| Science & Technology |
Reading Reincarnated
By Shabbir Akhtar
2012-03-26
The debate about the web being a cause of decline in reading has been raging for the past few years. Of course, there are still a lot of fiction novel lovers out there, but there are less and less people reading fiction as times goes by. It’s not that people don’t desire to escape reality and indulge in a pastime which takes them into a fantasy world, but the big problem is time and the fast paced lifestyle which most of us are trying to keep up. The media is throwing up so much real life information that many people who would have once sat up late at night reading their favourite Agatha Christie novel are now huddled around a computer.
Although it’s technology that is the cause of decline in reading, it’s technology again that’s responsible for its reincarnation. We're living in the age of "Lean Back 2.0," according to Andrew Rashbass, CEO of The Economist Group. The concept of Lean Back 2.0 is relatively simple – it is the use of tablets and e- readers at the expense of print and web. Unlike reading a print newspaper or magazine, you can access whatever you like, and unlike reading on a laptop, reading on a tablet or e-reader is a leisure activity.
Tablets do allow us to read e-books, but if you are looking to read novels, or even magazines, it’s best to pick an e-reader. E-readers, with e-ink, don’t have backlit screen and require an external light source for reading, but it's easier on the eyes and causes less eye strain for readers than tablets with LCD screens. There are many e-reader brands in the market but it’s only Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook which are worth any investment. Nook Color and Kindle Touch are as different as they are similar. If your goal is to read long novels and spend hours with your e-reader, Kindle Touch is probably the better device for you.
Amazon Kindle Touch:
Amazon finally entered the post-keyboard world of e-readers with Kindle Touch. The Kindle Touch is lightweight, compact and affordable. It has divided the screen into regions. A 0.5-inch-wide strip running the length of the left-hand side is set aside for tapping to return to the previous page. The larger region to the right – effectively stretching from the centre of the page to the right edge – is reserved for moving to the next page. The device offers access to a massive catalog of books, magazines, newspapers, and audiobooks via Amazon.com's familiar online store. The most compelling aspect of the Kindle Touch is its inclusion of 3G along with the Wi-Fi-only model.
Barnes & Noble Nook Color:
To put it in simple words, the Nook Color is a stripped-down tablet focused on reading or a very fancy e-reader. The Nook Color sports a 7-inch LCD touch screen and comes with built-in Wi-Fi and browser which allows you to surf the web, send email and do a lot more. The LCD screen is backlit and you can read it without a light. The screen is also touch sensitive, so you can navigate menus and turn pages with a swipe of your finger. It also supports Microsoft Office and lots of multi-media content. If you're not satisfied with an e-ink reader and don't want something as pricey and as heavy as the iPad, the Nook Color is your best bet.
The debate about the web being a cause of decline in reading has been raging for the past few years. Of course, there are still a lot of fiction novel lovers out there, but there are less and less people reading fiction as times goes by. It’s not that people don’t desire to escape reality and indulge in a pastime which takes them into a fantasy world, but the big problem is time and the fast paced lifestyle which most of us are trying to keep up. The media is throwing up so much real life information that many people who would have once sat up late at night reading their favourite Agatha Christie novel are now huddled around a computer.
Although it’s technology that is the cause of decline in reading, it’s technology again that’s responsible for its reincarnation. We're living in the age of "Lean Back 2.0," according to Andrew Rashbass, CEO of The Economist Group. The concept of Lean Back 2.0 is relatively simple – it is the use of tablets and e- readers at the expense of print and web. Unlike reading a print newspaper or magazine, you can access whatever you like, and unlike reading on a laptop, reading on a tablet or e-reader is a leisure activity.
Tablets do allow us to read e-books, but if you are looking to read novels, or even magazines, it’s best to pick an e-reader. E-readers, with e-ink, don’t have backlit screen and require an external light source for reading, but it's easier on the eyes and causes less eye strain for readers than tablets with LCD screens. There are many e-reader brands in the market but it’s only Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook which are worth any investment. Nook Color and Kindle Touch are as different as they are similar. If your goal is to read long novels and spend hours with your e-reader, Kindle Touch is probably the better device for you.
Amazon Kindle Touch:
Amazon finally entered the post-keyboard world of e-readers with Kindle Touch. The Kindle Touch is lightweight, compact and affordable. It has divided the screen into regions. A 0.5-inch-wide strip running the length of the left-hand side is set aside for tapping to return to the previous page. The larger region to the right – effectively stretching from the centre of the page to the right edge – is reserved for moving to the next page. The device offers access to a massive catalog of books, magazines, newspapers, and audiobooks via Amazon.com's familiar online store. The most compelling aspect of the Kindle Touch is its inclusion of 3G along with the Wi-Fi-only model.
Barnes & Noble Nook Color:
To put it in simple words, the Nook Color is a stripped-down tablet focused on reading or a very fancy e-reader. The Nook Color sports a 7-inch LCD touch screen and comes with built-in Wi-Fi and browser which allows you to surf the web, send email and do a lot more. The LCD screen is backlit and you can read it without a light. The screen is also touch sensitive, so you can navigate menus and turn pages with a swipe of your finger. It also supports Microsoft Office and lots of multi-media content. If you're not satisfied with an e-ink reader and don't want something as pricey and as heavy as the iPad, the Nook Color is your best bet.
