4 ms·

Of the people I know with various non-Apple readers/tablets, a recurring theme is making a purchase thinking it will be "good enough", then finding it isn't, an

Of the people I know with various non-Apple readers/tablets, a recurring theme is making a purchase thinking it will be "good enough", then finding it isn't, and making another similar purchase or two to find a "good enough" that is ... spending enough cumulative $$$ to warrant just buying an iPad that they tried so hard not to.

todsul 15y ago
There's a HUGE difference between an eReader and a tablet. People who don't regularly read don't understand this. Many people think the iPad is a good eReader. But that's like saying a Koenigsegg is a good commuting car. Think about what makes a good eReader: * Very light * As small as possible (while retaining page size) * Long-lasting battery * Good reading screen With this in mind: * iPad as an eReader = fail * Kindle Fire as an eReader = fail * Most tablets as eReaders = fail * Standard Kindle as an eReader = excellent Personally, I can't justify a tablet, but I can absolutely justify an eReader for actual reading. As soon as I saw the announcements for the new Kindles, I saw that the $79 version was the smallest and knew it was the best of the bunch. The Touch is somewhat interesting, but every gram matters when you hold the device for 2, 3 or even 4 hours straight.
- microtherion 15y ago
  I bought an iPad 2 this year and haven't gone back to my Kindle DX since I got it. The Kindle has a huge advantage in battery life and some advantage in weight, but neither of those are critical in my experience (iPad battery life is sufficient for a day's use, which is good enough for me, and weight is close enough). e-Ink and LED screens each have advantages in some lighting environments. For my purposes (indoors, airplanes, low light), LED works better. The iPad has a huge speed advantage over the e-Ink Kindle, which comes into play for any activity with an eBook that goes beyond "read a page/turn the page". Finally, the iPad has better fonts; especially for technical material, the fixed-width font on the Kindle is incredibly annoying (with e.g. the dot on the "i" near-invisible). [Full disclosure: I work for Apple, but in non-iOS engineering]

todsul 15y ago

There's a HUGE difference between an eReader and a tablet. People who don't regularly read don't understand this. Many people think the iPad is a good eReader. But that's like saying a Koenigsegg is a good commuting car. Think about what makes a good eReader: * Very light * As small as possible (while retaining page size) * Long-lasting battery * Good reading screen With this in mind: * iPad as an eReader = fail * Kindle Fire as an eReader = fail * Most tablets as eReaders = fail * Standard Kindle as an eReader = excellent Personally, I can't justify a tablet, but I can absolutely justify an eReader for actual reading. As soon as I saw the announcements for the new Kindles, I saw that the $79 version was the smallest and knew it was the best of the bunch. The Touch is somewhat interesting, but every gram matters when you hold the device for 2, 3 or even 4 hours straight.

microtherion 15y ago
I bought an iPad 2 this year and haven't gone back to my Kindle DX since I got it. The Kindle has a huge advantage in battery life and some advantage in weight, but neither of those are critical in my experience (iPad battery life is sufficient for a day's use, which is good enough for me, and weight is close enough). e-Ink and LED screens each have advantages in some lighting environments. For my purposes (indoors, airplanes, low light), LED works better. The iPad has a huge speed advantage over the e-Ink Kindle, which comes into play for any activity with an eBook that goes beyond "read a page/turn the page". Finally, the iPad has better fonts; especially for technical material, the fixed-width font on the Kindle is incredibly annoying (with e.g. the dot on the "i" near-invisible). [Full disclosure: I work for Apple, but in non-iOS engineering]