somethingkindawierd

I have been reading on my 6″ Amazon Kindle 2 for quite some time now and really enjoy it. But, as with all innovations that try to re-invent a tried-and-true product, it has its trade-offs. It does not completely replace the experience of reading a real paper book. I thought it was about time we had some side-by-side shots — the same book in print and on the Kindle 2, so you can see the exact differences. The book is Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder (link to the Kindle edition.)

Gallery

It is immediately apparent that a real book has more contrast than the Kindle. And images are harder to view on the Kindle;  the 5th image above, of the ship diagram, is almost unreadable on the Kindle.

Ways that the Kindle betters the ordinary book

• Built in dictionary
• Search within books
• Search within notes and bookmarks
• Dynamic resizing of the text size
• A whole library of books in one device

Ways that the ordinary book betters the Kindle

• Contrast
• Resolution (especially images)
• Smell
• Typography
• Sense of which chapter your currently in. On the Kindle there is no way to know which chapter your reading other than paging forward to the next chapter or backward to the beginning of the current chapter. Books can place this info at the top of every page.
• Sense of location within the book. The progress bar below the text on the Kindle works ok, but it’s not nearly as good as page numbers and the feel of the thickness of the pages before and after the open page.