iPad or Kindle DX?

[gczobel]

Hello,
I can not decide whether to buy an IPAD or Kindle DX.
I read about 8 books a month. 1 hour per day in bed and 2 hours per day on the train.
I have read many reviews about iPad vs. Kindle and what worries me most is the eyestrain using the iPad.
On the other hand, watching movies and reading comics in color on the train is something that attracts me.

From the IPAD I love the interface, the color and the possibility of video.
From the Kindle DX attracts me the size, and lower eyestrain.

Someone can help me decide?

[jbcohen]

In the real world I am a network adminsitrator and as such we IT people typically hate Apple for one reason - They are proprietary - in other words you are locked into Apple for everything. If you like being forced to pay a lot more for books then by all means go ahead Apple makes a great product.

If all you are doing is reading books the ipad is really overkill, can do that but its ackward for that. The Kindle is much better if all you want to do with it is read books. But lets be clear about what the Kindle DX is not the best thing for (and no reader can be everything to all people, that's simply impossible), its not color, its not touch screen, it costs a lot, can't read anything you throw at it, can't dispaly books in just about any langeuge at all.

You want color - try a Nook Color or a Libra Pro Color.
You want touch screen - Try a Sony PRS
You want cheap - Try a Libra Pro
Want to read anything you can throw at it - Try a Pocket Book
Want to read in any langeuge at all - Try a Bookeen.

The Ipad is overkill for reading books.

[SkyDream]

Having a Kindle DXG for a few months i would rather recommend the iPad than the KDXG although 6" Sony PRS-650 would be best for reading.

KDXG has no colour, no touchscreen and poor support. PDF support for KDXG is worst compared to cheaper K3 and it seems that Amazon doesn't care about their KDXG customers.

iPad has colour, touchscreen, can play movies and browse the web better than KDXG.

So, coming down to the requirements you mentioned buy the iPad and be happy. Don't waste your time on KDXG.

If you prefer very good reading over size, colour and movies than try the Sony PRS-650 or PRS-950 (7").

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by gczobel

Hello,
I can not decide whether to buy an IPAD or Kindle DX.
I read about 8 books a month. 1 hour per day in bed and 2 hours per day on the train.
I have read many reviews about iPad vs. Kindle and what worries me most is the eyestrain using the iPad.
On the other hand, watching movies and reading comics in color on the train is something that attracts me.

From the IPAD I love the interface, the color and the possibility of video.
From the Kindle DX attracts me the size, and lower eyestrain.

Someone can help me decide?

Apple vs Oranges (and Apple the fruit, not the brand, lol )

Both are totally different devices.

The Apple is a tablet: has color, short battery life, kind of heavy in comparison and difficult to use outdoor.

The Kindle DXG is not a tablet but a dedicated ereader. Nice screen size for PDF, technical books or even poetry. It will give you between 10 and 20 days with just one charge. Is for reading books and does it well, so I don't understand why people compare it against tablets.

I personally can't read too long on LCD devices and if you add that to a train in movement, I am not so sure about iPad. But if you want to see videos, reading at bed or without light, maybe the iPad is better.

Can I suggest this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1PO3_iqbQ8#

Not an iPad, but you can do basically the same and smaller! Is a Galaxy Tab. Battery life is not as good as Kindle DXG but you should consider it as an alternative if you want something portable. It has full Android Market and even some ports like micro SD and HDMI. I own it and really happy so far.

[ProfCrash]

If you want to read color ocmics and watch videos and read then get the IPad. You will not be able to do that on a DXG or any other e-reader out there.

If you want to read comfortably in bed get an IPad and a K3. HEck, the K3 is small enough to toss into your briefcase to read when you are not watching videos and reading comics on your IPad.

[gczobel]

Really I want to use it primary for reading. So I think that I take the Kindle DX.

Thank you all for the answers!

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by gczobel

Really I want to use it primary for reading. So I think that I take the Kindle DX.

Thank you all for the answers!

Why not a Kindle 3? The screen is the same (smaller, of course), but it's a lot handier (and much cheaper).

[rmeister0]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

In the real world I am a network adminsitrator and as such we IT people typically hate Apple for one reason - They are proprietary - in other words you are locked into Apple for everything. If you like being forced to pay a lot more for books then by all means go ahead Apple makes a great product.

In the real world I am a software developer and have been a network admin with nearly two decades of experience. The truth about this is more nuanced that this paragraph implies.

Where eBooks are concerned the iPad is as universal a device as you can get without running a full OS stack. I haven't bought a single book from Apple - their selection just isn't there. But the Kindle application works just fine. So does GoodReader. So does Stanza.

That's to say nothing of all the O'Reilly epubs and Apress PDFs I've bought over the last year or two.

Still, buying an iPad for the sole purpose of reading books is overkill when baseline Kindle will do just as well for less money.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by rmeister0

In the real world I am a software developer and have been a network admin with nearly two decades of experience. The truth about this is more nuanced that this paragraph implies.

Where eBooks are concerned the iPad is as universal a device as you can get without running a full OS stack. I haven't bought a single book from Apple - their selection just isn't there. But the Kindle application works just fine. So does GoodReader. So does Stanza.

That's to say nothing of all the O'Reilly epubs and Apress PDFs I've bought over the last year or two.

Still, buying an iPad for the sole purpose of reading books is overkill when baseline Kindle will do just as well for less money.

The point about the iPad is that it will do an awful lot more than read books, but the Kindle is a better dedicated reader. That's why I (and many other people) have both an iPad and a Kindle.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The point about the iPad is that it will do an awful lot more than read books, but the Kindle is a better dedicated reader. That's why I (and many other people) have both an iPad and a Kindle.

What was said was:

In the real world I am a network adminsitrator and as such we IT people typically hate Apple for one reason - They are proprietary - in other words you are locked into Apple for everything. If you like being forced to pay a lot more for books then by all means go ahead Apple makes a great product.

Which is completely wrong.
You are not locked into buying books from Apple, and will therefore not be forced to pay a lot more for books.

[rmeister0]

HarryT: True. For a dedicated device I think the Kindle is the one to beat. I liked Sony's pre-touch screen hardware better, but the software was painful.

My only complaint about the Kindle is lack of ePub support, but time and market pressure *may* fix that.

[bakura82]

Originally Posted by gczobel

Hello,
I can not decide whether to buy an IPAD or Kindle DX.
I read about 8 books a month. 1 hour per day in bed and 2 hours per day on the train.
I have read many reviews about iPad vs. Kindle and what worries me most is the eyestrain using the iPad.
On the other hand, watching movies and reading comics in color on the train is something that attracts me.

From the IPAD I love the interface, the color and the possibility of video.
From the Kindle DX attracts me the size, and lower eyestrain.

Someone can help me decide?

If it's definitely between those two, I would recommend the Kindle. It's cheaper and better for your eyes. I just sold my iPad because it is just so limited and now I can use that money to buy TWO new eReaders for my wife an I. None of the applications for eReaders are able to export annotations (completely), which is something I personally needed.

If you want to play games, make impulsive app purchases, and watch videos -- get an iPad. I personally don't think the iPad is practical though. There is no Word Processor. You will have to pay for one (ie. iWork for $80). The web browser doesn't support, flash, java, or HTML 5. I found this incredibly frustrating because I couldn't blog normally, surf many forums normally, and watch videos on many sites that I like. The operating system is very limiting and many developers are staying away from designing products for this device. It may change in the future, but it annoys me to no end that I can't develop simple apps for myself without paying the outlandish yearly fee required by Apple for development. Then again, you could jailbreak it and do whatever you want... and hopefully you won't turn the iPad into a brick as Apple updates iOS. In terms of getting files on and off the iPad such as books, music, and etc, you are pretty much required to use iTunes and found this very frustrating and unnecessarily complicated.

So IMHO, Kindle. However, I personally prefer the Sony devices over Kindle because Amazon is also limiting for their own reasons.

Good luck. I hope whatever you get brings you many many hours of enjoyment.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by rmeister0

My only complaint about the Kindle is lack of ePub support, but time and market pressure *may* fix that.

I think that what you see as a complaint, could be just another feature for others and nothing more.

I personally do not see ePub support as a problem, giving the case I don't read fiction or novels but IT books; most IT books are only found at Amazon or O'reilly, so the format is irrelevant to me. Actually, I had a Nook 1st gen and even when it's an ok device, I was not able to find my IT books directly from B&N. In order to avoid the extra step of breaking DRM, converting, etc, I decided to buy a Kindle instead and can't be happier. I don't visit public libraries, don't miss that and don't need it, so ePub means nothing to me. Of course, that could be totally different for you and any other user, that's why I usually suggest avoid the "format fixation syndrome" and validate the reader purchase based on the kind of books you like and are willing to buy or lend.

I am more concerned with the DRM stuff than the ePub vs azw thing. Without DRM protection most users could buy from any store without being worried about formats at all, Calibre does the conversion in 60s.

Buying an ebook should be a free decision, instead of one forced by an ebook formats and/or DRM protection; like when you but a magazine or pbook, you just go to the store you like or have the better prices or collection.

[fantasyfan]

I have and use both the Kindle and the iPad. In the end your choice must depend upon what you personally need. The iPad is a good e-reader and can support both Stanza {which uses epub} and the Kindle iPad app which downloads Amazon books from the Kindle store. However, the iPad is basically a media access device; thus one can choose from thousands of apps to do all sorts of things. I use mine for games, films, utilities, etc as much as for reading. It has an excellent battery life {I get around 12 hours} as laptops and tablets go and can support colour images. The capacity is far greater than the DX Kindle. The entry model has 16Gb and 32 and 64 Gb models are available. It has a very beautiful HD backlit intuitive touch screen.

Now the Kindle is the device I prefer for reading. The 10 hour battery life of the iPad can't even begin to compare with that of the Kindle--which can last a month without wifi! It is lighter and can produce black and white images. Above all, the use of the excellent e-ink technology and the lack of a backlit screen makes it much easier on the eyes when reading. I can read a Kindle as long as I could a physical book; reading an iPad is definitely more tiring. I might add that I find the iPad backlit screen very difficult to read in bright sunlight. You really need a muted ambient light context to enjoy the iPad. Since books take up far less space than games and films the available 3GB capacity of the Kindle is very generous. {Perhaps, though. Amazon should have included a memory card slot.}

So if reading is a priority then get the DX. If you want a web browsing device, wish to play games, watch films, listen to music and are happy with a supplementary reader, then the iPad is what you need. My only reservation about the DX is that I think it's overpriced--the 16GB iPad doesn't cost much more--but that's just my opinion.

[JSWolf]

Kindle DX.

If you get an iPad, there's a chance the Kindle app may not be available.