We want user-control

Look at MegaReader, an app which gives easy access to over a million free books from various places around the web. That's cool in itself, but what I really like is that it also gives the reader choices of:

• 23 fonts
• Step-less choice of colors for text and background
• Step-less choice of font size
• Control of margin width
• ... and so on

Now why don't we get that in the big fancy readers from Apple, Amazon, and B&N? Some of them only have one font, in four or six sizes, and one or two options for background. Do they think their customers are all sheep who get confused by too many choices? Or don't they have software engineers who can do this stuff? If it's the first one, that certainly goes against Microsoft's philosophy when making Windows 95 where you can customize everything, and Windows became omnipresent.

More new uses for iPad

Who would'a thunk?



Sure, it's pretty much just a toy, but many important developments and inventions started as "pretty much just a toy".

Another one: Art Authority, and app I've liked since the very beginning of the iPad. It's an app for browsing 50,000 of the world's famous paintings, and include much data about the paintings and painters.

New uses for iPad

I keep hearing of new uses for iPad. For instance, my friend who is an artist, wrote to me:

I had meant to say to you at the time, when I sent the cat image, that the reason the eyes looked so alive was because I had used my ipad to show me a photograph of a real cat, and was able to concentrate on the detail of how tones worked, where the shadows and highlights were, and whether they would be sharp or softened.
My extra new found use for the ipad is as an artists tool... if I want to know how feather barbs look in detail, load a photo, and sit my ipad next to me, and concentrate on the detail...!
The ipad is a wonderful thing, and it has quickly become an essential part of my daily life..!
I really don`t think that some people realise the potential.. and, I confess, I don`t either yet.. but I am learning..!
Zeppelina

(Painting in progress)

Four portable keyboards for the iOS, comparison

What do you do when you're on the go and your inner touch-typing devil grabs hold of you, but the iPad/iPhone screen keyboard is just not your scene. Well, you must have an external one, of course. Sadly, there has not sprung up a scene for this like it has for iPad cases, but there are a few.

On my photo is an iPad in leather case/stand, and a Matias folding keyboard, and a Think Ouside portable keyboard, and a Freedom i-Connex foldable, and an Apple Wireless (non-foldable) keyboard. They all connect via bluetooth (Except the Matias, which is USB), for better and for worse. (Remember you must un-pair one divice before you can connect another.)

The Matias (who makes the best desktop keyboard I know, the Tactile Pro) foldable is reasonably priced at fifty bucks, but... it's just too big to be really portable in these times. (Notice there's a Mac and a Win version.) And the keys are a bit mushy, and it doesn't have a lock for lying flat.

The Think Outside (or I-go) is very small indeed, and very good for all of that. I find I can actually touch-type on it, despite my large hands. But it's out of production, and generally sells over $100. And it is kind of fiddly, multiple uses for each key and such. And it doesn't really lie flat on a table.

The Freedom i-Connex is a pretty new product (there's a couple very similar one, but I *think* this is the one I got), and I like it. It is full-size for touch-typing, and yet pretty compact when folded. I like the feel of the keys. There are some things to get used to, for example the distance to the right shift key is more than I'm used to, so I keep pressing arrow-up instead. But I think I can get used to it. It also comes with the nicest pouch of any of these.

The Apple Wireless is a simplistic design, and it's just gorgeous. It's even compact and light. Many people love this keyboard to bits, particularly women for some reason. But the key travel is very short, which some people don't care so much for. And of course it does not fold.

Weight:

• Matias: 444 grams
• Apple Wireless: 333 grams
• Freedom i-Connex: 261 grams
• Think Outside: 178 grams

I think that my favorite so far is the Freedom i-Connex. It has a good compromise between size/weight and usability (it goes in a jacket pocket), it's not expensive, and it feels pretty good to my hands. I think with a little training I could get up to a good 'n comfortable speed on this one.

Pogue reviews color Nook

David Pogue, my ol' pal and NYT tech journalist, review the color Nook in a video on this page.  But you can view it in much better quality via iTunes.
(Hint: he likes it a ton better than the old B/W one, as I'd suspected.)

There's also an accompanying article with more detail.

I reeeeeeaaally wonder when Amazon, if ever, plans to introduce a color Kindle. I don't think they can keep their position without one.

Google eBooks

Google has finally opened its long-rumored ebook store. This might be interesting. The other platforms are all proprietary, and you can't read an iBook book on a Sony reader or vice versa (though props to Amazon for reader apps on multiple platforms). I'm not sure what Google can do for openness, but at least so far they're promoting it.

Update:
The restrictions between countries are pretty damn severe. Google, who is promoting openness, here reveals that you not only can't buy books if you're an American customer who is outside the US, you can't even download books you already have bought! Apparently.
"For U.S. users traveling abroad: Before you head to the airport, be sure to load and sync the ebooks you wish to have with you for continued reading without interruption."

I think it's a bit different with Amazon. I have heard of people buying ebooks on their Amazon account while in Africa. But it's all a bit complex and puzzling for sure.

Renamed app

One of the best independent writing apps for hand-helds has been renamed.

Ten millionth iPad sold

Ten millionth iPad sold. In nine months.
"It's just an over-grown iPod Touch, who will want this?"...

Pocketbook. Confusing market

Wow, the eReader market really is confusing now. New devices are avalanching on our heads and prices are all over the map. For instance, when I see the 7-inch color screen Pocketbook Android device at $160, I must  wonder how much the Samsung Galaxy Tab can really have to justify over three times the price... ?

... The first differences which fell to my eyes were a lower screen resolution and a higher weight, for the Pocketbook. And indeed user reviews seem to agree, user zetareticuli saying:

"I agree with your observations. The display and the weight of the device are the biggest negatives. The quality of the display is below average and the device is heavy for a portable e-reader. I still think it is a pretty good deal for the money.

Yes, there's a surely a difference, but the price difference is the one which springs to mind.

But at the very least, this tells us that already in the very first year of color tablets, we are finding products priced under $200, and that is quite amazing. When the iPad came out in early 2010, everybody was shocked that it was priced so low as $500. (Indeed I still consider that a good deal, I'm just sayin', things are developing fast.)

Kindle gift books

The good news is that you now finally can give a kindle ebook as a gift. (The ebook itself, not the reader device.)
The bad news is that so far it seems to be limited to the US.

I don't know what happens if you gift an ebook to somebody who don't have a Kindle. Can you read it in the free Kindle app on your computer (or device), or do you have to get a Kindle? Anybody know?

SmashWords, pushing ebooks

On my main blog, readers have often recommended SmashWords as an excellent source of ebooks. Smashwords is a distributor, not a publisher, and they are growing rapidly. They sell ebooks through their own site, and also through Apple, Sony, and B&N. They expect Amazon also soon. I think it is interesting, both as reader and writer. Here is an interview with the founder. And here is their page about how they distribute, written for the authors.

We need a LARGE ereader (updated)

I have just realized something: with the battle this month being between the 6- or 7-inch ereaders and the 10-inch iPad, we don't think about it much, but for many uses, the iPad is actually not large enough.

I can just hope that somebody will judge it commercially viable, but personally I would buy a Super-iPad (or Galaxy Super-Tab or whatever) in a second.

I would say it should have high resolution. Not necessarily as high as the stunning 326 pixels per inch the iPhone 4 has, but rather higher than the current iPad. And it should be... I dunno, maybe 15 inches. (These measurements are the screen only, and diagonally, like usual for monitors.)

Why? Art books. And comics. Me, I love comics, but I just can't bear to read them on a screen where I have to zoom into the panels and navigate around on the page in order to read and enjoy the artwork properly. OK, the software helps with the navigation of panels, but... I am sure that a super-display would be a totally different experience with comics. And the same with art books, photo books, graphically rich text books, atlases, etc.

In fact, thinking about those categories, it becomes obvious that this is a much-needed product.
The problem of course is mainly two-fold, cost and weight. But given a little time and technology, both have a marked tendency to come down. (And as for weight, actually there are many art books published which are too large and heavy to read hand-held.)

I don't think any other company has the guts or vision to do this until Apple has done it first, so I really hope Apple makes one, and soonish.

(PS: as if the Universe was underlining my statement, the minute I had posted this one, I got the announcement of an iPad story-book based on the Kung Fu Panda movie. If you have seen the movie, it is spectacularly visually rich, and a picture book based on it really deserves a bigger screen.)

UPDATE:
I almost forgot: if a larger tablet would gain a couple of features, like pressure sensitivity, it would become very strong competitors for design and art creation. And in fact for many, many forms of content creation. That actually, more than the reader aspect, practically guarantees the appearances of such devices, hopefully in a foreseeable future.

Readers in the wild

I went across the street today to the local junk electronics store, Curry's, to buy an iPod Nano for Jade for xmas. To my surprise, they not only had the Galaxy Tab on display, but also Sony's ereader, and at least two other brands (Samsung and... takamako...what's it called? It's not even on their site.). It seems ereaders for xmas is being taken very seriously by retailers.

It must say, some of the Sony machines are astoundingly small and light-weight. Go Sony! (Now go Sony and get out of this little proprietary format- and store cage you have locked yourself into.)

I really do love this new medium, and I can't wait to witness them getting better over the years. Just compare the new iPod Touch to the iPod 1st generation.
We have a good start, just look at this ridiculous spread.  (And typically, hardly two of them read the same format. Well, most read ePub. But the big gorilla, Kindle, does not. Crazy.)

Oddities of the Galaxy

I really like the Galaxy Tab as an ereader. Primarily because it's about the perfect size for it (as a compromise for portability), and has a way, way better screen than the Kindle 3.
But also it's a good machine. Nothing beats the iPad yet, but, well, I have to admit, it's a pretty good machine.

Here's a typical little oddity of computers though: this evening I wanted to turn the Rotation Lock off, so I could read a broad text sideways. But I couldn't remember where I had set the lock, and I couldn't find it *anywhere* in Settings!
I tried the Search function, but very "intelligently", this only searched the web, not the machine itself!
And of course there's no user guide or help system on it.  Well, none came with it, I have since found on online, a smallish PDF with the basics. Why haven't they at least loaded this PDF on the durn machine, with a shortcut to it somewhere?
I finally had to google around until I found a review which happened to mention where that damn setting was. It was in the "shortcuts panel" which one can drag down from the status bar which sits at the top of most screens, full of oblique symbols. Well, the problem is that this is the *only* place it sits. It's quick when you know where it is, but...

This is what's making David Pogue rich, and the rest of us frustrated: the lack of explanation for the very complicated gadgets which are supposed to make our lives easier.

It's worth it, though. I'm reading Terry Pratchett's I Shall Wear Midnight on the Galaxy Tab,  and it's a pleasure.

Tab and keyboards

Many people have problems connecting bluetooth keyboards to Samsung Galaxy Tabs.
I hear that Google says that Android is not yet really meant for tablets. I think that's a bit slow, the tablets have been coming for a long while now. But on the other hand, what marvels we'll surely see when it becomes so!! (That was only half sarcastic.)

Anyway, while I could not get the GT to work with the Apple Wireless keyboard, I did get it to work with the super-compact Think Outside foldable keyboard. Zippidy. The stealth writer lounges once more.