3 ms·

Does books purchased over a 3-year timespan have any relevance to books purchased over a 30-day timespan? Unlike other kinds of purchases, most people usually c

by waxman 16y ago

Does books purchased over a 3-year timespan have any relevance to books purchased over a 30-day timespan? Unlike other kinds of purchases, most people usually consume books relatively slowly (at a rate of one per month or more). If your Kindle is 2 years old, 27 books per 24 months is roughly equivalent to the iPad's numbers... Also, can anyone who owns/uses both an iPad and a Kindle chime in on how the reading experience differs between the two? All I've heard is the obvious: that the iPad interface is slicker, but the Kindle is much better in direct sunlight. I had a first-gen Kindle, and a Kindle DX. I've purchased maybe 20 books, but I've grown to despise the Kindle. It's interface is terrible; anything other than a book on it is miserable (newspaper, magazine article, etc.). I can't wait to get an iPad...

vtail 16y ago
These were annual figures. I figured out that average Kindle ownership time is about a year assuming growing sales.
markkanof 16y ago
I had a Kindle DX (which I sold recently) and currently have an iPad. Since you said to skip the obvious I will just comment on the actual experience of using the two devices. Theoretically I should love the Kindle, far more than the iPad, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. The Kindle has an e-ink display which is easier on the eyes than an LCD, it's very light and compact, it has free cellular internet access (WhisperNet), etc. In reality though, I found the Kindle to be clunky. The screen is very slow to refresh which makes skimming or searching through a book almost impossible. The web browser ends up being nothing more than a toy, it can certainly render sites correctly, but you can't do anything interactive and even clicking on a link can end up taking dozens of clicks depending on the location on the page. In contrast the iPad is a joy to use. Everything basically works like you would expect it to. The screen looks great and is easy to read on. Especially with the Kindle app where you can switch to white text on black background. It's maybe not quite as good as e ink, but close enough. I'm certainly not trying to claim that the iPad is a perfect device. What I am trying to say though is that the iPad is a good enough book reading device, and it blows the Kindle away in many other aspects, so in the end the Kindle went up for sale and I haven't missed it.
- rdl 16y ago
  The iPad (which I've ordered but don't have yet) is heavier than the DX, and needs to be charged a lot more frequently (especially if you leave wireless off on the DX). I think that would take it from "book replacement" to "another phone-like device", where I need to worry about charging it every 1-2 days. My plan is to just carry both, though.
patio11 16y ago
Unlike other kinds of purchases, most people usually consume books relatively slowly (at a rate of one per month or more). Do you know many women in the 30 to 50 range? Find one who reads romance novels or urban fantasy (cough romance novels with vampires in them). I will bet you that a conversation with her about how many books she reads will greatly change your estimate of the behavior of "most people." Anecdotally, from what I've seen in customer reviews, Amazon is making huge inroads with Kindles in that sort of core customer segment. I'm also a bit of an outlier: I just picked up my 78th, 79th, and 80th books in the last 2 days, having had my Kindle since October.
- runevault 16y ago
  There are people like that sure, but at one point I saw a rather depressing statistic that each american household probably averaged something really low (this article says 4/year in 2007) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101045.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08... Mind you I probably average between 15 and 20 books most years, some going 30+ depending, so I know I'm a total outlier in that respect.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]

by waxman 16y ago

vtail 16y ago

These were annual figures. I figured out that average Kindle ownership time is about a year assuming growing sales.

markkanof 16y ago

I had a Kindle DX (which I sold recently) and currently have an iPad. Since you said to skip the obvious I will just comment on the actual experience of using the two devices. Theoretically I should love the Kindle, far more than the iPad, but in reality it just doesn't work that way. The Kindle has an e-ink display which is easier on the eyes than an LCD, it's very light and compact, it has free cellular internet access (WhisperNet), etc. In reality though, I found the Kindle to be clunky. The screen is very slow to refresh which makes skimming or searching through a book almost impossible. The web browser ends up being nothing more than a toy, it can certainly render sites correctly, but you can't do anything interactive and even clicking on a link can end up taking dozens of clicks depending on the location on the page. In contrast the iPad is a joy to use. Everything basically works like you would expect it to. The screen looks great and is easy to read on. Especially with the Kindle app where you can switch to white text on black background. It's maybe not quite as good as e ink, but close enough. I'm certainly not trying to claim that the iPad is a perfect device. What I am trying to say though is that the iPad is a good enough book reading device, and it blows the Kindle away in many other aspects, so in the end the Kindle went up for sale and I haven't missed it.

rdl 16y ago
The iPad (which I've ordered but don't have yet) is heavier than the DX, and needs to be charged a lot more frequently (especially if you leave wireless off on the DX). I think that would take it from "book replacement" to "another phone-like device", where I need to worry about charging it every 1-2 days. My plan is to just carry both, though.

patio11 16y ago

Unlike other kinds of purchases, most people usually consume books relatively slowly (at a rate of one per month or more). Do you know many women in the 30 to 50 range? Find one who reads romance novels or urban fantasy (cough romance novels with vampires in them). I will bet you that a conversation with her about how many books she reads will greatly change your estimate of the behavior of "most people." Anecdotally, from what I've seen in customer reviews, Amazon is making huge inroads with Kindles in that sort of core customer segment. I'm also a bit of an outlier: I just picked up my 78th, 79th, and 80th books in the last 2 days, having had my Kindle since October.

runevault 16y ago
There are people like that sure, but at one point I saw a rather depressing statistic that each american household probably averaged something really low (this article says 4/year in 2007) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101045.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08... Mind you I probably average between 15 and 20 books most years, some going 30+ depending, so I know I'm a total outlier in that respect.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]