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First let me say that I get that there is a limit to how many devices you want to lug around with you. But I personally find reading on a Kindle (or other e-in
by GordonS 7y ago
First let me say that I get that there is a limit to how many devices you want to lug around with you.
But I personally find reading on a Kindle (or other e-ink devices) to be a far, far better and more comfortable experience than on an LED device like an iPad - honestly, it's as good as reading from paper books (and I say that as a lifelong bookworm).
The battery life, form factor and weight are also firmly in the Kindle's favour when compared to an iPad.
- CDSlice 7y agoWhile I agree with you on e-ink being a much better reading experience, I would not say a Kindle is for technical references or other books with exact formatting requirements because the screen is so small. This, along with being underpowered, also makes reading PDF a pain because they are tiny on the screen and the Kindle has a hard time rendering them. Now a Remarkable or other larger e-ink device would probably be better than the iPad, but last I checked they cost the same or more than an iPad Pro that can do so much more they feel like a waste of money.
- GordonS 7y agoAh, yes, sorry, I should have been clearer in that I meant for reading fictional novels. I've never even tried to read a technical book on a Kindle, largely for the reasons you outline, but also because I tend to read such books in a different way. With a novel, you're relaxing and reading large chunks at a time, whereas with a technical book I'm usually simultaneously taking notes, coding or looking up related stuff in a browser, so I use a laptop or desktop PC for that (a tablet wouldn't work well for me here)
- CDSlice 7y agoYeah for fiction, the only thing that beats my Kindle Paperwhite is a physical book. I'm a little surprised that you are able to do all that so well simultaneously on a PC though. Whenever I've tried to do it the context switching between reading the book or other documents and whatever I'm trying to do with it kills me. Maybe it is because I've only tried to do it on laptops (I don't have a desktop PC) but I also prefer just browsing the web on my phone than on my laptop so maybe I'm just weird.
- GordonS 7y agoThe trick is using multiple monitors, so you can have the book open on one, an IDE in another, and a browser in another. If you only have 2 monitors, as long as one is 3K/4K you can split it between the IDE & browser.
- ghaff 7y agoI find it really depends on what you're reading. For flowing text, I prefer the paperwhite Kindle. But if there are graphics, illustrations, etc. the iPad wins. The iPad also does a lot of other things of course so, in practice, I'm not going to travel with a Kindle if I already have my iPad with me--which I typically do. My general rule of thumb when I'm (normally) traveling a lot is that I bring one laptop-like device (MacBook, Chromebook) and one tablet-like thing (Kindle, iPad).