There’s been a fair amount of noise about the weight of the iPad and the great difficulty one will face when reading books on the iPad. Obviously, the iPad is more than twice as heavy as the Kindle, but I don’t use a Kindle. I do read books though.
Real ones.
Everyday.
In bed.
Indisposed.
Otherwise occupied.
How does the iPad stack up against the weight of real books?
Infinite Jest
2lb 5oz (paperback)
Spooner
1lb 7oz
Generation Kill
1lb 4oz
The Women
1lb 6oz
The Cold Six Thousand
1lb 0oz (paperback)
In short, the iPad (WiFi 1lb 8oz, 3G 1lb 9oz) weighs very nearly the same as any of the books sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read right now. Yes, some books weigh less. Some more. But when was the last time you heard someone complain that a real book weighed too much or that reading traditional books might require you to use a wrist brace?
I think the weight thing is a red herring.