Best Reviewed
eBook Readers
- Best e-book reader Amazon Kindle *Est. $110
- Best touchscreen e-book reader Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch *Est. $100
- Color e-book reader Barnes & Noble Nook Color *Est. $200
- Tablet computer/e-book reader Apple iPad 2 *Est. $500
- Best iPhone e-reader app Stanza *Est. $0
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- Versatile
- Backlit color touch screen
- Smooth, quick page turns
- Robust iBooks store
- Works with all major ebook stores and free sources
- Runs apps, including Kindle for iPad
- Screen is hard to read in bright sunlight
- Bigger and heavier than most e-readers
- Short battery life
- 3G wireless costs extra, unlike Kindle
- Expensive
The Apple iPad tablet computer doubles nicely as an ebook reader, experts say. In some ways, it's much better than an Amazon Kindle (*Est. $110). Both allow you to buy ebooks (or download free ones) wirelessly and organize them neatly, and both have displays that look like real printed books. But the iPad has a big, backlit 9.7-inch color touch screen, unlike the Kindle's smaller black-and-white screen that can't be seen in the dark. Although Apple's iBookstore isn't as huge as Amazon's, the iPad can read the widely used ePub file type (unlike the Kindle), and if you want to buy from Amazon, the iPad can run Amazon's free Kindle app. What's more, the iPad is a tablet computer that can play videos and games, run apps and is otherwise far more versatile than the Kindle.
Still, testers find some important drawbacks. The iPad is bigger and heavier than the Kindle, which makes it less comfortable to hold. Its battery life is measured in hours, while the Kindle's is measured in weeks. AT&T 3G wireless is included free on the upper-level Kindle, but costs $15 to $25 extra per month on the iPad (both have built-in Wi-Fi on all models). And the iPad's screen is hard to read in bright sunlight. For these reasons, reviewers say people who plan to read a lot of ebooks will probably still be happier with a Kindle. However, one iPad drawback cited in many reviews -- that its backlit screen causes eyestrain -- is actually a fallacy, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ophthalmologists say backlit screens cause no more eyestrain than a Kindle screen does. If you're looking for something in between an iPad and a Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color (*Est. $200) has a 7-inch backlit color touch screen and decent web browser, but it concentrates mostly on e-reading and doesn't have all of the iPad's tablet functions.
Plenty of sources have thoroughly tested the iPad as an ebook reader (usually comparing it with the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook), including ConsumerReports.org, DigitalTrends.com, PCMag.com, CNET, Macworld, USA Today, I4U.com and The Wall Street Journal. Users at Apple's iTunes Store post reviews of the iBooks app, which enables e-reading on the iPad.
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Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
The Apple iPad is far more versatile than the Amazon Kindle, ConsumerReports.org concludes in both written and video reviews comparing the two as ebook readers. However, the iPad is also pricier, bulkier and a bit harder on the eyes, due to its backlit screen, and reviewer Paul Reynolds says the Kindle is still "the better choice for most e-bookworms." However, the comparison covers the previous edition of the Amazon Kindle, which has since seen some noteworthy improvements.
Review: E-reader Faceoff: Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle, Paul Reynolds, April 14, 2010
2. DigitalTrends.com
In this video review, the iPad's ebook reader function compares favorably with the Barnes & Noble Nook. Unless you strictly want an ebook reader and you'd never use the iPad's many other functions, reviewer Nick Mokey says the iPad is a better value.
Review: Is Apple's iPad the Ultimate e-Reader?, Nick Mokey, April 16, 2010
With its "beautiful" page display, bookshelf and color touch screen, the iPad makes a very good ebook reader, Michael Muchmore says, but "I still wouldn't recommend purchasing it just as an e-reader." Muchmore finds the Amazon Kindle (previous version) and Barnes & Noble Nook easier to hold and easier on the eyes than the bigger, backlit iPad.
Review: iBooks for iPad, Michael Muchmore, April 20, 2010
4. CNET
This complete iPad review has a hefty section on its ebook capability. Like other testers, Donald Bell finds pros and cons, but overall he likes the iPad as an e-reader, especially for color-heavy material like graphic novels.
Review: Apple iPad (16 GB), Donald Bell, Updated April 30, 2010
Like CNET, Macworld thoroughly tests the iPad as an ebook reader and comes to similar conclusions. Reviewer Jason Snell says it can't quite replace his own Amazon Kindle, especially because he can't get his newspaper on the iPad -- yet. However, he finds a lot to like, and he predicts that a surge of new apps will make the iPad even better as an e-reader.
Review: Apple iPad with Wi-Fi 32 GB, Jason Snell, April 3, 2010
Here is another full iPad review that devotes plenty of space to its ebook function. The iPad's big color screen, natural-looking page turns and elegant iBookstore beat the clunkier, black-and-white Amazon Kindle, but the Kindle offers longer battery life, a more comfortable-to-hold size and more books at better prices.
Review: Verdict Is in on Apple iPad: It's a Winner, Edward C. Baig, April 2, 2010
7. I4U.com
This review does a good job explaining what it's like to buy and read books on the iPad. Shane McGlaun finds some minor annoyances, but overall likes the experience.
Review: Using the iPad as an Ebook Reader, Shane McGlaun, April 7, 2010
Walter Mossberg briefly describes his iBooks test in this full iPad review. He finds it easy to buy and read books, with no eyestrain, and concludes that the iPad handles ebooks and periodicals "brilliantly, better in my view than the Amazon Kindle."
Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close, Walter S. Mossberg, Mar. 31, 2010
It's a myth that backlit computer screens cause eyestrain, according to ophthalmologists quoted in this article. The report was prompted by the debate over Apple's iPad as e-reader, with many reviews claiming its backlit screen strains the eyes more than the paper-like screen of an Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook.
Review: Screens and Eyestrain, Geoffrey A. Fowler, April 1, 2010
10. iTunes StoreDetails/Subscribe
With more than 8,000 user ratings when we checked, Apple's iBooks app was one of the highest-rated free ebook apps here at Apple's app store. With both positive and negative reviews posted, iBooks earns a rating of 3.5 stars out of five.
Review: iBooks, Contributors to iTunes
This episode of TV's "The Charlie Rose Show," posted on YouTube by TechCrunch.com, shows TechCrunch.com editor Michael Arrington, The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and The New York Times' David Carr talking about the iPad, including how it works as an ebook reader.
Review: Untitled, Editors of The Charlie Rose Show, Feb. 5, 2010
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