With all the election talk and debating going on here in the good ‘ol US of A recently, we got to thinking: how could we get in on the fun?
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to dissolve the attachment to all things ancient (i.e. paper), and the appeal of progress tempts us to dive into the world of e-book publication, a decent respect for the opinions of SetSailors demands a poll!
The Declaration of Independence went something along those lines, anyway.
So here it is folks: we are thinking seriously of creating books for the tablet culture, and want to know: how many of you currently own and use an iPad? We’re specifically asking about iPads because iBooks allows for the inclusion of video and some other functions that other tablets currently don’t offer.
Help us out, and exercise your right to vote! There are 3 questions below, with yes or no answer options. Simply click the bubble for your answer, then click on the vote button to cast your vote.
[poll id=”2″]
[poll id=”4″]
[poll id=”3″]
Posted by Sarah.Dashew (October 18, 2012)
October 18th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
I love the irony. At this point only 6 ipads but 8 votes are cast for the follow up questions. Says something doesn’t it. I think someone will start slinging wild accusations, call in a judge, and start looking for “hanging chads”. I hope people READ the ballots BEFORE they vote.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Don’t get me started on Town Hall format! 🙂
October 18th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Caution here. I have a number of you books, including your weather book. My experience with graphic/picture/photo-heavy books on the iPad is that unless they have been restructured to make sure the graphics stay connected to the relevant text, you get a frustrating read.
October 18th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the advice. We’d be re-formatting artwork and text alike.
cheers, sarah
October 18th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Steve,
Pretty exciting if you decide to publish your work as ebooks. As much as I hate to say it, the iPad is always out and being used on the boat for reference these days.
Mike
October 18th, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Mike, that is nothing to be ashamed of! My folks (and I) think the iPad is a wonderful tool! Now, the new Apple Maps on the other hand… 🙂
–sarah
October 18th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Doing it just for the IPAD is too limiting…
You need to be able to be viewed on Android and windows 8 devices as well…
October 18th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Hi David, thanks for the input. That’s one of the main reasons we’re polling to find out how common the iPad is…
cheers, sarah
October 22nd, 2012 at 6:03 am
The polling would be more valid if you asked if people had Kindle, Android or Windows tablets too would it not?
October 22nd, 2012 at 11:04 am
Hi Richard,
Good point. Initially we wanted to poll only about iPads due to the nature of how we were thinking about adapting the books. But the replies have highlighted how diverse people’s tablet choices are…
October 18th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Acer A500. 😉
October 18th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
I have an iPad and a Nexus7 tablet. I like them both but use the Nexus7 more. Whatever you do, remember that Kindle + Nook + iPad + Nexus + Microsoft Surface + everything else represents the real opportunity. Be inclusive by using publishing systems that target all devices.
October 18th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
I’m a very big fan of the Kindle, largely because it sips power so lightly that it is a credible backup for texts in an emergency. More importantly, you can put a whole lot more books in you big pocket with a Kindle than you can with paper. I suggest you spring $69 for the base model and try to configure your texts for that. I strongly recommend the Pelican 1055CC case for the Kindle for casual use. For serious work, get the Pelican 1150 case and stock the extra room with accessories. If you can spare the $179 for the Paperwhite with free 3G, let us know how that works for you. I’ve been very happy with my Kindles.
October 19th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Patrick, that’s a great idea–I’ll look into it!
cheers, sarah
October 19th, 2012 at 1:39 am
i read a lot of books on my kindle…….i have found for pure text it is great,but to read or try to study graphs,maps,and such related to the text is a mess also graphs,maps and photos suffer from size reduction, becoming so small as to be a real pain in the eyes. you might want to look at this before you jump in too far and end up with a product you wont be happy with. thanks ron
October 19th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for the input Ron, that is why we’re specifically looking at the ibook format right now.
cheers, sarah
October 19th, 2012 at 3:27 am
I have an iPad and I am using it more and more for reading magazines and books. By coincidence, I placed an order with SetSail yesterday for your ‘Instant Library’; I would have much preferred to have an iPad version – or both. I subscribe to a British magazine called ‘Country Life’ which has recently launched a digital version which the traditional paper-subscribers can download for free.
October 19th, 2012 at 4:50 pm
iPad – yes. iBooks – no. Kindle app on the iPad – YES.
October 19th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Sarah,
I’m guessing that the conversation we’re having is more a discussion of “when,” than “if.” I think an electronic version would be helpful. The promise of updating some of the material with video is very appealing.
One of the biggest advantages of the electronic version is going to be after reading the material. In other words, finding a reference, rather than reading a tome.
Thanks for asking,
October 20th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I admit that charts on a Kindle without zooming are a pain. The Kindle Fire versions would make more sense for that. I would also take a hard look at the distribution details for Amazon and Apple. Amazon has been very fair to me for some transcriptions I put out with Kindle Direct Publishing. Apple, on the other hand, has been less celebrated for it’s treatment of content providers. Apple does a lot of things right, but when they’re wrong, they’re really obstinate about making things right. Amazon corrects more fluidly. I do hope that your electronic versions are priced with the intent to sell. My business partner Michael Totten was amazed how much sales were affected by hitting the right price point. If you expect to sell less than a thousand electronic versions, that’s one thing, but if you can sell tens of thousands, you might be happier with a price point that otherwise might seem low. The beauty is that you can adjust to your heart’s content…on Amazon.
October 20th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Vote, percentage, and number’sssss, LOL!!!
Beside this, even without Ipad, E-book is really a great thing!!!
800kg of books and manuals versus 3 or 4 kg for computer, backup HDD, and E-book reader…
Only some maps and almanacs have to stay as paper backup, together with the non-electric navigation tool!!!
Means for many of us, more food or drink or crackersknackers autonomy!!!
Longer anchorage time without the need of re-supply….
October 21st, 2012 at 8:02 am
Agree Alain:
We have been impressed with how much we can do on the Ipad, and how little power they require.
October 22nd, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Here is a link to astudy just completed by Google. http://research.google.com/pubs/pub38135.html
the title “Understanding Tablet Use: A Multi-Method Exploration”. just follow the PDF link.
October 24th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Great idea to go to e-reading but BEWARE KINDLES…..if you put everything u have on your Kindle and rely on it as a backup or prime source of info, then know that it’s only good for 365 days. Kindle’s current policy is NOT to repair broken Kindles (in my case a frozen screen which is obviously a manufacturing defect) if they are out of the 365 day warranty. They do offer you a new Kindle at a reduced price. I think this is the world’s worse customer service. I had equipment on my boat that was 10 – 20 years old and manufacturers still repaired it or they / their agents sent parts.
Setsail is a great sailing site, in fact the best
Stewart
October 27th, 2012 at 2:23 am
Tell them to get an iPad, it’s the only way you will get paid. The others will only do file sharing, they’re famous for it.
October 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
I had to say “no” to all three questions. You might add “Do you plan to get one in the near future?” To which I would have said “Yes.”
October 30th, 2012 at 11:11 am
Good point, Daryl, thank you!
cheers, sarah