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The iPod Touch as an econo e-book reader: Too late for $169 deal, but look for others
March 20, 2009 | 8:33 am
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By David Rothman
Earlier today you could buy a refurbed second-generation 8G iPod Touch handheld from Woot for $169 and $5 shipping, at least in the States. I bought the same model some months ago for around $220.
At $169 the the Touch was a lot cheaper than even used Kindles. Alas, the units sold out while I was writing this item, but I’ll leave it up to offer a little hope for bargain-hunters. Anyone know of similar bargains? "Buy It Now" prices on eBay are currently $179 and up for a refurb. The just-given eBay deal will expire in a five hours.
The Touch as an e-book reader
So why is this of interest to e-book-lovers? Old-timers already know.
But for novices: You can run Stanza, eReader, BookShelf, BookZ and of course the Kindle App for the iPhone/Touch. Check out a video from PC World.
What’s more, you can read any one of 500,000 free ePub files downloaded via Sony software—books by Jane Austen, Mark Twain (photo), Jules Verne and other public domain favorites, as well as more obscure titles. Just use Stanza’s desktop program to transfer the ePubs to your Touch. You can also read a mobile version of Google Search, as long as you have a steady WiFi connection to use with your Touch.
Thanks to the eight gigs of storage, you can store thousands of books—not jut from the above sources but also from Feedbooks, Manybooks and Project Gutenberg, all of which provide titles in the ePub format.
I’d welcome your pros and cons on the Touch as an e-reader. We’ve discussed this before. What do you think at this point? The big catch is that the screen, 3.5 inches, isn’t as large as the Kindle’s. On the other hand, the Touch is far easier to tote around town, and as you can see from the left screen shot, it’s good for many apps besides e-reading.
Related: A comprehensive review of iPhone e-book options, by Chris Meadows. It’s a bit out of date, but still useful. Also see reviews from elsewhere on the Net.
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Comments:
Prices may go even lower soon. June is the expected time for the new round of iPhone and iPod Touch hardware to be released. You can smell the blood in the water from the way various stores or phone providers are starting to offer special deals to clear out their current inventory—a Japanese phone company is giving away iPhones free with contract, and AT&T has started selling no-contract-required unlocked iPhones (albeit at a higher price than the contract-subsidized model). Some AT&T locations have started offering refurb 16G iPhones for $150 with contract.
If Apple does another price cut when it brings out the new hardware, new iPod Touches (and refurbished old iPod Touches) will be more attractive than ever.
My opinion:
Pros:
– It’s cheap for a eBook reader
– It’s a multi-function device
– supports ePub
– works with Mac or Windows (and Linux with some non-supported software)
Cons:
– LCD screen (they say it’s not as nice to read on as the eInk displays. Sadly, I wouldn’t know from personal experience.)
– Battery only lasts for about one book of continuous reading (I can finish a typical novel in about 8 hours of continuous reading. Your results may vary depending on your reading speed.)
I’ve heard some people complain about the small screen size and having to constantly turn pages.
I’ve read about 10 books on my iPod Touch now and haven’t had a problem.
I do turn pages fairly frequently, and I’ll admit a larger screen size would be nice, but it’s not small enough to be an irritant.
As for the people complaining about turning the pages:
Stanza takes about the same time to turn a page that I do turning a paper page, that’s not exactly instantaneous either. (Or I just turn pages slowly… *shrug*)
Some have complained their thumb hurts from turning pages. I have Stanza set up to turn by a tap, not a swipe, and it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I’ll used a finger, but my thumb has never started hurting partway through a book.
I can understand how this can vary by person, but the argument that’ presented is that the physical button on the Kindle/Reader/whatever is a better alternative to a touch screen. I’ll admit I’ve never used one, but I’d imagine it takes more pressure to push the button than it does to tap the touch screen.
I love reading on my Touch and don’t find the LCD to be a problem. I do have two cons though:
1) The screen is fine for general reading, but makes me dizzy if I try and read it while in motion e.g. on the treadmill
2) If you let it get dirty, the smudges can be a distraction sometimes
Otherwise, I love it. Love that it can read so many formats. Love that I can read one-handed. It is a great device for me.
As a former Dell Axim user with its iPhone/Touch like 3.5 LCD screen, I can firmly say that the Kindle (or other eink machine) is a much, much better ebook reader. When ready to buy a device, you need to decide how important reading ebooks is overall to other possible functionality.
I usually read 8 to 12 books per month, use less than 2 hours per month call time on the cell phone, I’m happy with email and internet only at home, and cost is not a major issue, so readability is the deciding factor.
I’m pretty sure that all or most the the Google/Sony Public Domain titles are available elsewhere. I can choose from the great selection of new titles at Amazon (DRM doesn’t bother me overtly) or I can buy unprotected ebooks from other sites. I think the Kindle is the clear winner.
The only downside to the Kindle is the size–it is harder to tote around town. I’ve got a fanny pack I wear in the front to carry it when out with my wife, so she can drop me off while she goes shopping. I probably look like a nebbish, but don’t care.
You can usually get a refurbed Touch here:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipod/ipod_touch
tho the price is not as good as woot. I don’t know if buying from woot provides the same warranty and support as buying a refurb from Apple.
Like Greg M. I am a former Dell Axim user (which I think is/was a superior device to the Touch in many ways) and also prefer to read on my Kindle rather than my Touch. I generally have no problem from headaches or blurry eyes from reading off an LCD – which I do about 10 hours a day for work.
My main objection to lengthy reading sessions on the Touch is the short battery life and that it is almost impossible to read when outdoors whereas I can easily read my Kindle for hours at a time while sitting comfy in my Adirondack chair on my deck on a bright sunny day.
I do enjoy reading on the Touch for a half hour or so before going to sleep each night and the addition of the Kindle reader for the Touch and Whispersync is a really cool feature that allows me to switch between devices without missing a beat.
I’ve been a big advocate of reading on the iPod touch. However, I just ordered a Kindle about 30 minutes ago. I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently and the battery life on the iPod is starting to get to me. Plus I would like to have a bigger screen and less page turning.