The recent update to iBooks added PDF support. Unfortunately, the reading experience is no where near as good as the epub experience.
This was a bummer for me since I own quite a few eBooks in PDF format (and converting them to epub does not yield better results).
Thankfully, a tweet from John Grubber lead me to SimplyPDF which makes the PDF experience much more tolerable by allowing you to focus on a particular area of the page.
Here are too screen shots to compare:
The Default View in SimplyPDF
The Focused View in SimplyPDF
While it is no way near as good as a epub in iBooks or mobi in the Kindle app, it does get the job done for now.
Bertrand Le Roy responded to my post on iPad vs Netbook with one of his own.
It also seems like Scott is basing his opinion on the netbooks that were available two years ago. There are now amazingly powerful computers in this format, which makes for a great experience in the exact circumstances that the iPad is designed for. In other words, I think Scott’s post would have made some sense if Apple had shipped its tablet two years ago.
If you skip down to his comments you will most folks are not agreeing with him. Rick Strahl in particular had a good question:
…where are these fabled netbooks that are feature rich AND cheap that you’re talking about? Most that are in the iPad’s price range are still underpowered, barely able to handle video much less HD video…
Bertrand is correct that I have not used a more recently released netbook. My last personal experience was probably over a year ago with a Lenovo S10. However, spec for spec was not really the point I was trying to make.
A netbook is like a regular computer that has the benefit of being smaller/lighter at the cost being a device that is likely less rewarding to use (cramped keyboard, crappy video, etc).
The iPad on the other hand is not an attempt to build a smaller Mac. It is about a new experience that is great on the go, on the couch at night, and covers most of the common tasks non-geeks like to do.
Maybe this is a better way to sum it up. An iPad is not a replacement for a netbook. It is simply an alternative to a compromised computing experience.
Another personal angle on the iPad vs. netbook thing.
Netbooks are all about compromise. They are just like a normal laptop except they are smaller, slower, less powerful, etc. If you were to build a dream laptop, there is absolutely nothing in a netbook you would want today.
The iPad is about doing things differently. It draws a line in the sand on what it can and cannot do today. If the iPad could talk, it would say:
Sure there are some tasks I cannot yet complete. I am not going to humor you and let you try to complete them in a half ass way. The experience would suck and neither of use would be happy in the end. If this bothers you, please go and buy a competitor product. I doubt you will be happier, but at least you will not resent me in the morning.
Kidding aside, the iPad represents a different take on both casual and temporary business computing. I love the experience and would rather see Apple try to do something bold and different than follow in the drab foot steps of netbooks.
I have had my iPad for nearly 36 hours now. For those of you who are slightly smarter with your money and still on the fence about a purchase here are somethings to chew on.
The iPad rocks. As most of the other reviews have stated, the iPad is best suited today for “consuming the web”, but that doesn’t mean you cannot create with it in stretches. As someone who already owns a netbook, I will tell you given the choice between an iPad and a netbook, I would take the iPad everyday. For the times when I need to do more “creating” I will use my MacBook Pro.
It is blazing fast. For general computing tasks such as browsing the web, sending/reading email, and view photos it feels like it performs as well as my MacBook Pro.
The book reading experience with both the Kindle and iBooks app is great. My kindle will likely not be taking any more trips with me outside of the house.
Getting your own eBook on the iPad is not as easy as it should be. I have struggled to get .mobi and .pdf files properly converted to .epub properly. It would be a very smart move on Apple’s part to build this into iTunes. This would certainly cause me to spend much more time in iBooks.
There are already some very inventive and useful apps. However, overall the quality of the apps available is suspect. Normally this would be a major deterrent, but since there was no way of actually testing them ahead of time I am confident they will improve significantly over the next couple of weeks. In addition, the device still rocks so I think that says a lot about it.
iPhone apps are horrible on the iPad. The theory is great, but the user experience is not panning out for Apple. The only iPhone app I will use on my iPad today is 1Password. All I am doing with 1Password is copying an existing password so the small ugly screen doesn’t bother me (plus there is an updating coming shortly).
The browser experience is way better than I expected. For most of my everyday services the lack of an app is not a big of a deal. I am just going to use the browser instead. (and of course, having 1Password available makes this much better).
Instapaper - Instapaper is already one of my favorite everyday applications, but it is absolutely priceless on the iPad.
Typing - I am still not yet very comfortable typing. Typing with my thumbs doesn’t yet feel natural. I generally prefer to put it down on my lap/table/etc to type. This is also going to be a motivator to work out more since the way it sits between my lap and stomach is less than appealing. :)
Email
- reading is great (if you can ever say that about email). The portrait mode for reading emails is much better than on any device I have tried.
- writing is better than I expected
- navigating between in boxes still is not very good. I hate criticizing without a better recommendation, but hopping between inboxes and folders is not a great experience.
Battery life - Again only 36 hours into it, but so far the battery experience has been great. We turned used on and off all day on Sunday while out at a family Easter dinner. We got home and I used it while watching TV for another couple of hours. Plugged it in to charge overnight and the batter with still at 70%. It also does very well in standby mode. I am not sure what is actually powering the iPad, but I hope that technology makes it way into my iPhone in V4.
