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

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

So, you need to find out how this person's eyes react to both display types.

There are people, myself and Charlie Stross included, who do much better reading books on an iPad than on a Kindle. For folks like us, the *only* thing the Kindle has going for it is battery life (and arguably weight).

But for other people, the iPad causes eye strain that the Kindle does not. The Kindle is also certainly more readable in full direct sunlight (though I've read my iPad that way).

Remember that every book a Kindle can read, the iPad can also read, due to the Kindle app. I think the only thing the Kindle can do that the iPad can't is something to do with Kindle-centric newspaper subscriptions.

It may sound like I'm saying "get the iPad", but I'm not -- if the person in question gets eye strain from an iPad, or reads out in the sun a lot, get the Kindle. However, if they mostly read in bed, the iPad is way better IMHO, since you don't need an external light source at all.

(I've been reading etexts on portable devices of some form or another for over a decade now. I've read 'em on Newton, Magic Cap, PalmOS, WinCE (clamshell and PocketPC flavors), tablets (eg. Vadem Clio), e-ink devices (Sony Pocket Reader), and iOS devices (iPhone, iTouch, and iPad). Everyone's eyes are different and you have to take your target person's eyes into account.)