- Posts tagged Ereader
- Explore Ereader on posterous
The Daily: What It Needs
After using The Daily a couple of days I can already tell I won't subscribe when the trial ends. I may not even use it for the duration of the trial. Here's a list of what would need to improve before I'd consider subscribing:
- Startup sound. This should never make a list like this, but The Daily's implementation is so egregious it bothers me. I don't like startup sounds. I don't like them even more if they cannot be shut off. And I abhor them if they ignore the mute switch (The Daily chimes on startup even if the iPad is muted). This is a horrible design decision.
- Speed. There's not much to dwell on here, just five minutes of using it reveals it's slower than a pregnant turtle.
- Orientation. Some articles cannot be read unless the device is in portrait mode. I don't use portrait mode, but even if I switched modes all the time it's ridiculous to require one to read some articles' content. Another horrible design decision.
- Interface confusion. I can't be the only one tapping things with the expectation of getting an article or something and finding out it's not a tappable item. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference. The slow speed adds to the problem because after a tap you wait to see if there's something that's just slow to load.
- Content. I think it tries too hard to utilize graphical and animated content. To be sure, I'd be disappointed with just a USA Today look-alike, but especially given the slow performance they should have dialed it down a notch. The writing seems USA Today-like, which is what I expected as a target, but I don't think it meets that mark.
In short, when I want USA Today I use their iOS apps, which are very well done. For other types of reading there are specific apps like Reuters, BBC News, NYT, etc., but what The Daily has really done for me is make me appreciate Flipboard even more. Flipboard is customizable, with a nice UX and lots of varied content. At this point The Daily just doesn't fit in with the apps I use most for reading.
Another Vote For iPad Reading
[NYT's Editor's Choice app] has changed my morning reading routine… it is graceful, placeful, and feels like The Times — the Times I know and love, as someone old enough to vividly remember what it was like when being a news junkie meant getting your fingertips stained black every morning — in a way that the nytimes.com web site never has.
The Daring Fireball link is actually about the state of magazine design for iPad apps. The above quote is from a parenthetical at the end of the article, but it struck me because, as I've said, I'm as excited about the iPad as a reader as I am about its computing prospects.
Apple Preparing For Great eBook Experience, Amazon Preparing For... What, Exactly?
I like Amazon, and though I don’t own a Kindle I use the Kindle iPhone app often. I also love the Stanza eReader. You’d think the Amazon name, the Kindle app, and Amazon’s acquisition of Stanza would allow them to be impressive competitors to Apple in the software eBook arena, but instead I see Amazon about to get steamrolled...
Amazon Speaks: iPad Kindle App Will Be Cool, But Late
Amazon promises that the iPad version of the Kindle app it is working on will be cool, but it won’t be ready when the first Apple devices show up April 3. That’s because the e-commerce giant, like most other developers, hasn’t been able to test the app on a real device. And it’s going to wait until it can do so to finish the software.
They're stupid not to deliver on April 3. With no Kindle App why not try Apple's iBooks? Which is just what many will do.
It's hard to believe they're really waiting for the physical device to test with. Very few developers have the physical device yet there will be thousands of native iPad apps available on opening day. Besides, this is just an eReader, hard to believe the physical device will make that big a difference. Get the app in the store, and if the physical device makes a difference push an update out ASAP.
I think the real reason is that it's simply not ready. Amazon dragged their feet since the iPad was announced. They've focused on agreements and posturing with content providers, an SDK for the Kindle, and pushing out a weak beta of Kindle for the Mac. All those things should have taken a back seat to the iPad.
Only thing left is for their late Kindle iPad app to kick ass. Early looks seem promising. If the buying experience isn't significantly improved over the iPhone version, they blew it. Big time.
Good: Kindle For The Mac. Bad: Kindle For The Mac
Barnes & Noble Is Smart. Hello, Amazon? Anybody Home?
Designed specifically for the iPad," the company said, "our new B&N eReader will give our customers access to more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore
Very smart of B&N to do this; the sooner they get it released after iPad launch, the better.
Meanwhile, I've heard nothing from Amazon on their plans for the iPad. Do they have any? They seem to be too busy licking their wounds instead of modifying the Kindle app for the new device.
Hello, Amazon, say something. Do something. You should beef up Stanza while you're at it. I want as many good eReaders on the iPad as possible and you control two of the most popular. I love the iPhone for book reading; the Pad could be that much better. Don't blow this.
If there was ever a rumor to doubt, this is it.
Controversial Mahalo head Jason Calacanis heard from a "major publisher" that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has acquiesced to giving out an unspecified amount of customer data
Jason Calacanis isn't "controversial", he's nuts.
