In short, my answer is no.
However, today I read an interesting article where the author basically argued that the life of the e-reader is time-limited. I could not disagree more.
Let’s take this quote:
…it is clear that e-ink is progressing towards a colorful, responsive, video-capable future…
I don’t think this is entirely true. Naturally, there is some truth in the fact that e-readers are commonly found in tablets. Or rather, many people use their tablet as an e-reader. I fall squarely into this category. When I read a book, it is always on my iPad. In fact, I read everything on my iPad, my iPhone, or on my MacBook Pro. I really don’t pick up physical printed text anymore. I occasionally buy a copy of the newspaper, and I do subscribe to some magazines/journals that do not have electronic editions, but for the most part, I’m always on some iDevice or another. That’s not to say I think print is “dead,” but I always have at least my phone with me, and I like to read all the time, so it just isn’t practical for me to have a book or magazine with me all the time.
How my Wife Uses an E-Reader
Now, a perfect example of why the e-reader isn’t dead is my wife. She does carry a book with her everywhere. And not just a book, but massive tomes of rubbish Science Fiction. Nasty, heavy books. She asked for, and received, a Kindle for Christmas. It’s fantastic for her. She always has it, it’s a dedicated device that works perfectly for what she wants. She can carry numerous books, and she even can “check” out e-books from the library. It’s all pretty slick.
This single-use functionality, in my opinion is A Good Thing. I think that for some people, my wife included, distraction-free reading is a highly desirable quality. When I read on an iDevice, I am constantly being “reminded” of something while I am reading, and I go to look it up online, or read the Wiki article, or do one of another hundred things. I never seem to get through a book.
Size, Weight, and Battery
If you’ve never held a Kindle, find a store that sells them and see it. They are shockingly light. My wife’s Kindle weighs only 5.98 ounces. My iPad, though, weighs in at a hefty 1.6 pounds! That my not sound like much, but trust me, when you are holding the thing to read it like a book, it gets heavy. Fast. It’s amazingly lightweight. Also, it is sized like a book. A big book, sure, but it isn’t absurdly large. It fits nicely in any bag, and you never know it’s there.
Battery life is also drastically different. My iPad needs to be charged at least daily, if not more often. She’s had her Kindle since Christmas, and it isn’t even close to needing a charge. It’s wonderful to think that one gadget can be safely left in your bag overnight without the horrible feeling in the morning when you realize it didn’t get charged. It would also be great to not have to have chargers in different places in the house, at work, in the car, etc.
E-Ink
When you hold the Kindle, you’ll notice the screen. E-ink is an odd thing that I feel needs to be seen to understand why it is so great. It really looks like a typical printed book. Again, for a tablet experience, this isn’t ideal, but for reading, the goal is to get lost in what you are reading. A book should look like a book, and that it what the Kindle provides. No frills, nothing fancy. Reading on any iDevice is like reading on a computer screen. Great for websites, magazines, and other content, but crap for books. Seriously, who really likes reading on their computer screen. The glare gets to you, your eyes get tired, and all the while you are waiting for the inevitable headache. E-ink is not like a computer screen. A very big advantage, in my opinion.
It also has to be said, since it is said everywhere, that you can read a Kindle in full sunlight, just like a book, whereas you cannot see the screen of an iPad in the sun. However, you can read in the dark on an iPad, but not on a Kindle.
Cost
This aspect cannot be discounted enough. The cheapest Kindle is $79. With free shipping. In the world of electronic gadgets, this is cheap. And the Kindle, it has to be said, feels cheap. Not poorly made, mind you, but made inexpensively made. Amazon obviously wanted to get these things as inexpensive as possible to make them as widely available as possible. An iPad, on the other hand, starts at $499. It feels expensive. The quality and craftsmanship is very noticeable. You get what you pay for. Again, depending on what you want it for depends on what you buy, but if you were going to read by the pool or on a beach, would you rather risk a $79 device, or a $499 device? How about on the train to work?
(The prices also reflect a bit on the different profit-making strategies of Apple and Amazon. Apple provides content (movies, music, apps) to get you to buy their hardware. Amazon, on the other hand, provides cheap hardware to get you to buy their content. Not really relevant to this post, but an interesting thing to keep in mind when thinking about the drastic price differences between Amazon and Apple.)
Conclusion
I don’t personally own an e-reader. Yet. I do plan on buying one for myself just as soon as I can come up with a reason (any reason) that I “need” one! For someone like my wife, though, the Kindle is a far better gadget for her to carry than an iPad would be, and that is simply because of how she consumes content. She reads books, I read internet articles. For me, an iPad is the better choice, for her, not so much.
The e-reader is currently a bit of niche device, but I do not see that niche growing any smaller in the near term. There will always be people who just want to read in a nice, simple way, without any frills or video or distractions.
Now, if only Apple would release an iReader…
