Kindle Review – Kindle 3 Review, iPad Review

At some point, as a Kindle owner, you get tired of people who think the iPhone is ‘good enough’ for reading.

The standard line is – The iPhone is ‘good enough’ for reading, and therefore dedicated eReaders will die out - because people will choose the iPhone (or the iTablet).

Now consider what an Apple oriented blog writes about the possibility of making web apps that work on the iPhone instead of iPhone Apps -

The argument that you can make iPhone web apps that are “good enough” misses the entire point of iPhone apps —

             the entire point of the iPhone itself, even —

             all of the things that drive Twitter users to pay $3, $4, or $5 for apps that do the same things that can be done for free by loading Twitter’s web site in MobileSafari.

“Good enough” is not good enough on the iPhone.

So, let’s get this straight -

1. People should read on an iPhone because it’s ‘good enough’ for reading. 
2. Writing web apps for the iPhone is not OK though – because on the iPhone ‘good enough’ is not good enough.

That’s hypocrisy.

An argument for excellence is an argument for a dedicated eReader

Throughout the post John Gruber talks about excellence i.e.

1. How developers want to create excellent apps that are as good as the iPhone’s main (Apple developed) features.

Consider this line -

to discount the framework is to discount everything that sets the iPhone apart as a development platform.

Not only are native iPhone apps faster and more capable than their web-app equivalents, but they’re easier to write.

The whole point of the article is to say - web-based apps can never be as optimized for the iPhone or be as capable as native iPhone Apps.

1. Replace ‘web-based apps’ with ‘multi-purpose devices’.
2. Repalce ‘the iPhone’ with ‘reading’.
3. Replace ‘native iPhone Apps’ with ‘dedicated eReaders’.

We get – multi-purpose devices can never be as optimized for reading or be as capable as dedicated eReaders.

With that we can rest our case.

Reading is to people who read what excellence of the application is to iPhone developers.

People who are in love with Apple and come here to talk about how the iPhone is ’good enough’ to read should read the Daring Fireball article.

1. For people who love to read ‘good enough’ is not good enough.
2. Just as developers do not want to create sub-standard applications, readers do not want a sub-standard reading experience.

Let’s not be hypocrites. eReaders are not going to lose to the iPhone just because the iPhone provides a ’good enough’ reading experience.

In the things we create and the things we consume we want  -

1. Excellence.
2. The best experience possible.
3. Lots of fun.
4. Something Special.
5. A device that is especially built for us.

In those cases ‘good enough’ is not good enough. 

Surely booklovers are entitled to an excellent reading experience – just as Apple aficionados are entitled to an excellent Apple experience.