Kobo vs iPad in Sunlight Conditions

Here's where the Kobo definitely does better than the iPad. Sunlight conditions. E-ink readers are designed to be non-reflective, to give a better 'book' experience. In contrast, the iPad has a highly reflective screen, so reading in direct sunlight can be a problem. This video shows the difference and ways to improve reading on the iPad, beyond using a sun screen or sitting in the shade.

Kobo vs iPad in sunlight conditions from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

Kobo vs iPad for Reading PDF Files

This is a quick video showing the difference between reading a PDF on the Kobo vs the iPad. Ultimately, while it's great the Kobo can read PDFs and increase the font size, it's inability to scroll through documents using anything but the forward and back keys, make doing anything than a straight read impossible (with books you can at least jump between chapter but that isn't an option with PDFs).

Contrast this with the iPad, which allows for easy scrolling, bookmarking, etc. it's a much more pleasant reading experience when it comes to PDFs.

Back from Japan, Thoughts on the ipad & the kobo

So, we returned safe and sound from Japan on Thursday. I'd meant to post my thoughts on the ipad yesterday and start blogging about our trip but jet lag hit so I spent the day napping instead.

Of the two devices we brought on the trip, the ipad and the kobo, we definitely found the ipad more useful. My husband downloaded a mapping program, which we used to track our progress (and our walking side-trips), as well as help us in unfamiliar places to avoid getting lost. He amused himself on the airplane with various games. For the most part I used it, rather than the kobo, to read (explained below). When we could find a free connection, we used it to check email and download more games, etc. On the occasions when we encountered my friends, we'd uploaded photos and did slide shows with it. It was also a great conversation topic for my husband, as his Japanese (and often their English) wasn't good and he didn't know any of the people we were meeting.

The backlit screen was excellent for the airplane, as it meant it could be used without using the overhead light and thereby disturbing people (I tried to read the kobo on the plane and ran into this dilemma. Since the screen isn't backlit, you can't read it without an outside light source. In the past I'd always get window seats and crack the window a bit to read books, if necessary. This time I was in a middle seat, so couldn't do that).

We never found ourselves reading in direct sunlight so glare wasn't a major problem with the ipad, and you can dim the screen (in fact it's recommended to do so in order to save battery life), which makes it easier to read in sunny conditions.

Typing messages with it wasn't as hard as I'd expected. Switching between the letters and numbers takes some getting used to, but everything has a learning curve.

The ipad is fast. One very noticeable difference between reading on it and the kobo, was how long it took the kobo to refresh pages. As I said, I didn't end up doing much reading on the kobo. Part of that was because my husband was reading from it a lot of the time. But when he wasn't, I found it a pain to use. I chose Frankenstein as my plane read. I couldn't read the kobo on the plane for the above reasons (no backlight), so I started reading it on the kobo app for the ipad. What I didn't realize when I started was that Frankenstein is separated into letters, and the letters subdivided into chapters. The kobo has no way of jumping ahead to a specific page. You must either scroll between pages (and page refreshes, in this age of cable internet and instant gratification are SLOW) or you have to scroll through chapters. But the kobo didn't had the subchapters of Frankenstein listed, so once I started the 300+ page section, I was more or less stuck reading it on the ipad (or scrolling for hours, which I refused to do).

So, I'm not the best judge of the kobo's performance at the moment. I'm hoping to read a book off the kobo next week so as to give more accurate feedback about it.

In the meantime, the ipad is incredible. Reading on it was a joy. The weight wasn't a problem, the light wasn't a problem. When the screen's lighting is down it can last quite some time on a charge (we charged it every night and I think the most we drained it was to the 70% charge mark). Both the kobo and ireader apps are fun to read from. You can decide your page flip method, and they're practically instantaneous regardless of which one you choose. The option of font sizes is a plus (which the kobo has as well).

The biggest problem with the ipad was deciding who got to use it!

Ipad + Japan Trip Plans

The same night I brought home the Kobo, my husband surprised me with an ipad! We'll be bringing both to Japan as e-readers. In the box were the ipad, a USB connection cable, a USB outlet adaptor (so you can charge it from a wall plug in addition to your computer). He also bought a slipcover for it. This acts both as a light shield in direct sunlight (so you can read it better) and a stand. It also helps protect the ipad from fingermarks (you can see how receptive it is to fingerprints in the middle photo) and other damage.

I spent some time adding Project Gutenberg books on it using both the ibook and kobo apps. When we get back from our trip I'll post the pros and cons of the ipad vs the kobo as ereaders.

On that note, I won't be responding to comments (or emails) for the two weeks we're gone. And while I won't be posting anything live, I have a number of posts set up. Tomorrow there's an interview with Stacia Kane, and look forward to a zombie themed reading list, a book review of Jim Hines' Red Hood's Revenge, and movie reviews for Ponyo and The Seven Samurai (to get you in the right mood for my posts about our trip once I return).

It's been 5 years since I last visited the land of the rising sun. Seven since I lived there. It's been too long. We're planning on spending a few days in Tokyo and Kyoto, with side trips to Osaka and Hikone (and perhaps Himeji). Then it's North for Sendai (Matsushima), Morioka (the city I taught English in for 2 years) and Tazawako (Nyuto Onsen) before heading back to Tokyo. Can't wait!