, but because at the root of its reader is software. Software that can easily be replaced. The e-readers available for iPad are beautiful. But there will be improvements, and you have a choice between several. Not a feature that the Nook or Kindle has. They’re limited…single taskers, not worth it.

I gaurantee…if you have no intent of using the iPad as anything except an e-reader, you’ll find another use for it. thousands of things you can do with the iPad, and it just seems logical to get one of those over anything else.

@Chuck: the thing with me is that I hated the user experience of the iPhone (I borrowed one from my uncle and played around with it). I’m an old-school, DIY type of guy: I want the feedback of fingers on keys and I want to have windows, functions, commands and all those other things I can kit-bash into a streamlined cluster-fuck barely on the edge of explosion that somehow makes my work actually easier. I’d be running a linux distro right now if not for the fact how finicky the hardware on my laptop is.

A significant concern for my user experience is also price. Apple’s stuff doesn’t come cheap and neither do the applications for it. Almost all of the software I use is open-source or freeware and the only significant software purchase I foresee in my future are Computer Assisted Translation suites (800 euros for a buggy piece of crap that does not speed up work in any significant way no matter what they tell you, yaay), and that’s only because TL bureaus ask for programmes by name, ignoring the fact many formats are interchangeable.

I guess this is a sort of irreconcilable gap between us: I can only advise you from the perspective of an extremely mobile European freelancer/student with a tight budget, while you are planning from the perspective of a home-owning American freelancer with some disposable income.

Then again, there is no gap alcohol cannot reconcile. *tips glass*

There is no charge for the wireless capabilities of the Nook or Kindle. They are not 3G either. Browsing on the Kindle is excruciating.

Chuck, it is clear. You are obviously looking for someone to tell you to go buy an iPad. So just go buy one already so we can all make fun of you when you post about how pissed you are when the price drops and Apple brings out a new one that gives blowjobs.

@TNT –

I’m actually looking for someone to tell me why I shouldn’t buy an iPad — and not a theoretical “do not buy,” but rather, an “I use this and dislike it.”

That said, the iPad bias should be clear in the post, methinks.

– c.

@Marek:

Amen to the solidarity of booze.

I don’t hate my iPhone user experience — love it, actually.

Price is always a factor for me, but the iPad’s price and functionality versus, say, a Nook or Kindle price and functionality isn’t a robust difference. You pay more for the iPad, but get a lot, lot, lot more for your buck.

I figure the same goes for a netbook — but, as yet, I’m not getting a lot of convincing vibes off of netbooks, or what netbook I should even be looking at.

– c.

We just treated ourselves this week to a netbook for Godchecking on the move (jogging, climbing trees, waiting in queues, etc). Purchasing considerations included portability, convenience, stylishness, ruggedness, cheapness and uber-long battery life. But above all, a good sensible keyboard was of course THE PURCHASING GRAIL.

Our needs were answered with a Samsung N210. Loving it to bits so far. For writing, coding and a bit of reading it is lovely. In no way can it be considered an e-reader, although you can kludge it with a vertical aspect ratio if you don’t mind leaning sideways and deforming your spine as you soak in the chapters.

We avoid Macs. Don’t like ‘em. Gorgeous and sleek to fondle, but Apple has users’ consumer balls in an alarmingly sober grip. We don’t like that. But your mileage may vary, specially if you love the iPhone et al. Windows 7 is a happy thing indeed, unlike previous nasties, and still allows us to switch off all the pretty graphics and get on with some hardcore key pounding without creaking and groaning.

I think for serious writing you still need that keyboard. At some point in the future, mankind will have tablets that can perfect emulate traditional keyboards using tactile sound techniques and what-have-you. Maybe there will be an app for that. Until then, it’s keyboards for typing stuff and iPads for reading stuff. If you don’t NEED that keyboard, all bets are off. Go for a tablet, it’s more fun, more recreational, more reader-friendly.

Our Mac distaste notwithstanding, if you want an e-reader with attitude and magic powers, grab yourself an iPad now. Don’t worry about waiting. There will be iPad 2 next year, iPad 3 the year after, and so on forever. If you wait for the perfect kit you’ll still be shuffling catalogues on your deathbed. So grab now and enjoy!

Uh, was that any help at all?

I have nothing to add to this conversation aside from telling you that every iPad is bound to it’s owner’s soul. You have no choice – either the iPad that is special for you is out there, looking to find it’s way to you or not. BTW, the first iPad you come across (whether you buy it or snort coke off the balls of republicans for it) is mine – please send it right along to me when it shows up.

Wait, I take that back. I do have something else to add:

I wanna do laser.

Here’s the way I viewed that particular decision tree when I was shopping for an E-book: Much like a video game console, it doesn’t matter how cool it is if it doesn’t have the content you want. In the end, the content available is what makes the technology useful, rather than being a doorstop.
At the time, for me, the Kindle was the way to go. I did the searches for content I wanted, and the other E-books simply didn’t have it.
I’m not suggesting ANY item here, but I do suggest that you take a look at what you want on the thing, and what you can purchase/swipe/hack on the readers you’re looking at.

Get them all. We did.

My wife and I have a problem with technology the way addicts have a problem with heroin. It started with me buying her a Kindle. Then us both getting iPhones that have the Kindle app. Then I bought a Nook for myself. Then I got the iPhone app for it. Then we both got iPads.

Best bang for your buck at this point is go with the iPad. It has free apps for all the ebook readers, Stanza, iBooks, Kindle and Nook. IBooks is cool, but limited. The B&N app blows great, big ropy goat chunks. Stanza got bought by Amazon (I think) and it’s being neutered.

The Kindle app rocks. We have ours synced to the same Amazon account so we can read all of the books on our phones (which isn’t as bad as it sounds) or on our ipads. Nice when you just want to grab a boo without having to put on pants and go out and get it.

For some reason the local B&N has a problem with me showing up without pants. I don’t see what the big deal is. Anyway.

We’ve got the ipads that are wi-fi only and they have problems with dropping a connection occasionally. Not a big deal normally. Had issues with the Kindke downloading when we first got them. But that seems to be more of an Amazon server problem because that’s largely gone away.

Another downside is that it doesn’t have the benefits of an e-ink display so eye strain can be a problem sometimes. Or so I hear. I have monitors pretty much glued to my eyeballs 24/7 so I’m not a good judge.

And it is definitely not a unitasker. It’s got limitations as a device, but web browsing is decent, the display is good and typing on the keyboard is disturbingly easy to pick up. I’ve written this comment on mine in landscape mode for example, and aside from some interesting auto-correct word choices it works really well.

If you have one you can use a Mac Bluetooth keyboard with it.. That worrks very well.

Oh, and there are some really good .PDF readers for it, too, if you get your ebooks in that format.

I have a Kindle and love it. I like the “Kindle for PC” (and other machines like iPad, iPhone, etc). Kindles are excellent for travel. They are also great for the reviewer who gets their books on PDF. You can move the PDF to the Kindle to read. This won’t replace by 1000+ book library but it is nice to have, easy to read and light in hand (slightly heavily than a mass market paperback and lighter than a hardback book).

Finally, I think you should spend at least 10 minutes playing and reading all of the eReaders you are considering to find the one that feels right to you.

Eventually I hear Google will release their version of the iPad that will have USB ports, but I don’t know when that will be.

I say if you buy an iPad you buy me one as well! *puppy dog eyes*

Coming from a fellow Applephile: do not purchase the first generation of a new Apple device. You’ll be sorry you did.

Years ago, the hot thing was the new iMac. The first gen was nice, but the next ones came out in a wide variety of colors and offered a better optical drive. Almost the same thing happened with the Mini. The first one was awesome, cute, and PowerPC. Thus, it was almost immediately outdated when Apple switched to Intel hierarchy. Then there was the iPhone. Remember that thing? People lined up for miles to get their hands on the first one, only to have Apple drop the price on the next generation by hundreds of dollars.

There are so many potential improvements to the iPad that I think it would be a horrible error to purchase one before the second generation comes out.

If’n it’s the choice between the iPad, a netbook, and the e-readers? I’d choose the iPad. Especially if you love you’re iPhone. It’s a little hefty (feels nice and meaty and weighty in the hands) which some people don’t like. I didn’t mind. I didn’t like the keyboard so much, so I wouldn’t write much on it personally. But if you can get the hang of it, it could be a great note-taking device.

But yeah, the Kindle requires the 3G wireless plan. The Nook, while free, can only connect to AT&T’s shitty wireless coverage, so you’ll have to either use it with your home WiFi or go roaming for places that have free WiFi not provided by any other cellular carrier. Which can be annoying to do.

Egads! @Kate and @TNT must now fight in Thunderdome.

The Kindle does, or does not have an associated fee?

– c.

@BL:

I hear what you’re saying about 1st gen Apple devices — I don’t, for the record, consider the iPad first gen. I consider it a Big iPhone, so it’s (kind of) another iteration of that. In my mind, at least.

As for the big price drop on the iPhone — well, kind of. Keep in mind that the price drop was associated with a raise in fees and the need for a 2-year-contract, thus actually increasing the cost of the phone in the long term.

– c.

@All (And @BL):

So, the iPad:

What improvements are expected to come (or are desired to come) in the next generation iPad?

Those mythical improvements are worth waiting for? I see a lot of happy iPad users. Though, maybe I’m not looking hard enough.

– c.

And the IPad would be great for watching those hard to find movies like, Oh I don’t know Jaws, Die-hard, Raiders of the lost Ark………….

@John:

Those classic movies, you mean. The ones that everybody has seen.

Everybody.

Everybody.

I don’t know anybody who hasn’t seen those movies.

Aaaaaanybody.

(Though, a moment of seriousness — hey! The iPad is getting a Netflix app with streaming video, yeah?)

– c.

First, what I think is, [insert everything Rob Donoghue said here; seriously, why do I bother thinking when I've got him in my corner to do all that pesky brain-using shit?].

Battery life on the iPad is hardcore fantastic. After seeing Rob use the very thin, very packable-with-the-iPad apple bluetooth keyboard, I got one for mine as well and am enjoying it.

I won’t lie, though; there are times that I miss Flash. But websites are starting to catch up to the need to offer alternative-to-flash video content when they’re usually dependent on flash as the video delivery system. (Porn sites are of course leading the way on this already. I know you’re thinking about whether or not the iPad’s lack of Flash support will impede your ability to consume porn, so I can tell you: for some sites now, and likely more sites in the future, you will not be fettered thus.)

There are also some early adopter speedbumps to contend with. It occasionally forgets that it is already connected to my wifi network and prompts me to re-enter the password in order to connect, but I can “lock” and then “unlock” the device and the problem goes away. It’s annoying, sure, but at least it’s only a few seconds of annoyance. We are told a fix is in the works from Apple, but who knows when that’ll come along.

Beyond that, let me tell you what I’ve seen change about me with having an iPad on hand.

- I’m no longer worked up about whether or not I should bring a laptop to that convention I’m going to. I shouldn’t. I’ve got an iPad.

- I’m no longer worked up about making sure I have a laptop handy, period, save as that emergency device I use when my desktop system has to go to the shop for repairs, and that’s mainly because the iPad don’t do the Adobe Creative Suite.

- I’m no longer sure I want to have magazine subscription to… anything. Magazines are just something I read on the crapper anyway, and now I can read websites, play Carcassonne, whatever. Do not read this bullet point and contemplate my revelation above about porn. You’ve been warned.

These are interesting changes for me. Not particularly revelatory, but they’re definitely part of reinforcing the idea for me that the iPad is filling a particular device-niche that hasn’t been before. If one of them was happening, it’d be a straight up swap out, “this for that”, the way that a kindle is a swap out for books. But the iPad’s got diversity going on, and likely more to come. I’m not sure what else I have in my house that it will come to replace, but I have a feeling it’s not done.

Oh, and to your recent question: the iPad is not *getting* a Netflix streaming video app. It has already gotten it.

Sitting at the airport next to a lady with an ipad, I asked her about it. She had it for a little over a month and could not stop gushing about how much she loved it. I battle my own desire to get one pretty regularly…..as well as JB’s. I mostly battle because I’m fairly certain that within 3-5 days (or maybe a little longer) of purchasing one, they’ll come out with a much better ipad for half the price. I know the first ipod I bought seemed super cool and amazing….and the 2nd one I got has twice the storage at 2/3 of the cost.

That being said, JB has a netbook. It’s basically a mini-laptop, as far as his use. Windows is Windows, and while 7 might be better than the older versions, it’s still not without it’s random freeze ups and needs to reboot (even if you just turned it on 20 minutes ago).

Goddamn it, I just ate my own comment.

Try this again.

@Fred!

For a device that doesn’t multitask, it damn sure multitasks. Awesome. This is just what I was looking for — very cool stuff.

Especially that bit about porn.

… uhhh. I mean, especially that bit about niches being filled.

… err, I mean, that part about me being more productive. Yes. Yeah. That.

Very exciting.

And the Netflix app is already live. Well, la-dee-da! Color me excited.

– c.

@The Girl Who Hasn’t Seen Jaws, Oh, I Mean, Becky –

The thing about the iPad problem is, I can sweeten the pot with the wife and say, “Hey, if a new one comes out, you can get the new one for yourself.” So that way, the household still gets an upgrade.

– c.

Of the three, I’d personally be opting for the netbook if I wasn’t still in the die-hard practice of keeping my old Dell laptop held together with bailing wire, duct tape and the inscrutable magic of Linux.

I would say, don’t get an iPad; the attitude toward ownership and data is creepy.

Don’t get a netbook as an e-reader; they take too long to boot and are annoying to read off of. (If you need a portable laptop to do editing and e-mailing on, YES! they’re wonderful.)

The current slew of e-readers don’t do what I want them to do yet. And face it, a BOOK is a unitasker. So I’d say go for something small and cheap, that you’ll only buy books for when you’re on the road, and save your $$$ for the next gen (or the gen after that).

Me, I’m also waiting for manga, comics, and cooking magazines to become readily available on an e-reader. Supply! Supply!

@DeAnna:

I fear small and cheap, because for the most part I can’t seem to find good reviews on any of them.

The iPad: what’s the attitude that you find creepy?

A netbook, well, I could use a portable laptop to do editing and emailing. Except, I already have that: it’s called my laptop.

And yes, a book *is* a unitasker, which is part of why I’m looking for a solution. Though, realistically, the book = unitasker isn’t really the problem, because a book isn’t a tool. A book is a piece of information fit for consumption: I’m really only wary of tools that are unitaskers.

– c.

I don’t have an iPad, so pretty much any comment I could make would be parroting cooler people than myself.

But I do have one of the first Kindles, and have been very happy with it. To some extent, I like it *because* it’s a unitasker: I can bring it on vacation or on a trip and still enforce the “no email, no interwebs” rule that actually makes it a vacation. (The self-control? It has abandoned me.) I’m already used to carrying at least one book with me all the time, so I see it as simple substitution.
And because I don’t use it for anything else, I don’t need to worry that its battery is dead when I want it, and I don’t need to worry about quitting and saving work or a game in progress because I want to look something up in a reference book or just want to take a break.
Also, the books I buy for it become available to me on my laptop or iPod as well, which is a nice touch: even if I wind up getting an iPad, I’ll probably still buy books through the Kindle store so that I can use them on both devices. And with the Kindle I suspect I get a wider range of reading environments than either the iPad or paper books: I can read in all but the strongest sunlight, and in wet weather I can toss it in a plastic bag and push the buttons through the plastic.

The major drawback to all eReaders is the inability to lend books. Once I’ve read them, they’re just dead bits. I’ve mostly compensated by only buying books for the Kindle that I expect not to lend out, but occasionally I am wrong and my girlfriend gets mad at me. In the past, they have been cheap enough that I can re-buy the occasional book in paper as a gift for someone and still come out ahead, but the recent rise in prices more or less kills that strategy.

Lending books used to be a consideration. In my adult age (age, not mind!), I’ve found it overrated — I don’t see people often enough to make it worth it, and so lending rarely takes place. I like the idea, in much the same way I used to like lending out DVDs and what-not — ultimately, though, the convenience of something like Netflix won me over.

– c.

I’m an Amazon whore, but after a very long research period, I conceded to the superiority of the Nook. Not only is the screen and battery life great, but the navigation is easy to use. Plus, it’s based on the Android OS. This means that it’s easy for Barnes & Noble to continue upgrading the device.

For example, one day I woke up and discovered that my was Nook 50% faster and that it miraculously had games on it and a functioning web browser. All for free.

If you absolutely need something right now, I would buy a Nook. If you can wait, hold off until the next generation of iPad comes out. Apple has really been fucking around with their iPad customers and it’s not worth jumping in the pool right now.