E-Books: What Are the Facts of IPad and Kindle?

Many of us scoffed when we first heard the idea of electronic books. Books on computers? As if we don't spend enough time in front of that head-ache causing screen already! Yet the Amazon Kindle has made a stir with its small and standard price for books, easy on the eyes screen, and useful tools like dictionary look-up. Now, the iPad has also been released as not only a rival e-reader, but also a half-way house between a computer and a cell phone. Is this new technology going to take the market by storm, or is there a different way of looking at it?

The Products

The Kindle tried to solve the problems that readers found with e-books: hard on the eyes if you're reading on a computer, not portable if they're on your computer, and basically not as user friendly as a simple book it. With Kindle's un-lit screen, the eye problem was fixed. On top of that, it is very portable and has useful tools to aid reading, Where some users find fault is the system of the remotely changed books (books are not actually kept on the hard drive of your Kindle, but are on a server somewhere and able to be changed without your permission) and the strangeness overall of reading on an electronic device.

The iPad came late into the scene, but boasts of its use as not only an e-reader, but also a repository of hundreds of thousands of fun applications. These range from Netflix to games to email to internet capabilities and everything in between. The critics of the new iPad say that the keyboard function is awkward to type on and, though the apps are cool, many times you will be temped to just use your laptop instead of the iPad to do most of its functions. As an e-reader, critics complain that, though the screen is conveniently large (about the size of a piece of paper), the device is also much heavier than the Kindle (1.5 lbs vs, 10 ounces), making it awkward to hold for long periods of time. The iPad has a lit screen which makes it possibly "harder" on your eyes than the Kindle, though many reviewers don't find that it does. On top of that, the iPad's screen is color which gives it something that the Kindle doesn't have.

The Sense

After a moment of thought, it becomes apparent why e-books would make a lot of sense for book producers. The truth is they are cheaper to produce. Without all of the trouble of printing and physically producing books, Publishers can make more money and get the product to you cheaper. The same system is what has made iTunes store such a success. Many of us, however, will be surprised to hear that the system actually doesn't cut the expense as much as we'd expect. Most of the cost of a book comes from the extensive work of the editors and authors, not the production and distribution. Still, electronic books are cheaper to produce than physical ones, so the market has been opened.

The Question

So the question remains: will these e-books catch on? It's one that obviously Apple and Amazon would like to know. Though many people have purchased Kindles and iPads, most of these people still read physical books, I am sure. There is a certain comfort to reading on paper that people will not easily give up on. The devices themselves, also, cost a lot, and reviewers admit that these products are the sorts of gadgets that are fun to have, but certainly not necessary. Perhaps in the distant future all of us will be reading on our own Kindle v.8.0 or iPad Macros but for now these products are the pioneers in a new market of books on a screen.