Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones
Summary: I spent the last day working on my Amazon Kindle 2 review and while I spent so much concentrated time with my new ebook reader (now my 3rd dedicated device for reading ebooks) I finally realized that a dedicated device for ebook reading is the preferred method for reading electronic books. As readers know I am a user of many, many mobile phones and have actually been reading ebooks on my phones and PDAs since 1997. Dedicated ebook readers offer the reader a way to "get away" from it all and immerse themselves into a book, as books are designed to be enjoyed.
I spent the last day working on my Amazon Kindle 2 review and while I spent so much concentrated time with my new ebook reader (now my 3rd dedicated device for reading ebooks) I finally realized that a dedicated device for ebook reading is the preferred method for reading electronic books. As readers know I am a user of many, many mobile phones and have actually been reading ebooks on my phones and PDAs since 1997. Dedicated ebook readers offer the reader a way to "get away" from it all and immerse themselves into a book, as books are designed to be enjoyed.
I do have ebook clients on all my devices and do still read books on my phones, however I ALWAYS get distracted by phone calls, emails, social networks, the lure of checking my latest RSS feeds, and more that take away from the book experience I remember enjoying hundreds of times as a kid. I personally feel that books were designed to be read with as few distractions as possible and having a dedicated ebook device like a Kindle or Sony Reader lets you cuddle up in your favorite chair and read for hours and hours. You could be distracted by using the Kindle browser, but it isn't that fast or functional so it is more frustrating than browsing on your phone and isn't as likely to take you away from your book. Also, with the outstanding E-Ink technology your eyes are not strained at all and you get a "real book" experience on these devices.
I do actually still read my Bible regularly on my Windows Mobile devices, thanks to Laridian's PocketBible, but with the new 5-way controller capability on the Kindle 2 (detailed in my review) I may actually be switching to the Kindle for reading and annotations.
A major argument people make about reading books on their phones is that their phones are always with them so they always have books with them to read. That is true and in those cases when you are out and about it is great to be able to read on your phone. If Amazon can bring their Kindle Whispersync technology to phones then you could read a few short sections on your phone when you are out and about and then finish the book in the comfort of your chair or bed on your Kindle.
Do you agree that ebook readers like the Kindle or Sony Reader offer you a better distraction-minimized reading experience or do you think reading on your phone is just fine?
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Talkback
I haven't read a novel in about 20 years
Dedicated ebook readers are interesting, but I believe the future lies in rich, advanced ebook and other publication formats, and the devices which will support them.
Portable books
Brian
The big problem here ...
The advantage of a dedicated device (like the Kindle, which would easily fit into the pocket of your laptop case) is that they have no software compatibility problems. And, unlike all those small eReader companies out their who must support a variety of devices, Amazon has a huge selection of books to choose from compared to the small guys.
Tell Jason Perlow
On a related note, I found that when I got my iPhone, I was much, much more likely to read an entire article, i.e. end to end. Why? Simple, it's not like a PC where I can create lots of tabs and fly around with the ease of a mouse and keyboard going here, there, everywhere a.k.a. distractions. This was very much the case at home as I browsed via WiFi (as opposed to AT&T's pseudo-3G lameness which certainly can inhibit your browsing experience at times).
My experience with the iPhone at home lent much credance to the notion that the Internet has killed people's attention spans.
-M
RE: Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones
ebook readers? OPRAH wins again.
Democrat candidate became #1 almost overnight due to
the Winfrey's endorsement) Now she's taken technology
which apparently nobody wanted (since it hadn't sold for
years), and has made it into a 'hot' item which we all must
have.
ebook readers??
Those things might have been nice... but they sure
gathered dust on the store shelves until Oprah mentioned
them on her show.
Is this just more proof that we're Lemmings in many, many
ways?
RE: Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones
If you own a Kindle, you can goto your "Manage My Kindle" area online and download any book you have bought to your computer. You can also send it to another Kindle if you happen to have more than one in your family.
Basically, Amazon has made it easy to read your stuff even if you don't pack your Kindle along.
With that said, I always pack my Kindle, but I find that it's still hard to block away a bunch of time to read it. When I do, it's great. But having a family with kids that need help with homework and being involved in a startup sucks all your time. In the end my kids use the Kindle the most and they love it.
So to answer the original question in this thread, Yes I think having a dedicated reader helps.I don't find it very compelling for reading blogs and newspapers as I can get that stuff online for free. I just wish I had more time to dedicate to reading novels and such again.
Kindling
Maybe this should be the sales pitch. "It costs less than buying textbooks because it is less useful". I can maybe see it for survey course books but for anything technical, forget it.
Not quite
RE: Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones
RE: Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones
I have used the Palm eReader since I got my first Palm in 2000, the Palm IIIxe. I loved it and used it regularly. I've owned four Palms, most recently the TX, which I bought, in large part thanks to it's bigger screen.
When I got my first cell phone, I almost went with the Palm Treo but alas the BlackBerry provided the better solution for syncing to my work e-mail so Palm lost out. I had been using OliveTree's BibleReader on my Palm as well as the eReader but soon that's all my Palm was being user to do.
Thanks to the BlackBerry, there was no more reason to sync e-mail, or contacts, to the Palm and I had an iPod for music. Palm's failure to keep up with wireless security made it useless for WiFi as well.
Once OliveTree moved its BibleReader to the BlackBerry, Palm's fate was sealed. It was all just a matter of time before I found a superior solution to eReader (who still hasn't ported to the BlackBerry).
Well, the Kindle is it! The Palm TX is being retired as we speak and my eReader library will be moved to my laptop.
Life is good!
According to ereader . . .
Ereader software does not work on Blackberry devices at this time. We understand that our users are very interested in this platform and we are currently investigating supporting this device."[/i]
Hopefully, that doesn't become like Mobipocket's mantra of supporting Linux when they can get around to it . . .
Ereader for Blackberry
RE: Fewer distractions on ebook readers give you better reading experience than on phones