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

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

I would go for iPad, Kindle just doesn't do much, and the look of the greytone screen bothers me

[alanj]

If they like to curl up with a book for lengthy periods, or especially if they like to read outside, Kindle. Otherwise, iPad.

[emmacrew.livejournal.com]

I wuv my iPad. Shiny color, and I have a pdf reader I really like that I put a bunch of knitting patterns in. I got the 3G model but so far haven't turned that on because there's so much WiFi around here.

[miss-bowtruckle.livejournal.com]

And there's billions of books out there for free that Kindle can read!

<--is partial to the e-reader because ew ew ew touchscreen iPad ew....

[annathepiper]

If this person is a voracious reader, I'd vote for the Kindle--just because the Amazon store in all honesty is going to have a better selection of titles available, last I heard.

If on the other hand they'd be more interested in a general-purpose device and/or are interested in reading books from non-Amazon sources, go for the iPad. (The advantage of the iPad I grant is that there's also a Kindle app anyway so all of the Kindle books are available to read on the iPad.)

[wotw]

1) After two years I still adore my Kindle.

2) One of the things I love about the Kindle is that I can
easily hold it in one hand and eat with the other. In fact,
when I hold it in one hand, my thumb hovers quite naturally
over the "next page" button, so it's easy to turn pages
without having to put down my fork.

3) I played with an iPad for a brief time. It's beautiful,
but I hated the fact that it really required two hands, both
because of its weight and because of the locations of the
navigation buttons. If you like to read while you eat, I
don't think you'll be very happy with the iPad.

[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.

[navrins]

I just got a Kindle 3 last week, and I'm liking it. It's not the most awesome awesome that ever awed some, but it's a good tool, well-designed for its purpose and able to do a few other purposes. It does want a cover, however.

I remain confused by the popularity of the iPad. It seems like a very expensive netbook. I don't really see its point. But I haven't tried hard, or used one, so I may not know what I'm talking about.

[navrins]

...there are covers on eBay much cheaper than from Amazon.

[unclebooboo.livejournal.com]

I'd go with the iPad and get the Wifi version. If your friend wants cellular broadband, then this can easily be provided by (e.g.) a Virgin Mobile BroadBand2Go Mifi unit ($40 per month for unlimited data, no contract!) AT&T just isn't worth it for cellular broadband.

[charleshaynes.livejournal.com]

I hate them both, so you can trust me.

iPad. If you're giving a gift especially. Has the "wow" factor. Giving a Kindle would be like giving socks. Yeah they're useful, yes they can be pretty, but at the end of the day they're still socks.

Look at how many places are using iPads as prizes or premiums. iPads are aspirational.

I personally wouldn't buy either one though. Hate the iPad walled garden. Hate the Kindle DRM.

[ETA have a friend who is an avid ebook consumer, who has a Kindle and an iPad. Prefers the iPad]

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

That's a bit like asking if you should give someone a Leatherman multi-tool or a Makita power screwdriver. They're both useful, but they're not quite meant for the same job.

If you're only planning on using it as an e-book reader, the Kindle wins. It's lightweight, easy to hold, and has an insanely long battery life. I've gotten through 20-hour travel days on one charge.

If you want something that can also handle e-mail/web-surfing/games/etc., the iPad is a better investment. I love mine. But I don't necessarily love it for e-books--it's heavy, and runs out of battery charge very fast. And, as you noted, it's more expensive, both on the initial purchase price and the cell access.

[solarbird]

If theme recipient reads mostly before bedtime and reading is the biggest point, get the Kindle, because backlit devices used at night before sleep can trigger sleep issues. Paul might read from his iPad during the day, but at night he uses the Nook (B&N's epaper reader) exclusively.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

I'd recommend an iPad because it is a multi-tool.

I have one on long-term loan from work, and they're terribly handy for all sorts of things.

A Kindle is a neat idea, but, frankly, if I'm carrying an expensive device, I'd rather not have a one trick pony stuck with me.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

How about a puppy!?! :)

Sorry , nothing useful to say here, except, gee, golly, I know I've been working really hard, and I'm proud of myself for what all I've accomplished, but don't go out of your way... plus I don't want either, an iPad nor a Kindle; .... nor do I want a puppy, really. ;-) ;-)

Also- should this, in fact, be unlocked post? Does the lucky mile-stoner not read LJ?

== 10

[jymdyer.livejournal.com]

=v= I know somebody who had a $SIGNIFICANT_MILESTON birthday, and her Mom got her an iPad. Alas, since she's under 18 there are few free apps available for her!

[emmacrew.livejournal.com]

The iPad can read the billions of free books, too! Right now mine has all the Oz books and all the Andrew Lang Fairy Books on it.

[mjosephb.livejournal.com]

Both.

When I want to spent hours reading without distraction I love the Kindle. It sucks at anything else.

When I want to surf web sites, play poker, check twitter, pay bills or play Chinese Poker I use the iPad.

I have a nice collection of DRM free ebooks from baen.com and ora.com. Work great on both devices.

[istemi.livejournal.com]

They're two different things. iPad has more shiny and apps. Kindle is a book reader. iPad is a bigger device and expensive and I would cry very hard if I bought one and broke it.

There's a Kindle reader for iPad, so they could read Kindle books on the iPad.

I'll try to remember to bring my Kindle with me Monday so you can toss it around.

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

I'm very happy with my iPad but I don't particularly enjoy reading books on it. That's mostly because after spending all day staring at a backlit display I don't really want to read a book on one as well.

That said, you've got a huge set of options for book reading on the iPad. Amazon, B&N and Borders all have ebook readers for it that talk to their respective stores, along with Apple's iBooks (which I have to say has a sadly small selection and somewhat distressing UI). And Apple's ebook reader happily works with non-DRM'd epub and PDF files. There are also quite a few comic book readers available, including the big companies.

Kindle may not have pay-by-the-month cell access but it also can barely do anything with its cell access and in order to get some documents to it over cellular data you have to pay a premium.

Cellular data on the iPad is contract-free and can be turned on and off as desired (at monthly increments). You can also start with the cheaper plan and it will warn you when you're going over the limit and give you the option to pay the difference to go to the bigger plan, which is very nice.

Note that I don't have a 3G iPad because it pisses me off to pay AT&T for data twice (my iPhone and iPad) and only use it once.

Two very interesting upcoming iPad features: it's getting wireless printing in a November software update. It's also getting the ability to push audio and video to Airport Expresses (audio only), Apple TVs (the new cheap ones), and upcoming 3rd-party devices that will support "AirPlay" (supposedly Denon is doing a firmware update for my amp that will support it). This seems to work with any video or audio played back using iOS' UI for doing so - videos, YouTube, Photos, Netflix, Pandora, whatever... these are both coming to the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 as well.

The iPad is great for light-weight gaming and media, has a first rate email client and web browser and can do almost anything people write software for it to do.You can do photo manipulation, edit Office documents, do presentations.
The Kindle is very good at being an ebook reader for Amazon's ebooks, and not particularly good at anything else.

So the question is, would this person want a general purpose device that's an okay ebook reader (but can read a great many ebooks from multiple sources), or do they want a great ebook reader that doesn't do anything else particularly well?

Then again, the cheapest iPad (WiFi only) is $499 (you can get them refurbished for $449 now), or $629 with 3G support. The cheapest Kindle (WiFi only) is $139, or $189 for 3G support.

[bryant]

+1 on the eating thing! It's definitely a Kindle plus.

[metagnat.livejournal.com]

Ipad. It reads kindle stuff as well.

[tactical-grace.livejournal.com]

So, my wife has both a Kindle DX and an iPad.

As a book reader, she vastly prefers the Kindle. Vastly.

For anything else, though, the iPad is obviously better.

But yeah, for reasons similar to what Charles stated, I haven't been sold on either one. (OK, I agree on the Kindle. I think the iPad is pretty cool, but I'm cheap.)

Also, the iPad only requires a monthly fee if you spring for the 3G version.

[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.)

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

The iPad does not require a monthly fee for the 3G version unless you activate the 3G. That may sound dishonest/misleading, but that's actually the option I opted for myself.

See, the 3G plan for the iPad 3G doesn't require a contract at all. You activate it and then for a certain amount of time or data, it works. You can cancel without penalty.

I got the 3G model so that I have the option of activating it if I'm ever trapped somewhere without wifi long enough for that to be annoying, like on a trip or something. But you can use the 3G model as if it were the wifi model just fine.

I haven't been tempted to activate the 3G on mine yet. (Maybe the first time will be at the "Rally to Restore Sanity" in late October.)

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Oh. One thing might tip this irrevocably into the iPad camp, depending on who you're buying it for.

Do they like comic books?

If so, you owe it to yourself to check out the various comic-reading apps for the iPad. OMG purty. This display really, really works for comic art, and the comic readers are using this really cool tech that permits you to zoom in while following an "optimum path for the eye to follow" that's encoded into the comic book data files.

I've got a bunch of free comics (there are a lot, and the set keeps changing from week to week for promotional reasons), and bought the first issue of "Sandman" as an in-app purchase. OMG purty.

[lil-brown-bat.livejournal.com]

I don't have either, but perhaps a good question of your respondents might be, "Do you own (or have you significantly used) both of these devices, and (only if the answer is yes) why do you prefer one to the other?"

[lioritgioret.livejournal.com]

I haven't used either one, but I'm an Apple Lemming, so I suspect it'll be the iPad when the time comes. However, if this is gifty, I did stumble upon the most attractive iPad accessory in the fall "never too early to start shopping for Xmas" catalog-dump (I'm now getting four to six catalogs delivered a day; must be autumn): Levenger's Thai-pillow iPad lap desk. (http://bit.ly/8Y6UTm) It's adorable.

[spazzkat.livejournal.com]

My recommendation would be the iPad. Between the Nook and iPad I use the iPad _much_ more. It's also been increasing in usefulness by leaps and bounds whereas the Nook is mostly just doing the same one thing really really well. Like Emma I have a 3G version but haven't really had a need to turn the 3G on yet. It's particularly good for reading web comics in the mornings and watching movies or TV or just reading during my lunch break.

Just to be contrarian

[drwex]

Both devices present locked environments that will cause your friend to pay lots of money for things she will then not actually own.

Droid-based tablet computers are announced. Just sayin'.

[dianala.livejournal.com]

Get a Kindle - the technology changes less frequently and books are, well, awesome. Apple will come out with ten new Ipads before your next $SPECIAL EVENT.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

For that sort of price you can buy a nice netbook for less money than an iPad.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

How soon do you want to buy the present? Various companies have promised tablet computers running Android.

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

"Nice netbook" is an oxymoron.

Re: Just to be contrarian

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

Which will also cause you to pay lots of money for things that you will not actually own. Apps, video and books are all equally locked down on Android as they are on the iPad.

That is, supposing that the companies involved with the tablet actually have the good grace to even allow you to access the Android Marketplace. And supposing that you can find anything there.

Re: Just to be contrarian

[drwex]

Oh bother. Is it really that bad? The stories I'd heard from developers for the droid phones were much better than the apple developer stories.

Re: Just to be contrarian

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

This is more from the customer, not developer perspective. My impression is that it's not difficult to get into the Android store. It's just difficult for customers to use it - the phone companies are forcing people to use their own stores, or restricting what they can download. They're also preloading Android phones with crapware and their own UIs. Lots of fragmentation. Not expecting much better with tablets - one of the first tablets isn't even blessed by Google and won't have any access to the Android Marketplace.

On one hand the stories from some developers about dealing with Apple have been really terrible. On the other hand, it's a very tiny percentage of the actual apps that have had the problems. But they are ridiculous problems and they do get a lot of press. Apple just made some changes to the process - review guidelines are now public and they've loosened up some of the restrictions. Some of the high visibility apps that were having problems are now in the store.

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

Does it really matter if something shinier is available in a few months, if the shiny thing you just got still does what you need it to do? Or if it's a gift?

It looks like Apple's going to refresh the iPad about once a year, similar to phones and iPods. That's about how often Amazon refreshes the Kindle.

Re: Just to be contrarian

[drwex]

Nod. I see. My droid phone (Motorola) was not loaded with crapware but I guess there's a wide variation. And there probably will be with tablets, too. I'm just more hopeful that the environment can be opened up rather than remaining the locked Disney garden that Apple has produced.

Re: Just to be contrarian

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

The Apple situation is not as bad as some people make it out to be.

Their devices happily play unprotected video and audio and happily read non-DRMed PDFs and epub documents. Their are many competing audio and video players on them and many competing book readers.

As far as apps go, while native apps have some restrictions on them, there are a vast number of truly tremendous native apps that are awesome and extremely useful. And the built-in browser supports HTML5 and CSS3 as much as any browser does today. You can build almost whatever you want as an HTML5 app, save it to the springboard and have most users not know the difference. The situation is getting some pretty unbalanced reporting.

For that matter, Google has already reached inside people's Android phones and remotely killed apps without owners' permission. I believe Apple does have that capability as well but has not yet used it. I do not think there is really as big a difference between Apple and Google as people play up. There is a lot of hysteria about it, though.

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

So. Whatcha gonna do?

Re: Just to be contrarian

[drwex]

(we should probably stop hijacking rmd's LJ so I'll make this my last response.)

I'll accept that the reporting has been somewhat imbalanced. I do know for a fact (having emailed with the developer) that the apps Google yanked from the store were proof-of-concept hack apps with no actual value and once the creators admitted that I didn't think it was unreasonable for Google to yank them.

Likewise, I've talked with Apple app developers who have been frustrated that in order to fix a bug in their app they have to go through the whole approval process again, making the update cycle painfully slow. They're prohibited from putting the app on their own Web sites or any other site so people are forced to continue using a buggy/broken app until Apple gets around to approving the fix.

And to my knowledge Apple still won't allow boobies or even Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore to put his political cartoon app up.

[dianala.livejournal.com]

I suppose not... I sure wouldn't mind if someone gave me an IPad! I have a Kindle and an IPod Touch... I do like both. For me, I like reading on the Kindle because it is light and fits in my purse easily. But maybe I am just jealous!

Re: Just to be contrarian

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Not completely accurate anymore, *and* it only applies to apps in the app store. There's plenty of content in plenty of formats with no DRM or anything that one can consume just fine on the iPad.

Many of the videos on mine, I ripped from DVD myself. Much of the audio on mine, I ripped from CD myself. You can set iTunes up to autoconvert from FLAC to device-supported formats transparently as part of the sync process. DRM-free EPUB files work perfectly well in iBook and at least one competing reader application. And heck, *VLC* is on the device now.

It perhaps ain't as free as the most free Android handsets, the ones that are wide-open and that support sideloading. But it *is* more free than the *least* free (in terms of carrier/manufacturer lockdown) Android handsets.

And as for tablets, we'll have to see how that shakes out once Android tablets really start to show up in consumer hands, which hasn't happened yet.

[lioritgioret.livejournal.com]

Yes, which one won?

[jessicac.livejournal.com]

A chest of tea and spices. Jewellry. Bolts of silk velvet and leather. A shopping spree to Powells for real books.

(I am not an Apple fan, nor an electronic book device fan, so my opinion may not be useful.)

Re: Just to be contrarian

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

Mark Fiore's app was approved last April, about a week after the flap about it. The reversals on app store problems never get the coverage that the problems do in the first place. Not that all the problems are reversed.

As I pointed out, anything that can be done as a web app can be saved to the iPhone. If you want a booby app and Apple won't approve it, make it a web app and show people how to save it.