Reading On a Tablet Is Better Than Newspaper During Meals But With Newspapers, Easier To Discover Things To Read

Dave the Mobile Warrior is just full of great mobile thought today.  Earlier, he asked about the failure of Facetime (or lack of it taking off in a big way), and, then later on, he sent me an e-mail about his experience with the papers and having breakfast.

First, newspapers take up a lot of room.  His iPad is much smaller.  He found it difficult to juggle between putting food in his mouth and reading the papers.  I totally see that.  I like to get breakfast burritos from a local joint. And while I wait, I sometimes pick up the LA Times.  I don't know what Dave the Mobile Warrior was eating for breakfast but eating something that requires the use of fingers instead of utensils makes it a messy affair.

Second, he found the newspaper he was reading has a lot of ads.  And he lamented about the quality of the paper itself.  While this has nothing to do with mobile specifically, you can rest assure that reading on an iPad, Kindle, or Nook means you get the same amount of ads for the most part and the print quality to be exactly the same teach time.

Third, and this one does go in favor of a newspaper than the tablet, he said he would normally read stuff that interests in but not much else on the tablet.  Whereas on the newspaper, he's likely to discover more stuff to read.

I agree with this as well.  And this is why I use apps like Flipboard or Pulse.  Then sometimes, I use the NPR app to read things that you're not going to find on the front page of MSNBC or CNN's websites.  

I also find that using an RSS reader helps when you can quickly scan different sections and find latest things that the media and blogs are focusing on.  Digg And Stumbleupon is also a good way to discover new interesting topics as well.  

And of course, I've got friends with vast interests and I get emails and IM from them about cool stuff to read.  

For me, the best time to be reading a newspaper these days is when you're having tea or coffee.  On a small table, you can hold up the paper or fold it.  And even with your fingers laced with ink, holding the cup means you don't get it on your food.  Sometimes I like to have a piece of cake or pie.  The ink doesn't get on your food if you're using a fork.  

Having said all this, there is something about sitting with a real newspaper that doesn't grow old.  The same goes for a book.  We are fast approaching a generation that will not know the pleasure of touching and flipping through a newspaper, know what the smell of it is like, or seeing it folded under the arm of a person waiting for a bus.