A Tale of Two eReaders

As a boy, I would have told you that books weren't worth the paper they were printed on.  Reading books on the computer would have been my ideal scenario.  But as an adult, I've shied away from embracing this new technology, only recently completing a text via eReader.

Because of the iPad, I've been able to dip my toes in the world of reading via a mobile device, and have now read enough on two different platforms (iBooks and the Kindle iPad App) to judge them against each other.


Side by side comparison.  Kindle (left), and iBooks (right).



Neither is ideal, and both of them make me want to make an eReader that I would find ideal, but since I lack talent for anything other than complaining and criticizing, that is what I shall do!  So check out the criticism, after the jump...

The Look

Both eReader apps let you customize the look of your reading experience.  With iBooks, you can change the font, font size, brightness, and the background from white to sepia.  The Kindle app only has font size, brightness, and the choice of background between white, sepia, and black (?!).  iBooks choice of fonts helps it nudge its way to the win, although I have read with each readers' default font just fine.

Reading Ease & Navigation


With a real book, I can easily traverse between the table of contents and my current page, and eReaders offer similar experiences.  Kindle pages scroll left and right like the entire book is one seemless sheet on a microphice, whereas in iBooks, slightly more deft is used and there is an animation of pages flipping.  The animation, while purely aesthetic, comforts me somehow.  Especially when I am finishing the last sentence and begin to drag my finger, watching the page flipping begin until I release.  It feels authentic.  Both readers have an easy "Back to Table of Contents" feature, although the Kindle app also has other sections it can take you instantly to.

Definitions, Reference & Notes



iBooks' somewhat dominating definition box.



What I can do with an eReader that I can't with a traditional book is instantly know the meanings of words that I've usually used context to discern.  iBooks allows me to easily select words and bring up a dictionary box with the meaning (or meanings of the word).  The box occludes a significant space on the page, so continuing is nearly impossible without clicking outside the box.  The Kindle app displays the definition on the bottom of the page.

Each eReader lets you add notes as well. The sort of equivalent of writing in the margins.  For the Kindle app, a small message box appears and allows you to type in a note.  This is identified by a small blue box next to the word or phrase you added a note for.  Notes can be looked at as a list with the same icon that takes you to the Table of Contents.  iBooks brings up a sticky note (again, occluding the page), and you type in what you want in - sweet baby Jesus - is this COMIC SANS?  Even if it isn't, it's too close for my taste.  After you type in your educated thoughts (with a font that looks like a child's handwriting), a small sticker with a date stamp (nice feature!) is placed on the right hand margin.

As far as reference, iBooks doesn't offer anything beyond the definition feature (which is handy enough).  But the Kindle app can actually take you to Shelfari (if you are connected to wifi or have a 3G iPad).  This is essentially a Cliff's Notes for the text you are reading.  So that might be handy.

Price

Many texts are the same price, but I've seen some books cheaper on Amazon through the Kindle service.

Portability

Here is where the Kindle has the iPad trumped.  The Kindle syncs your reading progress for you to pick up on another device (or the computer), whereas iBooks simply syncs your connection.  Also, the Kindle system lets you loan books to friends, family members, and enemies!  I can't see iBooks getting together a comparable system with that.

All in all, there are two eReaders with strengths and weaknesses.  What I'm very disappointed in (for both readers) is a certain feature I feel every eReader could benefit from.  Obviously if I use the dictionary tool to look up information, it's something I want to learn.  I'd really love it if iBooks would catalog those words I've looked up the definition for so that I could review and try to retain that learning.  For now, I'm probably going to continue using both - but as The Hunger Games series is only available on Kindle, you can bet I'm sticking to that one.