Does Apple’s iPad pass muster as an ebook reader?

You can read opinions about Apple’s iPad elsewhere. Here I ask if it is the eBook reader to lead the way from print to a paperless digital future.

The iPad is a serious contender and likely to displace Amazon’s Kindle from pole position. While the iPad in its current form is still short of ideal, it nudges ebooks nearer the goal.

Consumers will buy the device regardless of its suitability as an ebook reader. Which means the iPad could be the breakthrough ebook despite not be designed specifically for this task. The comments here relate only to Apple’s iPad as an ebook reader, not as a more general device.

Rating the iPad as an eBook reader:

Its size is right. The iPad is lightweight, slim and big enough for comfortable reading.

There are doubts about the way Apple sells ebooks – the company clips the ticket too hard. Publishers may feel they have little choice but to conform.

Ten hours battery life is at the low-end of acceptability. It may handle a long-distance flight, other ebook readers do better.

At 9.7 inches, the display size is right. Colour is good. The screen resolution at 1024-by-768-pixel is less than ideal for long-term text reading. I’m indebted to Bruce Hoult (@brucehoult) who twitters a simple calculation sqrt(1024^2+768^)/9.7 shows resolution is 132 DPI.

Tired eyes

While this is better than the PC standard 72 dpi, it means tired eyes. Likewise the LED-backlit display is less than ideal.

Apple’s price is respectable for a multi-function device able to handle many applications, but at US$499 plus, the iPad is an expensive eBook reader.

The first impression is it needs a lower price, better display and improved battery life if the iPad is to become a serious threat to the printed book – these are all matters Apple may address in coming months.

Scorecard (out of ten):