Amph The IPad, Kindle and the possible impact on Print Media

After reading this article on IGN , I wonder what your thoughts are on the future of printed books and comic books.

Personally, I already have the Kindle app for the iphone and have download Dark Horse's Legacy comics. Both are nice as luxuries. But I can't honestly see myself using them over a book if I were to purchase an IPad or any other type of similar device. There is nothing that just beats the ability to read a book or marvel over the pages of a comic.

As someone with glasses, I also get tired more easily when reading on a screen compared to reading a book. And while I can make the text size bigger, it tends to come at the cost of side scrolling (as opposed to just bringing a book closer to my face).

Finally, something the article completely neglects is the impact this would have on business owners that make their living off print media. The owner of my local Comic Store is a nice guy as is the owner of another nearby Comic shop. If comics were to go 100% digital, they'd be unemployed.

Personally, I think comics and books on the iphone/ipad etc. are great as extra items. I've downloaded comics I already have on the iphone and purchased books I have for kindle so I can take them anywhere on my iphone. But at home, I'll just pick up the book instead.

What about you? Would you support a transition to digital media over printed media?

 

I am a big supporter of digital media for the simplicity of it. I can store thousands of comics, many of which I will never ever find in store, simply because they are too rare or too hard to find, and I can read them all on my iPod or Computer. My problem to date has been either that the iPod screen is relatively small, and my desktop PC isn't portable. While I could go halfway and use a laptop its still rather cumbersome.

With the iPad its the best of both worlds. I have a device that displays comics at nearly full size of an actual issue, is relatively simple to use, easy to store and entirely portable, and can store hundreds, even thousands of issues.

Now I am not going to be getting rid of the ones I do have and for news stand issues I tend to favour buying physical copies, simply because I prefer reading them this way. But for so many issues that I might want to read, they don't exist in trade or the issues are difficult to find, and there still remains a matter of storage.

Personally outside of price at the moment I am a big fan of the iPad, espcially if it provides me more options (Internet, games, movies, music etc) than just a reader.

 

They sound interesting, and there are definitely benefits, but print books and comics are by far still more popular. I think I'll be using print for at least the next few years.

 

See, the Podcast I listen to, and I listened just today, said that eventually it will affect print in a different way... and two of the panel members on the podcast are in the newspaper industry.

Oh, not to name drop, but their website is thegeekshowpodcast.com if you want to give it a listen.

 

The sole advantage of digital media, as far as I'm concerned, is searchability in text I'm using as references. But if I'm going to actually read something, I want a physical copy. Because books are books, dammit. There's a whole experience that digital media can't replicate, and a layer of convenience that it lacks. Books don't run out of batteries. They handle a heck of a lot easier than a big plastic slab. I can't see print media ever being displaced for me. I get a lot of news online, but I'm still going to want to sit down with the newspaper at breakfast, because of what that experience is and how convenient it is.

 

I think e-readers are convenient in that they can store a lot, and the tablet is fairly small, so it's earier to take with you and call up whatever book you want at any particular moment. That's their draw for me. But like Havac, I like having the physical book. It feels better.

 

I downloaded Marvel's iPad app onto my iPhone to check it out. It's a smaller screen of course but I got the gist of it. Books are only $1.99 compared to the $2.99 or $3.99 which is the standard nowadays. But the newest stuff on there was at least 3 months old. I don't think that's going to convert any readers who already head down to their LCS every Wednesday. If they don't have current issues it's a waste IMO. Also, like other people have said, I too prefer having the physical book in front of me. Maybe Marvel can set up a system that puts a code in the back of every book they publish. Type that code into the App and voila! A free digital copy. Just like the DVD industry is getting into.

 

The extra features in these devices sound cool, but it has limits. I dunno who would spend hundreds of dollars on just reading books/magazines/newpapers.. when there's a place called the library where you can read them for free.

 

Books don't run out of batteries. I'll stick with books.

 

Pretty much. This is the difference between the evolution of music vs. the evolution of print media.
Music has always required a player and then the actual record/cassette/cd. So the ipod with loads of storage for music that could be easily downloaded made sense.

But a book requires nothing but good eyesight. You pay 8 bucks for a paperback and that it. No device to play it. Same with picking up a comic book or a newspaper. And this is the key difference. Now granted, newspapers and magazines suffer. But that's mostly due to the fact that we want news instantly because it is that important. But a book and a comic book are things to be enjoyed. And scrolling around a screen isn't nearly as enjoyable.

 

I still prefer real books..

 

I bought a Sony PRS-300 in January, and I'm in love with it. Every book I buy from now on will be in digital format. I can fit the thing in my pocket and lay it down flat so I can read while I eat, am supposed to be paying attention in class, etc.

 

I'll take good ol' ink on paper over pointless technological gimmicks any day.

 

This sums up my fundamental view on all forms of electronic books. Books are books, and I'm sticking with books. Call me old-fashioned or nostalgic, but there's something about a book that no form of electronic media can replicate.

 

^^

Agreed. I can appreciate the IPad for its conveniency, but it won't replace books for me. I like having the physical book in my hands when I read. Nothing can replace that. And if I have to stare at a screen for an extended period of time, I get a pretty bad headache. Since I spend so much time reading, I'd prefer to not have the headaches get in the way of something I enjoy.

 

Kindles are supposed to have technology that makes them easier on the eyes than computer screens, but I'd have to think that it would still take a toll.

 

I guess I'm one of those people for whom reading on a monitor doesn't take a toll, although I still refuse to read the run-on paragraphs around here.

Another big things about Ebooks: Space availability. I'm in the Army, and I'm currently not married, so I live in a tiny barracks room. I simply don't have the space for a bunch of books to be easily available-I have tons of books in boxes, but I'd rather not go pawing through a couple of toughboxes' worth of books when I'm looking for a particular novel, as it pretty much requires unpacking my entire room.

On my 1-terabyte harddrive, on the other hand, I have 452 movies, about 6,000 songs, and sixty or so Ebooks. I'd never have space for any of that even if I was married and living in a real apartment, plus when I deploy to Iraq in a few months, I can take literally every last bit of entertainment media I have with me in a tiny box-shaped device that's barely bigger than my wallet.

 

Reading a real book cannot be replaced by reading a screen IMHO, there is just something about reading off of paper that gives me a little extra enjoyment.

I foresee myself sticking with books as long as the option is there for me.

 

Boba - that is a really good point. I'm worried about traveling and how I'm going to take books with me

 

Thanks, NYC Gurl. Books are just freaking impossible when you're travelling with two duffel bags and a backpack which is mainly full of stuff to wear.

 

I can see how that would make sense, Charles. But I've got a whole room that's slowly being assaulted by stacks and stacks and piles and mounds of books, and I can't say that I mind.

 

It will when you can take like 3 with you somewhere.

 

But I'm never reading three at a time.

 

I definitely like the idea of having an ebook reader to take with me on the bus/train/plane, or even just to save on space while moving. Having to cart around my book collection every time I move is a pain. I don't mind reading stuff on a screen - I read fanfic all the time, so that's no big deal really.

Yet ... the current ebook readers just have too many drawbacks for me. The DRM issues ... Amazon remotely pulling books from Kindles ... the price of the device (if you drop a paperback book down the drain, you're down the price of lunch, but if you drop an ebook reader you're down a few hundred) ... heck, the price of the ebooks on said device in the first place. I'd still rather buy a paper book.

 

Amazon is crazy - they also pulled a 6th of their stock (everything from Macmillan) from their shelves a few months ago without warning. If I got an e-reader, I'd get Sony or something - I don't trust Amazon.

QGR - I'm always reading multiple books at a time