ipad vs kindle: CAGE MATCH!

[rmd]

OKAY YOU OVERLY OPINIONATED INTERNET PEOPLE! CONVINCE ME! OR SOMETHING.

I need to choose a $SIGNIFICANT_MILESTONE gift for someone. iPad? or Kindle?

iPad has the advantage of doing much more - apps! widgets! other stuff!
Kindle has the advantage of not requiring a separate pay-by-the-month data plan for cell access. Plus more battery life.

thoughts?

I figure either an ipad and a small itunes store gift card (and possibly a small amazon gift card for ebooks), or a kindle and a larger amazon gift card.

Comments

[bryant]

iPad. Your pool of easily available books is larger, since you have a) the Kindle app and b) iBooks, which reads any ePub format book. Amazon has no interest in being format open, because they make their money on selling books. And if you need a c), there's a Nook app for the iPad as well.

You also get quality PDF reading, which may or may not matter depending on your areas of interest. I like it a lot, but I read a lot of roleplaying games.

Reading outside on the iPad is suboptimal, and it's heavier than the Kindle. I read my iPad in bed a lot anyhow. I miss the Kindle a bit, but not a ton, and it's mostly the weight issue. The battery life hasn't ever been a problem for me -- I charge it every night, and it lasts all day.

Oh, and the iPad doesn't have the little palpable delay and flash as you turn pages.