Len Edgerly’s biggest surprise after 12 days using his new iPad? “How compelling the device is.”

Len is a heavy reader of electronic books, and says that not even the iPad’s bright screen has been a deterrent in his heavy reading.

I spoke with Len yesterday afternoon for the second of our two-part interview on the iPad launch. (Part 1 is here.) We kick off the discussion with Len’s story from Saturday, April 3, when, true to his early-adopter form, he was first in line for the iPad at the Apple Store in Denver.

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Show Notes

* Len’s first impression of the iPad, including “how compelling the device is, how much I just want to use it.”

* Len and I discuss the attraction of the iPad for “serious readers,” who’ve typically been drawn to the Kindle.

* Len considers what Amazon will do in response to the iPad.

* I pose the same question to Len that I did in part 1 of our interview: If he could only carry one device for a cross-country trip–the iPad or the Kindle–which would he choose?

* Len shares the results of his “Curl-up Test,” comparing the experience of reading the same book for 30 minutes on both the iPad and the Kindle

Len answers questions on Twitter from Judy Gombita, Allison Dolittle, Tamara Gruber, and Doug Haslam on a) subscription-based reading on the iPad and whether the device is a “savior” for newspaper publishers, b) what the iPad might be “missing,” c) how his Kindle content transfers across to the iPad.

* Len discusses the iPad’s “transformative” (my word) touch screen and how it plays out in reading books on the device.

Running time is 25:10.

Find more of Len’s coverage and views on the iPad and e-reading, check out his Kindle Chronicles and Reading Edge podcasts.

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